Do I even have autism?

) May 4th, 2018

Ok so I was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at 16. Prior to my diagnosis no one even knew I was different aside from my intellectual impairment which I only had in learning. I spoke to a girl the other day who is on the autism spectrum and was diagnosed at 22, she told me all her life she felt different and felt she couldn’t relate to other children. And it got me thinking, I never knew I was different, never felt different and I could relate to other children who were either my age, younger or that had disabilities. I related to everyone and was friends with anyone. I went to school camps with my mainstream school and always did fine, most people who have autism spectrum disorder have difficulty with change, I never had issues with change. I actually enjoyed change and have always loved to try new things. Between the ages of 17–19 I was overly shy though, and wouldn’t talk to anyone and was seen as rude by some people. But after I turned 20, I’ve became quite extroverted and I love talking to people and want to do things with my life. I’m just confused as I’m not sure if I even have autism spectrum disorder so if any of you could answer this I’d really appreciate it, thank you xx.

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3 Answers

None of us can diagnose that.

But my guess is, you still have autism, you have just learned to connect with people. That’s a wonderful thing, to compensate, when you have a disability.

You probably still DO have autism and its related traits and characteristics, but you have overcome its dysfunction. Only a professional can diagnose you—officially (documented) or by observation

Let me say also, I think people with disabilities are interesting—they function in different ways than common people.

Yellowdog (12216

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It sounds as if you have moved right scross to the normal end of the spectrum which is fine. You could ask for a re diagnosis as things seem to have changed but on the other hand why bother.

flutherother (34936

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Keep in mind that it is called Autism Spectrum Disorder because it is truly a spectrum. Your experience will look completely different from someone else on a different part of the spectrum, so it’s impossible to compare. Sounds like you’ve really managed to connect with people and are feeling that you don’t have issues with some of the more common features of ASD. There are a lot of different behaviors and features that can qualify someone to be diagnosed with ASD (again, because it is a spectrum, they don’t have to be severe to count).
However, if you truly feel that it is a misdiagnosis, go ahead and get a second opinion!

omfgTALIjustIMDu (9293

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