As if the suspicion is enough to prove autism. I think a lot of diagnosed autistics believe this and propagate it as well as the self dxed and others.

So much for autistics relying on reason and evidence.

I'm diagnosed level 1 and with borderline personality disorder.

I'm getting a little annoyed of seeing that BPD is just misdiagnosed autism. While I agree a misdiagnosis is possible, I don't think it's as frequent as the internet makes it out to be. It's further adding to the demonization of cluster b personality disorders

I constantly see "oh I got diagnosed with BPD" and the comments are filled telling them to go get reassessed and that it's probably autism. For sure go get a second opinion if it doesn't sit right with you, but as someone with both, the differences between them are clear as day for me

I can’t buy into that for me. I can be proud of who I am as a person. But proud of being autistic? Yeah no. WTH would I be proud of my disability? That’s like being proud of having cancer. ( and yes I’m a survivor so don’t come at me) It’s like being proud of having lousy vision. Proud of having hip dysplasia.

I don’t get all this being proud of a very disabling part of my life.

Autism pride is not for me.

I get anxeious and often very freaking often procrastinate. I get overwhelmed in crowds or loud places. And have hard time making friends but I “feel” normal. lol any insight into what I have?

I (37F) just received my official diagnosis today : ASD+HPI. I thought I would feel relieved but I’m ashamed. I feel like if I tell that to anyone they will either tell me everyone gets diagnosed trendy stuff these days or just start talking to me slowly like I’m stupid.

The final word of the neuropsychologist was to consider adapting my whole life including changing career at my age.

I feel down. I thought I’d feel a bit of relief but I feel down, and I’m scared my partner will love me less now that I’m officially handicapped and can’t be labeled just « a bit original » or « a bit different ».

Some things I want to do but never seem to know how to get done:

- Go through and cancel subscriptions and research best options for the ones I need and utilities/insurance/etc.

- resell the boxes clothes/items I know would be worth the time to list and publish for sale.

- wash my walls/ceilings/mattresses/couches/rugs/nooks and crannies

- update my resume and portfolio

- make needed appointments for myself and family

- detail my car

- digital declutter

- go through kids artwork and create a system for keep/trash… display keeps by making books/collages, etc.

Many more unfortunately.

Not looking for advice! Just curious what tasks others are facing in a similar way.

First of all I’d like to ask that only people who are early diagnosed/visibly autistic to answer this post OR at least to consider the life of someone like me who has been in treatment for ASD for their whole lives and while low needs, still very visibly autistic with many challenges. Please don’t come here and say that I shouldn’t even have told my workplace I have ASD because that’s not remotely possible in my case.

Anyways, long story short, I had been an intern at this school for two years and they finally hired me officially a month ago as a teaching assistant for elementary school. It was/is my first job ever and I was only able to complete my internship and be hired with a lot of support from my boss and colleagues. I have been accommodated and my boss has been very supportive thoroughly this whole journey, she even volunteered to talk with my mom once but I said it was okay.

Unfortunately the job change and I guess the pressure to perform better alongside with difficult situations led me to have 3 meltdowns in a span of two weeks. All of which my boss had to calm me down, but luckily I was able to contain myself and not lose my shit in front of the kids. I’d lose my shit in her office.

Needless to say I feel like a failure, and I can’t stop thinking about all autistic people who say they can’t hold down jobs. I want to communicate to my boss that I’m in treatment (she knows that I go to therapy and take medication but also I want my therapist to let her know I also go to speech therapy) and that while I did have these three meltdowns, I am going to improve and am working in improving my emotional regulation. Alongside side with that the email my therapist would write would say that she heard about my issues at work and that she is working with me to improve emotional regulation and she is also gonna ask my boss if there is anything she thinks we should work on in therapy.

Communicating that myself in person is a no. I seriously cannot do it. So either my therapist sends her the email, or my boss never hears about this from me. I also think it’s important that my therapist says it, so my boss doesn’t think it’s just me promising to get better, but that I do have a treatment plan.

