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ASD traits or ASD?

Piki86
over 4 years ago

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.

  • over 4 years ago in reply to Bagpuss7

    I really like this analogy (much better than the one about being pregnant)

    The problem is how to correct count the pieces (and what if have 40-50 could I say “a little bit autistic” then? Broader Autism Phenotype? Someone in between?)

  • over 4 years ago

    I read a great analogy a while back...it went something like this

    Imagine autism is a 100 piece jigsaw. Everyone has 6,8, maybe 10 pieces (but it doesn't make them "a little bit autistic"). If you have say 40 or 50, you may well think "ooh am I?" and perhaps seek diagnosis, and you've definitely got autistic traits. If you've got 75-80 pieces, then you'll get a diagnosis.