Hi. Old newb here.

[Luca]

Ah, I see your avatar. I got my dog from the shelter, so I'm not 100% sure, but as far as I can tell, he's a mix between a miniature border collie and a papillon. He's about 25 pounds.

I love dogs. Wouldn't want to live without one.

Omg what an adorable dog!!!
I grew up with border collies.

I could never live (or function) without my dogs either.

 

[Luca]

Woops, well I just determined that, in fact, I am not on the spectrum. I have spent the past couple of weeks knee-deep in material on autism and Aspergers. Although I initially thought many of the symptoms and traits fit me, I have come to realize that I over-diagnosed myself. As I gained greater understanding of how autism actually manifests -- as opposed to general labels like "socially awkward" or "prefers to be alone" -- I realized that I am not autistic.

Almost all of the symptoms/traits I had identified as fitting me are explained better as introversion, social anxiety, or high sensitivity. These are traits I've known I've had for a long time. At first, I thought I'd discovered something else about myself -- something beyond introversion, etc. -- but the more I dug into the autism literature, the more I saw that it just did not fit.

So, I guess I'm not autistic after all. I like Occam's Razor: don't multiply diagnoses unnecessarily. I have enough to deal with already, lol. I have learned a heck of a lot over the past several weeks -- I do share the tendency to get obsessively interested in a subject, and autism has been that subject lately. Hopefully, that will make me more knowledgeable and sensitive when I meet people on the spectrum or talk about the subject in the future.

Thank you all for the warm welcome, but I think I'll be moving on. Take care.

It doesn’t necessarily mean you’re not autistic.
I have a lot of “atypical” traits when it comes to autism.

I am not really socially awkward either, I’m extremely extroverted, I own a profitable business, I live independently with very little interaction with family, I used to work in management and sales, I thrive in noisy and stimulating places like nightclubs and festivals, I’m the farthest thing you can get from being a picky eater or having typical sensory issues, I love affection and being touched, and my autism does not have that much of an impact on my daily life. But I am very much still autistic.

I’m weird and intense so I don’t really fit in with non-autistic people either, and they tend to mistreat me and make fun of me. I walk a frustrating fine line between relatively normal social function, and still standing out enough that bullies come out of the woodwork.

And it’s not just me, there are many other people on this forum who are more social, have careers, and lead relatively typical and happy lives. And not all of them are “ASD1” people either.
If you stick around longer you will hear a huge variety of unique experiences.

Difficulty expressing myself verbally vs in writing, an aversion to pop culture, and special interests are the things that make me believe my autism diagnosis is accurate, although there have been times that I also doubted it, because I had always been taught that autistic people couldn’t function socially, needed support in adulthood, and had poor quality of life. I have learned from the people on here that this is very often not the case, and that the things I was told were also based on stereotypes (and I was told these things by ABA therapists and special education professionals, when I was younger, mostly.)
When I take online autism tests, I score as overwhelmingly “neurotypical” on social skills-related questions.

Autistic does not always equal “struggling socially” or “needing extra support.” And not everyone feels that it’s a disability.
As others have pointed out, it’s a “spectrum.” We are all still individuals and there’s no “one size fits all” diagnosis.

 

[Ed#]

Thanks, Luca. I'll think about that. I appreciate the inclusion.

I notice that definitions of autism can be very idiosyncratic sometimes. I guess that makes sense, given the nature of autism.

Originally, I based my self-assessment on some Youtube videos that talked about "signs that you might be autistic." I devoured those videos and made a long list of potential signs. As the signs accumulated, I came to the conclusion that, indeed, I might well be on the autistic spectrum.

However, as I learned more, I realized that these "signs" often lacked specificity and differential diagnostics. That is, they only provided broad labels without clarifying 1) how that manifested in people with autism, and 2) how that differed from other, more common issues/traits.

For example, one alleged sign of autism is "being blunt and straightforward." I initially thought, "Well, I can be blunt and straightforward sometimes, so I'll put that on the list." However, as I learned more about autism, I realized that there was a big difference between my bluntness and autistic bluntness. With autistic bluntness, it's a matter of social-emotional perceptions, facial expression, etc. My bluntness is different; it's a deliberate choice and a departure from the norm. Typically, I'm sensitive to how the other person is perceiving me, and I try to phrase/communicate things in a nuanced way, so they aren't hurt or offended. But I've also learned over the years to be direct and blunt when I need to be. When I choose to be blunt, I'm very aware that I am making a deliberate choice to do that, and that the other person will perceive me as blunt or uncaring, and they will probably be put off.

That's just one example. I could multiply it 30 times -- disliking small talk, discomfort in social situations, difficulties making friends, having different interests than others, having a routine, etc., etc. I needed more information before I realized that my version of these problems/traits fell more in line with "simple" introversion, social anxiety, and the like, rather than autism.

Also, I realized that I am missing some of the defining features of autism (e.g., difficulties with social initiation and response, difficulties with non-verbal communication, atypical speech and movements, strict routines and resistance to change, unusual interests).

Anyhow, that's enough about my self-diagnostic mishaps journey. I do appreciate the friendliness and welcome of you and many other people here.