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Gettting a diagnosis

NAS71782

Hi, I'm a 16 yr old girl and have been thinking for over a year that I might be autistic. I dont know whether I am faking and I dont want to take space in a community that is not mine to take. I relate heavily to a lot of the signs but I dont want to tell my parents or get a diagnosis in case I am not autistic and then it seems as though I want attention. Is there any advice anyone could give on what I should do? Thank you :) 

Parents

  • I agree it is quite a tricky situation at your age. You don't necessarily need a diagnosis to self-identify as being autistic and learn about yourself by learning about autism from forums, books, etc (please don't worry about 'taking up space' on this forum, even if you turned out not to be autistic). If you did decide to pursue a diagnosis then bear in mind that you would probably have to tell your school/college and they'd want to support you. 

    What I would do is take the online quiz if you haven't already: https://psychology-tools.com/test/autism-spectrum-quotient and then you can use this to bring up the topic with your parents and see how they react e.g. "I did an online quiz today and it said that I am likely to be autistic/have Asperger's, do you think it could be right?".  If they are receptive then you might be able to discuss what you were like as a small child and this might confirm your suspicions. If they deny it then try not to let it get to you, because they are likely to have outdated ideas about autism.

    I know it's really hard to talk to your parents about this (I am 21 and it took me months to get up the nerve to email my mum about it) but in my experience it's best to get it out in the open not obsess about it by yourself.

Reply

  • I agree it is quite a tricky situation at your age. You don't necessarily need a diagnosis to self-identify as being autistic and learn about yourself by learning about autism from forums, books, etc (please don't worry about 'taking up space' on this forum, even if you turned out not to be autistic). If you did decide to pursue a diagnosis then bear in mind that you would probably have to tell your school/college and they'd want to support you. 

    What I would do is take the online quiz if you haven't already: https://psychology-tools.com/test/autism-spectrum-quotient and then you can use this to bring up the topic with your parents and see how they react e.g. "I did an online quiz today and it said that I am likely to be autistic/have Asperger's, do you think it could be right?".  If they are receptive then you might be able to discuss what you were like as a small child and this might confirm your suspicions. If they deny it then try not to let it get to you, because they are likely to have outdated ideas about autism.

    I know it's really hard to talk to your parents about this (I am 21 and it took me months to get up the nerve to email my mum about it) but in my experience it's best to get it out in the open not obsess about it by yourself.

Children
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