Demographic and Cognitive Profile of Individuals Seeking a Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Adulthood.

Riches et al. (2016) looked at adults who asked for an autism check-up.

They wrote down each person’s age, self-rated autism traits, and scores on thinking tests.

The team wanted to see if older adults in the group looked different from younger ones.

Adults who left with an autism label said their traits were stronger.

Surprise: within that group, older adults rated traits even higher, yet scored better on thinking tests.

The data hint that years of practice may hide, but not remove, core autism signs.

Godfrey et al. (2023) add that autistic adults forget story details faster and rarely use “the big idea” to help recall.

Torenvliet et al. (2023) show multivariate normative comparisons catch twice as many autistic adults with odd cognitive profiles; these outliers also report more distress.

Jackson et al. (2025) seem to clash: adults over 50 with high autistic traits had lower memory, working memory, and speed scores. The gap closes when you notice G et al. studied people already diagnosed and using coping skills, while A et al. sampled trait carriers from the general public; life experience, not age itself, may drive the lift in scores.

When you assess an adult who “doesn’t look autistic,” trust their trait report anyway. Pair self-ratings with brief cognitive checks; if scores are strong, probe for learned work-arounds you can reinforce. Flag anyone whose profile feels lopsided—Torenvliet et al. (2023) tell us those clients carry extra stress and may need supports beyond the label.