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My name is Jess, I think I may be on the spectrum

J

JessicaAnne1994

New Member
Hello everyone. I am here because a few people have suggested that I might possibly be autistic and I am here to learn more about autism. I am soon to be 30. I am trying to decide if it would be worth it to get an autism assessment done, because I would have to pay out of pocket for a portion of the test. Thank you, Jess.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum.

JessicaAnne1994 said:
I am trying to decide if it would be worth it to get an autism assessment done, because I would have to pay out of pocket for a portion of the test.
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This depends on what a diagnosis will do for you, and that's highly dependent on what country you live in. In Australia my ASD2 diagnosis got me a full pension and all the benefits that go with that. In effect - early retirement. I'm socially secure for the rest of my life, in fact better off than many people that work for a living. Getting a diagnosis here is also quite cheap compared to a lot of countries, it cost me Au$500 all up, in US money that's about $300.
 
Hi Jess, it's nice to meet you!
Alexej said:
You might already have found this website, but there are a number of tests here, which might help you decide if you are on the spectrum. Embrace Autism | The ultimate autism resource
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This is indeed a good resource. Those tests can be helpful, although of course they're no official diagnosis. They give you an idea of what typical characteristics autism can have, with some examples. I found many questions difficult because my reaction was always "it depends", so take those tests more as suggestions, and not like absolute values.
JessicaAnne1994 said:
I am trying to decide if it would be worth it to get an autism assessment done, because I would have to pay out of pocket for a portion of the test.
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I am in the same situation. It depends on your country and your personal situation.
I have the choice between getting an "official" assessment, which has a very long waiting list and would ideally include my parents (something I'd really like to avoid), or getting a private assessment, which in my opinion isn't of worse quality/validity, but costly and it wouldn't be recognized for disability benefits etc. Or not getting diagnosed at all and just keep it at my self-diagnosis.
It's a tough decision.
 
Hello and welcome, Jess. If you choose to hang out here for awhile, I'm pretty confident you will learn so much. Glad to have you here.
 
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Outdated said:
Hi and welcome to the forum.


This depends on what a diagnosis will do for you, and that's highly dependent on what country you live in. In Australia my ASD2 diagnosis got me a full pension and all the benefits that go with that. In effect - early retirement. I'm socially secure for the rest of my life, in fact better off than many people that work for a living. Getting a diagnosis here is also quite cheap compared to a lot of countries, it cost me Au$500 all up, in US money that's about $300.
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Significantly higher here in Canada. I'm still looking for somewhere that will deal with adults and the cheapest I've been able to track down would set me back close to $3000 Canadian (3289 AUD), and that's for someone to assess via Zoom (webinar). At least in my neck of the woods if you are not a child under the age of 10 with severe issues there are no resources. Especially not for adults.

To the original poster, unless you require some specific supports that you would get from an official assessment there may not be much of a point to it other than having full confirmation.

Personally I'm just going to stick with being unofficially diagnosed. My social workers, and psychologists all believe I'm autistic, but they themselves don't have the resources for a full diagnosis. My work was already accommodating me before I came to the autism conclusion and otherwise I don't need any supports in my life. So for me it'd be a waste of 3k that I can use on things like rent and food.
 
Welcome @JessicaAnne1994

Whether you wish to get an assessment or not, is ultimately up to you. Though you will get access to alot of help, if you wish to have it, if you are found to be ASD. And once you have the diagnosis. A whole world of opportunities will be open to you.

Though if you are curious about if you are or not. There are online tests out there that could help with measuring this for you. Though these tests are BY NO MEANS a tool for diagnosing autism. Just something to give you an idea overall.

Try this one and see what you get:

RAADS Test
 
I self diagnosed in my mid fifties, explained some issues, other than that did not have any profound effects on my life
managed to put a career together, get married have family. It basically gave me what others would perceive as super powers, and down side lack of social skills prevented earned promotions.
 
Welcome to the forums, Jessica!

I say it is definitely worth getting a diagnosis if you can afford it since a diagnosis can give you peace of mind relevant to the question of whether you are autistic, or not.

Plus, in some countries there can be financial aid that may rely somewhat on proof of being autistic, should you need help at any point.

So it is worth having proof in a lot of cases.
 
If you qualify for lvl 2 difficulty of being independent you may get financial aid in some countries, like lvl 2 ASD, and 3 which I believe involves intellectual/physical disability in severe forms enough to notice. This system annoys me because of hidden nature of disability and difficulty to diagnose people's autism.
 
JessicaAnne1994 said:
Hello everyone. I am here because a few people have suggested that I might possibly be autistic and I am here to learn more about autism. I am soon to be 30. I am trying to decide if it would be worth it to get an autism assessment done, because I would have to pay out of pocket for a portion of the test. Thank you, Jess.
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Hi Jess! All good questions to ask of yourself.

Even better, you've come to the right place to explore them. Where instead of reading complex and very dry medical data, you can interact with autistic people and judge for yourself how much or not you may have in common with us.

Welcome to the Autism Forums.
 
Reasons that I believe I may be autistic: Socially, I can't look people in the eyes, I don't understand social cues at all, I cannot start or continue even casual conversations. I have the hardest time finding clothes to wear. Forget it if the stitches aren't just right, if it doesn't look or feel right on my legs or arms, and I wear the same few pairs of clothes over and over. When it comes to food, I cannot eat foods that don't look, feel, and smell just right. I eat the same few foods over and over. I have to organize and line things up over and over daily. I have a meltdown if things are not perfect or just right. Things around the house must be done just right or I get upset and shut down instantly. I have child-like obsessions, such as horses and unicorns. I only have 1 friend that I like to spend time with one on one, and I cannot handle being in a group. I cannot get through a store without a meltdown, the sounds, lights, and people are just too much. I am very repetitive with things I say. My meltdowns, shutting down, panic attacks, and withdrawls cause me to not even be able to do basic self-care, such as eating, getting out of bed, showering, and brushing my teeth. I am constantly picking my skin. There is more, but I will have to write tomorrow.
 
It sounds likely. There may also be some of the common comorbidities present as well.
 
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