Does this sound like I'm autistic

[whatisforteamum]

I know you can't diagnose but here goes
No friends just acquaintances
Dislike sport
Can't dance
Can't catch or hit a ball
Exceptional hearing so need ear buds to sleep
Prefer animals to human company
Need time alone even from family
Eating disorder
Talks way too much
T rex hands if I have to run
Gets confused or overwhelmed in groups or shops
Constant need for reassurance
Bossy,control freak trying hardest to stop this
Workaholic on my special interest
Loves big hugs
Homebird

Possibly. But I don't get why everyone is so keen to label people. If you are autistic will it change your life if you are diagnosed? You will still be you.

I just went through a terrible time not fitting in at my last workplace.
I also have had hideous amounts of anxiety causing my life to be restricted.
A reason after so much therapy in the past would be useful.Ds is considered an assesment also.

Also I wonder as many Netter's have been diagnosed do any of the signs ring true to you.

It changed my life.

This board is for ND people, perhaps it's not the place for you if you are so against assessment, diagnosis and the resulting ongoing management of needs.

Well, some of those things might be representative of ND but others not so much or it depends....not helpful perhaps but my point is it's not one size fits all, is it? I think if you're ND you have and have always had this feeling of difference, of not fitting in etc and that manifests itself in many ways.

I don't think I said I was "against assessment, diagnosis and the resulting ongoing management of needs".

I just asked how would it change your life if diagnosed exactly?

Possibly but I wouldn’t diagnose you from that list. I think a large percentage of people with eating disorders are neurodiverse though and anxiety would be very indicative. With the talking, it would depend on what you were talking about and whether you were picking up on social cues related to your talking. You’re certainly not like me - I find talking exhausting and my own voice is so loud in my head (but very very quiet to everyone else) but a lot of autistics do talk a lot.

I’d try focusing on improving your social skills. Not so that you can fit in with neurotypicals but so that you have more confidence in dealing with them. Then go and find yourself some people who you actually want to be friends with. Focus on whether you like them, not whether they like you.

Exactly. I was late diagnosed and it validated my differences which before, had meant I just felt odd, out of place and “less than”.

Why might a person who is not diagnosed possibly, need to say to a person who needs answers … “ It makes no difference, get on with it”!!? 😡

Why is it important to get a diagnosis? For me personally my whole life being told I am weird, stupid, useless, crazy.. to know that I am none of those things and actually have autism.

It could be that you're autistic.

It could be due to trauma.

It could be due to negative experiences in your passed.

It could be your upbringing.

Exactly.

Ignoring the 'how would a diagnosis change your life' comment - OP, the answer is 'maybe' on what you've said. It's not possible to tell. It could be, or there could be something else, or this might just be who you are.

Have you done the online AQ test? It isn't a diagnostic tool but studies show that (except for one question) it does have reasonable accuracy. In that people who have an autism diagnosis do score highly, and people who are confirmed as not autistic do score lowly. Obviously (1) you have to be honest in your answers, and (2) it is a questionnaire and it can be very wrong. I did the test 10s if not 100s of times over the decade prior to assessment and only once scored a 39. Otherwise it was 40+.

[Everyone - please don't ask me for the study, it's something I found when I was going through my obsession about whether I was autistic or not, prior to diagnosis, and I haven't got a record. I actually think getting obsessed about the AQ test and how it works would be a pretty good first filter for whether it's worth an autism assessment. Also, I can't remember, but I'd assume that the report was looking at correlation with people with an Aspergers diagnosis. I don't think it was very recent.]