[Frog22]

I posted this over in anxiety disorders because its something thats causing me a lot of worry at the moment, but i figured i should get an opinion from you guys also. Here it is word for word:

"Ok so this isnt the easiest thing in the world for me to talk about, but its been bothering me a lot lately and so i figured this would be the best way to have a discussion about it.

I was diagnosed with ASD when i was about 5 or 6 years old. Knowing myself back then, i met the symptoms/criteria for the disorder, and if i were in the shoes of the school counselor and psychologist, i probably wouldnt have hesitated to give that diagnosis.

Fast forward to middle/early high school though, and things changed quite drastically. It started with me noticing that i and the other classmates that i knew or suspected to have ASD were not the same. To keep it simple, when it came to social stuff, they just didnt get it. No eye contact, no sarcasm, droning on and on about one thing. Etc. I however (while i did lack some social skills at the time) did easily start catching on to social norms, felt that i affiliated much more closely with the "normal" students, and went on to make several close friends. Played football and soccer. Started to have a wide variety of interests. Essentially went on to live a normal life and left the label in the dust.

Now at this point in my long *** post you are probably wondering why i am posting this in anxiety disorders. The reason is, that i feel that i either recovered from ASD (supposedly impossible) or was improperly diagnosed. Is either even possible??! I think that i have GAD instead. Im often very tense for no reason, im always worried about being criticized/ what other people think of me, fall into patterns of obsessive worrying....im sure you all know the rest. I also took the autism quiz on here and it gave me a 6 (30 is possible autism) out of 50.

The reason it is significant to me to hear what you guys think about this is two main things: 1) my major is psychology, i want to be a counselor/therapist, but if i really do have ASD, how could i ever be successful in that field? And 2) I have been trying to start dating for a long time now and while i have gone out with a lot of girls i have not been successful past 2-3 dates, but i also understand thats just how it is to a degree at my age. I guess im just afraid that im socially inferior somehow and will never find a deserving partner or be successful in the field i want to go in to.

Sorry about the length of this post, thank you for reading though, and i look forward o your replies! "


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[snickie]

The catching-on-to-social-norms thing is one of the main things that deters me from pursuing an ASD diagnosis. I make eye contact and I use sarcasm and I do well enough socially. Sure, I'm a bit asocial and don't have a lot of friends for it, but I'm well enough. My autism score was something around 42/50 the last time I took the quiz here.

As I've heard before:
When you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism.

You might just happen to be on the ultra high functioning part of the spectrum.

[jelly-bean]

You may be correct in thinking that you were misdiagnosed. Maybe you should think about going to a pdoc and getting a current diagnosis. You will probably be more comfortable with yourself when you know what the problem really is.

[Frog22]

Originally Posted by jelly-bean

You may be correct in thinking that you were misdiagnosed. Maybe you should think about going to a pdoc and getting a current diagnosis. You will probably be more comfortable with yourself when you know what the problem really is.

I certainly would feel more comfortable doing so, and i did try a couple years ago when i was in therapy for anxiety but they said while they didnt think i had it i would need my parents to come in and talk? Is there any way i can do it without them?

The reason i dont want them involved is because that label is stuck in there head and every time i do something they think is odd or they dont approve of i can practically hear them think "its the autism!" and i dont see how that would be helpful to getting an accurate diagnosis. I wouldnt mind having a friend go in with me i guess besides the fact id rather them not know anything about it and i feel like it would change their perception of me just like my parents

Also, isnt marked social impairment required to diagnose someone with ASD? What does "marked" or "significant" even mean? Like sure i can be nervous or awkward around people on occasion but its not like outside of the "normal" range of social skills imo.

Thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RenouncedTroglodyte]

I have been diagnosed with ASD only months ago, even though I have lived with it for years, ever since I was a child. I never gave autism a second look, but I knew all the time that there was something incredibly odd with me, that includes my very slow and insufficiently lacking intellect, me not being able to handle the outside world at all, my fast and unorganized speech, etc.

The crisis I am living through is that I have not revealed it to my family yet, but if I do, I might go through the same thing you're going through with your parents.

