Are You Autistic, Channel 4, 10pm, Uk.

[staydazzling]

starting a thread ,apologies if there already is one, looks to be an interesting watch...i think its mainly about how many adults could be living with ASD undiagnosed.

Wishing thank you so much. It is hard at times but I wouldn't change it for the world! I think a diagnosis would give me some peace of mind, and possibly a way to explain to others why I find certain things so hard (XH used to ridicule me that it took me ages to muster up the courage to ring someone; "Its only a phone call FFS how can that be hard!").
I'm very good at camouflaging but it's harder to keep up appearances with people who know me better.

Do you think you will try for a diagnosis?

My friends DD was diagnosed 2 yrs ago at age 9. She's now really involved in raising awareness and working with the National charity. She said diagnoses are now 'ASD', rather than individual things like Aspergers. She said ADD, OCD and PDD are also now included in the ASD spectrum. Do you think that's a good thing? How do you feel about your diagnosis being 'lumped in' with others who might present really differently from you?

Explained to DP how so few women appear to have AS compared to men and he was blown away. Very interesting watch

What used to be called Aspergers is now a subset of autism, often 'high functioning autism'. I haven't watched the programme, will try to catch up. My boys have ASD and DH and I have had referrals accepted though unlikely to ever get to the top of the waiting list with the current NHS. The teams who diagnosed the boys said they were sure we both had it too, though.

I've been trying to explain how it affects me at work and how many things I'm really good at and some types of stress I'm great with (which managers assume autistic people wouldn't be), but other things stress me out and no-one can help me deal with them because they don't recognise the problem.

Sansa it took me well over two years to get ds diagnosed, I honestly dont have the mental energy to have that fight again when I feel like I am functioning pretty well.
I don’t think it would benefit me because most people in my life accept me as a bit “odd” and antisocial. DM always suspected autism when I was younger but didnt pursue it as she felt there was a stigma around it at the time, she now makes sure to help me as much as she can when I need it, if you are lacking support however it would be of use to you

I'm watching on +1 - it's great I think. Very thoughtful and kind, as well as interesting. We're in the (18mth+...) waiting period for a first assessment for ds, after years of fighting to get an assessment, and it's very affirming.

I might get him to watch it (he's 14, so I suspect he'd find it useful)

I don't think of myself as having many autistic traits, and I found the sandwich test stressful!

@Littlepill

“you can’t be a little bit autistic”

The spectrum is far from linear, this may help you to understand it in a more realistic way,
the-art-of-autism.com/understanding-the-spectrum-a-comic-strip-explanation/

The thing I don't understand is, can you have a LOT of the main traits for autism but not be autistic? So for me and dd it's being v obsessive about things and people, collecting, a lot of sensory issues, sensory overload & meltdowns, being v anti social because of anxiety and not feeling able to relate, always feeling different especially with socialising... but we don't fulfil the criteria of not being able to imagine / feel things that are on the diagnosis questionnaire - we are both v sensitive to others and are empaths I suppose, even though social interactions are so difficult, plus we're both pretty creative and imaginative. Is that possible, are we maybe on the spectrum but not enough boxes ticked for a diagnosis? Maybe we're half way between autistic and being neurotypical, whatever that is?! Also strongly feel dh is on the spectrum but he has different traits to us!

Every autistic person has their own traits. No two are the same. Don't believe the myths.

Some have great imaginations, some have too much empathy rather than not enough, some struggle with eye contact, others don't some have classic presentations, others are different.

Have you done the AQ test, look it up online, it's not diagnostic, but it gives an indication that you are likely to be on the spectrum should you wish to be diagnosed

Maryqc a lack of imagination shouldnt be definitive, there are plenty of autistic artists and writers, many autistic people in creative fields
I was recommended a book called Neurotribes when ds was diagnosed and found it very helpful and informative, it may also help you

You either are autistic, or you're not. If you are, you were born with it.

Only diagnosis by a medical professional or team of medical professionals can decide if you are or not.

