Is my sister autistic?

I know that no one can diagnose her however I would like an opinion if anyone has any free time... the more opinions the better, thank you

She has sensory issues, for example, she completely freaks if someone is eating anything with caramel in, I think it's the texture that bothers her, they then have to wash their hands before they can come anywhere near my sister. she also won't go anywhere near toddlers in case they dribble on her. she has never worn stickers or badges and won't wear anything with writing on.

she has had meltdowns since a very young age. she is now nearly 11 and still has full-on meltdowns however only when around family, not at school, do you think there is a reason for this? these meltdowns are often over silly things, like losing a game or having to walk the dog or not getting something in a shop.

she also struggles with conversations, she has been offered a phone and she has said she doesn't want one because she would have to talk to people and she never knows what to say. she is also in the habit of making things up when she is with her friends, she also says this is because she doesn't know what to say. 

Alisha 

  • Hello ,

    Thank you for sharing this with the community. You may like to look at our information about autism spectrum disorders:
    https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/what-is-autism

    If you were interested in finding out if your sister is on the autism spectrum, she would need to have a formal diagnostic assessment. You may find it useful to have a look at the following link for further information about diagnosis and the benefits of getting one:

    https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/diagnosis

    Furthermore, it is important the professional you see has experience of autism spectrum disorders. You can find details of diagnostic services on our Autism Services Directory in the Assessment and diagnosis section: http://www.autism.org.uk/directory.aspx

    All the best,

    ChloeMod

  • What you describe has an overlap with autistic traits, The meltdowns at home might be the result of her heavily masking at school. Socialising is not instinctive for autistics, like it is for allistics (non-autistics) , we have to put huge amounts of intellectual effort into socialising. For example, I constantly monitor how much eye contact I give in conversations, I am really good at it but it is entirely conscious. When your sister gets home after a day at school she is probably very exhausted. This means that small niggles can trigger a meltdown. Someone said that being autistic is like having stage-fright, all the time. This is because we are acting as allistic as we can be for so much of each day. I should add that it is socialising in a neurotypical manner that is problematic, socialising between autistics is much less stressful. I have a phobia of phones, I can make phone calls, but it is stressful, I always feel like I will just forget all I wanted to say and be totally mute. I also do not play card or board games as loosing is too triggering for me, so I just avoid the situation entirely. I am a diagnosed autist BTW.