• Welcome to Autism Forums, a friendly forum to discuss Aspergers Syndrome, Autism, High Functioning Autism and related conditions.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Private Member only forums for more serious discussions that you may wish to not have guests or search engines access to.
    • Your very own blog. Write about anything you like on your own individual blog.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon! Please also check us out @ https://www.twitter.com/aspiescentral

New Member

Alexej said:
Hi and Welcome @Franish

To be formally diagnosed is not needed here, self-diagnosis is perfectly acceptable in many autism contexts.
Do hang around a while and read what other folks experience, and there may be some things that resonate with your life and experience. There will be things that you dont recognise, but that is just part of the spectrum within autism.
Click to expand...
Okay, thank you - that's very encouraging.
 
Atrapa Almas said:
Welcome! Just having some autism traits and having softer forms of traits and sensory issues its also perfectly normal.

The Autist vs NT way of thinking may limit us to see that part of the spectrum that is in the "frontier" and that is probably the mayority (as in every Gauss distribution).

So even for functional people, understanding their autists traits, sensory issues, social disconection, energy management, white and black thinking... and being aware to have an open eye on their childs and grandchilds... may be helpfull.

So, welcome to the forum. Please do participate and share your experiences and points of view. It will help those of us in the "frontier". :)
Click to expand...
Thank you - this is great advice!
 
Neonatal RRT said:
My wife fits into that "borderline" category, as well. Some things she is classic neurotypical,...other things,...I swear she has stronger autistic behaviors than I do. Like many things about the brain, I think there is a continuum,...some folks very neurotypical, some folks very autistic,...and a bunch of folks that may exhibit both characteristics.
Click to expand...
I so appreciate your comments! It has given me some peace of mind. Thank you.
 
Alexej said:
Hi and Welcome @Franish

To be formally diagnosed is not needed here, self-diagnosis is perfectly acceptable in many autism contexts.
Do hang around a while and read what other folks experience, and there may be some things that resonate with your life and experience. There will be things that you dont recognise, but that is just part of the spectrum within autism.
Click to expand...
Sunny1 said:
Welcome, Franish! Jump in and swim!
Click to expand...
Thanks, I will!!
 
Gerald Wilgus said:
If you are satisfied with your life but looking to understand traits you may have, to help you understand yourself, you are very welcome here.

I was diagnosed at 60, 12 years ago, yet last year I was going through a very troubling time with PTSD from being socially and sexually isolated as a teen and young adult and started counseling that has helped tremendously.
Click to expand...
Hi Gerald, I really appreciate your welcome, and am sorry to hear of your traumatic past experiences. I'm glad you've seen a counselor - I hear they can do wonders. Take special care. :)
 
Suzanne said:
Hi there and welcome.

I came here not being diagnosed and like yourself, took many tests, but they all said I was probably neurodeverse.

It was swinging either way, because I had some traits, but not all. However, I was welcomed despite not being diagnosed and then, a few year's ago, did get my formal diagnosis.

Personally, for me, it was worth getting that diagnosis, for people are treating me different. Albeit, I do still struggle with feeling different and wishing I could watch how other intergrate, so that I can copy lol
Click to expand...

Thank you, Suzanne. Congratulations on getting your diagnosis! I would actually like to have one, but don't want to pay for it (I've read that it's really expensive!), especially since I think I'm probably not too much on the spectrum, and would hate to pay and then find out I'm not on it at all. So at this late stage in life, I'll settle for feeling that I may have autistic traits, or my traits may be just a bunch of quirks. Like you, I struggle with socializing and always have, but still, it may be just shyness or awkwardness; nevertheless, I do relate to what you're saying about feeling different. Have a good one...
 
Franish said:
Hi Gerald, I really appreciate your welcome, and am sorry to hear of your traumatic past experiences. I'm glad you've seen a counselor - I hear they can do wonders. Take special care. :)
Click to expand...
Thank you very much. I am doing Cognitive Processing Therapy and it has been some painful work shedding the lies I had told myself.
 
