What questions would you set for an online Autism test?

It is. He's my third and it doesn't get easier. I am starting to understand why some people say they can't have another, which I never used to understand as being without one is horrible to me.

I'm sorry to hear that. I've never had pets (other than fish), so I can't say I know what it feels like, but it must be hard.

I didn't either prior to being asked by the receptionist to email them a photo of his vomit! Which I did find a little weird... But once I knew they would do emails it was so useful.

Thank you, but he probably won't, it's most likely stomach cancer, but we decided against the biopsy so can't say for sure. There is an outside chance it is inflammatory bowel disease. He is responding well to meds and has his appetite back today, which is nice, but he is still hiding a lot.

I didn't know it was an option to email in situations like that!

I hope your cat gets well soon!

Ausomely Autistic said:

So do I, written communication is better for me too as it allows me to have more processing time and reread if I think I have misinterpreted something. Spoken communication is so fast and fleeting

One of the useful things to have come out of my autistic discovery journey so far is my awareness of this. Previously I would just have accepted that spoken communication is how it is done. I mentioned in another thread that my cat is ill, when I was speaking with the vet I asked if she could email me the info so I was sure I had it right, and since then I have been emailing back and forth about his treatment. This has been so much better than the phone for so many reasons, not least of which is that I have the written record I can check on when my memory has been unreliable, or just for detail and nuance, like she said two meds need to be taken together, which I interpreted as it is imperative they are taken at the exact same time or he will suffer! When it actually just means it is a good idea if he is on both rather than stopping one.

I have also found it alarming how many holes my memory gets when I am stressed (possibly all the time for all I actually know!) I used to think I could hold a lot of detail in my head, and I do possibly more than NTs, but I have found that if I don't make a note several times a day of what he has eaten when, which pills at what time, when he threw up or used his tray, it all blurs together and I miss details. I think it is a combo of the stress/emotion and not getting enough sleep. I keep forgetting bits of Hebrew too as I am doing my homework, the kind of thing I usually recall easily.

I used to be able to recall a conversation word for word for around 3 weeks, now it's more like 1 week. Ask me happened at a particular point in the day, as long as I have a reference point, I wi look like I'm staring at the floor as I do video playback. This doesn't last as long though, maybe because of the amount of info.

Until last year I believed everyone thought in images, and converted text and spoken work into images. I really cannot imagine not having that.

I wish we could live in a stimmy world also, it would be so much more free.

You are very welcome, I hope you enjoy them!

Pikl said:

I prefer to read something rather than have it spoken to me. I find if it's spoken then I will think I understand, until I walk away and realise I didn't. Then need clarification.

So do I, written communication is better for me too as it allows me to have more processing time and reread if I think I have misinterpreted something. Spoken communication is so fast and fleeting that misunderstandings are very common when I speak to others, people can never say what they actually mean!

Pikl said:

I remember the words, I can replay a conversation without effort. I just don't seem to make sense of the words

I can definitely relate to this, it was a surprise to me when I learned that non autistic people do not try and remember every conversation they have! I understand what you mean about not making sense of words.

When I have conversations I may not be processing much in the moment (as I am focusing on keeping up with the pace and the changing topic) but hours or days later I realise I have retained and gained much more from the conversation than I thought I had.

Do you experience this too? I think it is because we are monotropic (focus intensely on one attention tunnel) whereas the majority of our interactions are with non autistic people who are polytropic.

https://monotropism.org/

Pikl said:

I love sounds as communication

So do I, very stimmy! Sounds can convey a lot of meaning that you cannot articulate with words. Sounds can convey so much more about our emotional state than the English language words can express!

Wouldn’t it be great if we lived in a world where sounds and stims were the main form of communication?!

I will listen to the song ‘Numb’ and tell you what I think of it.

I hope they don't reject you because your score is too low, 'the computer says no'.

An experience like that does seem as if you've been referred to the wrong service, but the specialist services you need probably don't exist  

Years ago I did a CBT course for social anxiety. None of the questions related to my reasons for being anxious in social situations. They all automatically assumed a fear of being judged which wasn't the case.

