Trying to find out if I have autism

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Hi folks, first post. I have been looking into Aspergers for a few years now, and have been told by two people that they think I have it. On reading the list of traits, I feel I have some, but not all of them. I have done a few of the online autism quotient tests and it scores me at the other end of the scale, i.e not at all autistic.

Does anyone know a reliable way to look into this?

The recent revelations about Hans Asperger and who he was, plus the removal of the term Aspergers from the diagnostic manual, have both further led me to be sceptical, both of my own likelihood of having it and also of the validity of the term in general.

That being said, I do face many of the same challenges in adult life that a person diagnosed with Aspergers faces.

I do not have the most developed social skills, though at my age now (41) I have learned a lot and can cope in most situations. I have had a series of strong interests in my life although I would categorise them as keen hobbies as opposed to narrow interests. I have had some romantic relationships but have spent much of my adult life single - partly because I am not a keen socialiser and find I like to spend a lot of time alone. However I do a job which requires fairly good people skills and the ability to read people, and have no problems with it - in fact I appear to do it very well. My main challenges seem to arise from the lack of desire to mix with people socially, as opposed to the inability to do it, as I am fairly well able to when I am motivated to do so - as far as I am aware in any case, I acknowledge that we don't always perceive how good we are at such a thing. I tend to be quite forward in work meetings, with no reservations to speak my mind, perhaps slightly inappropriately in some cases (in hindsight) and I would describe myself as someone who is not sensitive to social status - I tend to speak and behave the same way to everyone regardless of who they are or their importance / position in a group. This may however be more ideological than through lack of social skills - I have always been keenly egalitarian in my outlook on life.

On the other hand, I follow the subtleties of jokes in conversations. I do not rely on a routine, if anything my life tends to be unstructured and spontaneous. I have no interest in things such as numbers or dates, although I do have a liking for 'facts' and bits of general knowledge. I am also fairly diplomatic and am able to help resolve disputes.

Welcome to WP!

Almost no-one (if anyone) has all the characteristics that have been associated with AS, so you don't need to (score 100%) to be an autistic person.

AS people are individuals, not the clones that many uninformed media commentary suggests; some are visual thinkers, for example, others have other dominant modes. Some have amazing sporting skills, while others (including me) have few or none.

We are not a homogenous group, as you will learn more about on your WP journey.

I'd like to suggest you read a book by Gillan Drew (try Google) about learning you are on the spectrum for the newly diagnosed. He describes facets in very clear detail which are common to most. You will either recognise yourself in his descriptions or not. That may help you gain more clarity about whether you are AS.

I don't see why anyone would think you are ASD. You seem to be introverted. Aspies often seem introverted due to social difficulties but are not necessarily so. I bet the two who think you are are extroverts and not very familiar with ASD.

What you describe sounds more like introversion than autism to be honest, though obviously no one here can say for certain. Do you have any sensory problems like aversion to loud noises, bright lights, etc? What about executive functioning issues like poor organization, planning or follow through? Do you have any restricted or repetitive behaviors like hand flapping, rocking, spinning, bouncing, etc?

Thanks I will have a look.

In fact I have also thought this - and yes the two who suggested it are extroverts (or at least more so than me) - in one of the cases, I suspected the person was an amateur diagnoser. In fact I have observed that a trend arose in recent years of people being quick to diagnose in that way, i.e 'so and so has Aspergers'.

I was told by an optician I have a sensitivity to light as a child, although it was being shone right in my eye, I don't generally have sensitivities in day to day life. I complained about a fire alarm test being too loud at work although it was absolutely deafening - I have played in rock bands in the past without any problem. I am unable to organise and remember dates without a diary in front of me although I suspect that is normal - I sometimes lack dynamism in terms of getting things done in my personal life although I can organise and plan when motivated to do so, especially at work. I don't have any repetitive physical movements I am aware of.

Off hand it doesn't sound like Aspie traits.

An introvert draws their energy by being alone. It is the way introverts recharge their batteries from a stressful day. An extrovert draws their energy by socializing. They bounce from a conversation with one person and then another and each encounter recharges their bodies. For an extrovert, a party is the best solution when they are stressed.

Around half of the people in the world are introverts and the other half extroverts.