How many people here have ASD, Autism, or Asperger’s?

[rubyrubert]

I’m not trying to offensive or anything either. I’m asking because I strongly suspect I have Asperger’s/ASD.

I do know for certain that I have sensory-motor dysfunction, and that I have an aversion to eye contact. I also have other traits like trouble interacting with others socially and have really obsessive interests.

I’m going to try to see a professional about this, so that I can get the proper treatment for whatever kind of problem I have. I was just wondering if other people here had ASD or ASD traits.

 

[Midoriya]

I was born with Aspergers/ASD and have dealt with it my entire life. Took speech classes when I was younger and that really helped me out in the long run. I would say to definitely see a professional about it as you may or may not have it. Hoping that the meeting goes well!

 

[Neb]

I have mild ASD as well! Another common trait is struggling to pick up social cues and understand what they mean. Personally I found self-help books on communication to be a useful way to learn social skills. Regardless, I hope you can find your answers.

 

[Xara]

i was never formally diagnosed but doctors i had when i was younger believed i may be autistic but nobody has ever diagnosed me as such so i’m unfortunately not much help in this department but i do struggle with certain ASD traits, especially the social interaction difficulties (i literally am blind when it comes to social cues), my heightened interest in certain things to the point where i’m quite frankly obsessive, a wide variation in my abilities (this one i’m not sure about as everybody has different abilities imo and i don’t believe i’m any different) and the intense/prolonged emotional reactions. i’m afraid i don’t have any advice for you since without a proper diagnosis, i’ve never undergone treatment for ASD nor do i mention my older doctors’ hunch to any of my current doctors but i hope that you’re able to meet with a medical professional and that you’re able to get the answers you’re looking for! best of luck <3

 

[Alienfish]

Asperger, got my diagnosis when I was like.. 24 though so late in life person here.

Only downside is that I hate how I think/do things according to Asperger that was just normally hard for me before which I hate...Also since I'm kinda high-functioning it's even harder to get help.

Good luck though and I hope you get the help you might need

 

[idiotdoomspiral]

if youre going to see a professional they might do an ADOS (autism diagnostic observation schedule) to assess if you fit the criteria for ASD. if not then they just ask you questions and stuff. they will likely ask you and your parents/carers questions about your childhood to see if you had any noticeable autistic traits. a couple of examples for mine is that i only wanted to eat white food as a child and i was described as being in my own world by other people. this will be extremely useful to think about if youre going to see a professional.
SPD is common in autistic people. i am clumsy and have a fear of loud noises, mostly from balloons and fire alarms.
special interests are also common. mine growing up was pokemon
i was diagnosed when i was 13 or 14 and had an ADOS done when i was 17 which was only to make sure that the diagnosis was correct. the earlier you see someone about this the better, if you are autistic then they can help you and others around you understand your thoughts, behaviours and feelings and if youre not they might find other things they can support you with

 

[junebuggy.99]

Yeeee

I won't go into detail here since I've already written sob stories here about my experiences with ASD/Aspergers but yeah, I deal w it every single second :<

 

[Yay Sweets]

Hmmm... i Have ADHD, which is known to have symptoms that overlap with ASD, such as obsessive interests, emotional sensitivity, and social awkwardness. You could also look into that! :0 hope this helps a little!

 

[hamster]

not on the spectrum but i have symptoms of it, me and my sister self diagnosed as autistic when we were like 11 lol. turns she actually has it as she was diagnosed with aspergers and i have something else that can be confused for autism

 

[Seastar]

I was born with Aspergers/ASD and have dealt with it my entire life. Took speech classes when I was younger and that really helped me out in the long run. I would say to definitely see a professional about it as you may or may not have it. Hoping that the meeting goes well!

Wait... I took speech classes when I was younger and had no idea this was why...
But uh, yeah... I have autism. I don't know when I was diagnosed since nobody told me right away. I was put on medication as a child and also put into special education classes without being told exactly why.

 

[michealsmells]

I dont have ASD but I AM diagnosed with ADHD (which is a cousin) and at times I do strongly suspect I might be on the spectrum as well. If you suspect it, totally seek professional advice and support!! Thats how I found out I was ADHD to begin with and it was super helpful. In school folks thought I was on the spectrum but it took me puttin' on my big boy pants and talking to my therapist about symptoms to get any kind of diagnosis, since it was always seen as something negative or a label (my school district sucked with dealing with mental health and disability lmao) and it was one of the best things I've ever done!!

Hopefully all goes well!! Best wishes ❤

 

[fluttershy300]

I was diagnosed with ADHD/ADD when I was 4, my mom had said. I have the same symptoms so yeah, definitely get that check that out.

 

[ting1984]

Hi, I have what used to be called Asperger Syndrome. I still think that describes me best, but since AS now falls under the general autism umbrella, I'm currently labeled as having level 2 (moderate) autism. On days with no unexpected things or conflicts, I can easily "pass" as level 1. In fact, I wasn't even diagnosed until age 29 back in 2014, though my older half-sister once suspected it when I was a young girl.

