Hi,
I'm 22 and female and have just been told that, although I have lots of autistic traits, I don't meet all the criteria. I feel upset as I feel like I'm back to square one.
The panel said that I had empathy and could talk well and that was the reason, but did admit that it wasn't a straightforward case. I felt like my answers were guided quite a lot, and I provided a booklet of info beforehand which they didn't really ask me about. They didn't actually speak to me that long (maybe 30-45 mins), but they were talking to my mum for an hour and a half.
I have a lot of anxiety and sensory issues, which I felt they dismissed. One of the panel suggested to try "tomato ketchup therapy" which he explained was to "give yourself a shake". I didn't think that was particularly helpful, and I wish I had said something at the time.
I understand that they are the experts, so if it's not autism then that's fair enough, but I kind of hoped that they might be able to suggest what to do next. They basically said that I didn't even hit enough criteria for anxiety (which my GP would disagree with) and if I wanted to I should just go to a private therapist - which I couldn't afford. Re the sensory issues, they didn't know what would be the cause of that.
For context, this is a list of the main issues I have experienced:
- constant levels of anxiety (and exhaustion)
- noise/touch sensitivity
- unable to distract myself / switch off brain
- some obsessive traits (checking things repeatedly)
- overly sensitive (emotionally)
- difficulty making friends
- lack of desire / anxiety over socialising
- extreme perfectionism
- childhood self harming behaviours
- panic attacks
- talking to quietly or too loudly and not being aware of it
- talking for too long about subject of interest, not picking up when people want to move on to something else
- not picking up when to speak in normal conversation (i.e. Not interview setting where you answer questions)
- inflexible / anxiety around change
- Get completely absorbed in tasks
Can anyone suggest what I should try now? Or give any advice? I know I've been told I'm not autistic, so probably shouldn't be posting here, but I thought folks might be able to advise since I share some of the issues as AS folks may have. I hope that's ok.
Thanks for your help