I think I have Autism Spectrum Disorder

Page 1 of 1 [ 9 posts ] 

gallerypiece
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

Joined: 25 Apr 2018
Gender: Female
Posts: 7
Location: New York

25 Apr 2018, 12:41 am

I’m a 19 year old female, I’ve been diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I’ve always had issues due to my toxic and abusive childhood, but due to my parents being negligent, they never noticed any of the problems I had. Since I can remember I’ve always had issues socializing with peers. In school I felt very anxious and didn’t know how to play with other kids. I often kept to myself or my 1 or 2 close friends. This continued into high school, and then after I graduated I only kept 1 friend and haven’t made any new friends since. I’ve always been different than other girls, I dressed in baggy boy clothes a lot while growing up because I hated tight revealing clothing, it was uncomfortable and not my style. I didn’t even start wearing bras until my mother made me, at the age of 12-13. School presentations were a nightmare for me, and I never understood why it was so easy for other kids. Now that I’ve been out of high school for 2 years, I’ve been continuing my struggle with socializing and things of that nature. I would say I’m rather intelligent, except for when it comes to math. I have a lot of sensory issues and I stim quite a lot. Something that is peculiar though is I’ve noticed a lot of regression in the past 2-3 years. For example I can no longer brush my teeth with a normal toothbrush because it’s too hard and I cannot stand it. I had to buy a special toothbrush that is extra soft, and even then I have to listen to music while brushing or brush my teeth in the shower so I don’t hear the noise. I’ve always been a super picky eater, I even need to eat specific brands of things or else it’s disgusting to me. I notice that in public I am hyper aware of things around me, everything is a jumbled mess of sounds and lights so it’s hard to concentrate. I want to stim in public but I do have social anxiety so I often suppress it a lot. This causes a lot of stress on my mind. I’ve been in relationships but every time I’m in one I get overly attached and crazy, and I want the person to be around 24/7. I am unemployed because keeping a job is so extremely difficult because I’m not good at socializing. I can’t seem to grasp the concept of greeting people and also saying farewell. I get obsessed with very specific things and will spend hours researching about whatever I’m interested in at the time. I am obsessed with animals and mental health issues, as well as vaping, and the goth subculture. Those are just a few examples but as you can see they’re very random things to be obsessed with. I like routine but I don’t make it a big deal if the routine is changed, but it does make me significantly uncomfortable and it can take me a while to adjust to a change in routine. I’m just listing all of the things off of the top of my head that I know of that are strange behaviors. I am obsessed with researching about autism and I honestly think I could be on the spectrum. It would make a lot of sense if that is true. I haven’t gotten a diagnosis nor have i ever brought it up to mental health professionals. I really don’t know where to begin to get a diagnosis, but I would like one so I’m not just walking around claiming that I have autism. Plus, it would make me more comfortable to stim in public if I had a valid reason for it, such as a diagnosis. If anyone has advice on how to approach a psychiatrist/therapist about ASD please let me know. I think getting this diagnosis would help me out a lot. I clearly have more than just social anxiety and generalized anxiety. I used to think I had Borderline Personality Disorder, or Bipolar Disorder, but it doesn’t match my specific symptoms as much as ASD does. I also forgot to mention that I have OCD, and have been officially diagnosed with it. One last thing is I was diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder as a child and I know many children who are diagnosed with that are often actually autistic and just misdiagnosed. I know I didn’t have ODD because I never disobeyed on purpose, but rather because I was dealing with all of this internal stuff and couldn’t/ didn’t know how to express it. Again if you read all of this and have any advice please let me know!! !



AngryAngryAngry
Velociraptor
Velociraptor

Joined: 11 Feb 2016
Age: 46
Gender: Male
Posts: 496
Location: New Zealand

25 Apr 2018, 3:14 am

Seems likely, also that massive wall of text is certainly an indicator :D

You don't need a professionals opinion, unless you want it to be official, and perhaps to gain some financial aid.
Take the online test, think there are some links in these forums, or easily searchable online.
Don't be too fussed if you are very close to being on the Autism spectrum, some of us are very mild.
Meltdowns, stimming, social anxiety, and uncoordination are the four main traints, and I have none of those.

I never thought I had it, then did much indepth research here on the forums of the rarer traits, and these things matched up with many things in my life. Then it all fell into place and my whole life was explained.



