Support thread for women who suspect or know they have ASD traits or are on the spectrum

[OxfordBags]

Hello, all! As the title says, I hope this can be a support thread for those of us who suspect or know we have some (or many) Aspergic traits; where we can share experiences, stories, problems, worries, knowledge and info, and hopefully benefit and help each other too.

I found a great link a while ago that is very comprehensive in its description of how Asperger's presents in women and how women experience it. Some of it is strikingly different from the male model and how most people perceive Asperger's. Here: ASD in women

I truly believe two things: 1) that ASD in females is woefully misunderstood and under-diagnosed and 2) that our current understanding and the definition of the AS Spectrum is, in itself, rather ASD in its rigidity, and that there is an actual spectrum of traits much broader and more nuanced than the current model, and that there are a hell of a lot of people struggling with some very typical ASD traits, who nevertheless do not have all the traits required to fulfil a formal diagnosis of having Asperger's or High-Functioning Autism.

So, with that rather typically ASD-style long-winded and unnecessarily detailed intro out of the way, let's chat!

I score 40 on that test.

Interesting.

I have no diagnosis, but I am pretty convinced I am on the spectrum. My DD was diagnosed as Aspie at 11. DH is certain I am! He sees more of the things I have difficulty with then I realise myself, iykwim.

I cope with many things better than DD but I think I've learned to. I'm very highly strung and struggle with many things in my day to day life. I also remember things from growing up that I found hard - like making eye contact used to send shooting pains into my head and it hurt to look someone in the eye.

I wonder about going for a DX...

Having done the online RAADs one, I got 186

148 on RAADS.

Can't decide if I am or I aren't!

I can't be THAT bad! I mean, I am well aware that I have issues but, crikey!

DS is going for a sleepover tomorrow night and my friend said 'Go out! Have fun!' but I will stay at home and go to bed by myself like I do every night. Because I'd rather do that than go out. But I feel like I should make something more exciting up. I can never be bothered to lie though because it's too much effort to remember what I said. I'm a crap liar.

at new champion.

104 on the online RAADS. But I'm above threshold in every section.

AQ on that site 37 and EQ 31.

The 31 for Eq does seem to be lower than the average for people with ASD or suspected ASD but is much lower than the average score for NT females. I always seem to come out around average on AQ,but it seems to be quite 'spikey' IYSWIM. There are bits that I seem to do very well, but then lots of bits where I'm completely hopeless.

53 on SQ which is surprisingly low I think. Particularly given my tendency to create spreadsheets of info about properties of things. Suspect that's been badly affected by a tendency to complete disorganisation.

When I am work it's fine, to the point of obsession. At home it seems to fall apart completely and I'm incapable of organising anything, or myself.

My seven year old son was diagnosed with ASD a couple of years back, Aspergers style.

That diagnosis has made both me, and my mum, think we both have it. We've done on screen tests and both come out as ASD, we have all the traits of Aspergers. But neither of us (at 31 and 53!) know whether to do anything more or not.

two previous jobs my nickname was along the lines of rainman. So others notice me too.

I work in a school and to me its obvious. But im not sure if i want any formal fight or diagnosis - im getting my degree in the hope to teach (maths!) and i dont want it to be a barrier?

Sorry, jumped in without reading the whole thread, but i will :-)

96 on the online RAADS test, and every section is above the thresholds. I've often felt I have traits - like, I can read something one of you writes about your DC on here and think "Oh, I do that."

Things like: I'm sensitive to certain textures on my skin, sensitive to loud noises, can feel "overloaded" sometimes, especially in busy places. I spin around a lot when I'm on my own (I like the sensation) and prefer being alone most of the time.

Never enough to make me think I needed to investigate further, but enough to make me aware that in some ways, I'm not like my peers, IYSWIM? I just see it as me being me.

I agree, Buffy, it was weird. I looked at the face then the choices but they didn't match. I figured out that it was best to look at the options then the face and then had to think a bit... 'well, she's smiling so she's not angry and the closest thing to happy is relieved so it must be that...' - it was finding the best fit from the choices rather than looking at a face and knowing how they were thinking.

It's made me think a bit though - I don't think I look at people's faces much - or at least, don't think anything when I do. I can rarely describe what someone looks like from memory other than 'black hair' etc.

I scored 166 on the RAADS test. But that again showed that I sm v ASD in some areas, and either NT average or only very slightly less NT than average in others. It's baffling to me how I can be so ASD in some ways and not at all in others. I was disgnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder last year, finally, after a lifetime of feeling like a freak and being told I am one too, so that counts for a lot of my score, I reckon.

I don't have problems reading faces, in fact I score better than average for NT when it comes to tests that measure ability to read faces and empathise, etc. Again, I'm an odd mix of v Aspie and more sensitive than NT. Grr.

I found one of the questions V interesting - the one about storing your memories like filing cards in your brain, or similar. I soon found out at school that people thought I was either a liar or a loony when I would talk about being able to think about two subjects at once, and having my thoughts in a sort of filing system. AND, when Sherlock first came on tv, I remember seeing how they visually showed how his mind works, and turning to my DH and saying, "But why are they making out this is some crazy, unusual way of working things out and processing stuff? This is how everyone's mind works, surely?". His reaction told me it was not! A lot of people think that hos the character is portrayed is more like ASD, instead of him apparently being a sociopath.