questioning a-spec

[adh2d]

I've been questioning me being aspie(?) for quiet a while. One of the major traits I don't identify with however is "taking criticism rather well and wondering why NT's want to be lied to to make them feel better."

I've always been sensitive about that sort of topic, and I'm kind of scared I'm intruding on a space I don't belong in. I have been diagnosed with adhd (combined) so there are some traits that overlap with the autism spectrum.

Another concern would be that they way I talk is far too loose? I hear a lot of people on the spectrum talking about how they feel the need to speak with proper grammar.

But I feel like I'm too expressive or sensitive to be aspie, would anyone be able to lend some advice or elaboration?

 

[Gritches]

Nobody can tell I'm an Aspie if I don't tell them first. My speech is fluid, organic, loose, and even smooth. I don't speak with proper grammar and that stereotypical sort of pompousness because that's how you get your ass beat. I just talk like a regular person, it works much better for holding an audience.

I used to not take criticism well, but it was an ego problem, not an Aspie problem. I'm fine with it now, because criticism = feedback, usually, which helps me improve. Approaching it from that different angle has been what helped me take criticism well, not anything I was born with.

I also fully understand why NTs want to be lied to to make themselves feel better. That statement answers itself. I don't feel the same way, but I understand why they do. Doesn't make me any less Aspie because I can wrap my head around the concept.

I'm working with a rather well-known expert right now and one of our favorite topics to talk about is how diverse Aspies are, even from one another. So the saying goes, "You've met one Aspie, you've met just one Aspie." We're cut from the same cloth, but not in the same shape, never.

I wouldn't overthink this, especially with those test scores.

 

[Chance]

Hello and welcome,

Like Gritches said, maybe not over think it... But that right there is definitely (to me) a big calling card of ASD within it self. AS/ASD has many shapes and forms but also core issues...

Core issues is what I would be looking at (if I were in your shoes) and I am not and also understand that.
But we are just like NT's in the fact we are extremely diverse in the way we talk, act, walk, our interests.

I truly think many people think or have this mental picture of us all being the same with some huge marker (like maybe someone with Down syndrome) - never to beat up on that type of person - ever. It just has a physical distinction a lot of the time, where as AS/ASD often does not... Yet our actions, or non-action is what becomes our telling signs.

Just read around on here and you will see core things and then see a very diverse (but also caring) and informative, smart group of people.

Good luck to you, on paper its says what it says - if you were being honest with yourself while answering.
If you feel thats wrong, there are other tests, and also you can talk with a GP and possibly get a referral to a councilor who will dig and prod into your life, and possibly make you feel less than human, or get lucky and land with a good caring person...

Either way welcome aboard... You don't have to be a LABEL to be here as far as I know. There are even nice NT's on here that actually try and figure us out instead of tear us down. So just enjoy the journey and don't beat yourself up over it.

 

[WereBear]

I made it into mid-life before diagnosis, and all people noticed was that I was bright and quirky.

But, unknown to me, I was an Aspie, and my brain was working overtime to fake normalcy. Still dealing with the fallout from the overload. Thrilled to figure myself out! Proud to be one.

What my diagnosis did for me was an explanation for my struggles, and how I could, and should, work around unreasonable expectations. Just explore it for a while, and see how this understanding works, or doesn't work, for you.

And don't take myths about Aspires or autism as truth.

 

[VioletHaze_03]

oh, i remember when i went through this. see, autism is a spectrum for a reason. when i was first questioning myself, i remember feeling like i didn't qualify as an aspie because i didn't check off all the boxes. i didn't toe-walk, or flap my arms, or have trouble understanding metaphors. i don't take criticism well either. if someone says one bad thing about me, i fall apart. i don't talk loosely, it just seems natural to express myself eloborately. when i joined this forum, i felt like i didn't belong here because i didn't see myself as "aspergian" as everyone else. but i learned that my condition is just a legitimate as anyone else's here, even though it may be less severe than others and not official. now, just because you don't tick off every symptom, it doesn't make you any more or less of an aspie. that's what i started to learn as i did more reasearch. you are you, you are not just a diagnosis. autism is a spectrum, not everyone has the same place on it. the term is called "neurodiverse" for a reason.

 

[Ambi]

I'm not sure if I'm really an Aspie either - I've never sought a diagnosis, but I wonder if I would just be diagnosed with PDD-NOS.