I highly suggest you look into diagnosis if you suspect it. It took way too long for me to get diagnosed. On one hand, I probably ended up achieving a lot more than expected -- I did well academically, and that always seemed to "save" me. On the other, having an early diagnosis could have saved a lot of frustration, especially with friendships and employment when I hit the "real world" as an adult.

 

[Mr_Persona]

I have mild autism and that's why sometimes l can't understand how someone feels or what they mean, but no one understands that l have trouble because of what l have. But l still have a creative brain.

 

[neoratz]

i was just about to make a thread about this before finding this one cuz i got the vibes from a lot of tbt's users!!! i'm autistic, i think i was diagnosed around age 13??? i was specifically diagnosed with aspergers, they call it something different now though idk what (AND I'M GLAD THEY DO). getting a diagnosis helps a lot cuz it opens the door to a lot of supports, especially if you get it sooner than later. i heard it can be harder to get a diagnosis the older you get.

i dunno how many of you feel me on this, and this is coming from someone who didn't attend public school or go to many public events, but i feel like it's more of a positive than a negative for me a lot of the time. like yea i can understand things in an inconvenient way, have a deep hatred for some textures/clothes, have trouble connecting with more """normal""" people (this pains me to say but i really don't know how else to word it!) etc. but i think i'd be a lot different without it. being deeply passionate about the stuff i love is AWSOME and it feels kinda nice somehow when you can feel that someone else is autistic. it feels sorta like you already have a small connection in some way, even if you aren't particularly close. like a mutual understanding i guess??? i'd be struggling a lot more if i weren't in therapy though.

has anyone had any really good/bad experiences with therapy? my worst experience EVER was occupational therapy. i guess they weren't used to dealing with teens or something, but i had to have been about 15 or 16 and they treated me like a child. i was pretty much the only person older than 10 there so i guess it makes sense, but like...... come on man....... if i cried they'd ask very patronizingly if i wanted to sit on the floor under the pressure blanket for 10 minutes!?!?!?!?! and all i worked on there was stuff i didn't really need like hand/eye coordination. no idea why i was ever taken there. i hear a lot of people have had bad experiences with ABA therapy but it's the kind i'm currently in and it's the most helpful i've ever had and kinda serves as both autism+anxiety therapy.... +whatever random unrelated things i feel like i need help with.

also i hope things went well for you rubert!! it doesn't look like you've checked the forums in a while but when you come back i hope you had the epicest of times

 

[visibleghost]

i'm autistic lol. got the diagnosis atypical autism (now it's just asd but Yeah) in 2016 but i had my suspicions a few years before that.

i don't think a lot about it in my daily life anymore but it obviously still affects me in a lot of ways. most notable would be my social interaction skills and how tiring social interaction is for me. i also deal a lot with problems with sensory overload, especially in loud spaces. it's better than it used to be but being in noisy spaces for too long makes me want to sleep forever.

i used to do a lot of work related to asd in therapy but i haven't in a few years now. i don't think it made a large difference though it was nice to learn more about how i function and about saving and managing energy.

 

[Alienfish]

Also since thread was found... I really dislike how they group most of stuff under ASD these days since people have so little knowledge and either think you're a) low functioning autism or b) can do fine without help or something similar. At least how it is here, I hope other countries are better. Asperger is differently working and basically anyone older person I meet think it's working the same as every diagnosis in ASD sigh, or they think I'm "neurotypical" just cause I don't look autistic or whatever.

 

[EmmaFrost]

I got my diagnosis as an adult, in March of this year, just as lockdown was starting. So I haven't received any followup appointments/support/resources because the pandemic ruined that. It's weird to get the diagnosis and then be left to process it alone in lockdown. It's very frustrating to have only received my diagnosis as an adult, because I dealt with a lot of stuff as a child as a result of being misunderstood and being unable to communicate what I was feeling/thinking verbally in real time. I feel very fortunate and privileged to have accessed an adult diagnosis though. I know how difficult it is for many people to access a diagnosis, and a diagnosis acts as a gatekeeper to any sort of support.

It's really awesome to see more autistic folks on the forums

 

[LuchaSloth]

I'll tell you what I don't have...

Health insurance to actually find out. HEYYYYOOOO!



Wait...now I'm sad.

 

[AngelKitty]

I've suspected for a long time that I may be on the spectrum. I'm completely clueless reading anyone's social cues and have lots of trouble initiating or maintaining a conversation. Throughout school I'd offend my few friends sometimes and not know why. I also tend to fixate on certain interests and was told once I was OCD by a doctor. I have been diagnosed with anxiety disorder and agoraphobia as an adult. Even before the pandemic I seldom left my house. Just going grocery shopping fills me with dread.