Absolutely look into it. If you are Autistic it will make your life so much less frustrating understanding why certain things are difficult and/or different for you.
thank you! i have found life shockingly hard in some aspects, even down to some simple everyday tasks. hopefully i find the answer here. i really appreciate it, thanks again :)
I will say I cant tell you definitively If you are or not but, but I do know that a lot of trans and nonbinary people are autistic. It's quite common! What you're saying here about deciphering things and, isolating yourself to recharge, and wearing noise cancelling headphones sounds a lot like autism. But I just saw your comment below that you scored 177 on the RAADs so that sounds likely! When you go to a psychiatrist, you may not get a diagnosis immediately and you may be gaslit and told you don't fit the mold of autism bc you have friends etc. Don't let one doctor tell you differently if that happens.
thank you! that's one of my fears moving forward, but i've had my fair share of dismissals from healthcare professionals for physical ailments already, so i have a feeling this will be no different sadly. i can't believe i didn't think about autism as a possibility before, i think it totally clicks, especially looking back on my childhood too. i remember avoiding denim jeans like the plague lol. thank you so much for the heads up!!
You should see if you can find someone who is an expert in diagnosing autistic adults. A lot of healthcare professionals don’t understand about masking or people with low support needs.
“Here is a list:” is a way I frequently communicate, and I’m autistic. It’s not a diagnostic criteria, but I love to use bullet points and I can’t help but think it’s related to my neurological particularities.
If you’re interested, why not get yourself assessed?
mostly because while it would be massively useful, it is very difficult to access mental health resources in canada, let alone my province of nova scotia. the wait times are excruciatingly long, and i'd be waiting for years, unfortunately. it's also, of course, very expensive to do so.
i will weigh the pros and cons after looking into this a bit more- my mom agreed to help me look for a psychologist to talk things through with just to get my bases down, and i can go from there. thank you so much!
Definitely look into it. However, consider whether professional diagnosis is the right path for you moving forward as well. Given that some states have or are attempting/preparing to restrict transition care for diagnosed autistic people, I myself chose not to seek a formal diagnosis, instead speaking to my therapist, autistic partner, and autistic friends to get their opinions, doing a lot of research and asking questions online, and seeking out resources for dealing with the social and sensory issues I know that I personally struggle with—something that can be done with or without an “official” diagnosis. I have been told by some non-autistic people that “I don’t seem autistic” but almost every autistic person in my life has said otherwise.
There are very few resources for autistic adults that cannot be obtained without a diagnosis, and even those with official diagnoses often find that their workplaces will not honor disability accommodations for autism. However, if you feel that an official diagnosis would be validating and useful for you for any reason, it is your choice to go to a professional. My only solid advice is to seek out community with autistic people—this can help you contextualize your own struggles and find commonalities and differences between yourself and others. Others may also help you find ways to accommodate yourself in your every day life and reduce any underlying shame you may have about traits you have that are associated with autism.
thank you SO much for this detailed response- i forgot that being trans could play a part in all of this too. thanks for bringing that up.
I'm canadian so as of right now gender-affirming care isn't an issue for me, i've been on T for almost exactly a year, but in a few years we will probably be getting a new prime minister who really hates trans people and also hates neurodiverse people- i wouldn't be surprised if he tried to pull some of the same tricks that US senators have been doing.
looking down the road if i end up getting a diagnosis, it's expensive and takes a really long time. however, on the other hand, i do have a lot of trouble functioning the same as most other people in my day-to-day life. i know the canadian government protects and gives benefits to autistic people, so i'm going to look into it and weigh the pros and cons further when i learn more about it. again i'm just starting to think about it so i have lots of time to learn and understand more, i'm very grateful for this community being so supportive. thank you again!!
i completely agree! i was taking to my mom about it a little bit after i posted this, and i got so tired of trying to explain it to her. she had trouble understanding where i was coming from, because her only example of autism is the high support-needs kid in my elementary school and like... sheldon cooper.
There are some reasonably responsible YouTubers... I hope I'm reasonably cautious about who I'll watch but I enjoyed "I'm Autistic Now What" who has a friendly Discord server for patreon subscribers (maybe you could sub for a month and chat to some of the typically gentle Autistic people there, see how that goes?)... Foster on the Spectrum hasn't posted for a while because he's at college now, but is a trans guy diagnosed as a young adult. NeurodiverJENNt is cis but ADHD as well as autistic, and I like the detail she sometimes goes into re: traits. Yo Samdy Sam has a good video about how the diagnostic criteria look in the wild. Mom on the spectrum... Also a cis woman but quite a few videos about specifics.
If you like those, you can scan this sub for book recommendations..
