New- 2 kids awaiting diagnosis, possible aspie myself?

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Hello there anyone reading. I entered the world of everything autism just 4 months ago, when my 1.5 year old son's language regressed and shortly after he began blooming with every classic sign of being autistic that you can think of, and then some. He just began speech and OT, where his therapists have all but said they are confident he will be diagnosed. (Awaiting the initial call from the developmental ped. in my area for the diagnosis). This short journey has already led me to discover that my 5 year old daughter without a doubt is an Aspie. Once I began discovering the traits and symptoms, all of her "issues" since birth, from her innumerable sensory problems to her very awkward and anxious personality to her strange gait- it all seemed to turn that lightbulb on in my head.

This vast world of information and misinformation has already taken me to so many different places, ideas and opinions- but I am eternally grateful for having realized the importance of discovering and listening to the words of the vibrant autistic community over any one else on relevant matters.

Sorry rambling backstory, because while I'm sure both of my children are on the spectrum- my big question is whether or not I am as well. Actually, the only thing that is making me hesitate at all that I am in fact aspie is that, from an outsider's point of view, I have always had relative ease and even a bit of charm when communicating. However, this has always been paralleled with a nearly constant and mostly anxious inner monologue that mostly serves to help me get through whatever social interaction it is, because what most people can't tell and probably wouldn't believe it I told them is that interacting with people generally makes me very uncomfortable and I feel burnt out afterward, almost desperate to be able to be my quirky self in solitude again. Can anyone at all relate to this? That inner monologue I talked about, I've had it since I was a little girl. I feel like I'm always narrating the movie that is my life in my head, and it's always made me feel very strange, lol. (I did take that Aspie Quiz, with a neuro diverse score of 126/200).

Thank you to anyone for reading or responding, and I am really grateful to find and be a part of the community!

Hello, I'm almost in the same situation as you are. First kid (3yo) is now diagnosed with autism level 2, the youngest one who's 13 months feels quite different but it's absolutely not impossible that he's also on the spectrum or may retreat into autism. First boy could mix being social with being totally in his own shell. He's changed a bit the past year and is now accepting having other kids around him. He's using pecs and speech boards to communicate. My feeling is that he won't start talking at all. Speech just seem so extremely far away. I also said the same thing about him never learning to walk. He started walking at about 17 months but he could probably had done it earlier as he's a very cautious boy. When he started walking he never fell. Would be wonderful if the same thing happened with his speech.

As for being aspie I cannot know as I've always just been ME. I have always had these feeling of being hard to socialize with. Other people just seem to get along and I don't know what the hell is wrong with being around me. I don't make any strange faces, sounds, weird smiles, say stupid things etc. I only feel I can't keep a conversation going because things just feel OLD or uninteresting. The worst question is "how are you?" I never have a good answer to that. I am NOTHING most of the time. I'm just existing and I don't feel like saying anything more.

This summer we'll be visiting a day camp for autistic kids and adults + other diagnosis like DS/CP etc. I'm looking forward to meeting more autistic people to see how different they are from us supposedly NT people. I'm pretty sure I've had some encounters with some aspergers and I'm nothing like them. Weird smile, talks like a person from 1850, bi-polar emotions, obsessive talk and can't stop even though you signal with every part of your body that you want out of the conversation (monologue).

I can relate to the burn out after having a conversation. Where I work there are like 300-400 co-workers and it takes a lot of power every day having to say hello and exchange conversation. There are some undiagnosed autistics there, clear as daylight to tell. It's a perfect work place for them as well because of the rigid structure. Every day is almost the same and you have a schedule to follow. Monotone, repetitive tasks. One should also remember that AS is different in women and most traits are male stereotypes. So what I understand is that women have a somewhat easier time with the social part.

I've been wanting to share my Rdos for a while now and I think it would be appropriate to compare it to someone who's only suspecting AS and is a parent to an AS kid so here goes. This is my 3rd time doing the test and it comes out pretty much the same each time. Sometimes overweight AS traits, and this time slightly more NT. ADHD is the diagnosis I suspect myself. I figured my scores were not that off compared to all the rest until my wife had the test and came out NT 180/200 AS 5/200.... that's what a NT profile looks like


Here's mine:

I have a very similar situation. Two of my kids are diagnosed on the spectrum, and I am fairly certain that my little one will be too. As I researched the subject, I saw alot of similarities in myself as a kid. I had an interesting childhood that consisted of abuse, residential treatment, and special education. I was never told why, just that I needed to get better. My wife first suggested that I too may be on the spectrum, but I shrugged it off. Then one day the stress of life got me and I found myself standing in the kitchen clutching my hair and feeling like I was going to explode, and not understanding this reaction. In that moment I relived almost every melddown I had as a child, and realised that I was on the verge of another one. ASD puts all of the pieces of my childhood in order. All of the online resources indicate that I am on the spectrum. I did explore a formal evaluation, but my health insurance leaves alot to be desired.

Parents after finding out their children are autistic, researching the traits then realizing "This is describing ME!!" is fairly common.