[cakeladie]

Hi
My son has autism/asperger's and mild retardation but he his very high functioning. When he was about a year old we noticed something was different but no one could pin point what it was. That was almost 25 years ago. His school was no help. I had to fight for everything for him and at one time I had to bring the state diagnostic center involved. His first dx was ADD and the normal medicine did not help so he had to be on a totally different med that was not normally used. When we found out that he was special his dad left but I did find a good hard working man that cared not only for me but my son.

Anyway, when my son's doctor retired we got a new doctor who said he was not ADD. I rolled my eyes and argued with the doctor. The state said he was ADD so why the argument. The doctor wanted him to do some special testing. This kid had been put through all kinds of testing but ok off to SF for the testing. It turns out that my son has an auditory processing disorder. So what people day to him is not what he hears for example if I say let the dog out he would hear let the hog out. So after being on meds for ADD for over 10 years I took him off. He did well in special ed classes. Oh is should also say we did have him tested for autism but he did not meet all of the criteria.

His senior year in school one of his teachers wanted me to fill out an application
For this service. I have lupus and am always worried about if something happened to me what would happen to him. If he was accepted into this program and there was no one to care for him they would find him an apartment or a group home. So I filled out the paperwork and turned it in. They lost it so I had to do it again. Anyway a year later they tested him for free and said he has autism high functioning and mild retardation.

He was lucky to find a job in a family run business and he loves it. He still does not make good eye contact but we are working on it.

He has a few friends but keeps mainly to himself. He is also a very kind loving person but I have to keep in mind that his body may be of a 24 year hold but his mind is more of a teenager which can be very frustrating

[iamanders]

Let me try to adress a few things here (I am an aspie and also know a lot about ASD).

You say that you received an ASD diagnosis when you were young. WHat we know about humans is this: their behaviour may change.
ASD diagnosis are diagnosed based on behaviour.

You talk about recovering from ASD. This is, as I and many others see it, impossible. What may happen is that you are on the spectrum but managed to be socially even if that is difficult when you an ASD person. Some people talk about the aspergian mask, i.e. having a brain like an ASD person but still looking normal/typical in social situations. This is said to be more common in women/girls than men but it applies to both genders. If you're actually an ASD person then your brain won't make, eg the social reciprocity, as natural as for other typical people. That might be one good explanation. People are different you know. Some people with an ASD diagnosis may for example experience meltdown whereas others with the same diagnosis don't.

You also mention GAD. Many people with an ASD diagnosis also recieve other diagnoses, eg anxiety diagnoses. It's not that strange if you look at ASD people and their brains that they experience stress or anxiety.

It is actually good that you're studying psychology. I also like psychology and neuroscience (but I am not too good at it). Tony Attwood says that we need people with ASD diagnoses in the field of psychology.

[-jimi-]

It would probably be a good idea to get a rediagnosis or get undiagnosed.

I find a lot that I don't identify with other aspies but that is OK. Socially I'm probably awkward and some people say so but they feel my strangeness is more about how I choose to live my life and less the direct communication with me. I understand things like sarcasm well. I only speak about the "same" thing if I know the other person is interested and I listen to what they have to say too.

I feel I'm quite different than normals in what I want to talk about, people simply doesn't entertain me to the point that I want to speak only about them and relationships. But I have a quite normal turntaking and superficially my way of talking isn't that different.

So basically I don't identify with aspies and not with "normals".

My issue is that I'm fundamentally different.

My worst asperger symptoms are those not often talked about, those that are not to do with socializing. Asperger's isn't like many think, a condition only to do with social stuff.

[Frog22]

Originally Posted by iamanders

Let me try to adress a few things here (I am an aspie and also know a lot about ASD).

Right ok, ill try to cover everything you said, some of it wont really matter since none of you know me in person, but i will do my best to describe myself. And depending on what your opinions are i will decide whether or not it would be beneficial to be rediagnosed. Keep in mind though that right now i have no technical/legal diagnosis, the old one is long expired - say if i were collect benefits or something, i couldnt. This is only for my own peace of mind.

