Which autism sub-type do you have?

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Welcome to my little thought experiment!
Thinking about different sub-types of autism, assuming there might be such, I wonder which ones we would fit into?

The poll lists some common autism behaviours / issues. Please choose up to 3 which are most obvious or problematic for you. And can you list them in a response? (Or complete the poll anonymously if you prefer).

Maybe we will see some patterns of common issues. Of course, at the moment we don't have details of actual subtypes, so this is just a bit of fun to see if we get enough responses to pick out some commonalities.

Note there are a lot of common issues I haven't listed - most of those would be co-morbid conditions such as epilepsy, attention issues/ADHD, dyslexia/dyscalculia, mental illnesses, and so on. These are not included as I'm trying to stick with the issues usually attributed directly to autism or used to define different types of autism.

Please do not query the veracity people's responses or make judgements, I want this to be a safe place to post and not have it devolve into some kind of a competition over who has the best / worst kinds of autism.

For myself, I ticked the combination:

poor social skills + high IQ + emotional regulation / meltdowns

There are more but those are the 3 most obvious.
I think of mine as Asperger-type autism rather than classic autism.

Stimming, socially awkward, and overstimulated

For me its obsessive interests, poor social skills, sensory over-stimulation
those would be my top 3

emotional regulation is a huge problem for me as well, the others listed not so much

Wow - Great list and great thread.

On first glance I have all of them except intellectual impairment. It's hard to select only three, especially since I spend most of my time in autism-controlled environments (e.g., at home where everything's perfect and I don't have to interact with the outside world.)


Answers for when I'm at home and safe: (These are what I voted)

Non-verbal or minimally verbal
- I barely speak to my own kids. It's 99% text or Messenger even when we're in the same house. I go to my mother's to care for her and can seldom even say hello. I spend a lot of time hiding in my pillowfort or in rooms with the door shut so I don't have to interact. I don't do phone calls without extreme duress and I've never left a voicemail message in my life, so arranging appointments or homeowner type stuff is very difficult. I've avoided a huge, free homeowner repair program for two years now because I can't pick up the phone to do it.

Stimming and Repetitive Behaviour
- Yes, thousands and thousands of times a day, to the point of self-harm. It even happens in my sleep. I've need to be medicated on antipsychotics to calm it. I think some of them could be classified as motor tics but I'm not sure. I even have sleep disorders related to motor activity. I don't flap per se but I do a lot of weird hand things. I spin, twirl, twist, you name it, even in public. I've needed four root canals from such excessive grinding even with a custom made nightguard.


Sensory Overstim and Shutdowns
- Yes. I can barely even function in daylight let alone electric light. I can be sick for days even if it's cloudy outside. Vision makes me very ill, maybe because of visual overwhelm but also light sensitivity and visual snow. I have four pair of prescription tinted glasses worth over $3K and need them replaced every two years minimum. I have misophonia to the point of rage, mostly from quiet or repetitive sounds even in the house. I can't sleep without earplugs and a bunch of layered eye masks (usually six, since some fall off.) I have tinnitus 24/7. I have smellophobia and can vomit from the smell of chocolate or basic cooking aromas even if they smell good. I can't do anything scented or with artificial fragrance without migraines, aura, and nausea. I can't touch many things, including water or bumps or dozens of types of textures. I can't sleep with anyone in the same bed. I can only eat very spicy food or else I want to gag ( I guess that's actual hypo-stim). I'm diagnosed with severe SPD and have an OT for it. In my developmental history answers for my ASD assessment it took me over 20 pages to list and describe all my sensory issues.


If I had a fourth choice it would be emotional regulation but that's mostly if I have to leave the house. I have a lot of sensory freakouts in the great outdoors or even at appointments.

I can't pick 3 - I'm everything except Intellectually impaired. The rest can be more or less frequent depending on the day or situation. I'd also say I am not very/often Insular. I can have very strong Special Interests, but they can also change frequently.

(I'm ASD-2 and use AAC)

I think I allowed for re-voting in the poll - so if you like you can pick your top 3 for today and change it later, depending how you feel.

I'm struggling to pick three as well. Good to know I can switch it up. I'll pick three tonight and other options later then.

I know sensory overstimulation/shutdowns is a big one for me and always has been, though to a lesser degree before my last major burnout.

Insular? Yeah. I never did much care if I did or didn't interact with others. I was one of those kids who didn't think to tell their parents/family/friends about things like accomplishments, and I still seem to forget other people exist.

Those two for sure. The ones I'm less sure about...

High IQ... I did score well on iq tests as a kid and went to a gifted school. Teachers and other kids had no idea what to do with me. It's arguable though that any brains I might have aren't worth much or are not existent anymore anyhow. Lol. It's not been an asset for me in life either which way.

Frequent/obvious stimming... I am a stimmy person, but it's not been problematic in my life except when I was really young and would get punished for it. I don't much mind it, though I do try to not be disruptive with it in public and such. I consider it common decency.

Non verbal/minimally verbal... I dealt with selective mutism a lot as a kid. It's not a huge issue for me these days though I still don't speak much and will go mute under extreme stress. I hate talking though. I wish we could all just write our thoughts on paper and communicate that way.

Emotional regulation/meltdowns... I suck at emotions and react physically when I have them (like I might not realize I'm stressed but have a headache or stomach ache and increased heart rate). I do have alexithymia. This stuff was a lot more problematic for me as a teen/20something than it is now. I used to hit, throw stuff, attack people, stuff like that. I'd just lose it. It's been years though.

Mm, I hadn't thought of that - our difficulties could change over time, like meltdown issues as a kid evolving into shutdowns as an adult. I guess the idea is to vote according to where you are at currently. It will be interesting to see if we get commonalities in responses by age.

I should probably explain, the high IQ question is included because sometimes people classify autism by cognitive abilities (for instance Aspergers used to be thought of as the little professor syndrome), and to act as a balance for the question about intellectual impairment. You don't have to seeing much benefit from your IQ to tick that one.

I chose poor social skills, sensory overstimulation, and emotional regulation.

I'm a brain on legs.
What can I say?

Insular would 100% be on my list except that I can avoid people now that I'm not working.

I forgot to say I'm dx ASD-2, like DanielW.

Some people have suggested I could even be ASD-3 because of comorbids etc., and the fact I'm pretty much house-ridden. If they had tested me when I was attempting to work and raise kids by myself I'm sure I would have been a 3 in terms of function. As it is, I only scored 1st percentile on social skill and adaptivity, and that was when I was already off work on disability for a few years, hence with less day-to-day stress.

One thing I can already say from the results - they really ought to add shutdowns/meltdowns/burnout to the diagnostic criteria. Is there any one of us who doesn't get those kind of issues, at least to some degree?

I could've used more than three.

Emotional regulation is my biggest. Fighting it since I entered school.
It leaded to worsen everything else. I'd gladly would just get rid of it.

Obsessions and special interest may or may not be a form of impulsivity on my part.
Maybe why I don't do well with habits. Partially got how I should take advantage of it.

Insolar. No social motivation.
Not my problem but it sure worries others.
Even if I'm alright socializing itself -- and without trying hard.
To say I have no form of the usual 'social addiction and craving' is a more apt description.


My diagnosis is aspergers. Solely and only because of not having speech delay.
Yet observations outside and even my own judgement says I'm a full blown autistic.

Spoiler is ranty in the end.

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Poor social skills or awkwardness
Strong or obsessive interest in a topic