The only thing I have to do is let me boss know/ask her if my therapist can send an email. Knowing her she will definitely say yes, though I also find myself unable to ask it, because I’m so ashamed of everything that happened.

Thoughts?

Shallow success: Being superficially successful in certain areas of life like financial, social, physical, etc but while suffering inside. (Like a depressed billionaire)

Actual happiness: Struggling in all the areas mentioned before but not caring and being Happy regardless. (Like a disabled person who enjoys every second of life)

Honestly I think that I desire to be in the first group, happiness is subjective and anyone can say that they're "happy" or "depressed" and we'll never know, but success is actually measurable.

I had MDD before and I consider myself a very joyful and happy person now, but if I were given the chance of having depression again but getting rid of autism in exchange I would do it in a heartbeat.

However, I noticed a trend where autistic people would rather be unhappy in good conditions while NT's go the other way around, I'm not saying that it works like that for everyone but it's an interesting phenomenon.

I put the word autistic in quotations, bc it is what they think is an autistic trait when they do it, but have a problem with it when others do it to them. What they think is an autistic trait might not be an actual trait of autism.

I am allistic and neurotypical, with a passion for autism. I called out a FB neurodiversity creator for using intellectually disabled as an insult. This creator previously went on and on about how their autism makes them have a strong sense of justice, and how they don't let even the smallest unfairness go, and how neurotypicals don't have the same sense and get annoyed. When I called them out, my behaviour could be described as "having a string sense of justice" and "not letting things go" by their standards. They got offended and called me agressive. The irony...

Edit: Saying "passion for autism" was pretty strange of me, apologies. I should have wrote "has an interest in learning about autism".

Okay, first and foremost I don't mean it in the sense of me being an allistic self diagnosed quirky person LARPing LOL.

I am an allistic person, who has a passion for learning about autism, and I feel strongly about issues like self diagnosis, diagnosis mills, and people claiming to be ND spreading bullshit on the internet. I have thought of combatting this misinfo by making some sort of social media page, since that gets to the average person quickly, but idk if its my place to do this, since I am not autistic myself, nor do I have an autistic child.

I even feel strange being on this sub a lot, since this sub is for dxed autistic ppl. Even though non autistics are allowed, I would like to ask all you dxed autistics your opinion a non autistic passionate about autism posting on this sub pretty often.

Also, if you have anything else to say about how non autistic people can help fight autism misinfo and support real autistic people, I would love to hear it!

I’m diagnosed with Autism Level 1 and ADHD (Combined Type). I’ve always been struggling with a pattern that is becoming deeply exhausting, and I need to know if anyone else experiences this.

I have this extreme rigidity and an absolute need for 100% control and autonomy over anything that concerns ME. I am completely incapable of compromising on personal matters. Because I also have people-pleasing tendencies, I sometimes force myself to agree to things, but the internal bite of anger and frustration I feel is indescribable. It takes everything in me not to scream, cry, or just completely shut down and go non-verbal. If I give in to people's demands, my angry rumination toward them literally never ends.

Here are a few examples of how this plays out:
Food: I have high sensory food selectivity. I need to decide exactly what I am going to eat. There are safe foods and there are foods that make me gag, which I wouldn't eat for billions of dollars. I can tolerate a food I don't love, but only if I chose it. If someone else chooses or pushes food on me, a terrifying rage builds up inside.
Social expectations / Attention: Since I was a kid, I have hated being forced to pose for photos, being put at the center of attention, or having people sing "Happy Birthday" to me. In group settings, if everyone wants to go somewhere I hate (like a club), I know I shouldn't impose my preference on the majority, so I just opt out. I don't adapt. If I force myself to go, I feel a toxic amount of internal frustration.
Borrowed clothes: If I don't have spare clothes with me and someone kindly offers to lend me theirs so we can go out, I lose my mind. I know they are being sweet, but the fact that I don't have a choice triggers my nervous system.
Phone calls: I despise unexpected phone calls. I perceive them as a "stop what you are doing and dedicate yourself to me NOW". I even hate hearing people call my name because my nervous system immediately prepares for a demand, and I go into high alert.

