Am I Autistic?

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Slomo

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So I often see someone say they are Autistic and like or do certain things I can relate to. I have never been diagnosed as Autistic though, even by my old therapist from when I was a kid.

So on a whim I just decided to try an online self test here; https://psychology-tools.com/autism-spectrum-quotient/
Yeah, yeah, I know to take those with the proverdial "grain of salt". Still, I scored a 26 out of 50, were 26 or more is within the Autisim spectrum. So I guess that may indicate I might be in the low end spectrum, but there none the less.

So my question to anyone who is familiar with my posts. What do you think, am I?


Ps, I don't really care about the label applying to me more than interest in seeing if I might fit within the label. Don't care enough to try getting an official diagnosis either.
 
I haven't seen too many of your posts, but from what I've noticed, it wouldn't surprise me. I'm not autistic myself (though I got 31 on that test...heh) but I've met a lot of autists due to my brother being autistic. We used to go to a lot of...I don't know how to say it...conventions? Like, weekend long meetings for parents of autistic kids to get more informations on new studies or treatments (this is less for people with aspergers and more for those who can't really live a normal life) so it's slightly easier for me to "spot" those with autism...gosh, that sounds so rude, I swear, I don't mean to be! Just, I recognize certain behavioural patterns. And you do display some of them, even in the way you write. So, I see where people are coming from.
 
Schwanensee said:
I haven't seen too many of your posts, but from what I've noticed, it wouldn't surprise me. I'm not autistic myself (though I got 31 on that test...heh) but I've met a lot of autists due to my brother being autistic. We used to go to a lot of...I don't know how to say it...conventions? Like, weekend long meetings for parents of autistic kids to get more informations on new studies or treatments (this is less for people with aspergers and more for those who can't really live a normal life) so it's slightly easier for me to "spot" those with autism...gosh, that sounds so rude, I swear, I don't mean to be! Just, I recognize certain behavioural patterns. And you do display some of them, even in the way you write. So, I see where people are coming from.

Good, because, that's not rude. I can spot, "family," out of a lineup, too.

I'm not formally diagnosed, either, but, I probably won't be, because, when you take Asperger's/HFA, and put it in a body that has to push a wheelchair, or, hold onto a walker, and flapping becomes impossible, all the sudden, the, "white coats," can't spot it as easily anymore.:lol: Yeah, my stims are, largely, (but not to the exclusion of all others,) vocal and verbal, so, good luck to them recognizing them as stims!

Mom said it best this way.

"If Stephen Hawking had been born needing his chair, and his Dynavox, would we know if the voice he heard when he read silently, had a stutter?"

Given some childhood things I remember, and some of the things I go through now, I have it, or I'm gonna sprout wings from my ass!

When I was little, and they'd brush my hair, or my teeth, I remember thinking, "Don't they know this is painful!?"

I remember often times, trying to cheer dad up, because he seemed angry, and not knowing me not shutting up is why.

I was very sensitive to cold, still am, and jeans used to trap so much cold air against my legs, that I kid you not, I'd puke. Stupid adults thought it was because I didn't want to go to school! NTs, feh!

I remember being in the car, and grandma asking why I was more interested in looking at my lap, than what was out the window, or why I always ate 1 thing on my plate at a time.

In elementary, the kids I was friends with, wanted anything to do with, were in Special Education. They never got to come over, because my aunt was scared of any disabled kid that wasn't me! Looking back, the only reason I had, even school friends, back then, was because, in elementary, all social interactions are shepherded by adults. In middle and high school, I used to think I had friends laughing with me, and one day, I realized it was at me, and I had maybe 2 friends. I imagine if I didn't have CP, the teasing would've been way worse. Picking on the Aspie kid is expected. They look normal --- ish, most of the time, but picking on the wheelchair kid is a bit more frowned upon.

Recently, well, not too recently, I got really bad, almost like a vertigoie feeling, because it was Thanksgiving, and all the family we like showed up, and it was noisey, and bright, and just way too little space for all those people. I love them. I don't call them family otherwise, but I needed my room, my quiet, dark room, to sort myself out. You and I have the same score, 36. I can see it in how you, and many of us here, write, too. If we're not both Spectrumites, I'm not sitting here.
 
