First of all, apologies if this is in the wrong section. Second, I need help from people with experience with autism. I'm 17 years old, and recently, it's come up in a discussion with my mom that she thought I was autistic in my early years. I've researched signs and symptoms to get a general idea on if it's something I should look into and get an actual evaluation. I hate self diagnosing, as I'm nowhere near a professional on the matter, but it seems likely.
For some background, I have multiple mental problems such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, minor PTSD, and bipolar disorder. That being said, a lot of these problems could be caused by those problems rather than autism. Before these disorders and conditions came into play, for the first 6-7 years of my life, I would become irritable if the tv was too loud or if too many people were talking at once. Loud noises made me cranky, crowds would cause me to latch onto my mom or dad and stop talking, and I didn't know how to talk to other kids, even the ones my age. I didn't talk much, only when necessary, even though I knew how. I was so quiet that my mom actually had to attach a bell to my ankle to keep track of me. Up until kindergarten, I rarely spoke, didn't like crowds, was easily disturbed by noise, and didn't like people touching me. Now around 7 years old, a lot of family problems came up, parents divorced, lost contact with all of my cousins, and moved from a small farm town into the city. I didn't make many friends, didn't talk to many people, same deal as before but with the added pressure of an ongoing divorce and cutody battle. I didn't like people touching me, but didn't know how to convey that. If someone touched my shoulder, I'd feel off balanced, like my shoulder was...contaminated. If my fingers caught on something, I'd have to run them back over the other way to "even them out." I didn't start talking about things I was interested in until I was about 12, and that was very short lived. I enjoyed puzzles because my mind could figure them out quickly, I was amazing at math, finishes both algebra and geometry before high school in am advanced programming in a school that was known for teaching autistic kids (it was a school for the "gifted") and as early as 1st and secind grade, I'd shown an aptitude for both maths and art. When I was 12, my older sister had passed away and it was a very traumatic event for all of our family which brings into play the rest of my mental problems mentioned earlier. I still have difficulty explaining/controlling my emotions, making sense of social situations, understanding people and what they like/dislike, and what's acceptable and what's not. I've also had very bad anger problems, and if I get too stressed, tend to go into a fit which involves slamming my head into walls, punching things, or just rocking back and forth while hyperventilating. All through high school, I've gotten into legal trouble and every time I'd hear "you don't understand how serious this is" and can't decide if it's from being possibly autistic or from dissociation caused by other disorders. I've been on medication known to help bipolar symptoms AND autistic patients with anger problems.
I need to know if these are from possible autism or just due to other mental problems. Any input or advice helps. I tried to cover everything, but if there's anything else that could help in me figuring this out, please just ask. Thank you.
10 Aug 2016, 6:15 pm
