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Hi everyone

NAS75543
over 2 years ago

I'm pretty sure I have ASD as I just scored  40/50 on the online AQ test, and  when that Australian vlogger called Paul lists "15 signs that you may be autistic", I can tick 14 of them.

The realisation is so far liberating; now I know why I have been in and out of treatment for depression for most of my adult life. It seems that the overevolved, hyperintelligent apes with whom I share a planet can be hard work sometimes, and the realisation that I am one of them doesn't help!

But I think I can accept having ASD. The questions I have so far are:

1) should I bother with a formal, medical diagnosis?. Dammit, I know I'm weird; what good does it do to give it a name?
2) If it is a "spectrum" then isn't everybody on it somewhere? The better question would be are you at the red end or the blue end?

Looking forward to conversing with people who might understand, and who can forgive my occasional sarcasm (eg about overevolved apes) because their own coping mechanisms involve a sense of humour that neurotypicals describe as "weird"...

Keith

Parents
  • over 2 years ago

    For #1 I feel much of what Mariusz has said. Always felt very uncomfortable with self diagnosis, but once I had my formal diagnosis it was a weight off my mind. Allowed me to accept myself and was oddly reassuring.

    As for #2 try not to think of it as a linear spectrum stretching from left to right... think of it like the colour pallete in paint. All different kinds neurodivergent traits and aspects of your personality in there Slight smile

  • over 2 years ago in reply to RegularLogic

    Hi Anonymous Poster. Welcome to the forum!

    1# Yes. You will find it much easier to access support employment adjustments, medical support and societal understanding (either now or in the future) with an official diagnosis.  Aside from that, the main danger of self-diagnosing is that you may be mis-diagnosing yourself.  And a mis-diagnosis can be more harmful than no diagnosis at all.

    2# No. This is a common fallacy. And, in my opinion, it is one that is frequently perpetuated in order to diminish the struggles of autistic people, or to dismiss them completely. It's     called the Autism Spectrum and and not The Neurological Spectrum. The Autism Spectrum is a "spectrum" of developmental traits shared by autistic people. What people they are pointing to when they say that everyone is a little bit autistic is that the way the traits manifest in behaviour or cognitive performance can be similar in different neurotypes even though the cause is different. 

    The above is just my understanding, opinion and reasoning. It's not, in any way, meant to be taken as truth or as more correct than other similar or differing opinions. 

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  • over 2 years ago in reply to RegularLogic

    Hi Anonymous Poster. Welcome to the forum!

    1# Yes. You will find it much easier to access support employment adjustments, medical support and societal understanding (either now or in the future) with an official diagnosis.  Aside from that, the main danger of self-diagnosing is that you may be mis-diagnosing yourself.  And a mis-diagnosis can be more harmful than no diagnosis at all.

    2# No. This is a common fallacy. And, in my opinion, it is one that is frequently perpetuated in order to diminish the struggles of autistic people, or to dismiss them completely. It's     called the Autism Spectrum and and not The Neurological Spectrum. The Autism Spectrum is a "spectrum" of developmental traits shared by autistic people. What people they are pointing to when they say that everyone is a little bit autistic is that the way the traits manifest in behaviour or cognitive performance can be similar in different neurotypes even though the cause is different. 

    The above is just my understanding, opinion and reasoning. It's not, in any way, meant to be taken as truth or as more correct than other similar or differing opinions. 

Children