The whole "spectrum" analogy reminds me of a girl I knew years ago who had cerebral palsy. She limped a bit and had slightly slurred speech but was otherwise completely 'normal'. (She died at 33 after complications from scoliosis and breathing problems, but up until 30ish maintained a high-powered job, relationship and social life). She got frustrated by people either a) dismissing CP as 'not a serious condition' because she didn't seem unwell, or b) dismissing her as being useless because they'd heard that CP is very serious. It was the first time I'd come across an illness/condition/disability presenting in different ways in different people. I now live very near a residential school for teens with life-limiting CP so I have seen both extremes.

It must be infuriating to have an ASD diagnosis and then have other people tell you how you must feel and behave just because they know another autistic person! I get cross just by men assuming stuff about me because I'm a woman The more this is talked about on msm the better, especially when it's presented by people actually affected.

I found this programme very interesting, as a young female relative has recently been diagnosed with high functioning autism.

With the sandwich making task, I know I woudn't have a problem with that, their reaction was quite striking.

Blanktimes - yes definitely a case of too much empathy with myself and dd, we both feel things way too much for other people as well as our own feelings, I find it quite distressing sometimes. I think the questionarre I did online a while back was the one you mention, I remember questions about having difficulties using your imagination, and relating to other people's feelings, both things we are the extreme opposite with. I think when it comes to social cues we've both learnt to mask, inside we're screaming but can give the appearance of being fine. As a child I found eye contact incredibly difficult and scary, but as a teenager I managed to gradually develop the ability for it, thing is I think as an adult I now go over the top and probably appear very starey and way too intense!

Agree with you Wishing there are plenty of famous artists and creatives with autism as well as non famous of course, and didn't they mention in the programme this outdated misconception of a Rain Man mathematician type of person with autism?

I don't think a diagnosis would help me at my age, but learning some coping skills would definitely, we are looking at getting our dd diagnosed though.

PissMinge - Your friend seems to have confused the autistic spectrum with the concept of neuro-diversity. Because only autistic people are on the autism spectrum (the clue is kind of in the name), ADD and OCD are two completely separate things. In order to be part of the autistic spectrum a person would have to meet the criteria of the triad of impairments. How then would OCD (which doesn't come anywhere near to fulfilling that criteria) be part of the autistic spectrum? Both conditions often co-exist with autism but are most definitely not part of the autism spectrum. Yet people with such conditions might all be referred to as being neuro-diverse.

As for PDD, I'm not quite sure what you or she means there. PDD means Pervasive Development Disorder. And autism, Aspergers and PDD-NOS were all considered to fall under that category. So I'm not really sure what you're saying. Unless of course you mean PDD-NOS, in which case you'd still be wrong - whilst confusingly enough being right at the same time. Because PDD-NOS was always counted as part of the autistic spectrum, and now like Aspergers it's been folded into the diagnosis ASD.

My point is, your question is meaningless. There is no point in asking how an autistic person like myself might feel about being "lumped in" with others who present different, that's the whole point of the autistic spectrum. No two autistic people are alike, just like NTs I suppose.

And whilst I'm ranting about such things I might as well add "high functioning autism" never did and does not exist as a diagnosis in any diagnostic manual anywhere. I'm so sick of people using that phrase and the misunderstandings it causes. Using the term ASD was supposed to help move away from such things, to stop using terms such as high and low functioning which are offensive as they are overly simplistic. To people who keep using those terms do you have any idea how frustrating it is for people to have preconceived notions about what you can and can't do simply because they believe you to be "high functioning?" And of course in their minds high functioning equates to "highly intelligent, mildly autistic, and not really that bad." When in reality all the phrase really means is you have a normal or above average IQ, it says nothing about how severely a person is affected or disabled by their autism.

Also do people realise how redundant (not to mention annoying ) it is to write/type "ASD spectrum?" Are you aware you're saying "Autism Spectrum Disorder Spectrum?" God that bugs me, and yes I know I'm being pedantic but it really riles me up. Along with people who type "my child is ASD." Language matters, how you refer to people matters, they're not just words.

I'm really annoyed that Aspergers was diagnosed. This hasn't been the case in real life for a number of years. Ruined the whole programme as it should be true to life

And whilst I'm ranting about such things I might as well add "high functioning autism" never did and does not exist as a diagnosis in any diagnostic manual anywhere. I'm so sick of people using that phrase and the misunderstandings it causes. Using the term ASD was supposed to help move away from such things, to stop using terms such as high and low functioning which are offensive as they are overly simplistic. To people who keep using those terms do you have any idea how frustrating it is for people to have preconceived notions about what you can and can't do simply because they believe you to be "high functioning?" And of course in their minds high functioning equates to "highly intelligent, mildly autistic, and not really that bad." When in reality all the phrase really means is you have a normal or above average IQ, it says nothing about how severely a person is affected or disabled by their autism. Also do people realise how redundant (not to mention annoying ) it is to write/type "ASD spectrum?" Are you aware you're saying "Autism Spectrum Disorder Spectrum?" God that bugs me, and yes I know I'm being pedantic but it really riles me up. Along with people who type "my child is ASD." Language matters, how you refer to people matters, they're not just words.

Yes, yes, YES!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

My children have ASD, it does not define them. They have very high IQs and they are very affected/disabled by their condition. I literally can’t emphasise how much ASD impacts on their lives, but they look ‘normal’ and they are intelligent so it must be mild. 🙄

You either are autistic, or you're not. If you are, you were born with it.

But on the diagnostic tool used to assess ASD (the ADOS), I was under the impression (from the paperwork) that there were cut offs. If you score 8, you have ASD and if you score 12, you have autism. But you can score 7 and you have many ASD-traits. So people believing they are a bit autistic or have autistic traits may not be wrong?

I believe Asperger's has only been removed from the American DSM-V diagnostic criteria. In the UK the ICD-10 diagnostic manual from the WHO which still contains Aspergers as a diagnosis is very commonly used.

It is only since the birth of my son who is hf asd that I have considered I may be asd myself. I have always been socially awkward and a loner but put it down to shyness. I would like to seek a Dx but feel embarrassed in middle age. The thing about change is also true of me, I get v agitated.

I didn’t know it was on but will watch on catch up.i work with autistic children and have learned so much about autism through my job.

DetectiveGoran sorry to make you feel ranty!
I dont know a lot about the spectrum, only what I observe in my autistic friends and children I have observed. My friend is trying hard to become more aware of it all so she can help her DD but probably is overwhelmed by the jargon and labels and possibly has got stuff confused. I was just repeating what she told me. From her point of view, she gets frustrated by the same thing as you - people assuming stuff and mis-labelling. Her DD has an Aspergers diagnosis and other people cant see her 'illness' and think its a made-up attention seeking thing. And the other diagnosed autistic child in her class is "just naughty and needs more boundaries" - he is autistic but also has ADD. As you pointed out, a lot of conditions co-exist and its hard to separate out what causes what. So perhaps its easier for some doctors to put everything under one umbrella that hopefully more people will understand? Nothings ever perfect!!

I really hope that programmes like last night's will go a way to making autism more understood and less of a 'bogey man'. I'm sure we all know parents who suspect it but dont want their children 'labelled' for fear it will ruin their chances in life.

Just came across this thread in the Active section of talk. Was it worth a watch? After recently reading an article on BBC about women not realising they have ASD until they are adults has made me think that this may be me; so much of their struggles fit with my life. My family has recently discovered my kid sister has ASD too which is another factor in making me think I may have it.

I’ve just watched it. DH watched it last night and said it’s absolutely me and it did all seem very familiar to me. The sandwich making made me want to run from the room and I was only watching!

You are either autistic, or you’re not. If you are, you were born with it

Not necessarily. My son is at the most severe end of so-called HFA. He was born exceptionally prematurely and at his time of birth it’s highly unlikely that he had ASD (we have no family connection to ASD). ASD is being seen increasingly frequently as a direct result of the extremely invasive intervention to keep such premature babies alive. It is assumed by all of my son’s medical team that his ASD was directly caused by his prematurity, brain haemorrhage and essential medical intervention.