Autism/ADHD Support Thread 🌈

[Captain Jigglypuff]

I still have bad memories of going to these so called Job training courses and centers who claim they care for autistic people but they don't. I've had a bad experience at this Job Training Course for autistics way back in 2017. I was sent to this place by my parents because they figured I would get help on how to do job training as an autistic but the staff there treated me poorly.

I was just sitting there not knowing what to do and whenever I ask a question they just give me a dimissive "Wait until we are done speaking" Then they told me to go some Autisim center to learn more about social skills. I have never been so mistreated in all of my life as an autistic. First they were grouping me with other autistic people which they didn't want to talk to me and then they have us going to places doing a whole lot of things that just made no sense. I was left so confused and baffled what was even going on and then when a few weeks later they held some sort of graduation and then my parents came to pick me up and they were just as confused as me because I don't know what was happening. I left with a sour taste in my mouth.

This place did nothing to improve my social skills and my self esteem is in worst condition afterwards. Then things got really bad and then when my parents came to find out what was the problem they told them that I am not "fitted to work" even though I was following their directions and I was very confused on what was even going on.

I saw my local mall now has an “Autistic Employment Center” and I'm tempted to go in there and see if it’s a workshop but I have a feeling that might be illegal and I don’t need another job. But something about it makes me feel uneasy.

 

[Kitsuragi]

I'm going to be getting tested (screened??) For autism in the coming months, will update with the results...

I never updated this. Oops.

I have autism

 

[xSuperMario64x]

I never updated this. Oops.

I have autism

not gonna dictate how you felt with this discovery, but I'm sure there's a lot of relief there now that you know you're autistic, so now you can spend more time finding your boundaries and abilities rather than wondering if you're just a broken individual.

I personally feel happy when people get their diagnoses

 

[VanitasFan26]

I saw my local mall now has an “Autistic Employment Center” and I'm tempted to go in there and see if it’s a workshop but I have a feeling that might be illegal and I don’t need another job. But something about it makes me feel uneasy.

Meh I don't trust it.

 

[Kitsuragi]

not gonna dictate how you felt with this discovery, but I'm sure there's a lot of relief there now that you know you're autistic, so now you can spend more time finding your boundaries and abilities rather than wondering if you're just a broken individual.

I personally feel happy when people get their diagnoses

It validates a lot of what I felt- my mom refused to get me diagnosed with anything because she wanted "a child that didnt have any problems!" so it's kind of a way for me to stick it in her face and be like "this is what I needed help with!!"

It's not life-changing or anything but it is nice to have that kind of validation

 

[VanitasFan26]

It validates a lot of what I felt- my mom refused to get me diagnosed with anything because she wanted "a child that didnt have any problems!" so it's kind of a way for me to stick it in her face and be like "this is what I needed help with!!"

It's not life-changing or anything but it is nice to have that kind of validation

My goodness. You remind me of my younger self when I used to get mistreated. Except my mom was always the caring one yet my dad always told me that I "never had problems"

 

[Kitsuragi]

My goodness. You remind me of my younger self when I used to get mistreated. Except my mom was always the caring one yet my dad always told me that I "never had problems"

Ugh, yeah, I know exactly what that's like. My dad is autistic as well so he's been a big supporter in helping me get what I need, my mom never wanted to. It's nice to have at least someone in your corner, yknow?

 

[MOON TRIPS]

I have ADHD and ASD. I cannot work. I've been living alone for the past several years, but it's been a toll on my mental health especially over the past 3 years or so. I have other brain problems. while I am not diagnosed with OCD and likely don't have it, I do struggle with obsessive and compulsive things, just on a low level. I have a therapist and case manager, and should probably have an aide... but I'm not sure I'd be able to get one. sadly I'm viewed as not needing one because of what I can do, instead of my struggles. currently I lean on mom for help a fair bit, but I wish I had someone else instead.
like for many, school was a largely negative experience for me. I had help... on and off. consistency would have been nice, but it is what it is. I was bullied, verbally and mentally up through middle school. in high school, I was merely ignored instead. a step above, but wasn't helpful.

 

[VanitasFan26]

I have ADHD and ASD. I cannot work. I've been living alone for the past several years, but it's been a toll on my mental health especially over the past 3 years or so. I have other brain problems. while I am not diagnosed with OCD and likely don't have it, I do struggle with obsessive and compulsive things, just on a low level. I have a therapist and case manager, and should probably have an aide... but I'm not sure I'd be able to get one. sadly I'm viewed as not needing one because of what I can do, instead of my struggles. currently I lean on mom for help a fair bit, but I wish I had someone else instead.
like for many, school was a largely negative experience for me. I had help... on and off. consistency would have been nice, but it is what it is. I was bullied, verbally and mentally up through middle school. in high school, I was merely ignored instead. a step above, but wasn't helpful.

I too had a negative experience at school and it damaged me mentally. Which is why I developed trust issues.

