How Did You Discover Autism?

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What made you realize that you were or could be on the spectrum?

I was shopping for bedding with my daughter, having a sensory meltdown.

She said "You know you're autistic, right?"

She thought I knew, and that I just hadn't told her.

It went from there.

I discovered classical Autism when I was about 12 (1990s) when my friend’s mom tutored a young boy who was severely on the spectrum. At this point I never thought I could be on the spectrum since I was nothing like him.
Fast forward to ~2007 and there was a young woman with Asperger Syndrome on the show “America’s Next Top Model”. At first I though oh, a mild form of autism, that’s interesting I never knew there was such a thing. Then, as the season went on I started saying to myself, wait a minute……I realized that the things this woman was struggling with were things that I struggled with too that I just never had a name for. This was also around the time when autism was becoming more widely diagnosed and I began to see myself in a lot of children who were getting diagnosed with the milder forms. This sparked months worth of obsessive research for me and suddenly the pieces started falling into place.

My parents told me I was assessed for it when I was 11 after it got brought up that my brother has it. I didn't really notice anything off about either of us because having autism + a sibling with autism was just "normal" to me (and the latter actually made my "symptoms" seem even more normal). We used to sit in the same rocking chair together when I was an infant/toddler and rock for hours. lol

My parents first noticed something off about me when my brother got diagnosed due to issues in school and they realized I had all the same issues and behaviours, down to lining toys up, rocking, etc.

I have had quite a few people tell me over the years but I honestly thought that they were joking! But the last two or three times... One was too much to take in due to the unreal situation. One was at a hospital where I had repeating shutdowns (Before I knew they were called shutdowns, and the doctor said it was definately not a faint as fainting does not work the same and he asked if I was autistic. I said I did not know, and the last time I had to go with my Mum (She does not drive) to a gathering at a large barn of some people we know and a few churches gathered at this event. This man was watching me now and then. I was wondering why.
The man approached me and my brother and said he was a health professional and said he thought I was autistic. He started saying who and giving a list of traits, but my Mum called me to help an elderly gent, so I had to go, so he told my youngest brother. My brother could not remember much but he thought it was funny and he said "I knew there was something wrong with you!" (Brothers eh! Haha!)... There were a few other events... The first serious one which puzzled me aas I was dating a lady who was onthe spectrum and I could not work out what autism was, as whenever she tried to describe her traits I saw them as normal, as to me almost everything she said was part of my everyday life! She was getting a little annoyed at me so to diffuse that I said half jokingly "Haha! Maybe I am on the spectrum as well!" She took me a little more seriously and had me sit the basic online test thingie which due to me answering "No" for two or three things which I should have answered "Yes" for as I did not know what they mean, I ended up being just inside being on the spectrum (If I took it now I will be deeper on the spectrum on that test as I now know what words like "Stimming" mean... The test said "See a psycologyst, a doctor or a health professional". It took me two years of trying and many appointments as I kept hitting mindblank... I gave up on trying until (Long story) with trying to avoid autism I went on a prosopragnosia Youtube binge watch over three full days and eventually I gave in and aatched the "Ask An Autistic", and I ended up being amazed. She said that around 80% (I don't recall exact figure) of those who have prosopragnosia are on the autism spectrum. I was determined to ask doctor. Took my Mum in to speak incase I hit mindblank. Wanted a "Yes/No" answer. Doctor referred me to the autism team and they accepted me to be assessed. About a month or two later I was so wound up because I was going to take my name off the list as I felt guilty and stressed (Having unknown future dates and appointments stresses me as they are on my mind so I have been known to cancel to rid myself of anxiety of being on a list). For years and years been trying to work out what the shutdowns were and I hit burnouts or breakdowns which seriously effected me. Trying to work it out and in absolute desparation I joined this site to ask if my experience is related to autism. An ex. moderator gave me a shutdown link. One part described me exactly! Rest is history as I wait to be assessed).

Autism discovered me long before I discovered autism.

My Dad is still alive. Two of my siblings live near him and frequently visit him. One of those siblings is a younger sister who works as a nanny for "special needs" children and sometime during 2018 she had one of those children with her when she visited Dad.

I live much further from Dad and (pre-Pandemic) would visit him a small number of times each year (but much more frequently chat by phone). When I visited at the end of 2018/beginning of 2019 I was told Dad's comments regarding that special needs child: "We had a kid who was weird like that, my name" and "He's doing the same weird things my name used to do."

I probably looked confused when they told me this. My sister had mentioned that kid before and noted that they thought he was Autistic...and, up to that point, I knew virtually nothing about Autism and would have denied being Autistic (after all, I was nothing like Rain Man!).

But...for some time I had been suspicious I really was different from everyone else but had not been able to put a label on it. So, I took the hint and started reading about Autism. And I found the label that fit!

P.S. I have not gotten a clear answer about exactly what "weird" things that kid was doing to remind Dad of me but I must have made quite an impression on Dad. This kid was doing them in 2018 and I would've been doing them in the 1950s.

P.P.S. Dad says that kid is welcome in his house any time!

My story seems to be quite unusual. I was read a psychology book in my college library and came across a description of Asperger's. I never doubted it was describing me. This was the late 1970s and I didn't even know this something that was just starting to be recognized. I never looked into it further other than reading any news I came across about the subject. By the time adults started getting diagnosed, I had a young family and that was not something I looked into. It wasn't until 2019 that I discovered the autistic community that had been developing in places like this.

I was 9 when my parents told me I had it.

I noticed I had a lot of common traits with the lead character of the show 'Bones' who they said had Aspergers. I said to myself I probably have it. I found it at the time mildly interesting, that's it. I had no clue as to its importance.

Not sure I have yet . . . still working on it.

i'm disabled Nam Vet getting Vet Admin psych & meds service. Asper/Aut stuff is coming out from that (began about 4 yrs ago) whatever it is. Circa 80's Aspergers fits best to me and the revamp to high funct Autism doesnt. I'm happily loner nerd but put off by lot of what I detect in WP as "superhero-performer!" Am I wrong? What's it about?

Any comments/advice appreciated! Thanks