I guess what sparked me to start thinking about all of this is when we went over the description of what makes a good counseler/therapist in one of my classes. Someone with advanced cognitive empathy, unconditional acceptance, good/accurate/helpful communication. And so we practiced on each other, telling stories and then having the listner repeat back what the other was thinking/feeling. I had thought for sure that i would come up short somehow, but i didnt. I actually liked it and did quite well at it (based on my partners(s) approval anyway). And it made me realize that someone who actually has ASD would not be able to "mask" that. If a person has those abilities, then they cant have autism, because autism is a direct lack of those abilities. Regardless of the other symptoms. (Which idk what 6/50 on the quiz equates to but i dont have many of those either)

I can relate to feeling "different", locked inside of my head, not just naturally knowing what to say in some situations. But you also have to understand that i was told and believed i was different my whole life! And that there are many times when i second guess myself about "saying the right thing" because of that!

Other issues that i have are hypersensitivity(mostly to touch, or things going on in my body), "worst case scenario" type thinking and circular worrying, i have many phobias (not things im just afraid of, but like actual phobias that are annoying), insomnia, and general muscle tension/anxiety.

As far as good things are concerned i mean im doing well in school and at work. I have a few good friends that i am close with, and i get generally along well with others (making friends in class or on the job). My last therapist said if she could describe me in three words they would be "intelligent, well spoken, and stubborn". Haha. I never told her i had been diagnosed with ASD, and she never said anything about it in our 8 weeks or so

Well at any rate. I think if written enough now lol. Looking forward to hearing your opinions!



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[cakeladie]

Something else to consider is that the spectrum changes all the time. When we had my son tested when he was younger he did not meet all the criteria for autism, 12 years later he does. Go figure. If you do not think it is the right dx then have it reevaluated and go from there. It never hurts and what do you have to loose.

[Frog22]

Originally Posted by cakeladie

Something else to consider is that the spectrum changes all the time. When we had my son tested when he was younger he did not meet all the criteria for autism, 12 years later he does. Go figure. If you do not think it is the right dx then have it reevaluated and go from there. It never hurts and what do you have to loose.

Ok, I think thats what ill do.

These might seem like dumb questions but - who do i see? How many sessions does it take? Can i go in myself? How much should it cost? And will it be a "here and now" diagnosis or are they gonna ask me a bunch of questions about my childhood? Because if theyre gonna drag my parents in and talk about a bunch of old news like the last T wanted to do, theres no point, i know how that will end.

Thanks

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[cakeladie]

The place that tested my son was free. They tested him 3 different times but they did ask us some quesitons.

[Frog22]

Ok, i guess ill have to see whats in my area, from what i found on the internet it looks like i just need to find a psychiatrist and go from there. Hopefully its something i can do quickly as i dont have a lot of time with classes etc right now

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[cakeladie]

Also contact your local Autism Speaks chapter. They will be able to tell you where to get him tested and what support groups are in your area.

[Frog22]

Ok. So i was talking to my neighbor the other day and she said that the university (we both go to the same school lol) has a place where you can get a general psych evaluation done (she thinks she has ADHD). I would need more info obviously, but does that sound like a good option? Like i might have already said i just want to find a yes/no answer on whether or not i have ASD, and see if i have GAD instead.

Also, someone above mentioned "masking", could anyone explain that in more detail to me? Is it like you wake up everyday and pretend to be someone else or something? Do you know if your "masking" or is it automatic? I was jw cuz that idea really freaked me out lol. Like having an alter ego im unaware of or something hahahaa i dont think its likely but i was just curious

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, it's always possible. You might be extremely high functioning on the spectrum or not even ASD at all.

If you think back to your childhood, I don't imagine you (being 5 or 6) was the one who decided that you met the criteria, it would have been your parents or the psychiatrist.

Sometimes people will make criteria fit so that they can have an answer to quench their search for one. I am not saying they screwed up or that your parents or whoever did something wrong. Sometimes the emotions become overwhelming, and you are so desperate for an answer that you sometimes take one that is available only to discover years later it wasn't like that. Sometimes people want an answer so badly that the most obvious answer becomes the answer. They just wanted to help so desperately that they perhaps weren't as objective as they could have been.