 

[Rinpane]

I had this increasing feeling of being different during my troubles in school, and my ASD diagnosis near the end of it made many things I do make more sense. Very quiet, a sensitivity to noise, always finding difficulty with social interactions, among other things...I feel like I understood myself a bit better about why I act the way I do.
But I spent so much time internally fussing over thoughts like “I know I’m not normal. Why am I not normal? What do I need to do to be normal?”, that even with the diagnosis my default response was to do what I probably already was doing- attempt to mask everything I could. I need to look normal. I am normal.

I still have a tendency to have the above thought during a low period. Maybe it’s a sort of complex I have because I thought so long on it, I wouldn’t know. But eventually I gave up trying to mask absolutely everything, because it was suffocating.
What is “normal”, anyway?
It’s as subjective as an opinion on sweets. Though there may be similar opinions, there are a magnitude of potential responses. Besides, it feels better when I’m myself instead of pretending to be someone I’m not. This drives me to be myself even if that thought about normality enters my mind.

...I’m going to end up writing even more of a wall of text if I keep going. But I want to say, thank you OP for making this thread.~ Seeing other’s experiences is comforting to my head.

 

[Kitsuragi]

Today, i'm going to my GP to talk about my ADHD- i don't have a psychiatrist i go to, i just go through my GP since they're in my insurance network so it's cheaper- and they prescribe the meds i need! It sounds like today we're going over medication options for my ADHD which will probably come down to getting a script written today. I'm a bit nervous to start a new medication but clearing the brain-fog is more exciting than the worry of something new.

 

[ShinyDungeoneer]

I have autism (high-functioning), and I have a fun fact for you: Autistic people are more likely to get seizures.

have fun fearing for your life now

 

[ali.di.magix]

I suspect that I'm on the ASD spectrum somewhere. When I have done online screening tests for autism, the results always come back with a moderate to strong indication of autism. I'm currently trying to seek an official diagnosis, but boy is it hard to find a psychologist that has any availability. I don't like to say that I have autism without actually having a diagnosis. All I can say is that I have done a lot of research over the past couple of years and feel that I can relate to a lot of symptoms.

I feel like I was one of the people who slipped through the cracks when I was younger as I had no one really picked up on any indicators. I feel like there was evidence though, such as: delayed walking (didn't start walking until almost 2 yrs old), tip toe walking (I did this for years until I was diagnosed with foot problems), lack of social skills, preference for being alone, preferring company of adults rather than children my age...and the list goes on really. My mum used to always tell me that there was nothing wrong with me when I'd tell her of my social struggles at school, but deep down I knew I was different. I honestly think she was in denial about me being different.

Oopie I forgot that this thread exists. I finally had an appointment after a long wait and got a diagnosis! I've got a mixture of ASD and ADHD I was (and still am) so excited to hear those words!

One thing that really intrigued me during my appointment is when my neuropsycologist started firing simple addition and subtraction maths questions at me. I could answer 1+1, 2+5 etc in an instant, but when it got to 45+67 or 47-13 I struggle to get an answer quickly. I've always been good at maths, but when it comes to working out more complex stuff in my head it literally hurts my brain. I've always been like this as well. But my neuropsycologist explained that because of AuDHD my working memory is poor and my brain struggles to process all that info. Of course I knew my brain struggles with a lot of info before the appointment, but that was like a eureka moment for me it explains so much about how my brain processes things differently to others.

My two struggles at the moment are concerntration in conversations and the "out of sight, out of mind" part of my brain. Lately everytime a coworker or someone gives me an important piece of info (like be here for this thing at this time, do this for me, catch up with this person etc.) my brains like a sieve and doesn't retain the info at all kinda goes hand in hand with the "out of sight, out of mind" thing; if I don't write it down, put something away, etc it goes straight out of my brain lol

 

[xSuperMario64x]

been a while since anyone has posted here so I'm giving this thread a formal bump

 

[wrenbow]

Another autistic here! I found out relatively recently and for the past year or so I've been hit nonstop with realisations about why I did certain things when I was younger, why I'm really particular about certain things etc.

I struggle most with conversations (I can usually mask pretty well but I'm fighting for my life internally lmao) and sound sensitivity. I used to think everyone experienced these things to the extent that I did and I was just bad at dealing with it, and learning that wasn't the case was such a huge relief. Sometimes it actually feels like things got harder after realising that I'm autistic but I think it's just that I'm more aware of it, which is a good thing in its own way, since now I can usually stop things from getting too bad before I get overstimulated or burnt out.

It's awesome and really comforting to find that there are a ton of people like me out there. I'm really glad more people are talking about neurodivergence because it probably never would have clicked for me if I hadn't seen people discussing their own experiences with autism, especially those who don't fit the extremely narrow stereotypes that most resources (still!!!) focus on. Some people are really good at masking and fly under the radar, but that doesn't mean it's easy for them or they don't need help.

I think there are a lot more of us out there than people realise so as awareness increases hopefully our differences will be more accepted or even celebrated!