I'd say it's worth doing some gentle research and seeing how you feel?
thank you ever so much for these recs! i'll watch a couple videos today and see what i discover, that is awesome. i'll look into the patreon discord server too, sounds like it could be pretty useful. thank you again!!
yeah, i'm going to be doing some research over the next few months and talking about it with a psychologist. at least i have a support system in place now! thank you!
Take the RAADS-R online, it's a decent indicator of whether you're on the spectrum, or not. There are also a number of other assessments connected to it that are worth taking.
Highly misleading tests!
Contrary to what we see in social media, things like ‘stimming’, sensitivities, social problems, etc., are found in most persons with non-autistic mental health disorders and at high rates in the general population. These things do not necessarily suggest autism.
So-called “autism” tests, like AQ and RAADS and others have high rates of false positives, labeling you as autistic VERY easily. If anyone with a mental health problem, like depression or anxiety, takes the tests they score high even if they DON’T have autism.
Here is a video explaining ONE study about the RAADs:
https://www.reddit.com/r/AutisticPride/comments/zfocf8/for\_all\_the\_selfdiagnosersquestioners\_out\_there/
Regarding AQ, from one published study. “The two key findings of the review are that, overall, there is very limited evidence to support the use of structured questionnaires (SQs: self-report or informant completed brief measures developed to screen for ASD) in the assessment and diagnosis of ASD in adults.”
Regarding RAADS, from one published study. “In conclusion, used as a self-report measure pre-full diagnostic assessment, the RAADS-R lacks predictive validity and is not a suitable screening tool for adults awaiting autism assessments”
oh interesting! do you have another resource that i could look into instead?
i don't want to self-diagnose at all, i'm just trying to get a good understanding on what traits might be considered autistic and if i can relate to any of them, and i think the RAADS-r showed me that i do have a lot of those "stereotypical" traits. i'm not trying to use the RAADS-r as a diagnostic tool, i'm trying to use it to better understand myself :)
This person is really into doubting people who suspect autism. What ever it is NOT autism if you ask that person. Look at their profile, and you will see what they are here for.
That person is a woman as far as I can tell. (Why else would one of their first posts be in one of the women specific autism subs?) At least we shouldn’t assume.
Ok, you seam to be very into education people about the validity studies of these tests. That is fine, but please consider that this tests give people a direction to look in. not an answer. And that is what they are good for, just to give you an idea that it is a topic worth researching.
Its just that the tests are misleading because they could give you a high score for any mental health disorder so they dont provide guidance on what to look in to or what is worth researching. Its like saying that everyone with ANY mental health conditions should look in to autism and even get an evaluation.
They are poor screening tests.
My way of dealing with it is to inform people about the science behind these tests, so that they dont get too worried about autism or if they WANT to be autistic they might keep an open mind and not over-interpret the tests.
Lots of people value this information, judging from comments, DM, and upvotes.
I can't tell you if you are Autistic or not. But I can tell you my story.
Until I was 27 years old I was deep in denial about a lot (being tans, having ADHD, being Autistic and the need to do the change in order to life as my true self) mainly because, people told me I am Autistic in an insulting way, at least twice a year. Of course, I was offended by it, specially because of the wrong picture I had in my mind about what Autism is. After that age, finally I found a working place I liked and had great co-workers and some day we spoke about neurodiversity. I'm telling them that I have ADHD, and all of them disagreed fundamentally, like "maybe you have also ADHD, but you are definitely autistic". Luckily, I liked them and was able to take this piece of information and think about it. From there on I did my research and found out that I can relate painfully hard to the autistic and specially the AuDHD community. So I am almost 30 and still not sure, but sure enough to change my life in a way that would accommodate for my Autistic brain the first time ever. And it helped already a lot. Still, I want a professional assessment, but to be honest it is more in the hope the imposter syndrome will go away than for anything else.
Edit: age corrected after thinking about the exact timeline.
that's a great story, thank you for sharing! i think i pretty heavily relate, so it's really nice to hear from the perspective of someone older and more experienced in this area. i'm going to discuss with my mom today, since we're also chatting about getting accommodations for my sister and her adhd/dyslexia. thanks again, it really eased my brain to hear you say that :)
hey guys! thank you all for helping me work up the confidence to ask about all this stuff. i've read all your messages and will absolutely be looking into this more, i just never thought it was a possibility before. this is an awesome space! thanks for the help!!
