Anyone been diagnosed with Broad Autism Type?

[TellHimDirectlyInDetail]

My brother is classic autistic. I believe I have a few autistic traits but I'm doubtful that I would meet the criteria for autism. So I'm wondering whether I would be diagnosed with Broad Autism? But I'm not sure if that's an official diagnosis.

Things that I struggle with:

I get visually overwhelmed in new places and my processing slows right down.
I often can't think of the words that i need.
I am a slow processor.
I struggle to start tasks.
I like routine.
I don't like a change in plans.
I struggle to maintain eye contact when I talk.
I don't like talking or making eye contact in a group.
I am dyslexic.
I cry when I am sad, overwhelmed, when other people would be angry.
I get overwhelmed with lots of new information.
I'm a visual thinker.
I have to mask my resting bitch face otherwise I would never make any friends.
I take a while to adjust to different temperature.

Things that make me think I'm not autistic:

I can maintain eye contact when I am listening and not talking.
I don't really have special interests.
I am empathetic.
I don't have meltdowns.
I can read nonverbal body language well.
I like making new friends.
I have no sensory issues with touch, sound or taste.

Let me know if you think I have enough traits to be autistic.

Let me know if you have been diagnosed with Broad Autism.

Thank you.

Hi

I've been reading a lot about broader autism phenotype, and I think it almost certainly applies to me. I don't think it's something you can be diagnosed with though.

Will reply properly later when I'm not sorting out the kids tea etc!

Not every single person with ASD struggles with eye contact. And many people with ASD are definitely empathetic! Sometimes they just might not know how to express their feelings in an “acceptable” (by neurotypical standards) manner.
I also don’t have major sensory problems. I dislike tight clothing and getting my clothes wet in any way (such as spilling something) but both are easily avoided.
Meltdowns are less common in adults than children. Sometimes people can go into “shutdown” mode, so instead of having an outward tantrum they may go completely silent and withdraw into themselves.
I would also say that not all autistic people hate making friends, some may want to make friends but find it difficult.

I’m not familiar with broader autism phenotype though.

@emiliaofnewmoon thanks for your reply. I'm just wondering if I went for an autism assessment could a possible outcome be that they say I meet the criteria for broader autism phenotype. I know it wouldn't be a separate assessment. Or whether they would just say no you not autistic.

@toffee1000 I do struggle with eye contact though. When I talk I rarely make eye contact. But I can listen and make eye contact. Are you autistic?

Haven't they recently added sensory issues do the DSM.

@TellHimDirectlyInDetail you may see my other thread, I was diagnosed as autistic this week.
I don't have sensory issues that would be 'diagnostically significant'. There are things I struggle with - loud environments, bright or busy places, competing noises etc - but none that would be enough to be significant for autism. However the assessor mentioned four categories in this section of the assessment (relating to DSM 5 guidelines) and that I only had to score in I think 2 out of the 4 which I did (the others I think we're about plans/routines and interests) By far the biggest weighting is given to social differences, which was a seperate part of the assessment.

I doubted about whether I had autism - for a while I actually thought it was impossible, because of certain things in my life which I thought would mean I wasn't affected enough for it to be diagnosed. That was a big factor in deciding to go private (a luxury I know) and searching for an assessor who would have an assessment process - ie questionnaires and consultations before committing to a full assessment - and was clear that they wouldn't provide a full assessment unless they felt a diagnosis was likely.

My understanding in general is that if an assessor decides you're not autistic, they would usually discuss possible reasons for the difficulties you talked about, and advise about other routes you might want to explore. For example, for me there are some things that could have been linked to neglectful parenting and they talked through their explanation as to what she thought was, and what couldn't be, and why.

I have heard about 'autism phenotype' but I'm not sure whether anyone would say someone fitted this. I would think any good assessor would be willing to discuss questions like this in advance of an assessment though.

Best of luck with this

My understanding is the Broader Autism Phenotype is not something someone would be diagnosed with - it's explicitly sub-clinical. It's used to describe people who have autistic traits but do not meet the diagnostic criteria.

I don't think I'd meet the diagnostic criteria because I basically feel I live a normal enough life, but I do:

• have a strong preference for one to one conversations over groups
• need a lot of time to myself to feel regulated
• like order and calm
• like things fairly predictable
• like to be in control of situations
• feel overwhelmed by new environments
• struggle to make eye contact while I'm talking (seriously, how can anyone work out what they want to say while making eye contact??)
• struggle to multi-task
• hate to be interrupted in an activity I've been looking forward to - it makes me unreasonably cross
• hate loud and chaotic environments
• have occasional meltdowns/shutdowns
• think a lot about how to act in social situations (rehearse what to say, look at others to see how "normal" people behave in a particular situation)
• feel I learnt how to socialise rather than it coming naturally
• feel much more comfortable with friends from childhood and early adulthood than those made more recently
• get a bit obsessive about things (at the moment it's reading about autism)
• have some habits like skin picking, hair twirling etc, which I seem unable to break

As a teenager I had some odd interests, always felt like an oddball. (Luckily for me I think I went to a school which had higher than average number of eccentric girls so I sort of fitted in anyway.) I self harmed but I wasn't exactly unhappy.

I feel the broader autism phenotype would describe me well and I feel strangely happy to have discovered the concept. Although I'm not ruling out assessment for full ASD.

@TellHimDirectlyInDetail yes I am autistic.