Look Alike Traits?

[FayetheADHDsquirrel]

Below are some examples.

1. When bullied (probably around age 10) for refusing to do something and called a chicken - expected response would be to either succumb to the peer pressure or else be hurt or angry - my response was to cluck and act like a chicken and then bust out giggling when the bully got embarrassed and confused as I had anticipated. If AI is right, this actually demonstrated advanced theory of mind.

2. When in tweens or early teens, I developed a system of rotating my music CDs in a certain order over and over. On the surface this looks like rigidity in ASD; however, my reason for doing so was not a manner of liking routine. If anything, I was sometimes disappointed due to being in the mood for a certain CD and it's turn being several days away. The reason I did it was basically so my Dad would not mistakenly think I was selecting certain CDs to make some implication. By limiting myself to a rotation when he was home, I could be more likely to listen in peace even if it felt limiting because he knew whatever was in was whatever was next in line.

There are many other good examples, but these are pretty good to get the point across for now lest this post should become incredibly long.

 

[717]

This is interesting game, that example 2 really raised some questions in me... specially because I also had some abuse during the childhood, I wonder now if autistic people are statistically more victimized than NT... ok, i just google it right now and yes, that is a thing... did you also had to get a bunch of CDs that you did not like, just to hide the patterns of liking certain ones? I mean a random rotation would do less for you if the CD collection is not random in topics... ?

1. I eat the same foods no because routines, but because I spend a lot of time calculating calories and stuff, then I have to figure it out how to cook the actual dish and then I have to like the final result... all this means I put a lot of work and effort into it, so I have developed a really limited menu I can actually cook and eat.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

Another thought... not all behavior that seems "odd" on the surface is "autism". Sometimes it has a specific reason... as thought through by a neurodivergent mind. I have come up with countless ideas that clearly were thought through and purposeful, but not anything that a neurotypical would have come up with.

 

[FayetheADHDsquirrel]

@717 Not so much getting CDs I disliked as just making sure they were listened to in a certain order rather than by what I wanted to hear at a particular time. I just try to ignore sarcastic or weird remarks now though.

 

[FayetheADHDsquirrel]

I know AI does not qualify as a diagnosis, but it typically thinks that it is highly unlikely that I really have ASD as it is currently defined. It has said that I might have qualified for PDD NOS back in the day due to that being a catch all that covered people who had autistic symptoms, but not in enough categories and/or severity for a diagnosis of Autism or Asperger's. It typically seems to view me as 2e gifted and ADHD (combined presentation) and with possible Sensory Processing issues. My childhood self was too naturally outgoing and aware of body language and facial expressions to have a high likelyhood of meeting criteria A. Also, the pattern of my obsessive interests seems to match ADHD better due to rotating between so many things and frequently adding more combined with general curiousity as well.