this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2023
84 points (97.7% liked)

Autism

6862 readers
58 users here now

A community for respectful discussion and memes related to autism acceptance. All neurotypes are welcome.

We have created our own instance! Visit Autism Place the following community for more info.

Community:

Values

  • Acceptance
  • Openness
  • Understanding
  • Equality
  • Reciprocity
  • Mutuality
  • Love

Rules

  1. No abusive, derogatory, or offensive post/comments e.g: racism, sexism, religious hatred, homophobia, gatekeeping, trolling.
  2. Posts must be related to autism, off-topic discussions happen in the matrix chat.
  3. Your posts must include a text body. It doesn't have to be long, it just needs to be descriptive.
  4. Do not request donations.
  5. Be respectful in discussions.
  6. Do not post misinformation.
  7. Mark NSFW content accordingly.
  8. Do not promote Autism Speaks.
  9. General Lemmy World rules.

Encouraged

  1. Open acceptance of all autism levels as a respectable neurotype.
  2. Funny memes.
  3. Respectful venting.
  4. Describe posts of pictures/memes using text in the body for our visually impaired users.
  5. Welcoming and accepting attitudes.
  6. Questions regarding autism.
  7. Questions on confusing situations.
  8. Seeking and sharing support.
  9. Engagement in our community's values.
  10. Expressing a difference of opinion without directly insulting another user.
  11. Please report questionable posts and let the mods deal with it. Chat Room
  • We have a chat room! Want to engage in dialogue? Come join us at the community's Matrix Chat.

.

Helpful Resources

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
BackOnMyBS@lemmy.world
84
For those of use that found out we were autistic as adults, how did you find out? What caused you to consider that you were autistic? What confirmed it? (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 year ago by BackOnMyBS@lemmy.world to c/autism@lemmy.world
52 comments fedilink hide all child comments
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] cogitoprinciple@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Do you remember what site? I'm asking because I had read about autism and Aspergers in the DSM multiple times and it never clicked for me at all. I was completely oblivious. Truly, the only sign about me that I ever even remotely considered was that I really liked autistic people.

I am pretty sure this was one of the main one: https://psychcentral.com/autism/autism-spectrum-disorder-symptoms?c=1504654228509#diagnosis But it doesn't cover all the symptoms I have identified in myself. The DSM V descriptions were way too vague for me.

Woah! I had a girlfriend that was a psychologist learning to give an IQ test, so she practiced on me. When she looked at my results, she said that my scores were indicative of ADHD, which we both knew I had, but I never realized how much ADHD was impacting my life until I got medicated for it. The struggle is real!

I've wondered if I have ADHD - Inattentive Type. But every time I have read the symptoms and done tests online, it seems I don't. The only reason why I wondered is because I know ASD and ADHD can co-occur. I suspect the learning disabilities test I did was an indicator of ASD, before I knew I had it. I'm not convinced either way with ADHD, it's a possibility. But there's not enough backing the possibility that I do have it.

Yes, that can be an overwhelming task, especially since the topic itself could be mentally draining. The way I found a quick autism assessment was to ask local autism organizations for a list of reputable evaluators. Then, I called around to like 10 of them. I found one that was actually pretty economic and saw me within a month. She charge $900 to conduct the ADOS-2 (autism), the ASRS (ADHD), a lengthy clinical interview, and had me collect a bunch of information from my past. Other places didn't even have space on their waiting lists and were charging anywhere from $1.5k up to $3k if I remember correctly. Maybe you could try that if you haven't already.

I may have found one that is good. It's a lot cheaper than the other's I've seen around. I'm currently in the process of asking them lots of questions, because if I'm paying for it, and it costs a lot less, I want to make sure it is going yo give me a definitive medical diagnosis.

[–] BackOnMyBS@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Good job on being picky with the evaluator. I recommend you also evaluate them on how you feel when talking to them. I know for me, if someone professional felt off, I would still trust them in the past because I assumed my judgment was wrong because they were a "professional". That has blown up in my face, so I listen to myself more often now. Thanks for sharing the link!

[–] cogitoprinciple@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

No worries! I will take your suggestion into account.