Online therapist mentioned I might be autistic, but I don't

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-think I am. It cut me off there so I wrote the rest of the title here.

So, I've been keeping in contact with an online therapy group. They offer free advice on the NHS. I don't have a set therapist and often switch between people, but they keep notes on me so I don't have to keep repeating myself.

It's been awhile since I spoke to the therapist that mentioned this to me, and it was only in one session and we've never met in person so I don't think anything of substance can really be taken from this. She said this to me because I was talking about how I get overwhelmed easily by noises and smells. I know that autistic people can typically have these problems, but I don't think I have autism.

Socially, I'm fine. Sure, I can be a tad overly literal at times, but I don't have any major problems with social interactions. I used to have problems with eye contact, but that was only to people in authority and besides I don't have that problem anymore. Most of the tests I've done (I know, internet quizzes aren't exactly the most accurate source) have said that I probably wouldn't qualify for a diagnosis because it doesn't have a considerable effect on my life.

The more I look into it, the more I suspect dyscalculia and OCD, but I know I shouldn't self-diagnose because that could lead to a nocebo effect (showing symptoms that aren't there because you're worried you have it).

Idk what the point of this thread is, sorry.

Sorry but no helpful advice but don't be sorry about the thread , if nothing else you've made me aware of the nocebo effect or at least the name for something I might do

Admittedly I only know of the term because of "film theory" (the YouTube channel), I knew of the placebo effect before but that channel taught me about the nocebo effect, which I've looked into and is an actual thing. So I guess my thread is of some use, if for nothing else then for that.

It doesn't really seem like an appropriate setting to make such a determination, ideally they should observe you IRL to make such a call.

I'm not sure how the NHS works in respect of this, but if it gave you an opportunity to rule it out (or dx it) would you be able to follow up on that therapists comment and get a referral to a diagnostician who specialises in ASD?



I didn't think I had autism at all, I was more social and outgoing when I was younger, got into a good career and got married etc - but my sensory issues and executive functioning worsened as I grew older, I burned out a few times, my gp referred me for an AS assesment, I had a year between referral and diagnosis where I was in a strange duality of realising my potential aspieness versus being utterly convinced that I was going to be told that I was fine by the specialist.

I'm not saying this is the case for you, as you've been on a differnet path to mine, for me the diagnosis made sense.



It's impossible not to read-up on these things, I don't think self-diagnosis is a good idea either, it's hard (idk, maybe impossible) to look at oneself objectively without falling into cognitive biases, and you'll be living in a state where you're never sure of your diagnosis -- at least you can have confidence if you know someone has diagnosed you with diligence.

Well, they do offer face-to-face referrals,no idea if that would lead to a specialist- I guess that would depend on what would happen. However, admittedly my parents don't know about these sessions that I've been going to, I've been going in secret.

I only ended up going on this therapy website because someone suggested it to me on another forum, I made a thread talking about happiness and it was kinda revealed in that thread I was pretty miserable (at the time, I'm not now) so a member suggested I try it. I don't want to tell my parents about it, since although they've threatened sending me to therapy, (they use it as a threat, they hope if they do this enough then I'll change some of my behaviours) but I get the impression that they don't actually want to send me to therapy.

Yeah, I agree it isn't an appropriate setting to make such a call, which is why I don't thing anything of substance can really be taken from this. I guess I'd be better off just not knowing, I don't think having such a diagnosis would make any difference, and like I've said I probably wouldn't qualify.



I'm still fairly young (18), but when I was younger I was the complete opposite of "outgoing", in fact at one point school made me go to this class dubbed "shyness class" which was just "we're going to leave you in a room together and make you do trust exercises so you talk to each other properly class".

However, recently I've become alot more social and talkative since I'm around people I can relate to better these days. Sometimes I barely shut up when I'm with my friends.

Yes, I'll admit my sensitivity to noises and smells can get in the way, but I do have ways of coping. For instance, I take my old mp3 pretty much everywhere with me, so that if things get too noisy I can just listen to that. Unfortunately, it can be hard to upload new songs to that thing, so I tend to be stuck with the same ones.

If I can't, or get sick of it or it just isn't helping, I just go somewhere quieter like a toilet stall. As for smells, I usually eat away from my family if I think it's gonna be a problem, usually in the next room. Sadly, this problem is harder with friends and I usually either try to be fine or make an excuse to not sit near them.

Never heard the term "executive functioning" until today. The first things that come up when I search it are "managing time" and "paying attention". I don't have much problem with paying attention (although it loud environments that can be difficult, I kinda stormed out of a maths lesson once because it got a bit much for me, not exactly one of my proudest moments but...), yet I've never been good at managing my time properly.





True, there's always that temptation to read into these things due to curiosity.