It's like a detective trying to find justice for a young child that was murdered for example. The investigation might continue for so many years and people (and he himself - this is normally the main reason) push him so hard to find the culprit that eventually due to pressure they misinterpret evidence and a suspect goes to jail or even death row. Only years later it is eventually discovered, if at all, that they misjudged the whole thing and that it was actually another person that killed the child.

Things are often not what they seem.

[Frog22]

Originally Posted by StbGuy

If you think back to your childhood, I don't imagine you (being 5 or 6) was the one who decided that you met the criteria, it would have been your parents or the psychiatrist.

Right, sorry if i wasn't clear there what i meant was if i were in their shoes looking at a 6 year old boy with a single consuming obsession, social difficulties, picky eating, and hypersensitivity i wouldnt have had a problem giving the high functioning autism diagnosis (aspergers at the time). Those were all my old symptoms i just read out of some files i found under my parents bed lol.

Like you said though, things aren't always what they seem. I have two different ideas about it i think i will bring up to the psychologist when that day comes

The first being simple, i was on the high functioning end of the spectrum to begin with, no severe symptoms, and since everyone generally improves at life as they age, ive just "grown out of it" and no longer qualify for a diagnosis.

The second idea i have is that ive had generalized anxiety disorder all along, which would have explained the sensitivity/aversion/picky eating, then i used consuming hobbies as a way to distract myself from the way i felt (i still do now, but i have many hobbies/interests) which led me to become isolated and therefore have poor social skills at the time.

Regardless, its time for me just to go find the doctor and see what he/she thinks. Like i said before it only matters to me because i want to be a counselor/therapist, and cognitive empathy/"reading people" is such an important skill in that field. Even though i think im good at it, its not easy to be objective with yourself, and if i really do have autism it would probably just be in everyones best interest if i found another major.

Thanks



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by Frog22

Right, sorry if i wasn't clear there what i meant was if i were in their shoes looking at a 6 year old boy with a single consuming obsession, social difficulties, picky eating, and hypersensitivity i wouldnt have had a problem giving the high functioning autism diagnosis (aspergers at the time). Those were all my old symptoms i just read out of some files i found under my parents bed lol.

Like you said though, things aren't always what they seem. I have two different ideas about it i think i will bring up to the psychologist when that day comes

The first being simple, i was on the high functioning end of the spectrum to begin with, no severe symptoms, and since everyone generally improves at life as they age, ive just "grown out of it" and no longer qualify for a diagnosis.

The second idea i have is that ive had generalized anxiety disorder all along, which would have explained the sensitivity/aversion/picky eating, then i used consuming hobbies as a way to distract myself from the way i felt (i still do now, but i have many hobbies/interests) which led me to become isolated and therefore have poor social skills at the time.

Regardless, its time for me just to go find the doctor and see what he/she thinks. Like i said before it only matters to me because i want to be a counselor/therapist, and cognitive empathy/"reading people" is such an important skill in that field. Even though i think im good at it, its not easy to be objective with yourself, and if i really do have autism it would probably just be in everyones best interest if i found another major.

Thanks

Yeah, for sure, anything is possible. But, you just have to ask yourself too, have you improved in your own eyes or have you really improved in reality. You may still be struggling socially and you don't know it. I'm not saying that the external world standard is the best (trust me I'm no advocate of their systems), but they are the ones you got measured against to determine ASD in the first place, so you need to check it that way again. Maybe go to a university library or something and go and Xerox the relevant pages for ASD and GAD out of the DSM-V and DSM-IV (just to compare with V) and keep them. Every now and then, go back and look again if you still meet the criteria. I think you will find some days you do, some days you don't - it all depends how you feel that day.

Go and read the defining criteria again for yourself. As time goes on you will see the same definitions seem to keep broadening like a fishing net - to include more and more possibilities and examples from your own life. You might even find great overlap between GAD and ASD, in fact, I think you probably will. There can be maybe just one word in a criterium that open-ends the whole thing. It's a good idea to keep these pages with you as you go along. Sometimes you read a thing, and for years you get the same outlook when you do, then one day, you read it again and you see it differently and then the whole lot makes sense in a different way.