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In an a quick answer no.

Now as in my case. I got 6 out of 12 indicators on those type of test.

The thing is I always had all of the may indicate autism symptoms but none of the definitely indicator.

Now after struggling through grade school and did better in High school. It took me 6 years to get my B.S. because I took minimal full loads, which help keep my grades up.

After years of struggling with depression and finally becoming suicidal, I was able to get counselling and after several years the pieces fell into place. I have "Autism Spectrum Disorder". All that means is I am not full on autism but I show a lot of similar signs and am able to be medicated, helped with counselling.

My son is "High functioning Autism" which means he has a lot of the problems with all of the symptoms, but with medication, skill training and Counselling he is living a full and good life. He is just an "odd kid".

So I would say no you are not autistic in the classical since, but it is worth going to counselling and getting them to do the work to figure out where you actually do lie in the spectrum.

Egor
 
36/50 did I pass?
 
egor said:
After years of struggling with depression and finally becoming suicidal, I was able to get counselling and after several years the pieces fell into place. I have "Autism Spectrum Disorder". All that means is I am not full on autism but I show a lot of similar signs and am able to be medicated, helped with counselling.

Did you mean Asperger's syndrome? Because your definition of autism spectrum disorder not being ''full on autism'' is incorrect. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/hcp-dsm.html Since the introduction of the DSM-V, people are no longer given the diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome (or pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified). Instead, they would be diagnosed as having autism spectrum disorder, then a level of severity from 1 to 3.
 
KimbaWolfNagihiko said:
Did you mean Asperger's syndrome? Because your definition of autism spectrum disorder not being ''full on autism'' is incorrect. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/hcp-dsm.html Since the introduction of the DSM-V, people are no longer given the diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome (or pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified). Instead, they would be diagnosed as having autism spectrum disorder, then a level of severity from 1 to 3.

This would not surprise me. They have been changing the "definitions" after each new paper comes out. My information is 5 years out.

Added Caveat: My Reference was "Autism for Dummies" and I read it four years ago and it was three years post production at that time.
 
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My wife was the department head for SPED at a junior high school and I was a teacher assistant at the same school. We both worked with kids who were on the Autism spectrum. There are a lot of obvious indicators. They're easy to find if you Google it. Determine if you have any of these indices or ask someone close to you if they see them. That might give you an idea. An inability to look someone in the eyes when they're speaking to you is one such symptom. Being absorbed into a single, repetitive act is another. Of course I'm a musician and I used to practice organ and piano for hours and I'm not Autistic so there are a lot of exceptions. Only a real medical evaluation would be accurate.
 
I would say no but... I'm also not really sure. I'm on the "high functioning" end of the spectrum, and even in my case... not many people know I have it unless they are told. Keep in mind everyone... that autism is a spectrum. No two autistic people are ever alike. I'm not trying to sound like an expert or pro at this... but I'm going from my own experiences with it. The thing with me is that I usually only stim at home. I do things most people would consider out of the ordinary for an "adult". For example, carrying around a stuffed toy or even my Reid pillow. I also have meltdowns/outbursts if things don't go as planned. I'm not too keen on socializing unless I know the person as well. Also, if you guys have noticed... which I'm sure you have, my special interest is Matthew Gray Gubler. It takes me a little while to adjust to people I've just met, even online as well. I could really just go on forever. I was diagnosed at age twelve btw.
 
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As long as I've been here, and as many of your posts as I've seen, you maybe at the tippy top functional end of the spectrum, but as surely as I bleed red, you are a Spectrumite. Hell hath no fury like a Spectrumite on a particular topic of interest, especially when he, or she, is absolutely sure of being right. That's you, all day. Not poking fun. It's me, too.

From my little spot on the spectrum, it feels like, either I'm missing someone's point, all the bloody time, or he or she is missing mine, all the bloody time!

"I'm surrounded by idiots," "God, what the hell did I just say? Well, that's probably what I meant; isn't it," and, "Boy, what a, 'word salad!' Think you could tell me what you mean now? Well, why didn't you say so,'" are recurrent thoughts, when I talk to non-autistics I don't know well.

