New and self diagnosing

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I'll start by saying hi, my name is Bart.
A little background; I'm an Australian male in my mid-20s. I'm technically a graphic designer, but at the moment I'm the manager of a cinema complex, though what I really want to do is become a filmmaker.

Recently I was doing a test with one of my cameras, and I had it recording while I did some preparation. While doing this I know I was going over some film ideas in my head and was a little excited. When I was watching the footage later, I was watching myself do all this bizarre stuff with my hands...
This is something I'm kind of semi-aware that I do, I did it as a child and my family used to think it was strange, but never really thought anything of it. I never knew the extreme to which I do it or that I do it unconsciously until now! I decided to google it and found out that what I've been doing my whole life is 'stimming.'

After finding this out, I've been reading all about autism & asperger's and its been a little bit of a revelation. So many of the symptoms I've been reading about are spot on.

I'm not really sure what do do with this information? I have heard that adult diagnosis in Australia is a pain in the arse and even then I'm not sure what it would accomplish... Anyway I thought I would join here to gain some more perspective.

Anything is possible. I would like to recommend a book that was EXTREMELY helpful to me once upon a time.

I Think I Might Be Autistic: A Guide to Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis and Self-Discovery for Adults

If you are still thinking you MIGHT be an Aspie after reading this book than you may want to investigate further. It is a quick read but do not get the Audio book since it will be easiest if you have the text in front of you.

LMK if you have any questions.

Good luck! <3

Welcome! Good luck in your journey of self-discovery.

Hi Bart, welcome to WP! I found out recently that I'm on the spectrum and it's been great for me. Anyways, nice to meet you.

Hi, I myself comfortably self-diagnose. But at age 53, I'm a good generation older than you.

The main reason I can think of for a quote "proper" diagnosis by a mental health person is if a person wants to pursue more education and wants to tap into some reasonable accommodations which may be available. And same if one anticipates a career in a large corporate environment which also offers some of this.

And Welcome to WrongPlanet!! !

Whether you're full-on Spectrum, or whether in some final analysis you're Spectrum-lite or Spectrum-friendly, I bet you have a lot to offer our group discussions. Please participate as much or as little as you'd like.

And I'd really encourage you to look into sensory issues and take your time and be a little slow coming to definite conclusions.

Now, DSM 4 gives short shift to sensory issues describing them as something like "odd reaction" to lights or noises ? ? ? Wow, really shows that this is a 'professional' view of autism from the outside looking in, rather than from the inside looking out.

We talk about sensory issues a fair amount here.

For example, does something like a buzzing fluorescent light seem to take you more energy than the average person to block out? And you might think other people are more conformist, but the truth might be that they're just bothered by it less.

Or, a moldy smell?

Or, stench of fresh paint?

Or, a smoke detector with an old battery which is "chirping" every minute. To me, if I'm trying to concentrate on something, or being creative, or just having fun, this keeps yanking me out of my concentration. Of course, your mileage may vary.

Hey Bart welcome.

Welcome to Wrong Planet!