I wish the autism spectrum wasn't so massively broad

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For some reason, I sense that you will be okay.

Maybe your parents will leave you what they own?

I just wish Asperger's was classed as a separate condition from autism, like ADHD is. There are a couple of factors as to why I don't feel autistic, plus more, but these three stand out more:-

1. I naturally make the same facial expressions that match what I'm feeling inside (apart from the resting b***h face, which isn't uncommon in humans). For example yesterday I was at my boyfriend's family gathering and we were going to play a game that I wasn't sure how to play. I felt a little worried because I wasn't sure how to play it. I wasn't focusing on my facial expressions at all, but later when I was discussing how much fun we had to my boyfriend he said that I looked a little worried when we were about to play the game I didn't quite understand. (I got right into the game though and my boyfriend said he could tell I was having fun, which I was).

2. If I'm doing something on my laptop whilst having headphones on with music or whatever I can still see everything that goes on around me. Like I can see someone walk into the room in my periphery. I'm never 100% focused on just one thing in my own little world. I find a lot of NTs aren't like this. My boyfriend has focused on the TV so much that he hasn't seen me walk into the room, and he jumped when I spoke and said "oh I didn't see you come in", even though I would have been able to if I was sitting where he was sitting.

3. I don't mask that much. When I come in from a social event I don't start stimming or getting into a rage or anything. I just carry on like I hadn't been out. All right I do like a nap - but napping is one of my favourite things to do and it's something I do daily even if I haven't been out anywhere or seen anyone. It's not linked to social exhaustion. It's just a habit that I've gotten myself into. So if you met me at a social event, I might be a bit shy but still willing to join in and smile and naturally make eye contact with everyone and enjoy myself, and while you may think "she seems to be coping well now but I bet she'll start flapping her hands and that when she gets home, or she might have a meltdown or not want to talk to anybody for a day or two", it's actually not the case. After getting home from a social event I'll most probably phone one of my friends or relatives to chat about my day, or get on with some chores or whatever, and not feel any negative emotions (well, I may start to worry that I did something stupid and once I get that thought in my head I'll overanalyze it, but that's just my stupid brain overthinking).

And they're just a few things. I definitely have like 9 out of 10 symptoms of ADHD and anxiety, but only like 2 out of 10 symptoms of autism. My ADHD and anxiety still makes me different and I still can be socially awkward, but I feel I don't have to mask that much to fit in. We all mask a little bit, and I do, but not where it causes mental exhaustion. Except when I'm out in public spaces, but that's because of bad experiences I've had with strangers in the past and I feel like they're scrutinizing me and that there are certain rules you have to follow when out in public that you don't need to follow when around people you know. Yesterday when I was with my boyfriend's family at their house everyone seemed much more chilled than they would be if we were walking around town or something. Strangers are scary in my opinion.

The main reason why the "Asperger's" category was eliminated is that there was already such a thing as "high-functioning autism," and the difference between "Asperger's" and "high-functioning autism" was difficult to diagnose in adults or even in older children. That's because the main difference between "Asperger's" and HFA was that people with HFA had a speech delay, whereas people with "Asperger's" did not.

I myself would have been correctly diagnosed with either HFA or PDD-NOS under the DSM IV system, not "Asperger's," because I didn't start talking until around age 4.

It's my premise that higher functioning autistic people who aren't encumbered by more severe symptoms (some of which may be symptomatic of the autism label and some comorbid) should refrain from trying to make less than flattering opinions about other autistic people whom they deem lower functioning or claim to speak on their behalf.

It's better to focus on your own individual functioning/identity rather than trying to contrast yourself against people who self-evidently suffer more problems.

I know it's unpopular to drag this up but Aspergers associations prior to 2013 openly opposed the amalgamation of Aspergers into the broader ASD category. Parents thought it would not help their children to be lumped into the same category as "rainman" and children with severe functional deficits. Their associations also blocked the membership of families with children diagnosed with autism who wanted their kids to improve their social skills by mixing with Aspie kids but whose parents did not want to encumber their kids with making friends with "lower functioning kids". This is still pretty raw for me.

I am not opposed to parents or individuals who want what's best for their Aspie kids and who want to retain social networks of like-like higher functioning (e.g. high IQ and speaks normally) kids. But I thought its good to remind people that not everyone finds this a pleasant conversation to have.

I’m truly autistic. I’m only partially an introvert. I didn’t speak until I was 5 years old. I used to scream nonstop in the night when I was a toddler.