Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi everyone,
I'm 33 (and female, in case this is relevant) and currently waiting for my assessment, which I'm told will be in about 18 months. But I don't want to wait that long to try and move forward and work on myself (both to try and change what I can to have less anxiety, but also to accept some of my traits and not give myself such a hard time about them anymore).
Obviously until I have my assessment I won't know for sure whether or not I have ASD, but I was wondering, is it possible to have ASD traits without actually having ASD? I feel like despite not recognising myself in absolutely all the traits I've seen listed, I do recognise myself in a lot of them, and in a way that affects my life, my emotions, my anxiety and how I interact with people. So in a way I hope they'll say I have ASD as it would explain a lot, and I hope that it would help me feel better about myself, knowing that there is a reason why I am the way I am.
If they say I do not have ASD on the other hand, what does that mean in terms of the various traits that I do have? Is anyone else in the same situation, or was, until they had their assessment?
Thanks a lot for any advice.
Piki86 said:is it possible to have ASD traits without actually having ASD
Yes. A large part of the way some people behave is due to their socialisation.
My husband was brought up by an autistic step-dad. He's quite clearly a NT but as he learnt some of his behaviours from this man in these ways he acts like an aspie.
That's interesting. I think my traits are more in the way I think or struggle to analyse things rather than how I act. But I don't seem to have certain traits which might be necessary to be diagnosed as having ASD, for instance I don't think I get sensory overloads, more like emotional overloads. That said I do have sensitivity to sound and smell, but maybe not to the extent that they would cause a meltdown. And I have several intense passions and although I do find it easy to learn new things and skills and can get intensely focused on them, I don't research them in detail as I don't like research, which doesn't sound like it's really fitting of ASD. But most other aspects I strongly recognise myself in.