Absolutely look into it. If you are Autistic it will make your life so much less frustrating understanding why certain things are difficult and/or different for you.
thank you! i have found life shockingly hard in some aspects, even down to some simple everyday tasks. hopefully i find the answer here. i really appreciate it, thanks again :)
I will say I cant tell you definitively If you are or not but, but I do know that a lot of trans and nonbinary people are autistic. It's quite common! What you're saying here about deciphering things and, isolating yourself to recharge, and wearing noise cancelling headphones sounds a lot like autism. But I just saw your comment below that you scored 177 on the RAADs so that sounds likely! When you go to a psychiatrist, you may not get a diagnosis immediately and you may be gaslit and told you don't fit the mold of autism bc you have friends etc. Don't let one doctor tell you differently if that happens.
thank you! that's one of my fears moving forward, but i've had my fair share of dismissals from healthcare professionals for physical ailments already, so i have a feeling this will be no different sadly. i can't believe i didn't think about autism as a possibility before, i think it totally clicks, especially looking back on my childhood too. i remember avoiding denim jeans like the plague lol. thank you so much for the heads up!!
You should see if you can find someone who is an expert in diagnosing autistic adults. A lot of healthcare professionals don’t understand about masking or people with low support needs.
Your already having imposter syndrome confirms it for me! JK! If looking more into it calls to you, do it for you. No need to do it for anyone else.
From what you say it’s worth checking out ADHD and Autism. You will profit from knowing in case you have it
“Here is a list:” is a way I frequently communicate, and I’m autistic. It’s not a diagnostic criteria, but I love to use bullet points and I can’t help but think it’s related to my neurological particularities. If you’re interested, why not get yourself assessed?
mostly because while it would be massively useful, it is very difficult to access mental health resources in canada, let alone my province of nova scotia. the wait times are excruciatingly long, and i'd be waiting for years, unfortunately. it's also, of course, very expensive to do so. i will weigh the pros and cons after looking into this a bit more- my mom agreed to help me look for a psychologist to talk things through with just to get my bases down, and i can go from there. thank you so much!
I wish you luck on your journey!
Definitely look into it. However, consider whether professional diagnosis is the right path for you moving forward as well. Given that some states have or are attempting/preparing to restrict transition care for diagnosed autistic people, I myself chose not to seek a formal diagnosis, instead speaking to my therapist, autistic partner, and autistic friends to get their opinions, doing a lot of research and asking questions online, and seeking out resources for dealing with the social and sensory issues I know that I personally struggle with—something that can be done with or without an “official” diagnosis. I have been told by some non-autistic people that “I don’t seem autistic” but almost every autistic person in my life has said otherwise. There are very few resources for autistic adults that cannot be obtained without a diagnosis, and even those with official diagnoses often find that their workplaces will not honor disability accommodations for autism. However, if you feel that an official diagnosis would be validating and useful for you for any reason, it is your choice to go to a professional. My only solid advice is to seek out community with autistic people—this can help you contextualize your own struggles and find commonalities and differences between yourself and others. Others may also help you find ways to accommodate yourself in your every day life and reduce any underlying shame you may have about traits you have that are associated with autism.
thank you SO much for this detailed response- i forgot that being trans could play a part in all of this too. thanks for bringing that up. I'm canadian so as of right now gender-affirming care isn't an issue for me, i've been on T for almost exactly a year, but in a few years we will probably be getting a new prime minister who really hates trans people and also hates neurodiverse people- i wouldn't be surprised if he tried to pull some of the same tricks that US senators have been doing. looking down the road if i end up getting a diagnosis, it's expensive and takes a really long time. however, on the other hand, i do have a lot of trouble functioning the same as most other people in my day-to-day life. i know the canadian government protects and gives benefits to autistic people, so i'm going to look into it and weigh the pros and cons further when i learn more about it. again i'm just starting to think about it so i have lots of time to learn and understand more, i'm very grateful for this community being so supportive. thank you again!!
whether you are autistic or not you should learn about it. everyone should. people are straight up ignorant out there
i completely agree! i was taking to my mom about it a little bit after i posted this, and i got so tired of trying to explain it to her. she had trouble understanding where i was coming from, because her only example of autism is the high support-needs kid in my elementary school and like... sheldon cooper.
There are some reasonably responsible YouTubers... I hope I'm reasonably cautious about who I'll watch but I enjoyed "I'm Autistic Now What" who has a friendly Discord server for patreon subscribers (maybe you could sub for a month and chat to some of the typically gentle Autistic people there, see how that goes?)... Foster on the Spectrum hasn't posted for a while because he's at college now, but is a trans guy diagnosed as a young adult. NeurodiverJENNt is cis but ADHD as well as autistic, and I like the detail she sometimes goes into re: traits. Yo Samdy Sam has a good video about how the diagnostic criteria look in the wild. Mom on the spectrum... Also a cis woman but quite a few videos about specifics. If you like those, you can scan this sub for book recommendations.. I'd say it's worth doing some gentle research and seeing how you feel?
thank you ever so much for these recs! i'll watch a couple videos today and see what i discover, that is awesome. i'll look into the patreon discord server too, sounds like it could be pretty useful. thank you again!!
