Are Autistic People Always Conscientious?

What if the idea that autistic people are always meticulous is only a myth? Today, I’m continuing with the blog post series about personality, based on the five-factor model, which is backed by current research. Last week, I wrote a blog post about the personality dimension of openness, and today it’s time for the next factor: conscientiousness. Many people believe that most autistic individuals score very high on this personality factor, but I’m not entirely convinced. I think it can often be context-dependent!

What Does Conscientiousness Entail?

Let’s start by clarifying what the personality factor of conscientiousness entails. A person who scores high on conscientiousness is often highly disciplined, achieves high results both in school and at work, is goal-oriented, diligent, responsible, extremely reliable, organized, punctual, and plans actions and activities carefully in advance rather than acting impulsively. Employers undoubtedly appreciate this personality trait, but if perfectionism goes too far, the person may be prone to burnout.

The Opposite: Sloppy and Impulsive

A person who scores low on this personality dimension, on the other hand, is sloppy and impulsive, has a messy home, may struggle to plan their finances, is often late to meetings or forgets them entirely, pays bills late, fails to keep promises, procrastinates on important things, doesn’t eat carefully or maintain a healthy lifestyle, and so on.

I Only Do a Half-hearted Job

I would say that I am extremely conscientious in some areas and completely the opposite in others. In school, I was anything but conscientious because I hated school and only did the bare minimum (i.e., only what my parents forced me to do). For me, getting the lowest passing grade was enough, and if it weren’t for my parents’ pressure, I would probably have failed! I also can’t keep things tidy at home. When I do the dishes, I do a half-hearted job. For me, the dishes just need to be good enough – they don’t need to be spotless! I simply have very limited energy and choose to spend my energy on showering instead of washing dishes properly. I could wash them thoroughly if I wanted to, but it would severely drain my energy and lower my quality of life.

I Can Be Extremely Conscientious

In other areas, I score extremely high on conscientiousness. I always make sure I’m on time and often arrive way too early to meetings and appointments just to be safe, because being late is the worst thing in the world. I’m meticulous about planning my finances and never had issues making ends meet while I received disability benefits. Back when I was living on sickness benefits from the Swedish social security agency, I even lent money to my fully employed friends sometimes (something I later regretted, as getting the money back wasn’t easy). I’m also very careful to follow the authorities’ guidelines on healthy eating, and when the authorities recommended social distancing during the pandemic, I took the recommendations very seriously. I didn’t see my boyfriend at all for 1.5 years during that time!

Reliable From an Early Age

Even as a young child, my parents could rely on me to follow instructions. Since I was only allowed to eat candy on Saturdays, I never did – even when no one was watching. Unlike many other small children, I also didn’t cheat in games. My parents later said I was a very reliable child.

I Had to Practice Changing Plans

I used to think that most autistic individuals were conscientious and that I was the exception in certain situations (e.g., when it came to cleaning), but when I started studying at Ågesta Folkhögskola’s program for autistic individuals training to become lecturers, I was surprised to discover that most of my classmates struggled with punctuality and were often late to school! Some also forgot meetings and excursions, and when we were assigned to give a half-hour lecture, some spoke for only 15 minutes, while others went on for 45 minutes, frustrating the staff because timekeeping was crucial for the audience. When it was my turn, I delivered my lecture for exactly 30 minutes, on the dot. However, many of my classmates found punctuality challenging, and in recent years, during my lectures on autism for employers, I’ve learned that many autistic employees struggle with timeliness at work.

It Can Be Situational

I therefore suspect that we autistic individuals can sometimes be extremely conscientious and sometimes extremely sloppy depending on the context! For example, an autistic person with an extremely organized home may still struggle to keep appointments or follow official dietary guidelines. Conversely, someone who’s punctual may be sloppy about other things. This reminds me of a lecture by Dr. Svenny Kopp, a renowned Swedish autism researcher, where she described an autistic girl who was well-groomed but neglected other hygiene practices (like showering regularly). Based on this, my theory is that autistic individuals often focus their conscientiousness on specific details and simply don’t have the energy to be perfectionists about everything!

Leave a comment or read other people’s comments on this post. By submitting a comment, you agree to my comment rules.

Book Me

Please reach out to me via the contact form if you’d like to book me for a lecture on autism or an interview about my life with autism. You can find more information about me and my lectures here.

Don’t be afraid to reach out for help if life feels hopeless! Here’s a list of helplines and phone support services in the US you can contact if you need assistance. For people outside the US this page lists helplines for people in need of immediate mental help support during a mental health crisis.