The thing is, as much as I wish people would just make themselves easy to understand, I can't always do that, myself, find the right words to help the person I'm talking to, get my point.

There are meltdowns, and then there are shutdowns. Meltdowns are external, obvious. I just will not shut up about whatever I'm upset about, I cry, and I yell. Not like a typical woman. I can't shut up about it, unless I want it to be worse, because, I'm actually talking myself through why I'm so upset. When I'm not sure why, I perseverate, until I finally find out why I'm so bothered. My skin feels funny, and everything sounds really weird and loud.

With shutdowns, no one but the person, "shutting down," even knows, but with me, that's when loved ones should worry.

Look up "executive functioning disorder," AKA, "executive dysfunction," and see if that's you, because, I'd be typing for a month, if I gave you personal examples of why it's a buttpain, and my hands are already tired.

In public, I can fake NT pretty easily, but once I'm home, I have to take that mask off. You might not see I have a problem with it, until I'm in the middle of a problem with it, like AdorbzLittleGirl mentioned.

With her it's her Matthew, with me, Justin Timberlake. Welcome to female ASD. We tend to have more, "everyday," special interests, from what I've gathered, than our male counterparts.

One thing I have noticed about you, that I read while researching ASD in general, is gender pronoun reversal. You've called several females, "he," myself included. I don't think you were dysgendering anyone. I noticed this with another Autie, too. He said, "Has anyone talked to ____girl? I haven't seen him."

No, dogboy, it's not just eye contact avoidance, but, abnormalities in eye contact, facial expression, and body language, in general. My eye contact can actually be a bit fixed, a bit too practiced and creepy. Funny enough, I can never seem to know where my eyes belong when looking at a camera for a photo. Always need my chin adjusted.

There's also a, "related disorder," called social communication disorder, you could look into. I meet a lot of the criteria for that, too. Roll on DSM 6, and, "white coats," get the point! SCD isn't related, it's on the spectrum, too.

Also not a doctor. Was on track to be one, though, so, contrary to Slomo's apparent belief, not a moron, either.
 
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I have to deal with people insisting that I look them in the eyes or they'll think I'm not listening.
 
I got auditory processing issues and boy howdy are video games ever a special interest. To the point where I can't do complex math but if I need to do forward damage calculation playing Dissidia (Final Fantasy is a SPECIFIC interest) three turns ahead I've already done the calculations.

I honestly don't know how I never noticed me until recently. In fact my friend was waiting for ME to realize it. She's also an aspie.

Yes the "One of us" happened. :p
 
Here's another test you can take: http://rdos.net/eng/Aspie-quiz.php It's actually better than some, despite AS not being a diagnosis anymore. Just say "I accept", and ti'll take you to the test itself. You don't have to log in or anything. It's harder to determine just by posts because they don't really give enough proof or whatever. I have a tendency to type really well because I use writing as a way to express myself. I bet a majority of the people on here wouldn't even know I had autism unless I actually told them I did. :p
 
Maxx said:
I've noted some apparent disconnects as far as reading comprehension. Could be a touch of dyslexia. I put it down to your continuing medical difficulties, and possibly the effects of various medications for pain and other things. I haven't noticed the sorts of things I associate with autism spectrum, but I'm hardly an expert on that. As I've mentioned before, you generally seem remarkably coherent for someone going through the sort of medical torments you have been.

*****standard disclaimer follows******

I'm not a psychologist, I don't play one on TV, and I don't write internet pop psychology quizzes for Habib the identity thief.

Oh no. I definitely have a mild case of dyslexia. I have to re-read every single sentence as I type it out, and then again edit/correct the whole reply before posting. It takes me some real effort (and a good built in spelling editor) to not immediately come across as being dyslexic.

This alone is the reason why I'm so hard on others who are obviously not taking the time to spell correctly. Because I know with effort it can be done. But I digress.....
 
