Am I on the Spectrum?

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I don't know where to begin and this happens to me all the time.
Right now I don't talk to my family, I've always had trouble knowing what to say and when to say it, how can I know if the person I'm talking to isn't interested so that I can stop talking? especially when I can't maintain eye-contact.
I've read a lot about autism and found many things that I do are common in people on the spectrum.

My life wasn't going as I'd like but it was OK, until I joined faculty of engineering and I wanted to join Computer programming department but was forced to join mechanics department instead. (There were exams and I got 90% in computer programming, 3rd on my class, and failed the mechanics exam!) I tried talking to many professors but nobody could do anything.

I lost the one thing that was keeping me going in this life.

To give you an idea how I love studying, Schools here are terrible, many teachers are just trying to prove students to be stupid to make 'private tutoring' the only way a student will pass the exams and no real education is involved. I hated this kind of teachers and hated school, but never missed a day at school and got good marks all the time, sometimes I'd be the first on my class. So this gives you and idea how much I love studying.


P.S. some of what I said might not make sense, that's because I'm nervous about writing here ,and also English isn't my native language, so please ask me for clarification if something doesn't seem right.

No one here can make such a diagnosis here. Only appropriately-trained and licensed mental-health professionals can make an official diagnosis of an ASD. We're just a bunch of amateurs. Online tests can not provide an objective ASD diagnosis.

I suggest that you seek out a professional for the answers to your questions.

That was pretty stupid....putting you in mechanics instead of computer programming.

That doesn't mean you're on the Spectrum, though.

From what you wrote, your only "pathology" is that you believe in the idea of knowledge itself, rather than the people who try to teach you that knowledge.

I would echo Fnord's advice: If you are able to financially, try to get assessed professionally.

And welcome to the Forum....you are welcome here even if it turns you that you're not on the Spectrum. As long as you know that Spectrum People are people of worth.

I just wanted to say a quick hello and welcome, because I saw you're very much into computer programming. I just started a Computer Science degree with the hopes of becoming a software programmer, so I guess we kind of have something in common

And don't be nervous about posting here. I've only been here a few days myself, but everyone seems really friendly and fun, so if you decide to stick around, I'm sure you'll enjoy it here

Welcome to WP Don't be nervous about posting here, we don't bite... much!

As far as the possibility of your having AS, the difficulty talking to people, lack of eye contact, and special interest (computer programming) are all autistic traits, but it usually takes more than that to diagnose it. Do you have trouble reading non-verbals, facial expressions or body language? Do people tell you that you take the things they say too literally (taking exaggerations as exact facts, for example, or misunderstanding jokes and sarcasm)? Do you have any sensory problems like aversions to, or a need for constant sound, touch, light, etc.? Do you say things that you think are perfectly acceptable, only to discover later that you've offended someone, or made them think you're weird? Do you "stim" or use self-stimulatory behaviours like rocking, flapping, spinning, bouncing, humming (for example), physical or vocal "tics" that help you feel better or more comfortable in your body? Do you have a consistent need for routine or dislike uncertainty or unpredictability? Does a lack of structure make you anxious or uneasy? These are some of the most common symptoms of AS, but it's a disorder that is unique to individuals, so you don't have to have all of them to be diagnosed. If you haven't already, I'd recommend reading the DSM-V criteria; you can find it online pretty easily. Do you have any interest in, or the means to get, an official diagnosis? If so, I'd recommend it; mine has been quite helpful for me. Good luck!

Thank you all for your replies.
Having an official diagnosis here is neither cheap nor easy, And yes, I know that the online tests aren't really accurate, and some of the questions need long answers not just yes or no. I was just thinking that maybe someone who had communication problems could give some tips, because that's one of the biggest problems I have (to clarify what I said in the original post, I still live with my family and I just stopped talking completely because I don't know what to say, especially about college and having the feeling that I failed even though I did all I can)

Also, this isn't something that I started thinking about yesterday, It started a few years ago, I took some online tests but tried to convince myself that my symptoms aren't that severe, and that I can try to overcome all this problems, (I did the same when my hair started falling during hepatitis c treatment, kept telling myself that it's not very noticable but that didn't help) but it just kept getting worse. It's like living on a foreign country that you can't speak its language, everything is going normally around you, but you don't understand it. Like living on the Wrong Planet.

I don't know if it's Autism or not, at some point I thought it might be just Selective Mutism, but it's much more than that . Sometimes I think (or hope) to go to sleep and wake up to find everything has been solved and makes sense, or that I never wake up to avoid staying in that infinite loop of confusion.

Maybe you should schedule some sort of meeting with your parents. Maybe then you'll be freer to express yourself pertaining to your issues. I think definitely knowing what to say is more possible when the specific purpose is known.