Hopefully, this list won't just serve as a checklist to help you figure out if you may be on the autism spectrum, but also as a guide to helping you better understand what life and its struggles are like for people who live with an ASD. I’m currently waiting to receive the COVID-19 vaccine so I can see clients again, and, in the meantime, I’m writing a book about being autistic and hoping to have it published. If you actually like being alone (which is different to being lonely), that’s fine. So here’s my advice to you, from a guy who’s been there. Nothing’s changing unless you want it to.”. On top of that, I was the only autistic person I knew. We (me and my mum, as she was the one who ended up having the critical random conversation with someone else with the right connections) do have an appointment to see someone, and for some reason HER son, connected with yet another local AS support charity at the end of the month. Which is great cuz I’m in a major crisis depression mode after my partner of 3.5 yrs (whom I loved deeply, with whom I was cohabitating and with whom I was co-parenting my son) told me 6 Wks sfo/on Valentine’s Day that he couldn’t stand being with me anymore and I had to move out ASAP- after giving me feedback for months about how shitty my ASD traits were for him. Required fields are marked *. I definitely have a lot of traits associated with ASD, and someone diagnosed me with Asperger's when I was younger. I got pretty lucky with reactions from friends and family, but that was largely because I planned everything carefully and only told those I really, really trusted. I’m 18 now and have had the inkling that I’m autistic since I was 13. */, (Cover photo credit: Afif Kusuma on Unsplash), adviceAsperger SyndromeAsperger'sautismautism adviceautisticChris Bonnellohelpspectrum. So, you want to teach autistic students? By the time my diagnosis came, I began to recognise it for what it truly was: permission to be myself. and my younger sister was recently diagnosed as autistic. Warning: the results may challenge you. Social Signs of Autism … If you ever are around Stanford University, where I go to school, I'd definitely love to say hi! So, I think I'm autistic, but I guess it doesn't feel like all the descriptions that you read. And actually, since writing this article I’ve been given permission to share this brilliant infographic from Harriet Cannon. Sometimes, just knowing can be a tremendous relief and explain so much that you always wondered about.". That said, it was the 70s/80s and I was one of many autistic people who were misunderstood or ignored. I’ve never heard of the outfit, and apparently they can’t offer any kind of regular meeting or support at the moment because they’re skint (and therefore, there’s a good chance they may fold completely). If I really am autistic, I’m on the lower end of the spectrum, but I’ve still found these explanations to be quite valuable, and sometimes even amusing. And bear in mind the support may not be autism-related. It's not just lights and sounds either, for some people on the autism spectrum, even textures can be so abhorrent that it throws off their entire day. (Spoiler alert- things have changed a lot since then.). While most people with autism are diagnosed in early childhood when language and socialization skills are developing, parents often notice that certain developmental markers aren't being met (speaking, making eye contact, smiling) and this leads them to an eventual diagnosis. Who knew that walking around on tip-toe was an autistic thing? We discuss the struggles of living the majority of our lives feeling different and not knowing why, the challenges of seeking a professional that will work with an adult, chronic illness and comorbid conditions and some of the things that led Michael to the realization that he could be on the spectrum. . If you're suffering from one of these conditions and other symptoms here apply to you, you may want to consult a doctor about autism. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Like … give me a bridge to jump off. It might sound strange, but it's a symptom! When I first wondered who to tell, I was very selective. So, after having read up on the subject and read many,many blogs written by autistic adults I have finally accepted that my friend was probably right. Today we’re chatting with our friend Michael, who is seeking an autism diagnosis as an adult. This novel series may interest you! I think I'm depressed." Most of all, it triggered the realisation that all my previous attempts at changing my personality had been damaging myself rather than fixing myself. Amazon UK | Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon AU There are many parents realizing they’re autistic now as adults. I did some online tests and I had to admit it, I do have a surprisingly high autism content. If you find out you’re autistic and you’re sad for the whole day, that’s fine. Take care, and I wish you all the best in your journey of self-discovery. I think i'm autistic, but I don't really know how to get diagnosed, or what to even do? Emotions are complex enough for us to experience conflicting or contradictory feelings. Notwithstanding that going to such events is pretty rare in the first place, given a) lack of disposable income (due to lack of employment…), b) general anxiety over going to such things, which in itself leads to not really having anyone to go with, and such events are rarely enjoyable on your own. Some of the headteachers I worked with (I was training as a teacher at the time) had already worked it out for themselves, and the others just asked “is there anything we can adapt in order to help you?”, My closest friends gave the best answer of all: “This isn’t going to change the way we think of you or anything. Do you remember the person you used to be, three seconds before you learned that the word “autism” applied to you? When my mental health started to recover, I started to see my neurology in a very matter-of-fact way, neither liking nor hating it. Now I know why I have a hard time retrieving a certain item unless