Basically, what I'm saying is, you saw those old symptoms on the pages under the bed. You might actually still have them, it's just that your idea of what it must look like when you don't have it anymore has been met, so it seems you have outgrown them. That is unlikely unless the neurons have regrown and rewired in your brain somehow. It is possible, depending on what kind of chemicals you were exposed to in your life. You get chemicals that destroy neuron connectivity, but by the same token, there could be (undiscovered) chemicals that regrow them and perhaps even reverse ASD - nothing is impossible. But, if that was not the case, then it might be like I said - you may have the symptoms, they are just in an unrecognisable form. Always investigate all possibilities.

[Frog22]

Originally Posted by StbGuy

Yeah, for sure, anything is possible. But, you just have to ask yourself too, have you improved in your own eyes or have you really improved in reality. You may still be struggling socially and you don't know it. I'm not saying that the external world standard is the best (trust me I'm no advocate of their systems), but they are the ones you got measured against to determine ASD in the first place, so you need to check it that way again. Maybe go to a university library or something and go and Xerox the relevant pages for ASD and GAD out of the DSM-V and DSM-IV (just to compare with V) and keep them. Every now and then, go back and look again if you still meet the criteria. I think you will find some days you do, some days you don't - it all depends how you feel that day.

Go and read the defining criteria again for yourself. As time goes on you will see the same definitions seem to keep broadening like a fishing net - to include more and more possibilities and examples from your own life. You might even find great overlap between GAD and ASD, in fact, I think you probably will. There can be maybe just one word in a criterium that open-ends the whole thing. It's a good idea to keep these pages with you as you go along. Sometimes you read a thing, and for years you get the same outlook when you do, then one day, you read it again and you see it differently and then the whole lot makes sense in a different way.

Basically, what I'm saying is, you saw those old symptoms on the pages under the bed. You might actually still have them, it's just that your idea of what it must look like when you don't have it anymore has been met, so it seems you have outgrown them. That is unlikely unless the neurons have regrown and rewired in your brain somehow. It is possible, depending on what kind of chemicals you were exposed to in your life. You get chemicals that destroy neuron connectivity, but by the same token, there could be (undiscovered) chemicals that regrow them and perhaps even reverse ASD - nothing is impossible. But, if that was not the case, then it might be like I said - you may have the symptoms, they are just in an unrecognisable form. Always investigate all possibilities.

Yeah i totally get what your saying, thats the reason i wanted to be evaluated in the first place! If we all judged ourselves based on our own standards then we'd all be great and "normal" whatever that means lol

As for the DSM V I've read probably near every disorder there is in that book during class, and i actually have went back and reread all of the criteria for ASD multiple times, comparing myself to it. There is an overlap for GAD and ASD for sure, but for ASD you must have "marked" social deficits.

I also see what your saying about still having symptoms and just expressing or viewing them in a different way. Like with the narrow and consuming obsessions for instance, i feel that i have just traded that for balanced mainstream interests/hobbies. I get the same rush/relaxation out of it, and i think its an even better way of satisfying that drive. Now if i were to try having one rigid interest i would probably get bored in a day. Haha. But im not sure if someone who were really in the autistic spectrum could make that change and feel good about it, you know? And if the change were made, would it really be a symptom of autism anymore? Or was it even one to begin with? Just something to also consider.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by Frog22

Yeah i totally get what your saying, thats the reason i wanted to be evaluated in the first place! If we all judged ourselves based on our own standards then we'd all be great and "normal" whatever that means lol

Yeah, or sometimes we perceive ourselves to have a greater problem than we actually do, that can happen too.

Originally Posted by Frog22

As for the DSM V I've read probably near every disorder there is in that book during class, and i actually have went back and reread all of the criteria for ASD multiple times, comparing myself to it. There is an overlap for GAD and ASD for sure, but for ASD you must have "marked" social deficits.