It's hard to say; I'm probably autistic myself, but have never been formally diagnosed (two psychologists have independently given assessments of "probable autism"). On the test you linked, I scored 35 / 50. Most people find me "odd" (which is fine, the feeling is mutual!), and many are astonished by miscellaneous aspects of how I live and conduct myself. For instance, I don't really use the contacts list in my phone — most of my friends don't have an entry — I just remember everyone's phone numbers. License plate numbers tend to "stick" too. Once upon a time, a coworker gave his credit card number over the phone to a customer service rep… I warned him not to let others overhear such sensitive numbers, but he indicated there was nothing to worry about because no one within eye shot was writing it down. I recited his card number for him, and he agreed to be more careful. ^^;; And my interests do tend to run narrow and deep, I can get so absorbed in something that I can't even describe my thought process to someone else anymore, it would take pages of explanation to get them caught up. Among many other anecdotes…

I do find it interesting to compare notes with others exploring this aspect of themselves.
 
Good points everyone. Sounds like I am at the end of the spectrum after all.
 
AdorbzLittleGirl said:
Here's another test you can take: http://rdos.net/eng/Aspie-quiz.php It's actually better than some, despite AS not being a diagnosis anymore. Just say "I accept", and ti'll take you to the test itself. You don't have to log in or anything. It's harder to determine just by posts because they don't really give enough proof or whatever. I have a tendency to type really well because I use writing as a way to express myself. I bet a majority of the people on here wouldn't even know I had autism unless I actually told them I did. :p

I'm no diagnostician, and, as I said, I don't think Joe Blow off the street could tell I was an Autie, of any flavor, unless he knew me well enough, after spending a crap ton of time with me, and seen my ASD traits show themselves, in which case, he wouldn't be Joe Blow off the street; would he? Remember how you and I said no one could tell, I said unless I was having a problem with it, and you said unless you told them? I merely pointed out times I've noticed his traits showing up. I wouldn't say I consider it to be true, unless I am willing to put a ton of thought into it. I don't roll around, pointing, saying, "Aspie," indiscriminately. Being surprised it can be noticed in certain Spectrumite's writing, is to be surprised writing is a form of communication, and that ASD effects communication. Guess what. It is, and it does. Not an attack, just got a bit miffed at myself, because, apparently, I can't even help my own kind see my point today. I blame no sleep!:lol::hug: Sorry if I sounded rude. You're like me. As long as something hasn't gone horribly wrong, I either only stim at home, or, mask them pretty well.
LittleSissieJolie said:
I have to deal with people insisting that I look them in the eyes or they'll think I'm not listening.

Oh, my God, right!? It's like, "Would you like me to understand what you're saying, or stare at you!? I have 2 settings, 'eyes,' and, 'ears.' Pick 1!"
 
SpAzpieSweeTot said:
I'm no diagnostician, and, as I said, I don't think Joe Blow off the street could tell I was an Autie, of any flavor, unless he knew me well enough, after spending a crap ton of time with me, and seen my ASD traits show themselves, in which case, he wouldn't be Joe Blow off the street; would he? Remember how you and I said no one could tell, I said unless I was having a problem with it, and you said unless you told them? I merely pointed out times I've noticed his traits showing up. I wouldn't say I consider it to be true, unless I am willing to put a ton of thought into it. I don't roll around, pointing, saying, "Aspie," indiscriminately. Being surprised it can be noticed in certain Spectrumite's writing, is to be surprised writing is a form of communication, and that ASD effects communication. Guess what. It is, and it does. Not an attack, just got a bit miffed at myself, because, apparently, I can't even help my own kind see my point today. I blame no sleep!:lol::hug: Sorry if I sounded rude. You're like me. As long as something hasn't gone horribly wrong, I either only stim at home, or, mask them pretty well.

heh... yeah. A lot of people are surprised by it. I've had people see how well I can write/type expressively and be like "There's no way your autistic because I know someone who is and doesn't write that good etc etc". I mean, who are they to really judge? They don't really know me or what I deal with, you know? It kind of makes me mad because they are judging me before getting to know me. Yes, I have superb writing skills... but that doesn't make me any less autistic than the next person. I actually have a much harder time expressing myself verbally/emotionally. Sure, it depends on my mood and what I'm trying to explain to others... but I still have that issue. I've also learned to deal with a lot more than most do, so it's something I've had an easier time adjusting to.
 
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