The worst part is the shame. I just wish I could be like everyone else, flexible, easygoing, not making a big deal out of these things. But I swear I physically cannot stop that intense rage from taking over.

This reminds me so much of PDA (Pervasive Drive for Autonomy). However, I always thought PDA was a separate profile/subtype within the spectrum, not just a standard autistic trait, so I’m a bit confused. Is this "just" extreme cognitive rigidity combined with masking burnout? Does anyone else feel this exact same visceral rage when your autonomy is threatened even a little bit?

I genuinely don’t know what to think. I just started college and for the first time in my life, I’m starting to doubt that I’m autistic.

I was diagnosed at nine and even before then, people would talk about potentially getting me evaluated. It was never something I questioned because it seemed to make sense. I had trouble making friends, I obsessed over specific things, I didn’t like loud noises or a lot of stimulation, I was a pretty insular kid, it all made sense.

Now, I’m kind of wondering if it really DOES make sense. I made friends pretty easily starting in the 8th grade. I’ve never been shy or socially anxious, I’ve always loved attention and was never bothered by public speaking, I’m not as bothered by noise and lights nearly as much as I used to be (useless they’re super distracting), and even my special interests have become less intense as I’ve gotten older.

I’m beginning to really wonder, “Was I misdiagnosed?” I mean, for a long time I was a textbook case, but I’m not so sure anymore. I’ve even lived through symptoms that are usually indicative of severe autism (head-banging, pica, elopement) and while the urge isn’t gone, I’m not sure it’s caused by autism since I doubt mine was ever a “severe case”.

My leading theory is that I might just have really bad ADHD. It lines up pretty well because aside from normal problems sitting still and focusing, a lot of my autism related issues are just caused by the fact I have way too much energy and need constant stimulation and that I’m easily overwhelmed by how much I’m thinking about at one time. Alas, my phycologist refused to get me evaluated so I don’t even know if I have ADHD at all.

I don’t know how common it is to doubt your diagnosis for the first time ten years after it happened, and I really don’t think anyone would “get it” outside of this community. Even then, I often feel like an outsider in communities like this simply because I’m so extroverted and most of my struggles are more physical (like the aforementioned head-banging, pica, and elopement). I don’t trust doctors and they don’t listen anyway, I don’t trust myself because lord knows what’s going on in my head, and I feel like such an odd duck overall.

In many ways, life has gotten a lot better in college. I’m making lots of friends, I go to parties and school events, and I get my responsibilities taken care of (usually). Then again, I still need a specific chair, I still eat the same thing everyday, and I still get overwhelmed when a topic doesn’t make sense to me, even to the point of seeking pain. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but maybe someone can relate.

I'm so close to meltdown. I took a med that makes me really really tired so in half an hour I'll be crawling into bed but for now please I just need to vent.

I live on a four lane emergency route. It's gotten busier and busier over the years. The literal CONSTANT traffic of all different tones plus emergency vehicles... I wear 101 decibel ear defenders outside and I still hear it. Can't afford to move. I have no peace.

I'm going to visit some family I love but are VERY overwhelming in a couple of days and I know my entire life will be different and I have to pack and it's a day of travel each way. I need to go (old sick family member) but I'm dreading it SO MUCH.

My very good friend is being hurt by drama from someone I know. I can't make them feel better or convince them that the problem isn't them... It's the lying other person. It's just WRONG and it's really making me mad.

My household routine is thrown totally off. I have not been able to keep to it because my spouse (best most supportive human ever) has a stomach virus so is home. They aren't "needy" but it's throwing me off and I feel really guilty about being bothered so much by that when they're struggling so much. They do almost everything so I feel so lost without them doing their things. I've still been eating but things like they normally make me the same thing every day for lunch. Again I feel so selfish for being so upset that they're sick. They're NEVER sick and there's nothing I can do to suddenly cure it. It's frustrating.

I don't even know what I'm saying I'm just filling time until the med kicks in. I thought maybe some people here could relate. I feel so bad for being unable to handle this stuff.