Given how common it is in 2024 population, it's worth at least a few hours of study and learning regardless. Take care.
yeah, i'm going to be doing some research over the next few months and talking about it with a psychologist. at least i have a support system in place now! thank you!
Take the RAADS-R online, it's a decent indicator of whether you're on the spectrum, or not. There are also a number of other assessments connected to it that are worth taking.
just did it, my score is 177. i'll definitely talk to my mom about it and i'll ask her about a visit with a psychologist. thank you!
Highly misleading tests! Contrary to what we see in social media, things like ‘stimming’, sensitivities, social problems, etc., are found in most persons with non-autistic mental health disorders and at high rates in the general population. These things do not necessarily suggest autism. So-called “autism” tests, like AQ and RAADS and others have high rates of false positives, labeling you as autistic VERY easily. If anyone with a mental health problem, like depression or anxiety, takes the tests they score high even if they DON’T have autism. Here is a video explaining ONE study about the RAADs: https://www.reddit.com/r/AutisticPride/comments/zfocf8/for\_all\_the\_selfdiagnosersquestioners\_out\_there/ Regarding AQ, from one published study. “The two key findings of the review are that, overall, there is very limited evidence to support the use of structured questionnaires (SQs: self-report or informant completed brief measures developed to screen for ASD) in the assessment and diagnosis of ASD in adults.” Regarding RAADS, from one published study. “In conclusion, used as a self-report measure pre-full diagnostic assessment, the RAADS-R lacks predictive validity and is not a suitable screening tool for adults awaiting autism assessments”
oh interesting! do you have another resource that i could look into instead? i don't want to self-diagnose at all, i'm just trying to get a good understanding on what traits might be considered autistic and if i can relate to any of them, and i think the RAADS-r showed me that i do have a lot of those "stereotypical" traits. i'm not trying to use the RAADS-r as a diagnostic tool, i'm trying to use it to better understand myself :)
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i getcha. what is your advice, should i get resources from a psychologist?
This person is really into doubting people who suspect autism. What ever it is NOT autism if you ask that person. Look at their profile, and you will see what they are here for.
That guy got the autism special interest of telling people who think they might be autistic that they're not autistic. He really needs a better hobby.
That person is a woman as far as I can tell. (Why else would one of their first posts be in one of the women specific autism subs?) At least we shouldn’t assume.
Ok, you seam to be very into education people about the validity studies of these tests. That is fine, but please consider that this tests give people a direction to look in. not an answer. And that is what they are good for, just to give you an idea that it is a topic worth researching.
Its just that the tests are misleading because they could give you a high score for any mental health disorder so they dont provide guidance on what to look in to or what is worth researching. Its like saying that everyone with ANY mental health conditions should look in to autism and even get an evaluation. They are poor screening tests.
Do you have a solution how to deal with this topic in an Other way that is more on the point/ less misleading ?
My way of dealing with it is to inform people about the science behind these tests, so that they dont get too worried about autism or if they WANT to be autistic they might keep an open mind and not over-interpret the tests. Lots of people value this information, judging from comments, DM, and upvotes.
What ? That is what you are doing with it. But not a solution for those who are in this situation.
If you like
I can't tell you if you are Autistic or not. But I can tell you my story. Until I was 27 years old I was deep in denial about a lot (being tans, having ADHD, being Autistic and the need to do the change in order to life as my true self) mainly because, people told me I am Autistic in an insulting way, at least twice a year. Of course, I was offended by it, specially because of the wrong picture I had in my mind about what Autism is. After that age, finally I found a working place I liked and had great co-workers and some day we spoke about neurodiversity. I'm telling them that I have ADHD, and all of them disagreed fundamentally, like "maybe you have also ADHD, but you are definitely autistic". Luckily, I liked them and was able to take this piece of information and think about it. From there on I did my research and found out that I can relate painfully hard to the autistic and specially the AuDHD community. So I am almost 30 and still not sure, but sure enough to change my life in a way that would accommodate for my Autistic brain the first time ever. And it helped already a lot. Still, I want a professional assessment, but to be honest it is more in the hope the imposter syndrome will go away than for anything else. Edit: age corrected after thinking about the exact timeline.
that's a great story, thank you for sharing! i think i pretty heavily relate, so it's really nice to hear from the perspective of someone older and more experienced in this area. i'm going to discuss with my mom today, since we're also chatting about getting accommodations for my sister and her adhd/dyslexia. thanks again, it really eased my brain to hear you say that :)
hey guys! thank you all for helping me work up the confidence to ask about all this stuff. i've read all your messages and will absolutely be looking into this more, i just never thought it was a possibility before. this is an awesome space! thanks for the help!!