ASPartOfMe
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 34,237
Location: Long Island, New York

25 Apr 2018, 8:01 am

If you are in college you can try the psychology or disability office at your school. Just write down what you wrote here and any and everything that impairs you even if you does not think it is important or related to autism.

Do you live in or near New York City? I know a place that does assements there as well as hosts support groups.


_________________
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity

“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman


gallerypiece
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

Joined: 25 Apr 2018
Gender: Female
Posts: 7
Location: New York

26 Apr 2018, 1:54 pm

ASPartOfMe wrote:
If you are in college you can try the psychology or disability office at your school. Just write down what you wrote here and any and everything that impairs you even if you does not think it is important or related to autism.

Do you live in or near New York City? I know a place that does assements there as well as hosts support groups.

—————————————————-

Unfortunately I’m not in college and I don’t live near NYC. I live in the crappiest part of NY (Upstate, near Albany and Saratoga) but thank you for the info!! ! :heart:



gallerypiece
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

Joined: 25 Apr 2018
Gender: Female
Posts: 7
Location: New York

26 Apr 2018, 1:58 pm

AngryAngryAngry wrote:
Seems likely, also that massive wall of text is certainly an indicator :D

You don't need a professionals opinion, unless you want it to be official, and perhaps to gain some financial aid.
Take the online test, think there are some links in these forums, or easily searchable online.
Don't be too fussed if you are very close to being on the Autism spectrum, some of us are very mild.
Meltdowns, stimming, social anxiety, and uncoordination are the four main traints, and I have none of those.

I never thought I had it, then did much indepth research here on the forums of the rarer traits, and these things matched up with many things in my life. Then it all fell into place and my whole life was explained.

..................................................

I would like a professional diagnosis because it’ll give me peace of mind, and I’ll feel more comfortable letting myself stim around other people. Plus, I could get disability benefits for it which would help me out a lot. I don’t know how it works in NY and I know that finding a psychiatrist that’ll actually diagnose me is hard, but I’m determined!! ! Definitely more likely to be on the spectrum than not, that’s for sure. I’ve also taken all of the online tests I could find and they all say “Autism likely” because I scored over 34 (out of 60) on all of them. Thanks for the reply! :heart:



LaetiBlabla
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 31 Dec 2015
Posts: 981
Location: Earth

26 Apr 2018, 3:13 pm

Did you not do the autism test? I would say it is likely you are on the spectrum.



gallerypiece
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

Joined: 25 Apr 2018
Gender: Female
Posts: 7
Location: New York

26 Apr 2018, 3:15 pm

LaetiBlabla wrote:
Did you not do the autism test? I would say it is likely you are on the spectrum.

————————————————————

I’ve actually taken every test I could find on the internet that looked legitimate. They all say “autism likely”.



ASPartOfMe
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 34,237
Location: Long Island, New York

26 Apr 2018, 5:57 pm

gallerypiece wrote:
ASPartOfMe wrote:
If you are in college you can try the psychology or disability office at your school. Just write down what you wrote here and any and everything that impairs you even if you does not think it is important or related to autism.

Do you live in or near New York City? I know a place that does assements there as well as hosts support groups.

—————————————————-

Unfortunately I’m not in college and I don’t live near NYC. I live in the crappiest part of NY (Upstate, near Albany and Saratoga) but thank you for the info!! ! :heart:


These people might have some ideas
Autism Society of the Greater Capital Region
This is a contact page with an option for "I'm interested in getting help"


_________________
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity

“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman


gallerypiece
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

Joined: 25 Apr 2018
Gender: Female
Posts: 7
Location: New York

26 Apr 2018, 6:06 pm

ASPartOfMe wrote:
gallerypiece wrote:
ASPartOfMe wrote:
If you are in college you can try the psychology or disability office at your school. Just write down what you wrote here and any and everything that impairs you even if you does not think it is important or related to autism.

Do you live in or near New York City? I know a place that does assements there as well as hosts support groups.

—————————————————-

Unfortunately I’m not in college and I don’t live near NYC. I live in the crappiest part of NY (Upstate, near Albany and Saratoga) but thank you for the info!! ! :heart:


These people might have some ideas
Autism Society of the Greater Capital Region
This is a contact page with an option for "I'm interested in getting help"

————————————————————

Thank you for being so helpful! :heart: