Adult autism- how to get diagnosis?

classic codger said:

Hi 'socks

Apologies, but I'd have to betray some confidential information to qualify that statement, but I'm sure you'll understand that I can't really breach the trust. I'll withdraw the comment if you can't accept it on faith. This person will be reading these pages, and I would be in danger of causing them great anguish if I gave any more details, because they would undoubtedly recognise theirself.

I think you've got it when you ask 'were they gaming the answers?'. Yes, I believe so. You are correct of course - a high score indicates AS, but for me, that also leaves the possibility that a low score doesn't necessarily indicate an absence of AS.

I say this because the person has adopted many 'masking' behaviours, and because I've known this person for a very long time. I was honestly able to put my hand on my heart and tell them that their answers did not accord with their reality, and when I gave examples, they readily agreed, much to my surprise I have to say.

This person is female, and having read what women have to say about themselves on these pages has given me greater understanding of, and compassion for, her behaviours and masking tactics. I would hope that AS woman reading this might possibly understand what I'm saying a lot easier than blokes will. Questions or comments, please ladies?

I don't want you to reveal anything more about this individual and have no reason to think that the conclusion you have reached is wrong. A couple of points for people to consider in this situation.

Firstly, when I was first diagnosed I thought that I could see it in a few people I knew. I started to spot ASC everywhere. I even got some of these people to take the aq test. I got some others to take the test out of curiosity to see how my "normal" friends would score. One female individual who I was convinced was on the spectrum scored 16 or 17. Some of the "normal" people scored in the mid to high 20s. My main conclusion from this was that I was fairly hopeless at identifying personality types in general and autism in particular. This isn't in the slightest bit surprising given the nature of the condition which indicates an inability to relate to or decode the social signals transmitted by people. I have spent more time since then, trying to make a closer study of people without coming to any judgement about their personality types.

Secondly, there are a lot of diverse types that are different to neuro typical (whatever that is). One of these variants is autism but there are many other conditions or just unusual personality types that might in some eyes look like autism. We are not qualified or trained to know all of the tests or traits to look for that would allow a professional to make a differential diagnosis between ASC, PDD-NOS, borderline personality disorder, bi-polar, non clinical introversion, shyness, no disorder of clinical significance. I'm quite comfortable that the person who I thought had autism does not have autism, some of the people who went along with the test turned out to be on the spectrum but not in need of any help (not surprising as it was an IT dept). One person, who I just had no idea would be on the spectrum said that he was entirely comfortable that he was on the spectrum and had been aware of it from his schooldays.

Finally, reviewing the interpretation guidelines on the aq test site

• 0-11 low result – indicating no tendency at all towards autistic traits.
• 11-21 is the average result that people get (many women average around 15 and men around 17)
• 22-25 shows autistic tendencies slightly above the population average
• 26-31 gives a borderline indication of an autism spectrum disorder. It is also possible to have aspergers or mild autism within this range.
• 32-50 indicates a strong likelihood of Asperger syndrome or autism.

The only group here to have no autistic tendencies is the first group. Most people fall into the second group. That is to say that it is entirely normal to have some autistic traits. Perhaps this suggests that we are not as different as we sometimes think?

Of course it is possible to game the scores, I would only comment that this might go against the tendency of people with ASC to be brutally honest!

classic codger said:

Hi 'socks

Apologies, but I'd have to betray some confidential information to qualify that statement, but I'm sure you'll understand that I can't really breach the trust. I'll withdraw the comment if you can't accept it on faith. This person will be reading these pages, and I would be in danger of causing them great anguish if I gave any more details, because they would undoubtedly recognise theirself.

I think you've got it when you ask 'were they gaming the answers?'. Yes, I believe so. You are correct of course - a high score indicates AS, but for me, that also leaves the possibility that a low score doesn't necessarily indicate an absence of AS.

I say this because the person has adopted many 'masking' behaviours, and because I've known this person for a very long time. I was honestly able to put my hand on my heart and tell them that their answers did not accord with their reality, and when I gave examples, they readily agreed, much to my surprise I have to say.

This person is female, and having read what women have to say about themselves on these pages has given me greater understanding of, and compassion for, her behaviours and masking tactics. I would hope that AS woman reading this might possibly understand what I'm saying a lot easier than blokes will. Questions or comments, please ladies?

I don't want you to reveal anything more about this individual and have no reason to think that the conclusion you have reached is wrong. A couple of points for people to consider in this situation.

Firstly, when I was first diagnosed I thought that I could see it in a few people I knew. I started to spot ASC everywhere. I even got some of these people to take the aq test. I got some others to take the test out of curiosity to see how my "normal" friends would score. One female individual who I was convinced was on the spectrum scored 16 or 17. Some of the "normal" people scored in the mid to high 20s. My main conclusion from this was that I was fairly hopeless at identifying personality types in general and autism in particular. This isn't in the slightest bit surprising given the nature of the condition which indicates an inability to relate to or decode the social signals transmitted by people. I have spent more time since then, trying to make a closer study of people without coming to any judgement about their personality types.

Secondly, there are a lot of diverse types that are different to neuro typical (whatever that is). One of these variants is autism but there are many other conditions or just unusual personality types that might in some eyes look like autism. We are not qualified or trained to know all of the tests or traits to look for that would allow a professional to make a differential diagnosis between ASC, PDD-NOS, borderline personality disorder, bi-polar, non clinical introversion, shyness, no disorder of clinical significance. I'm quite comfortable that the person who I thought had autism does not have autism, some of the people who went along with the test turned out to be on the spectrum but not in need of any help (not surprising as it was an IT dept). One person, who I just had no idea would be on the spectrum said that he was entirely comfortable that he was on the spectrum and had been aware of it from his schooldays.

Finally, reviewing the interpretation guidelines on the aq test site

• 0-11 low result – indicating no tendency at all towards autistic traits.
• 11-21 is the average result that people get (many women average around 15 and men around 17)
• 22-25 shows autistic tendencies slightly above the population average
• 26-31 gives a borderline indication of an autism spectrum disorder. It is also possible to have aspergers or mild autism within this range.
• 32-50 indicates a strong likelihood of Asperger syndrome or autism.

The only group here to have no autistic tendencies is the first group. Most people fall into the second group. That is to say that it is entirely normal to have some autistic traits. Perhaps this suggests that we are not as different as we sometimes think?

Of course it is possible to game the scores, I would only comment that this might go against the tendency of people with ASC to be brutally honest!