given VERY specific instructions as to it’s whereabouts. And I'll have to do whatever I have to do to make sure that he's OK. "Siblings are often an overlooked element in the autism universe,” Walter Suskind says. These days – completely by accident – I have a reputation for being a positive autism advocate. Or if they do remain in existence, then the person running your course may have quit / moved elsewhere / been laid off / died / etc (one or other of those affected not only my first attempts contacting the local services and getting in-work support, but also signing up for the aforementioned support group sessions, AND the person who was running the social groups literally just announced their departure at the same time as the date for the next session – quite who’s going to run that, or the three others timetabled through the rest of this year, is anyone’s guess). I’m not really sure of the point. Dr. Marsh adds, "You found it difficult to understand humor that relies on sarcasm, puns, or figures of speech, although as an adult you may have learned to understand these the way someone else might learn a foreign language.". Because honestly, results may vary. But of course, picky eating is a far cry from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which can make it impossible to fulfill the demands of daily life. Man, I know I should probably be opening up to the people I know, and getting on with the support groups that are offered to me via courses I’ve been on, but there’s a heavy dose of social anxiety as well (I sort of feel like it feeds off the aspergers*, if indeed it’s not even some kind of weird two way thing) and it’s just too terrifying and overwhelming. For more of her work, check out her Tumblr. Common examples can be anything from a fascination with 1970s Italian furniture makers to being an expert on all things train-related. (Indeed, that's where all the unscientific fuss about vaccines causing autism comes from. "You can lecture at length on topics of interest to you, but you freeze up when confronted with making 'small talk' or responding to another person’s questions," says Dr. Marsh. When I saw a weird meme about autism recently i got curious and soon realised that my categorizing of everything, love for excel spreadsheets and ability and annoying tendency to analize everything combined with the extreme hate of loud noises, people forcing me to be social or change my routine were pretty good signs of it. Why do I think I'm autistic . If you have ever wondered "Am I autistic?" Now, doctors, experts, and people on the spectrum themselves are redefining what it means to have an ASD (autism spectrum disorder). They didn’t say I might be putting two and two together to make five. Confronting this stuff is difficult. Of course, the internet’s there too. Close your eyes and try to feel your whole body top to bottom to ground yourself, and concentrate on a calming colour in your mind’s eye. The more I think about my childhood, and even things I did a couple of weeks ago, the more they make so much more sense when I consider i might have asd. Next stop- Self Advocacy meeting next week… finally ready to brave meeting strangers and encounter/connect with my very first autistic people. we've gathered 17 symptoms and signs of autism that could indicate you share behaviors with people commonly diagnosed. Bizarrely just a few hours after I wrote that, I got another email about the next local group meet. Some even call us the “lost generation”. I didn't suspect I was autistic until I was 13 and didn't get a diagnosis until I was 20. But mostly, when I think, I don’t really have what you might call an “internal monologue,” when I think I see, and feel, and hear what I’m thinking about. OK … now what. This discussion has come up recently on Autistic Not Weird’s Facebook community [all links in this article open in new tabs, so clicking won’t interrupt your reading], and it’s been on my “articles to write” list for a while. I realised I had learnt ways to live and work in a neurotypical world, yet these had brought along huge frustrations, regular periods of depression and job changes. A person with autism is often a slave to their routine. More than 1% of the human population is on the spectrum, and – speaking as a guy with a maths degree – 1% is a much higher number than we give it credit for. Incidentally, in terms of available adult support, I may as well recount the pithy but all-encompassing answer I gave to a local “healthwatch” page on facebook, canvassing for people’s experience of adult after-care mental health and learning difficulty services in the area: It’s only two words but I think it sums up how I felt about it, and somewhat still do. Autism was an explanation for previous life events that had confused me. For those who feel like they’re the only autistic person in the world, I can assure you the feelings of isolation are unwarranted. Just kind of … adrift. “Neat… so do I”. Before the appointment, make a list of all of the things that make you think you could be autistic. I do like hanging out with friends, but even when I do that I'm half in my own internal world. So there are services there, but they’re all so fragmented and divided from each other that it’s practically worthless. I don't know how my family would take it if I was diagnosed with autism. Sensitivities to light, sound, and textures are very common to people on the spectrum, but it doesn't stop there. One unwanted side effect of all this awareness (even though it’s helped vulnerable people enormously) is that autism is often seen by the public as a disadvantage first and foremost. Back in the day, for most people, being autistic meant being like Dustin Hoffman's character in Rain Man. Somewhere along the way I had to push some of the actual learning out of my brain in order to fit in the details of trying to organise the continuation of it. So I needed the knowledge that I wasn’t completely isolated – and more than that, assurance that my brain wasn’t ‘wrong’ just because it was different. If their understanding of autism was more geared towards the positives, maybe that would help them understand how their brain truly works. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. But I wasn’t always positive. (From my perspective, I only ever try to be an honest autism advocate. Friends and family call it a quirk, but it might be one of the signs of autism. …1 month in to being totally “aut” (I adore that term, person above,) in my social sphere (still debating pros and cons of auting myself at work,) thus far almost no negative feedback. Are you tired of characters with special needs being tokenised and based on stereotypes, or being the victims rather than the heroes? Dr. Marsh says, "Many people with high-functioning autism, also called Asperger’s, go through school without ever being diagnosed. Learn how your comment data is processed. I’ve had to disable right-clicking and highlighting on my site (since my work started to get stolen literally every day), but I’m quite happy to send it out voluntarily to those who ask. All I know for sure is that I finally feel whole and as strange as this might sound, my life makes sense now. All I could say was: “Huh? For instance, a lot of people think autism and think “Rain Man” immediately. I think I’m ready to share it now. Hmm. Um… right. With an early diagnosis and support, I would have had a happier life. #community. What now? Even my mild protestations that he might have been mistaken provoked an alarming and rather sad reaction. Underdogs, a near-future dystopia series where the heroes are teenagers with special needs, is a character-driven war story which pitches twelve people against an army of millions, balancing intense action with a deeply developed neurodiverse cast. I would absolutely love a .pdf version of this article to share with him. It goes to follow that having a conversation is difficult for them at times, usually because they don't know when to speak, when to ask questions, and do other things that people often take for granted. Plus I don’t really know what I’d get out of it, other than a chance to alienate even more people … even whilst increasing withdrawal off the back of that, and off depression coming from a long period of unemployment (itself somewhat prompted by work issues caused by the condition). Still not entirely sure if I fancy, or can be bothered going. This is unfair. Facebook’s generally the best place to send me a message. Aside from that last bit, the advantages of autism barely enter the conversation. In a random small office somewhere in the middle of Birmingham, on a Sunday. Determined to find out, I googled it and was “info-dumped” by articles on autism in kids. I'm female, in my early 20s. Most of the stories you hear about people on the autistic spectrum feature them being diagnosed as children. If you have differing paths which have worked for you, please leave those in the comments too. Habituate yourself to things that cause panic reactions by gradual, controlled exposure to them in a way that re-associates them with a calm or neutral physiological response instead of a flood of adrenaline. We all have our own interests and hobbies, and people with autism have them too, but they are intensely focused on them, usually to the exclusion of everything else. 17 Signs You May Be On The Autism Spectrum, What It's REALLY Like To Raise A Child With Autism, making eye contact during conversation can be difficult, The Surprising Way I Learned To Love My Life After My Son's Autism Diagnosis, Advice To Parents Who Are Making Their Children Drink Bleach To Cure Autism. Although advances are being made in the field every day, we still don't know everything there is to know about autism. People with autism really want to have close friends, they just don't know how. Relevant ongoing support is difficult to find, although I’m finding it useful to develop autism groups, and try to help others avoid the problems I’ve faced. I keep talking about Autistic Not Weird’s Facebook page because it’s relevant to what I’m writing, but I’ll drop the link here just in case you’re tempted. Autism in adults. But I’ll be entertaining the thought as that fear is probably no worse than what I felt just there. Good. Erm… oh right, we both happen to have brown hair, how about that. A lot of the descriptions I read are about communication and understanding people. There's a common misconception that people with autism don't like people, but that's just not the case. After the initial appointment your GP may decide to refer you on to an autism diagnostic pathway or a different pathway if appropriate. Many people have told me that they think I'm on the spectrum as well. Now I understand that is part of being autistic. Dude it’s fine. Book Depository Her work focuses on relationships, pop culture and news. But stuff them. After all, here’s an article describing some of the positives of being autistic. Advice. Many autistics are unable to speak (around 40%). The autism spectrum records a series of disorders characterized by difficulty communicating and difficulty interacting with others. My, you really are autistic, aren’t you?” ( he had only spoken to me on one or two occasions before this scene) …I think I might have digressed somewhat. I wouldn’t have have been bullied as much. From. Working super hard with therapist and Life Skills for ASD Workbook and obsessive research and lists re: getting by as a lady on Spectrum. For years, the knowledge was reserved for just me and very select group of friends and family. Now I know why I completely missed unstated information that my peers seemed to pick up intuitively. For some reason, reading these positive, helpful and encouraging pages just makes it worse; the depression makes it impossible to see how they can be applied to my own life, other than recognising the examples where the attempts also failed. I’m just the parent of an autistic child that learned I was autistic as an adult. Getting lost in the internet is easier, and helps mask the eroding sense of self and total loss of identity (jesus, brooding teen much). 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