 

[ZeldaCrossing64]

I've spent the past few months thinking about it, and while I'm not professionally diagnosed, I do believe I have autism. I've done some research on the topic and consulted some friends who are autistic (both IRL and online, including this forum!), and they believe I have autism. I think so, too.

I have a number of symptoms (poor social skills, inability to keep eye contact, not understanding metaphors and social cues, etc.), but the most notable ones are my hyperfixations and sensory issues. The hyperfixations are pretty self-explanatory (I obsess over 1 or 2 things for a bit before moving onto something else), but I'd like to touch on the sensory issues bit.

I'm more particularly sensitive to sounds and touch. I can't stand anything remotely loud (blaring music, machines whirring, balloons popping, people talking loudly in rooms) and I get stressed when I'm in these environments. Even something like plastic crinkling sets me off.

I also sensitive to touching certain textures (food seems to be fine for the most part) and I absolutely cannot get poked without freaking out. (The last bit might be a normal occurence to other people maybe?? My whole body tingles whenever I get poked, especially on my spine, and I hate it.)

I'm hoping to get a professional diagnosis in the future. I tried telling my dad about it and he... Didn't like the idea, to put it lightly. I won't go into detail about it, though.
I may not need many accommodations, but it'd be a personal relief to officially know if I'm indeed on the autism spectrum. But I will definitely have the thought in mind until then!

 

[ali.di.magix]

Does anyone else go through phases when your symptoms are exceptionally bad?

I'm on meds for ADHD, and while they have helped a lot, sometimes my brain just doesnt want to work. Lately my working memory has been failing me again and I've been terrified of missing meetings, appointments, deadlines etc. It seems to come and go?

 

[xSuperMario64x]

Does anyone else go through phases when your symptoms are exceptionally bad?

I'm on meds for ADHD, and while they have helped a lot, sometimes my brain just doesnt want to work. Lately my working memory has been failing me again and I've been terrified of missing meetings, appointments, deadlines etc. It seems to come and go?

I don't take any kind of ADHD meds so my symptoms are on full blast at all times lol

but if it's anything like me, taking my anxiety med and having it help like 97% of the time but that other 3% is pretty meh, then yeah I definitely get it.

 

[xSuperMario64x]

I've been meaning to post about this, but I keep forgetting (hehe ADHD brain go brrr). I remembered now though, so I have a question for my fellow autists/ADHD'ers:

does anyone else associate different songs (or pieces of music) with certain images/characters/etc?

it seems like no matter what song or piece of music I listen to, I associate it with a mental image of something or someone. and the thing is, that something is often not even related to the topic of the song/piece (it can be, but that's usually not the case). it also seems to be the case more so if it's a song I really like and/or listen to a lot. one pattern that I notice, is that the things I associate with these songs/pieces are usually things that I was very interested in when I first really heard them, but again this isn't always the case.

for example:
• I listened to the album Harbor Lights a lot during the space camp event, so I associate the song "Harbor Lights" with ISC's space whale.
• I associate "Passing Through" with Sasha, specifically one or two drawings that I and others have made of him for the event (and my drawing of Juniper, oddly enough).
• unrelated to the event, I associate "Back to Life" by Ollie Wride with the pokemon Miraidon, since I found that song right around when SV was released.
• I associate "Mandolin Rain", specifically the cover by Ricky Skaggs and Bruce Hornsby, with Zelda TotK, because I found that song when all my friends were talking about playing it back in May.
• I associate "Long Tall Cool One" with Super Mario Bros Wonder.
• I associate "A Night on the Town" with the pokemon Delphox.
• I associate "Tarzan Boy" with Baldwin from Flight Rising (like lmao what even is this one).

and ofc there are many more examples. most of them are really odd lol. I'm wondering if anyone else experiences this? I've never met another person who does this as well. I guess it's a form of mental stim for me.

 

[daringred_]

can't remember if i actually posted in this specific thread before, but i'm pretty confident i have autism. (and maybe adhd, i did a "quiz" for it once, but i've been seeing a different doctor since handing it in, so i think i'm going to have to bring it up again.) getting an official diagnosis seems... daunting though. i brought it up to my current GP a few months back, and she made me fill in a questionnaire, and i think i failed it since she hasn't mentioned it since? (i'm gonna ask about it at my next appointment.) honestly, it feels silly to even try and 'weed out' people with a quiz anyway, especially for autism, because it presents somewhat differently in everyone? i think the questions about playing pretend and imagining stuff might be where i tripped up, if i did... i've had two therapists confidently suggest i have autism though, and on doing my own research, it makes so much sense, so i'm going to try and push it with my doctor. only problem is unless you pay up, i think there's a three year waiting list or something for a diagnosis on the NHS... i don't know if having one would help me much anyway. it would be a relief to hear, but it's not going to make a difference? like, i officially have depression and anxiety, and my parents still act like that's a myth, so having a doctor officially say i have autism isn't going to matter to them, they're still going to roll their eyes and stuff rip.