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If someone told you they thought they might be autistic, what questions would you ask them?

Oran G. Utan

I had a recent conversation with my father, who speculated that because I was autistic, he could well be too. He doesn't feel the need to get tested as he was told by mental health workers that with his level of functionality and lifestyle, there would be no purpose in a diagnosis. It got me to wondering, what would be some simple questions one might ask to find signs of neurodivergency? If you had to boil it down to just a few that could fit into a normal conversation, that is.

For me, the only thing that comes to mind is "When you go to bed at night, do you find you usually settle in and nod off before long? Or do you find yourself lying awake, full of thoughts, left waiting for sleep to happen?"

Parents

  • I believe we’re motivated differently from what’s Typical. Social programming for start, which might provide an observational approach to the world. Less ability to desensitise, which is profoundly impacted by a world that’s increasingly deafening and blinding (but does this matter if your age is doing the same?)

    But if you’re not struggling with being misheard by medical professionals or social authorities, and you were helped in youth to navigate society and assert boundaries, then maybe it’s not necessary. But I recently read sepsis cases are higher for us and our biological differences are less understood. I’m an advocate for these things when it’s a matter of health and safety first. 

Reply

  • I believe we’re motivated differently from what’s Typical. Social programming for start, which might provide an observational approach to the world. Less ability to desensitise, which is profoundly impacted by a world that’s increasingly deafening and blinding (but does this matter if your age is doing the same?)

    But if you’re not struggling with being misheard by medical professionals or social authorities, and you were helped in youth to navigate society and assert boundaries, then maybe it’s not necessary. But I recently read sepsis cases are higher for us and our biological differences are less understood. I’m an advocate for these things when it’s a matter of health and safety first. 

Children
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