Published on 12, July, 2020
I’ve been considering making a GP appointment, as my boyfriend, family members and a few colleagues have mentioned they think I have autistic traits. My mum has said it since I was a little girl, but she didn’t want me to be labelled. I’ve made a list of symptoms that I think may be linked to autism, but I can make eye contact and can carry ’small talk’ conversations, even though I find it very difficult. I think I’m quite good at looking like I’m comfortable in social settings, and sometimes I am, but I have to have them carefully planned/rehearsed in my mind. I’m apprehensive as my younger brother was instantly turned down from an assessment as he could make eye contact with the assessor.
Just after some advice from anyone who may have been in the same position.
My advice would be to take some online autism tests. AQ10 and AQ50 (sometimes called just 'AQ') are the most commonly used by clinicians in this country, but the RAADS-R is the most definitive. They can be found here: embrace-autism.com/.../If you score in the autism range it will give you more certainty about following up on a diagnosis and some ammunition to convince your GP.
Not making eye contact is far from being a useful diagnostic criterion. It is not described as such in diagnostic guides, but an unusual presentation of eye contact is. Autistics can make too much eye contact, or too little, it can also be oddly timed eye contact. I'm a diagnosed autist and I make eye contact that is indistinguishable, to the observer, from that of neurotypicals, but I do it consciously. Conscious timing of eye contact is not neurotypical, they do it subconsciously.
I can also make small-talk, I don't particularly enjoy it, but I can do it. It tends to be rather rehearsed and stereotypical (weather related quite often). I find awkward silences far worse torture than making socially conventional, inconsequential, small-talk.
Do not be put off from seeking a diagnosis by finding that you do not fit certain stereotypes of autistic behaviour. Autism is a spectrum and it affects all autistics differently. I have never rocked or flapped my hands.
Hi. I’ve taken all of those tests, and the results have all indicated that I should be assessed as I am showing strong traits. My apprehension has come from my brothers experience, but this was years ago so hopefully I won’t have this issue.
Thank you for this response - a lot of what you describe is very similar to how I feel/behave.
Glad to have been of some help. Remember to take your test results in to the GP appointment. You might find looking at the autism diagnosis criteria and fitting your traits/experiences into the various sections. This is what I did, along with pages of notes on my various quirks, limitations and difficulties.