Ah, but you see what does "marked" mean to me and to you? Is it the same? I might see you and say your social deficits are marked in you whilst you might not see marked (i.e. extraordinary) social deficits in yourself. This is exactly what I mean, you can read over this text thousands of times and it remains cryptic, until one day another piece of information is revealed to you and the next time you read this text again, it suddenly changes in meaning. This happens a lot and only with time and patience unfortunately. Sometimes you think this "aha" moment has happened and it has still not happened. When the real one happens, you will know, you can feel the breakthrough happening.

Originally Posted by Frog22

I also see what your saying about still having symptoms and just expressing or viewing them in a different way. Like with the narrow and consuming obsessions for instance, i feel that i have just traded that for balanced mainstream interests/hobbies. I get the same rush/relaxation out of it, and i think its an even better way of satisfying that drive. Now if i were to try having one rigid interest i would probably get bored in a day. Haha. But im not sure if someone who were really in the autistic spectrum could make that change and feel good about it, you know? And if the change were made, would it really be a symptom of autism anymore? Or was it even one to begin with? Just something to also consider.

My obsessions have changed a lot during my life actually, about every 3 years or so, I switch to something completely new. With depression however, the obsessions can disappear all together. I am depression-free now, but still sitting with no obsessions. It will probably take time to re-kindle that passion and fire again for something.

[Frog22]

Originally Posted by StbGuy

My obsessions have changed a lot during my life actually, about every 3 years or so, I switch to something completely new. With depression however, the obsessions can disappear all together. I am depression-free now, but still sitting with no obsessions. It will probably take time to re-kindle that passion and fire again for something.

Ok i think you might have misunderstood me on this part, the change i was talking about was between the rigid all consuming specific interests that ASD people have vs multiple divided hobbies and interests that NT people have.

Like for instance one of my moms friends had a son my age when i was in high school who happened to be on the spectrum. And his "thing" would switch every year or two to something completely different but regardless it was always one all consuming thing at a time. Right now his thing is shooting, and we have that hobby in common and so every once in a while he comes to the range with me. But if i were to say ask him to come to a party or go fishing next weekend he'd have nothing to do with it. And once his interest changes, i doubt he'll even talk to me. Versus if someone were to ask me to try something new (say, snowboarding lol idk) pun totally intended i would jump right on board, give it a go and just have fun. And if i like it add it to the list of things i enjoy.

I also agree about "marked" in the DSM V being subjective but i dont think it is completely. As one of my professors put it, if you were to plot human behavior on a bell curve, "abnormal" or "marked" would fall somewhere around the top/bottom 5-10%. So like yes if you read the symptoms and pay attention to yourself or anyone for that matter you will start to see those traits in all people. But are they severe enough for a diagnosis? That is the reason 87/88 people aren't on the spectrum!

Ultimately it wont hurt my feelings whether i find out i have ASD or not, but i think it is still very important for me to know.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by Frog22

Ok i think you might have misunderstood me on this part, the change i was talking about was between the rigid all consuming specific interests that ASD people have vs multiple divided hobbies and interests that NT people have.

I think I understand. That is true, but I found as I grew older, it would not actually stick with one thing at a time (sorry, I should've mentioned that). There were times when two "things" would run in parallel, and they would sometimes continually battle it out and exchange places for the title of "top thing" LOL

I think if one really started becoming technical, I think one would find that every human being can fit on the spectrum somewhere. All that would happen is normal people would plot near the extremely high functioning end and all bunch together as a cloud of data points on that edge of the spectrum, whilst ASD people would of course be the other data points more spaced out over the spectrum. It all depends on how you define things. If you had to define the independent axis of the spectrum not according to functionality, but something else, that cloud of points may very well disperse, but then it won't be an autism spectrum anymore, it will be another kind of spectrum because you've changed the axis (criteria). This is where mathematicians come in, they usually start adding axes (dimensions, criteria) at this point in order not to lose information as best they can.