Gerald Wilgus said:
Thank you very much. I am doing Cognitive Processing Therapy and it has been some painful work shedding the lies I had told myself.
Click to expand...
Hi Gerald, my friend told me about CPT, and said it was really good. (Her granddaughter goes for the treatments.) I'm guessing that when we deceive ourselves, which you mentioned, it's probably a natural defense mechanism at the time, until we're ready to look in depth at what happened. It's too bad it can take so long to get to that point, but without some outside help, it can be next to impossible. I'm so glad you're finding your way through your harmful past, and are able to talk about it now with someone, or people, who really listen. I'll be interested to hear more about your progress as time goes on.
 
Galvatrancis said:
Welcome aboard, pirrrrate!
Click to expand...
Hi, Everyone. That´s kind of how I feel too. However, I was fomally diagnosed about 2 months ago at age 46. From that moment on I have been completely intrigued by every piece of info I come across. It was very validating for me. Out of the sudden so many things started to make so much sense...I became a member here today and I am looking foward to sharing experiences and tips with people who intrinsically understand where I come from.
 
So...I have a nagging question about autism traits: Although I've been very uncomfortable all my life talking to groups of people (could be shyness or insecurity), I have never had trouble reading people's expressions and what feelings those expressions convey - or looking people in the eye. I'm wondering whether that alone would negate any kind of autism diagnosis for me. Does anyone here who has been diagnosed with autism feel confident with intuiting what people's facial expressions mean, in conversations with them? If that's an indicator across the board, then I probably don't belong on this autism forum. (I don't want to be a "fraud".) I have other behaviors that seem to fit, but not that one. I will appreciate any insight from anyone on this, and thanks in advance!
 
mcampos75 said:
Hi, Everyone. That´s kind of how I feel too. However, I was fomally diagnosed about 2 months ago at age 46. From that moment on I have been completely intrigued by every piece of info I come across. It was very validating for me. Out of the sudden so many things started to make so much sense...I became a member here today and I am looking foward to sharing experiences and tips with people who intrinsically understand where I come from.
Click to expand...
Welcome mcampos!
 
Franish said:
So...I have a nagging question about autism traits: Although I've been very uncomfortable all my life talking to groups of people (could be shyness or insecurity), I have never had trouble reading people's expressions and what feelings those expressions convey - or looking people in the eye. I'm wondering whether that alone would negate any kind of autism diagnosis for me. Does anyone here who has been diagnosed with autism feel confident with intuiting what people's facial expressions mean, in conversations with them? If that's an indicator across the board, then I probably don't belong on this autism forum. (I don't want to be a "fraud".) I have other behaviors that seem to fit, but not that one. I will appreciate any insight from anyone on this, and thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

I don’t have much difficulty at all with eye contact or facial expressions. I have a very expressive face too.

I’m definitely autistic. Some professionals have disputed my diagnosis because I’ve gotten a lot better at “masking” as an adult (I’m not awkward.) But with the level of special/restricted interests I have, it would be ridiculous to assume that I was not autistic.

I’m also an extrovert and I mentioned in a thread yesterday that I enjoy going to nightclubs and concerts, and I often participate in events with a huge number of people.

So yes, you can be autistic and not be awkward, introverted, or have difficulty reading body language. You don’t have to check every box in order to be diagnosed.
 
Wow, thanks so much! Yes, I do remember what your previous post said, and am now connecting the dots between your two posts. This is a huge relief for me to read because all through school, I was able to grasp only math, music, and French. After high school I got some help with reading, and am now an avid reader. But I've always wondered why I couldn't get through a book, or even a paragraph, all those years. I'd think I was reading, then realize I had no idea what I'd just supposedly read. Neither could I follow what teachers were saying. Autism traits seem to fit - I'm obsessive with certain interests, and prefer to be by myself. My husband rings a small, quiet bell before entering the house so that I don't spring up to the ceiling from the sudden noise of the door. The bell is a great remedy, by the way, for anyone with an extreme startle response. I follow elaborate schedules that take me forever to create, and would say I have OCD, but that never quite fits because I have no anxiety over having to keep things a certain way; so long as no one moves anything from its usual place, especially if it belongs to just me. So I believe I have quite a few behaviors that seem to indicate I'm on an autism spectrum. Incidentally, I'm happily married, with kids and grandkids that are the love of my life. I am so grateful for your insight, and feel much better. Having an answer to why you were a weird kid is life-changing (for the better, of course). Thanks again, and have a blast at your next party, nightclub, concert, or whatever other gathering! I think you said in your first post that you are also new here? Welcome - enjoy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New Threads

Top Bottom