Could I be Autistic?

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This therapist sounds like an idiot and I do not care if she knows someone who is autistic. This is the same argument about white people pretending they understand the black experience because they know black people... First of all, you are a girl and according to this article that I cannot find because I cannot access my stupid chrome bookmarks through ecosia at the moment, from what I remember, only nine percent of autistic girls are diagnosed before age six compared to 25 percent of autistic boys; then twenty percent of girls by, I think, the age of twelve, compared to fifty percent of autistic boys.

You are not stupid. You are stuck in a cruel and sexist and ableist system that denies-- likely due to only actually researching autistic girls and women independently from predominately male samples for like the past five years in a world that does not recognize women and girls as capable of being autistic-- at least fifty percent of autistic girls a diagnosis until they are already in adulthood...

I think you should listen to your primary care physician and see if she can get you a referral to another doctor...

I read your original post and related to alot of the things you said very much, especially about having meltdowns when plans change or things go unexpectedly. I was not diagnosed until I was almost twenty one...

Good luck...

She does not know what she is talking about. 40 percent of autistic people also have anxiety disorder.



"Undiagnosing" someone, because they are not like the autistic person they know an all too common mistake.


Based on the age in your profile, you were between ages two and six from 1990 to 1994. At that time, for the most part, the only people getting and autism diagnoses were profoundly autistic. Girls had even less of a chance of being diagnosed.


In my over six years on Wrong Planet this is the dumbest thing I have ever read about a therapist saying. And I have read a lot of dumb things
Teachers were not able and qualified to give an autism diagnosis in the 90s, they are not qualified and able to today, and never will be. You need a psychologist that is an expert in autism to be qualified to give out a diagnosis.

Don't pay attention to that therapist. You're only a few years older than me and when I was in school teachers were no way able to diagnose ASD. My mom showed reports/comments and notes about me from teachers in middle school and it was so clear that I had Asperger's that if the teachers knew anything about the disorder, they would have said something to my parents. Go see another therapist because she obviously not qualified for this. Don't feel stupid because someone else is an idiot.

Thank you for your replies, it's really helped me make the decision to take my primary care doctor's offer to try and get me a referral instead of relying on my therapist. After reading everyone's comments and doing some more research on my own, I find it amazing how many neurotypical people have such a small range of knowledge of ASD. I've also learned more about masking and autism burnout. I wish they would do more studies into adults and women on the spectrum and in autism in general.

HAHAHAHAHAAHAHHA....

But wait! It's not true is it?

Some articles about the under-diagnosis of women and girls:

The underdiagnosis of autism in girls is a story of gender inequality
Autism in women and girls is more prevalent than currently thought, researchers say, and intersects with a range of other experiences they face to compound problems
By Phoebe Braithwaite
12 May 2018
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/underdi ... -and-girls

'Social Camouflage' May Lead To Underdiagnosis Of Autism In Girls
Patti Neighmond
Jane Greenhalgh
July 31, 2017
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-sho ... m-in-girls

Thousands of autistic girls and women 'going undiagnosed' due to gender bias
Number of girls and women with the condition in UK may be vastly underestimated, leading neuroscientist says
Hannah Devlin Science correspondent
Fri 14 Sep 2018
Last modified on Mon 17 Sep 2018
https://www.theguardian.com/society/201 ... ender-bias

Autism in women 'significantly under-diagnosed'
By Graham Satchell BBC News
31 August 2016
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-37221030

What to know about autism in girls
Last reviewed Tue 25 June 2019
By Claire Sissons
Reviewed by Karen Gill, MD
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325574.php

She’s Got Asperger’s? The Underdiagnosis of Girls With AS
By Marcia Eckerd, Ph.D.
Last updated: 5 Feb 2019
[blog: Divergent Thinkers: Asperger's, NLD & More]
https://blogs.psychcentral.com/asperger ... =popular17

Thank you for the links, they were very informative.

It's been a very long past few weeks. But I've gotten many steps closer to a diagnosis. Of course Covid-19 has presenting some problems with the appointments I need. All my doctors are doing their appointments over the phone. In some ways that's easier but in other ways problematic. I hope everyone else is doing ok. I would like to know if anyone else has experienced changes in their routine and how their coping. I have talked a lot about myself but I would like other's to be able to share from their own experiences to getting diagnosed or how this recent crisis is effecting them.

Pros and Cons, eh? Life.

I am coping by creating spreadsheets with numbers and burying myself in a Special Interest. It keeps me happy and migraine free. It does occur to me to redirect some of that energy to other items that could use the attention. I will (or won't), in time. Right now I have two online support groups (one short-term weekly, one long-term monthly).

I am glad you're evaluation is progressing.

This is what I did and I'd recommend as a starting point and possibly even an ending point. Like you, I always felt "weird", left out, different, shied away from human interaction where ever humanly possible, etc., etc.

I began wondering if I might have it. So, I contacted "Autism Speaks" and was given two online quizzes I could take. They may not be 100% accurate but they pretty much told me what I wanted to know.

I am 68 years old now so I see little point in doing anything about this or pursuing it in anyway further. But it settled my curiosity. As I went through life, I kinda discovered on my own what works for me and what doesn't. It was largely a matter of "trial and error". But, I got through it.

Hope that helps!

Best Regards,
Amtrak Fred

Not sure.You do seem to have seem of the typical traits of being a aspie,like avoiding social Interaction and have issues with eye contact,there's good possibly that you may have Aspergers. However unless you're diagnosed,I can't say for certain that you have Aspergers.

Finally got the help I was seeking and an official diagnosis. I feel like a weight has been lifted off me. It's like I found a missing part of me if that makes sense. I wish I had known when I was younger, maybe my life might have been a little different. Oh well, I know now.
Thank all of you for your kindness and information. It was very helpful.
I just hope soon the way of recognizing ASD changes where people aren't having to diagnose themselves. And that mental health professionals are more open educated on the subject instead of a narrow scope of autism when someone has concerns and is seeking help.
Again, thank you all so much

Congratulations on self-advocating and obtaining help! (and your diagnosis)

There are so many more undiagnosed women than men this is how autism shows up in girls

That makes more sense then you know right now. I view August 26, 2013, the day I got diagnosed as a second birthday.

Congratulations!!