Interesting post enbalmed , the whole cognitive bias thing is the biggest issue I have with self-diagnosis as like you I am in that strange duality phase pre-assessment. ASD wasn't even on my radar before my GF suggested it last year , I just thought I was a nut job and still might be , my evaluation changes almost on a daily basis.
I'll go from a state of just thinking I have a lot of random autistic traits then rule out ASD as I was far too social and outgoing before I had a breakdown, then I read a post like yours above and think Oh! I can't rule it out because of those things.
The most logical answer for me is that I have some sort of personality disorder with added depression , anxiety and possibly the obsessional sides of OCD which when added up together can look a lot like ASD.

I would be surprised if I don't qualify for OCD because I am definitely obsessive. I went on that therapy website again today and I managed to get through to a therapist, (the site is often busy, so getting through can take time) and I spoke to her about how I can be obsessive and she asked me if I'd ever tried not being obsessive, and I felt like writing back "Well gee, why do you think I'm bringing this up?" but I didn't. She did give some helpful advice though, which was to cut back on checking slowly each day, so 10 times to 7, then 5 and so on until I only have to check once. I'm gonna try doing that, but I know it's gonna be hard at first.

Intimidation isn't a positive tool - I'm not passing judgement on your parents, as we're all only human - but I would reframe the idea that you're doing this in secret, to realising you're doing this in private. As you're majority age, you're entitled to that privacy, and in terms of understanding yourself it's good that you're taking positive steps.



Whether you pursue it or not is entirely up to you, some people are comfortable with themselves, and aren't bothered by getting a diagnosis - for me I think since I've been diagnosed I've been reading a lot more and understanding more about how my aspie issues have affected me throughout my life. It's early days, but it's been generally beneficial to know.

If you're worried about whether or not you would qualify, you could consider doing the 'Aspie Quiz' and the 'RAADS-R', while these are not diagnostic outside a clinical setting, if you take good care answering them you may get an indication of whether or not a diagnosis is worth pursuing. There's reviews of various tests (including the two above) here: https://musingsofanaspie.com/aspie-tests/



I can relate to a lot of this, when I was in university I was never without big sound-isolating headphones.
Like that I know the feeling of retreating away to a quiet spot, I've done that all my life - but not knowing about autism, I had been running myself into exhaustion for years by putting myself into stressful situations. I was superficially sociable, but 'running on vapours' beneath the hood.



Exectuive functioning is a broad term that covers a number of cognitive processes. It can affect things like planning, decision making, general motivation, paying bills, tidying/organising. Like going to the shop to buy milk, getting confused when you get there and buying bread, only realising you wanted milk when you get home. Or trying to tidy a room but spending 15 minutes just trying to figure out what you're doing and where to start. It's a lot more complicated than this though.


Only you know what's right for you - For me, once the doubt entered my mind I wanted to either rule it out or have it properly confirmed.

For me the OCD traits I have are 99% obsessional i.e rumination etc but I do check things like the front door after I leave the house , front door before I go to bed , car door , the oven. It's like I forget really quickly ( like in seconds ) if I've locked things or switched them off , checking once it always enough for me and I can let it go so I don't know if this qualifies as OCD but when added with my obsessional & intrusive thoughts ( paranoia & suicidal ideation ) it seems quite likely but there's no definites in this life.
One of the things I've learnt about checking for me was when I needed to check something I made it very theatrical and very exaggerated so it was easier for me to remember if I had done it or not.
The online therapy seems like an excellent idea and something I may look into.

I could be reading my own story there with a few minor adjustments. I had a lot of competing theories, but I suppose my awareness of the fallibility of introspection kept me from being able to settle on anything. But since I've been diagnosed and have started to read a bit more, it makes a lot of sense - I think hearing it from an objective party really helped.

I've read that expression or something similar a lot since researching ASD "That's my story" , I wonder if that is just related to ASD or does it cover all illnesses/disorders that are discovered later in life.
I also feel that just getting a definite yes/no from an objective party would really help me , I know it's just a label but I'm the type of person who works best when I know what I'm dealing with , uncertainty is not good for me.

True, I guess I am considered that now.



What do you mean by "running on vapours" and "superficially sociable"?



I actually decided to take these quizzes, so I guess I might as well share the results here.

Results for aspie quiz:

Aspie score: 88/200
NT score: 106/200.
You seem to have both neurodiverse and neurotypical traits.



As for the RAADS-R test, I scored:

Above test threshold, may be worth getting assessed.

Total score: 137.0 (yellow)
Language: 9.0 (yellow)
Social relatedness: 52.0 (yellow)
Sensory/motor:43.0 (yellow)
Circumscribed interests:33.0 (yellow)

Scores with a yellow background are above the test threshold values. If your total score is above the threshold it may be worth getting professionally assessed.

I'm starting to wonder whether I should leave online therapy or not, I'm not sure if I'm really getting much out of it.

Although having said that, I did have another session today. The one hour sessions sure do go by quickly. Apparently I "did well" though, whatever that means.

Is it making anything worse?

No, it's not making anything worse.