not sure if I have autism or not. Can autism traits get less intense as you age

I have a few autism symptoms, that were a lot stronger when I was younger.

  • I used to eating the same food everyday (that had to be prepared by the same person). I still do that but nowadays I can eat food prepared by different people.

  • always had to used the same silverware, the same cups and plates.

  • watched the same movie several times. Nowadays I don’t do that but i listen to the same music repeatedly.

  • dislike of loud noises ( like music in parties) and strong smells ( sometimes I would even vomit because of it), which I still do nowadays

  • I would not play with my toys but only organize them.

  • I had an obsession with animals, which I spent years on, making lists of classifications and memorizing names. I had the same thing for country names and flags and learning new languages . Nowadays I still have this sometimes, but the obsessions are much shorter. Currently I’m obsessed with finding out if Im autistic or not.

  • I stim a lot ( rock back and forth , spinning , flapping).

  • I hate being touched in certain parts of my body (wrist, forearm and chest) and i hate affection. I refuse to have romantic or sexual relationships. If anyone develops any kind of attraction for me then I immediately panic.

-  I don’t know how to say stuff like happy birthday to people. So I usually don’t say anything. It also took me some years to learn what to speak during online conversations.

  • I’m very nervous when doing something for the first time, like traveling.

  • I used not care about friendships or relationships at all. That includes having very few friends and not missing them at all.

Nowadays (after starting taking anxiety medication) I have a lot of friends and social skills that I considered to be very good, until someone i know told me I am a nosy person that ask way too many inappropriate questions ( things I had never noticed before) and that I could be autistic. this is the reason Im writing this.

I thought about booking an appointment with a psychologist in order to test if I’m autistic or not, but I’m kinda of embarrassed of doing that and telling my parents about it. Im not sure if I should do that or not.

I should also mention that I have ocd and suspect I had odd ( oppositional defiant disorder) as a child. Could these symptoms be caused by these?

Parents
  • I don’t think anything gets less as you get older, you just learn to adapt (mask) over them. You know. You might force yourself or try to eat the meal given to you by your parents for example, but you might avoid making that dish for yourself now. 


    Also, we are often misdiagnosed with things which resemble other conditions, because the ASD is overlooked. But of course, you could have those things anyway….

    If you feel you are Autistic, and yes, you sound it! Then you could just book a consultation to discuss whether you should be assessed. That might be enough for you if they agree with you. Or you might then want to be formally assessed.

Reply
  • I don’t think anything gets less as you get older, you just learn to adapt (mask) over them. You know. You might force yourself or try to eat the meal given to you by your parents for example, but you might avoid making that dish for yourself now. 


    Also, we are often misdiagnosed with things which resemble other conditions, because the ASD is overlooked. But of course, you could have those things anyway….

    If you feel you are Autistic, and yes, you sound it! Then you could just book a consultation to discuss whether you should be assessed. That might be enough for you if they agree with you. Or you might then want to be formally assessed.

Children