Is it possible to...

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Never mind, thanks for your insights.

Last edited by cannotthinkoff on 11 Dec 2011, 10:25 am, edited 1 time in total.

If you feel that you have Autism, then go ahead and research. It's all up to you.

I think she's apparently researched it quite a bit
I don't really know - there are so many criteria under which diagnosis is made and it heavily depends on country and docs. Many of it sounds just like me, though. I wish I could help more but I haven't looked much into this. As far as I gather, though, B can be masked with depression and there are or seem to be some subtle differences for females. But I am quite incompetent to say something definite.

What were you like when you were younger? Before you developed depression and anxiety.

Depression and anxiety can be hard to identify ASDs around if you're only looking at current symptoms (which is something I've not seen anyone who diagnoses people do anyways). They're both incredibly common comorbids and things that can cause autistic traits to be developed.

Only a medical professional can diagnose you, and many of them can't unless they specialise in ASDs. I don't think you need to do any more research, looks like you've done plenty already.

Cost etc depends on where you are, I mean what counry you live in.

That said, AS or an ASD looks like a definite possibility from what you describe. But your depression is perhaps a bigger, more immediate concern. It would be good if you could seek medical attention for that sooner rather than later.

And welcome to WrongPlanet!

Thanks for your replies.

Last edited by cannotthinkoff on 11 Dec 2011, 10:26 am, edited 1 time in total.

You know what, if you are really thinking this much into it you should go ahead and get tested, if you can and are willing to pay the price. We can only do so much.

Without a diagnosis by an appropriately trained and licensed mental-health professional, your research is pointless.

You may have other conditions that can either mimic your symptoms or distort your perceptions. In either case, the subjective nature of your "diagnosis" is likely to be incorrect. If it is, then you will end up "treating" the wrong condition.

Last edited by cannotthinkoff on 11 Dec 2011, 10:27 am, edited 1 time in total.

Many countries have some kind of state health provision (like the NHS in the UK) and if one is patient enough to persist and fight for a referral then eventually you get to the right place to get a diagnosis. I get the impression English is not your first language (it isn't mine either) but are you saying where you live there is no way to get diagnosed without private means?

Did you have any of the criteria in B for an extended period at any point in your life?

The reason I ask is because the criteria in A may confuse introversion, anxiety, depression with ASD, but the criteria in B are more clearly autistic traits, e.g. stimming, routines and rituals (the kind that leads to mental pain if broken), intense interests (the kind that leads to mental pain if not attended to), parts of objects (this one is weird, but think of it as focusing a lot on details in sensory perception, e.g. carpet fibers and wood grains, and knowledge/concepts, e.g. baseball statistics).

Last edited by cannotthinkoff on 11 Dec 2011, 10:27 am, edited 1 time in total.

I really don't like the way that the experts make those traits out to be a bad thing. The reason that a lot of us have repeated activities related to our interests is because that makes us happy. I think it's time for them to listen to what we have to say. A lot of us may be due to having narrow fields of interest is because the things that we're interested in make us happy.