Re-affirming my diagnosis as level 1 (Aspie), am I faking?

I cannot understand why people grasp at the level labels. You are either autistic or not.

It seems the 'levels' are there to make it easier for the NT population to get a grasp.

I am intelligent and have a doctorate in a life science, had a long career and have passed as a 'weird NT' for the vast majority of my life. I was only diagnosed in 2023 when I was in my early fifties.

Also I wonder if there is some sort of internal unconscious bias where some autists like to describe themselves with 'Level 1' label to somehow differentiate themselves from 'high needs' autists.

Perhaps as a defence mechanism in an attempt to mitigate the NT's stereotypical views?

By the way not having a go at anyone and do not intend to cause offence.

Unfortunately, in the general population very few people know anything about the reality of autism. What they tend to know are outdated stereotypes, or their non-verbal (non-speaking) autistic second cousin, aged six. The take home message is, disregard comments from people who have no knowledge of autism and trust the clinicians who diagnosed you, who do.

Autistic people can be of any intelligence level, like allistic people. Intelligence testing is not a part of any autism diagnosis, DSM and ICD diagnostic manuals do not mention intelligence in their criteria for autism diagnosis. I have no idea why you were given an IQ test. Intellectual disability can be a co-occurring condition of some autistics, just like epilepsy or dyspraxia, it is not a core aspect of autism. Interestingly, the range of IQ in the general population is a classic bell curve, with the majority of people clustering around the mean, but the autistic IQ curve has two peaks with a saddle around the mean. This indicates that autistic people tend to cluster around both lower than average and higher than average IQ nodes, with fewer people around the mean.

I have never completed an IQ test, but have answered questions aimed at an IQ of c. 140-150+. I have a PhD in the molecular biology of tropical disease pathogens. Being intelligent does not stop me having very specific autism traits. I find it difficult to time interjections in group conversations. I cannot converse with anyone if there is a lot of background noise or a TV or radio is on. I can give seminars at conferences etc. but I am then almost catatonic for about a day afterwards. I need to get away from certain strong smells especially perfume. I cannot touch synthetic textiles without a strong revulsion. I have explosive micro-meltdowns that last for a short time - I have bitten through a computer mouse when overwhelmed by a computer problem. All these, and many more, traits convince me that I am autistic (I have been diagnosed with ASD). Can I pass for allistic 90+% of the time, yes, but I am still so very autistic.

I was diagnosed in early 2023 with Autistic Spectrum Condition, even then the term Asbergers had been dropped by UK medical professionals. Im 68 now. I don’t understand all the levels you refer to, it feels like they put us into leagues like football for example, some people being Premier League others the amateur grass roots not-much-hopers, I think that is insulting and divisive as we all deserve the same respect and care regardless of our diagnosis, or not, despite differences in levels, in IQ, in the descriptive terms which are used  

I have achieved incredible things in my life but my IQ isn’t anything special, actually a little below average. Im fortunate to have some particularly useful skills though which enabled me to thrive in both the private sector (purchasing management and systems analysis) and local government (bidding for large pots of national and European mobey), yet I also had huge deficits in social skills, had zero idea about how to staff manage and just didn’t get the subtexts so many NT people rely on to communicate. When I retired Id reached PO2, a very decent level in the local authority, I was a superb specialist but a rubbish staff manager.

Another plus was having an exceptional memory coupled with analytical and logic skills, these enabled me solve problems from first principles all sorts of challenges in four dimensions. 

But a further big negative is  ridiculous hyper sensitivity to both internal sensations (interoperception) as well as externally almost everything on bad days, light, sound, touch, smell, fabrics and so on. If out and about, say a busy retail park,  this can be very dangerous as it can result in a meltdown where my best kept to myself views are broadcast loudly. Thankfully my wife is great at spotting the signs and getting me out of dangerous situations safely and promptly 

The term I would choose to define myself beyond the ASC diagnosis is Savant. For me there isn’t a correlation between IQ and achievement. In my retirement now Im reading voraciously, my collecting hobby focused on rare books and important writers. So add auto didact. 

I agree with you about annoying people who quip “we are all a bit on the spectrum “, we aren’t as a population as a whole, and cliched as it is, it is true that “When youve met one autistic person youve met one autistic person”  However nor should we regard autism as some form of exceptional gift, ok there are positive aspects but huge negatives too. In my case the worst of these being four suicide attempts. 

sorry about all the typos

ALICE 

Hi there, I was diagnosed with autism recently and although I wasn't given any more detail than that, I suspect it would be level 1 (previously known as Asperger's). I also have a high IQ and got into MENSA several years back and I do think this is what has masked my difficulties so far. I can usually work out what people's intensions are/ how I am meant to act so I don't 'appear autistic' to most people. Only my friends haven't been surprised by my diagnosis because I mask less around them and they are similar to me in a lot of ways. I was diagnosed previously with anxiety and depression (as many autistic people, especially women, do) and this seems to have been easier for others to understand than autism. 

Hi, welcome to the community. 

It's frustrating to hear these comments "we are all on the spectrum" or "you don't look autistic". Many people here share this experience and it always feels invalidating. Usually people, who make these comments have no or very little idea about autism. And that it does not have a look.

I'm also kind of concerned and curious,  if there is any way, that people accept the fact, that someone suspects being autistic. It's called "self diagnosis" which might be not right in various situations. I'm suspecting autism,  together with my therapist, it took me around two years of research,  periodically obsessive research,  also a lot of doubts. I joined this community and although I often feel guilty of claiming something that I don't know for sure, I stay here because this is the only place where I have sense of belonging. I'm waiting for my assessment,  so autumn this year I should have the answer. If I'm not autistic,  I wanna know what instead to finally have the decade of misdiagnosis and wrong treatment behind.

Diagnosis is often inaccessible especially for adults. When it comes to me and adjustments- I skip sharing diagnosis or suspicion, I just explain with my own words, what are my difficulties and what I need to work. It works for me this way. My therapy helps me find words 

Hey SJ7, it’s good to hear from you again!

I wasn’t superior on the IQ portion of the test, but I was rated above average. I also mask well enough that people are often surprised when I disclose to them. I try to be careful who I disclose to, because I am fairly afraid of encountering situations like:

SJ7 said:

the person I'm talking to cuts me off and says "Aren't we all?"

Like I think I’ve said before, around here it’s a bit of a toss up whether the person you are talking to is going to be deeply understanding of your struggles or completely dismissive because they see Autism as only level 3 and caused by vaccines. I’ve been lucky to be able to suss out who is more likely to understand for the most part.

I’m especially lucky to be surrounded by coworkers that get it. We went to a social event as a company last Friday and it was LOUD. Very loud in a fairly small space. My coworkers were very aware of how I was feeling, even checking on me well before I was starting to feel overwhelmed. They didn’t fight me to stay when I asked to leave a little early, as well.

It sounds to me like you could use a little community to back you up as well. I’d say you should get some people on your team so that when things get hard and/or you question yourself again they can back you up and keep you grounded.