Is inablity to make decisions a part of Asperger?

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I keep reading it on the net from other aspies, but I'd never found making decisions particularly difficult.

i'm indecisive, but only because i like to see every side of a problem evenly and the more i know, the more difficult it is to choose, everything becomes equally appealing and it all blends into shades of grays. i sometimes envy people who can stick to opinions with dedication.

I tend to over-think decisions, which is hard work. If I want to buy something, I often get stalled by a plethora of choices. It's better when I notice what's happening, question how critical the choice really is, and consider just taking a chance. I have more trouble when all the options are horrible, such as whether to risk cancer or get an invasive test for it. But as a perfectionist, even good options can look horrible because they're not perfect. Many real-life decisions have to be taken without enough relevent information, and I hate that. But I also hate the drudgery, frustration and time-wasting of amassing and weighing up all the data. It's nice when I notice a line of reasoning that simplifies the choice.

I am aware I am indecisive and it causes a lot of problems in my life, I even have it described in a psychiatric opinion as one of observable traits.

I can even struggle with such easy tasks like "Go to Shop A or Shop B for grocery shopping?" because both choices have their advantages and disadvantages (one has my favorite jogurt, the other has a payback system, one is 3 stops away, the other is 7 stops away with a tram switch, one I visit rarely so it has a lot of new things, the other changes discounts every few days and has really good deals) and I will even regret my decision while already being in the shop of choice then I might even go as far as returning home to put groceries there and get into a tram again to go to the other shop despite not needing anything in particular anymore, just because of "What if there is a short time discount for something I like".

Basically there is a lot of "what if" in my decision making so I either experience analysis-paralysis or give up and decide to go for both options. I just can't choose and when I choose I still regret.

I am not sure if it is AS trait or not but I heard it is an INTP trait and INTP is 2nd of the personality types most likely to be autistic. However the first of "autistic" personality types - INTJ - is pretty decisive so the indecisiveness might not be autism related after all.

I can struggle a lot with decision making; it depends very much on how much the choices can be analysed as "logical" pro's and con's rather than just preferences.

For example, buying a new piece of technology, I would find relatively simple - I define the the things which I need the thing to do, the things which would be nice but not essential, my budget etc., then "score" the candidates. The "research" can be time consuming sometimes, but I will have high confidence in my answer and am unlikely to change my mind.

OTOH, a very "open ended" decision, such as what meal I would like to eat today or what clothes to wear, can result in endless dithering, even to the point where I have ended up with nothing to eat because the shops are closed by the time I have made my mind up. I have come to understand that much of the routine and repetition in my life is about avoiding these kinds of decisions by making sure that I always have a "default" answer.

One of the surest ways to leave me completely perplexed is to ask for "the first thing that comes into your head" - I always end up frozen like a rabbit in headlights.

It depends.

If there is a Problem with a clear solution, then its easy to decide something. But if the solution is not clear, or if everyone wants to do something different, for example on a trip, then it will be difficult. Then I need a few seconds to decide and I will look around nervously like an idiot

Yup. Indecisiveness is a key feature of my personality.
A combination of overthinking things and not having a good handle on what I actually want.

No. It has nothing to do with whatever you or others think it has do to with the diagnosis.

It says more about the people you read about being crap at making decisions. Sounds more like low-functioning autistics trying to decide between Tapioca pudding and watching Wapner

Seriously - can we be done with topics like this?

^^ well thankfully that is not all I read or it might have taken a decade longer to get my daughter assessed.

I am sorry for not making it clearer, I don’t think it is a defining feature of as but that many people with as seem to find it a challenge in different ways and it crops up in wider descriptions of traits just as the op suggests. However, maybe that is coincidental. Either way, we are plowing through it as it poses a challenge for us.

Yeah, It takes way more time for me to make any decision. Even just picking something to eat at a restaurant.

I often toss a coin as a trick. It's easier to tell if you don't really like a choice made for you.

And this approach really helped with bigger decisions: https://sivers.org/hellyeah

When I am tired, I can't make decisions easily. Otherwise, I pretty much know what I want well ahead of time. Indecision normally irritates me.