In the first part of this series on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and depression, I offered a broad description of how depression operates. (Please click here for a post that collects and summarizes every article in this Aspergers/depression series.)
What makes depression so dangerous for someone on the spectrum is that it can actually hide behind autistic traits. My fear is that too few people realize: depression and ASD have several features in common, creating a kind of masking effect. A trait commonly associated with ASD can in some cases be depression masquerading as that trait, thus allowing it go undetected. (And in some instances, the reverse can also be true, where depression makes it harder to detect autistic traits.)