Of course, someone took your words away.

When I was to have my private assessment, I asked if I could send over a collection of my difficulties and experiences. They said I could, but would be charged a fee for reading it. I declined.

Yes I remember sitting there thinking 'those are my own words, who else do you think has written them?' 

My method of communication was now on a shelf out of my reach and I was lost.

I will look those up at the weekend, thank you!

I don't use echolalia, though I do use something slightly similar, unfortunately I don't remember the name. If something surprises me, for example a loud aeroplane flying overhead then I will say "aeroplane" out loud, and then repeat it a couple of times. 

I prefer to read something rather than have it spoken to me. I find if it's spoken then I will think I understand, until I walk away and realise I didn't. Then need clarification. I'm not sure why that happens. I remember the words, I can replay a conversation without effort. I just don't seem to make sense of the words. This is usually just with instructions or spoken plans.

If you ignore the lyrics to Linkin Park 'Numb' then the video is my teen years. I can get a bit fixated on it at times.

I love sounds as communication, sorry if I've said that before. I remember watching Star Wars and laughing when R2D2 said something rude haha.

I actually was sent a questionnaire today, not for autism diagnosis but by the eating disorder services but it was utterly useless and so ambiguous... It made me so frustrated I started annotating in red to explain why my answers didn't really reflect the situation and to give more explanation... 

Pretty much all their questions are do you do xxxx to try to influence your weight and shape? 

I do do or have done some of those things (like eating only a very limited range of foods or having some weird routines/patterns about eating/food) but NOT to influence my weight and shape.... For me it is all about fear of digestive issues/feeling nauseous/sick. It is about need for routine and predictability. Sensory sensitivities. Anxiety and my IBS.... So ultimately I essentially had to answer 0 (ie not at all) on all of their questions because the part about weight/shape does not apply at all....  So anyone with ARFID essentially will score 0 or close to that (ie having no eating disorder symptoms) based on their questionnaire... 

Then they have all these other questions where they try to find out if people are unhappy with their weight and shape (but clearly they mean 'does this person feel they are fat')- I am super worried and upset at being so underweight but then when I answer those questions again it sends out completely the wrong message... 

Plus lots of other ambiguities and questions that just do not apply. 

I don't know who designs these questionnaires but I feel like because they always just ask people to tick things/ give a number, they never really get feedback about people feeling that the answers don't reflect the situation... They really should put in a box where people can comment about any issues with the questions- then they would maybe realise just how badly designed they are... but Why think so far if you can just get a neatly ticked form that can be tallied up...?? Not sure if that is the reason why these questionnaires are so poorly done but it is very frustrating.... 

And yes a lot of the autism ones that I filled out were also quite frustrating.... 

I just want a button that says "I don't know what you're asking".

I now understand man of many names :-)

Yay! Thank you Glitter, I love getting bonus points! I am nothing except thorough

You were trying to tell your GP in your own words.

What an awful experience. 

Yes of course.  And you also get bonus points for going back and doing the test again "just to be sure."

Autonomistic Your doctor was being very ableist.  Those pages are your own words.  You wrote them instead of speaking them because that is your best way to communicate what you needed to say.

Would supplying a first, 2nd, 3rd draft also be included? With typed version cut into sections then re-ordered and stuck together with sticky tape. Then hand written again. Plus slightly amended versions as last moment remembrances are included. All hand edited. Typed, printed and repeat.

That reminds me of my experience of requesting a diagnosis. The first time I was fobbed off and told it was anxiety / depression.

When I plucked up the courage to go back a few years later I went armed with an extremely long document, giving detailed examples of my experiences. It was way more than 5000 words 

My GP just tossed the document aside and said "I want you to tell me in your own words". Suddenly none of those 5000+ words were accessible as speech and something completely garbled came out 

I would have only one question 

Explain in detail why you think you are autistic with examples of experiences.

If they write more than 2000 words, they're likely to ve autistic.  If they write more than 5000 words, they need a diagnosis.