Neurodiversity support thread: Women with suspected/self-diagnosed/diagnosed ASC & ADHD

[EauRouge]

No sign of our own forum yet, so for now here's a new support thread for women on the autistic spectrum and/or with ADHD. Newbies more than welcome!

The old thread is here.

Here are some helpful links for newbies:

List of female AS traits by Tania Marshall.

List of female traits by Everyday Aspergers

Musings of an Aspie- Cynthia Kim's blog (one of the few sources I have found about being a parent with Aspergers)

Autistic Women's Collective

Recognising ADHD in women from ADDitude Magazine

Resources for women with ADHD from ADDitude Magazine

Adult ADHD support (coming soon by the looks of things)

Books

Aspergirls by Rudy Simone

You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?!: The Classic Self-help Book for Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder by Kate Kelly (I haven't read this one but I have heard it recommended many times- apologies if it's no good!)

I took off Tony Attwood because it was about people with autism rather than for people with autism. Anyone else got any book recommendations?

Online tests

(Online tests are not 100% certain but can give you a very good idea and a starting point for talking to your GP if you're seeking diagnosis)

RDOS Aspergers quiz (the best one IMO)

AQ test

ADHD test

ADHD questionnaire for women

If any of those don't work, it's because I'm cooking the DDs' dinner and I'm shit at multitasking. What's that burning smell?

My local NHS service explained to me that they were now using the DSM 5 criteria, so it's not consistent nationwide (they gave me DSM 5 299.00 and they also translated that to ICD10 F84.0, which is listed as childhood autism, rather than F84.5 which I believe is Asperger's).

Good idea, will do that!
I've bought some vitamin c tablets that are roughly the same size as the melatonin ones, so will hopefully see the magic of placebo!

Alert cards ordered... I also threw a trolley coin into my basket as I seem to have lost my old one, and an awareness bracelet just because. Have to say the West Midlands site are a lot more reasonably priced than the NAS one, they wanted over £3 just for the shipping, it would have cost more for a pack of alert cards from them than for all the stuff I got from West Midlands autism.

I love those tangle toys! They were giving them away in NHS quit smoking kits a few years ago. I picked up several and spent hours fiddling with them, making über-tangle toys and different types of stable and non-stable shapes out of different numbers of pieces

I wasn't even a smoker.

Can I ask if these feelings are familiar to anyone else.
I'm going to see my gp next week about stuff anyway, so will run this by her too, I don't think it's something physical because it goes away when I'm distracted, but it does worry me (possibly irrationally).
If I've been talking to someone, in an appointment or stopped in the street, I get to a point where my eyes feel achy and heavy, my ears start to feel blocked up, I may occasionally have one or two palpitations, my shoulders feel heavy and I feel a great weariness come over me and I feel quite ill.
Like I said, if I am busy with something and properly distracted it goes away, if not it stays until I've managed to have time alone, but then it comes back as soon as other people are with me, unless ds2 is kicking off, then it's as if adrenaline takes over and I feel fine.
It happened this afternoon and took a couple of hours of being very withdrawn and quiet before feeling more normal.

I'm not sleeping well at the moment either, so tiredness is probably contributing too.

Gumble, I love those tangle toys, I have a couple in the car for those times when I'm collecting dc and waiting for them.

I already had a tangle teaser else one of those would be in my basket too. I think I've become a little obsessed with fidget toys, I have a bag full. Off the top of my head I have:
Tangle teaser
Metal puzzle
Wood snake puzzle
Stretchy smiley man
Popping soya bean
Lego man
Silicon 'hairy' caterpillar
Silicon 'hairy' elephant
Poker chip
Rubber duck with popping eyes
Rubik's cube (I had a pocket size one but it broke, so I replaced it with a proper one)
Magnetic spiky balls
I did have a squishy grape ball but I burst it.
I have a chewigem chube necklace as well, and put one of the spares on a keyring.

I went a bit mad on eBay, most of them are on a keyring and only cost a pound or two, and some of them came out of the 2p machines at the seaside. I got a pile of carabiner clips too, so I almost always have one of my toys in my hoody pocket or clipped onto a belt loop.

Of course I've just majorly outed myself if anyone sees me walking down the street chewing my necklace and fiddling with one of the above...

Actually if anyone sees me, say hi, it would be nice to have a RL aspie friend!

I have this lovely Jacob's ladder which I dug out again recently.

Chron, I'll say hi if I see you - I'm the one twiddling my fingers in the brightly coloured hoody and the 80s headphones

LeChien, I have palpitations a lot and when I'm in a difficult social situation, maybe talking about personal things, I shake uncontrollably and feel stiff in my neck and jaw. Perhaps it's a similar thing? I wonder if we are more prone to somatisation than NTs?

Ds2 and dd both have physical symptoms when they're stressed/anxious.
Ive read about adrenal fatigue which fits, but I don't think a conventional dr would take me seriously if I mentioned it.

Had a quick google which says ASD and somatisation are common co-morbids.
Like ds2, during extremely stressful times I have bad asthma which is difficult to control with conventional asthma drugs, it usually takes a course of acupuncture to sort it out.

polter not normally, but heading to Devon on holiday next week.

gumble we'll look like twins, except I don't wear my headphones much now because of toddler DD.

chien I get weary and heavy eyed if I do too much, I have to rest to get over it but it doesn't sound quite the same.

Oops. Crohn, obviously; not Chron. Sorry.

That's interesting that you've found that about somatisation and ASD Chien. I wonder whether the somatisation goes along with the alexithymia I've been reading about. The sensations you're describing sound really unpleasant whatever the cause

Missed one off my list- a bag of smooth gemstones

gumble don't worry about it- serves me right for using a deliberate misspelling!

It's a very clever name.

Spelling is one of my Things People always look askance when I ask them how to spell their names - don't they know Mathew and Matthew are completely different names? I need to know which spelling to use when I'm translating their spoken words into text in my head!

Shame I can't take full credit for it then, I got the idea from a user on a different forum.

I know, I just didn't like to tell you, you're so helpful I didn't want to put you off replying to me!

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause trouble.