Welcome! I'd give my opinion, but the post was removed.
Ah, sorry.
So I want to start by saying my autistic friend doesn’t think I am autistic. My family doesn’t either.
Reasons why I doubt I am:
Eye contact is easy after the first time I meet someone new
I am very talkative at school and at my house (and haven’t gotten in trouble for this besides skipping Mass at my school. I just do homework in the bathroom lol).
I was diagnosed with anxiety and have a hard time telling what is autistic signs and what is simply anxiety
I respond to my name in a snap
I don’t take long to answer someone, but this is because I am afraid of them thinking I didn’t hear them. If they assumed I heard them, I would take time
I was never bullied for being “different” (besides physically)
I love routine changes (big one), it just makes everything exciting (I can be a bit nervous, but don’t have a meltdown over it)
My facial expressions are overly animated
Reasons why I could be:
People say they can’t tell when I am joking because my voice is monotone sometimes
I don’t understand sarcasm sometimes
Loud sounds (even the toilet flushing or a pen clicking) irritates me (not physically painful but I plug my ears)
Smells can make me look dramatic because I complain about how it smells like pollution or wax when in certain areas
Texture (skin turns red from being outside, wool and most fabrics makes it itchy and lotion doesn’t get along with my skin)
I have been called a “food cripple” because I usually have the exact same food for maybe a week then move onto something on my “list” that I like and haven’t had in awhile. I hate trying new food and apparently, according to my mom, my family celebrates when I like something.
As a kid I didn’t speak full sentences until I was 4 and used sign language instead (“I-C-E” to see penguins at a zoo).
Another as a kid...I would not sleep unless my mom drove me around. The car’s motion made me sleep instantly. And it still does. Love car, bus, and airplane rides with my headphones in.
Not sure if people do this but I sometimes look at a random spot as if I was being recorded by a camera and act like I am narrating my life or “showing kids” how to make something (like a sandwich or how to mess up a pot in ceramics).
I randomly say certain words, especially at my school when I have no clue what to say. I say “weeb,” “Little Man,” and “Potato” the most randomly. I can’t help it and it just makes me feel relieved my mouth is doing something.
I am blunt, honest, literal (even if I know someone is joking or being figurative I correct them), and have been called autistic online for this reason purely.
I would not be socially anxious to go to a party. It’s just the damn music that makes me want to rip my hair out. Too loud. And babies or kids crying makes me want to have a meltdown. Side conversations during a lesson, someone interrupting me and not noticing or not being able to understand a school problem all make me have a meltdown.
I have never been called a professor or smart (besides by classmates, family and doctors), but I seem to shock people with random facts I know. I could identify the specific iPhone by a simple description, memorize any word or history event for over a month, list over 30 random facts, memorized theories, and anything a typical girl probably wouldn’t do. I obsess over something for a week or two. Worst is my dog (take a few photos every single day of him) who I have talked constantly about since I got him. People get sick of me showing photos, so I am a bit sad there.
I used to rock when listening to someone, tip toed, and ran on four up stairs in my house until I was around 10.
I lack empathy. I rarely cry when an animal is in pain, sad world or national news, was confused when two girls told me to kill myself (understood what they said, but was very dense and couldn’t understand the point in doing that), TV shows/films I rarely cry because it is not real (one that I do cry over repeatedly is Hachi: A Dog’s Tale).
I don’t like fictional stories or even true ones because I can’t tell who is talking, who is referencing what, character descriptions solidified in my head but then suddenly a new tiny aspect is adjusted and I just give up on picturing them (why I love movies. I love non fictional books about anatomy of the body, theories, forensics, and facts).
I focus so much on a small detail I somehow forget the most obvious depiction of an image which is shown with a great amount of positive space (negative space is background of painting).
I study someone’s expressions, anatomy, body proportions, their authenticity, what makes them them, and what MBTI type they would possibly be. I rarely give a damned about their gossip unless it is like a kid got expelled from school.