[Frog22]

Originally Posted by StbGuy

I think I understand. That is true, but I found as I grew older, it would not actually stick with one thing at a time (sorry, I should've mentioned that). There were times when two "things" would run in parallel, and they would sometimes continually battle it out and exchange places for the title of "top thing" LOL

I think if one really started becoming technical, I think one would find that every human being can fit on the spectrum somewhere. All that would happen is normal people would plot near the extremely high functioning end and all bunch together as a cloud of data points on that edge of the spectrum, whilst ASD people would of course be the other data points more spaced out over the spectrum. It all depends on how you define things. If you had to define the independent axis of the spectrum not according to functionality, but something else, that cloud of points may very well disperse, but then it won't be an autism spectrum anymore, it will be another kind of spectrum because you've changed the axis (criteria). This is where mathematicians come in, they usually start adding axes (dimensions, criteria) at this point in order not to lose information as best they can.

Ok good haha, like i guess a better way to explain it would be that both NT and ASD people have the same drive to have hobbies and interests but those on the spectrum put all of their time and attention into one or two things vs NT being divided across alot of different things. But of course theres always exceptions to that too, for instance Michael Phelps puts 110% of his time into swimming, but no one would define that obsession as an autistic "special interest" since it doesn't interfere with his social life or functioning.

When it comes to me, (most of my free time is spent with my friends like at the bar or something haha, but thats not a "hobby") i have like 2-3 main things i like to do and then like idk 5-10 things i can think of off the top of my head (like bowling, biking, etc) that i enjoy but wouldnt consider like "main interests". And so when i read the DSM V and it says "one rigid, specific all consuming interest that dominates conversation etc" i just cant see that in myself. There are people who know me reallly well and yet probably have no idea how much i know about some topics because i never brought them up because i know they wouldnt be interested.

And i know what your saying about the graph haha but only because im taking stats right now! That distribution would be "skewed to the left" lol

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Haha, yes, that's true, skewed to the left.

Yeah, and there's also a difference between occupation and hobby. Although these can sometimes overlap and it's just a passion.

You have to take "all-consuming" in context too. I personally wouldn't have used that word, as it applies mostly to people up until age 5. After that you are forced to do other things simply because you are growing up - school, etc. I would have just said dominant.

I think the keyword is actually "rigid". There is only probably one interest that is rigid. Others are fluid and dynamic and can change at will. This interest I think is the one you keep returning to once the others have changed or at the end of the day, etc. What I found in my hobbies is that I tended to repeat things sometimes, or repeat projects sometimes and also just focus on one specific aspect of something. I think that's where the rigid comes into it.

[Frog22]

Originally Posted by StbGuy

Haha, yes, that's true, skewed to the left.

Yeah, and there's also a difference between occupation and hobby. Although these can sometimes overlap and it's just a passion.

You have to take "all-consuming" in context too. I personally wouldn't have used that word, as it applies mostly to people up until age 5. After that you are forced to do other things simply because you are growing up - school, etc. I would have just said dominant.

I think the keyword is actually "rigid". There is only probably one interest that is rigid. Others are fluid and dynamic and can change at will. This interest I think is the one you keep returning to once the others have changed or at the end of the day, etc. What I found in my hobbies is that I tended to repeat things sometimes, or repeat projects sometimes and also just focus on one specific aspect of something. I think that's where the rigid comes into it.

You make really good points about the diagnostic criteria, I've had the same ideas about many of them for a long time. One thing in defense of them though, like i said before, i think when they say things like "marked" "rigid" "consuming" they mean it in a way that would be above and beyond what most people would consider to be a normal level of those traits, since everyone has them to a degree.

What i dont like is when i was diagnosed the rate was like 1/180. Then 1/110. Now its 1/88. They keep broadening the net to the point that little Johnny says as much as he enjoys spinning in circles a little too much and now he's "autistic" and has to wear that label the rest of his life. I truly do believe that it never did me any good to be diagnosed. I never had (significant) trouble socially or academically from middle school on. And yet the special ed teachers would still approach me in the hall and ask me questions in front of my friends. Act as though they wouldnt notice or i wouldnt care. Talk to me like i was a ****ing idiot.

If i ever become an influential psychologist i swear ill make it my personal mission to fix this mess. Lol

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk