85
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2023
85 points (97.8% liked)
Autism
6556 readers
5 users here now
A community for respectful discussion and memes related to autism acceptance. All neurotypes are welcome.
We have created our own instance! Visit Autism Place the following community for more info.
Community:
Values
- Acceptance
- Openness
- Understanding
- Equality
- Reciprocity
- Mutuality
- Love
Rules
- No abusive, derogatory, or offensive post/comments e.g: racism, sexism, religious hatred, homophobia, gatekeeping, trolling.
- Posts must be related to autism, off-topic discussions happen in the matrix chat.
- Your posts must include a text body. It doesn't have to be long, it just needs to be descriptive.
- Do not request donations.
- Be respectful in discussions.
- Do not post misinformation.
- Mark NSFW content accordingly.
- Do not promote Autism Speaks.
- General Lemmy World rules.
Encouraged
- Open acceptance of all autism levels as a respectable neurotype.
- Funny memes.
- Respectful venting.
- Describe posts of pictures/memes using text in the body for our visually impaired users.
- Welcoming and accepting attitudes.
- Questions regarding autism.
- Questions on confusing situations.
- Seeking and sharing support.
- Engagement in our community's values.
- Expressing a difference of opinion without directly insulting another user.
- Please report questionable posts and let the mods deal with it. Chat Room
- We have a chat room! Want to engage in dialogue? Come join us at the community's Matrix Chat.
.
Helpful Resources
- Are you seeking education, support groups, and more? Take a look at our list of helpful resources.
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
Well it started with one of my friends noticing specific patterns of behaviour I had. I don't remember all of the things he noticed, but it caused me to look into it. When I was reading the symptoms off of medical sites, I felt like I was reading about myself. I was honestly shocked, and didn't know how to take it. As I reflected on many of my experiences growing up, it made sense of things which I hadn't found reasonable explanations for.
It explained struggles I had socially, it explained my sensory sensitivities, it explained why I often felt depleted, and it brought light to things which I wasn't fully aware of.
I asked my mother if she ever thought I was autistic, and she said she is pretty sure I am. One reason, was that when I was a kid, she couldn't ask me what I wanted to eat for breakfast. Rather, she had to ask, do you want toast? Then if I said no, she would present another option. Also, I got tested for learning disabilities when I was in school. I scored extremely low in some areas, and extremely high in other areas. They couldn't diagnose anything because I it gave me an average score.
I'm now looking at getting diagnosed, but it is a demanding process. Dealing with waitlists, and checking prices between different professionals, is exhausting. I may decide not to get diagnosed, if it becomes too complicated. However, I was confident of being autistic, after my mother thought I was as well.
Do you remember what site? I'm asking because I had read about autism and Aspergers in the DSM multiple times and it never clicked for me at all. I was completely oblivious. Truly, the only sign about me that I ever even remotely considered was that I really liked autistic people.
Woah! I had a girlfriend that was a psychologist learning to give an IQ test, so she practiced on me. When she looked at my results, she said that my scores were indicative of ADHD, which we both knew I had, but I never realized how much ADHD was impacting my life until I got medicated for it. The struggle is real!
Yes, that can be an overwhelming task, especially since the topic itself could be mentally draining. The way I found a quick autism assessment was to ask local autism organizations for a list of reputable evaluators. Then, I called around to like 10 of them. I found one that was actually pretty economic and saw me within a month. She charge $900 to conduct the ADOS-2 (autism), the ASRS (ADHD), a lengthy clinical interview, and had me collect a bunch of information from my past. Other places didn't even have space on their waiting lists and were charging anywhere from $1.5k up to $3k if I remember correctly. Maybe you could try that if you haven't already.
I am pretty sure this was one of the main one: https://psychcentral.com/autism/autism-spectrum-disorder-symptoms?c=1504654228509#diagnosis But it doesn't cover all the symptoms I have identified in myself. The DSM V descriptions were way too vague for me.
I've wondered if I have ADHD - Inattentive Type. But every time I have read the symptoms and done tests online, it seems I don't. The only reason why I wondered is because I know ASD and ADHD can co-occur. I suspect the learning disabilities test I did was an indicator of ASD, before I knew I had it. I'm not convinced either way with ADHD, it's a possibility. But there's not enough backing the possibility that I do have it.
I may have found one that is good. It's a lot cheaper than the other's I've seen around. I'm currently in the process of asking them lots of questions, because if I'm paying for it, and it costs a lot less, I want to make sure it is going yo give me a definitive medical diagnosis.
Good job on being picky with the evaluator. I recommend you also evaluate them on how you feel when talking to them. I know for me, if someone professional felt off, I would still trust them in the past because I assumed my judgment was wrong because they were a "professional". That has blown up in my face, so I listen to myself more often now. Thanks for sharing the link!
No worries! I will take your suggestion into account.