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I don"t feel autistic?

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Marybird
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26 Feb 2013, 5:20 am

Pabalebo wrote:
I don't think anyone really "feels autistic", same as no one really "feels NT". To me, it's just another way of seeing the world. You can't truly see things through anyone's eyes but your own.

You can "feel autistic" or "feel NT" It's how you experience the world. It comes from inside yourself, not how you see the world. I feel autistic and my experience is real.



MjrMajorMajor
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26 Feb 2013, 9:31 am

Pabalebo wrote:
I don't think anyone really "feels autistic", same as no one really "feels NT". To me, it's just another way of seeing the world. You can't truly see things through anyone's eyes but your own.


I've never understood the idea of someone with autism "feeling NT", or outgrowing their autism. There can be times where you're in the moment, and maybe interacting well with your environment. You can possibly learn ways to communicate more effectively, and live an independent life if you're on a less severe end of the spectrum. That doesn't change the wiring in your brain, and your subjective experience is just that. I may subjectively appear normal to myself and may not attract too many raised eyebrows, but anyone seeing the same view objectively would see my autism. Just because it's not in my mind's eye doesn't make it go away or not exist. If I never interacted with the outside world at all, could I announced myself "cured"? :?



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26 Feb 2013, 10:01 am

Tyri0n wrote:
The best-adjusted aspies have likely outgrown their diagnosis altogether (20% of children who are Dxed with Asperger's become NT when they grow up) or are otherwise too busy in the real world to come here often.


I would disagree with this statement. My psychiatrist was pretty adamant that people don't outgrow their diagnosis ever. They may learn to "pass" as NT but they still are AS, PDD, or whatever they are.



deltafunction
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26 Feb 2013, 10:17 am

mikassyna wrote:
Tyri0n wrote:
The best-adjusted aspies have likely outgrown their diagnosis altogether (20% of children who are Dxed with Asperger's become NT when they grow up) or are otherwise too busy in the real world to come here often.


I would disagree with this statement. My psychiatrist was pretty adamant that people don't outgrow their diagnosis ever. They may learn to "pass" as NT but they still are AS, PDD, or whatever they are.


Yeah that's why I wonder whether I have it at all.

What I don't understand is that people on here are understanding if someone if misdiagnosed as something else. Why not AS as well? Can't that be misdiagnosed too, if people "grow out" of it successfully?

Anyways, ADHD and HFA/AS show very similar traits. I could see a psychologist looking at stereotypical traits of autism and applying it to someone with ADHD who isn't a social butterfly. I'm going for a re-diagnosis to see if I have ADHD. I'll have to see what they say about AS as well.

But then on the other hand I was kind of crazy about fitting in when I was little. People tell me conflicting stuff about it. I don't want to offend anyone but I really don't feel autistic.


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mikassyna
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26 Feb 2013, 10:31 am

deltafunction wrote:
mikassyna wrote:
Yeah that's why I wonder whether I have it at all.

What I don't understand is that people on here are understanding if someone if misdiagnosed as something else. Why not AS as well? Can't that be misdiagnosed too, if people "grow out" of it successfully?


Most people would not suspect my DX, except when when I do something baffling to them, which doesn't happen frequently, but often enough that makes some people think I'm quirky. I had many years of learning how to adapt and thought I was fairly successful at it but recently while talking to various people, things have been coming out to indicate that I haven't been as "assimilated" as I'd thought I was. Somehow I "lost" two "friends" somehow by doing something to offend them that I still don't really understand. So, if you do have it, it doesn't go away magically over time--you just have learned better adaptive skills, which is the ultimate goal, isn't it? It doesn't mean you don't face challenges, it just means that you worked that muscle long enough to flow with it--like learning a second language.

At least that's my understanding. As confident in my answer as I may sound, I am currently struggling with my own recent DX--one that I thought would provide clarity--but is making me just as--if not--more confused now than before.



deltafunction
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26 Feb 2013, 10:36 am

mikassyna wrote:
Most people would not suspect my DX, except when when I do something baffling to them, which doesn't happen frequently, but often enough that makes some people think I'm quirky. I had many years of learning how to adapt and thought I was fairly successful at it but recently while talking to various people, things have been coming out to indicate that I haven't been as "assimilated" as I'd thought I was. Somehow I "lost" two "friends" somehow by doing something to offend them that I still don't really understand. So, if you do have it, it doesn't go away magically over time--you just have learned better adaptive skills, which is the ultimate goal, isn't it? It doesn't mean you don't face challenges, it just means that you worked that muscle long enough to flow with it--like learning a second language.

At least that's my understanding. As confident in my answer as I may sound, I am currently struggling with my own recent DX--one that I thought would provide clarity--but is making me just as--if not--more confused now than before.


That's an interesting theory. Yeah it makes sense; if autism is a difference in wiring, and you work your brain to strengthen the right connections, can you actually rewire your brain to "grow out" of it? Lol I want science to work faster to find this stuff out for me.


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scarp
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26 Feb 2013, 10:37 am

deltafunction wrote:
I don't want to offend anyone but I really don't feel autistic.


Your possible lack of autism disturbs me. :x

(I am kidding.)



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26 Feb 2013, 10:48 am

Quote:
What I don't understand is that people on here are understanding if someone if misdiagnosed as something else. Why not AS as well? Can't that be misdiagnosed too, if people "grow out" of it successfully?


Of course AS can be misdiagnosed. I don't know where you get the impression WPers aren't considering that. I've seen several threads where a person thinks they may have been misdiagnosed and the responses mostly conclude that they're right.

Incidentally, judging from this forum, the condition most often mistaken for AS is social anxiety disorder.

However, there's also a big difference between being described as having 'autistic traits' and being diagnosed as on the spectrum. A person can have a few autistic traits and yet not have many other autistic traits, and it's not surprising that someone like that wouldn't identify much with autistics. Do you find you identify with some of what autistic people say about themselves, but not other parts? For example, someone with SCD (social disability only) would probably identify with things like 'I have no clue how other people are feeling' but not things like '[random nerdy subject] makes me feel a happy feeling whenever I think about it'.



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26 Feb 2013, 10:48 am

Yuugiri wrote:
LoudMuch wrote:
I dont think ASDers are able to empathise as is.

This is incorrect. People on the spectrum have as much capacity for empathy as anybody. They just lack the innate ability to show it (in most cases).


Actually people with AS often over-empathize with other people. For example, it's fairly common for a person with AS to feel responsible for something bad that happened which wasn't even their fault.



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26 Feb 2013, 10:52 am

mikassyna wrote:
Tyri0n wrote:
The best-adjusted aspies have likely outgrown their diagnosis altogether (20% of children who are Dxed with Asperger's become NT when they grow up) or are otherwise too busy in the real world to come here often.


I would disagree with this statement. My psychiatrist was pretty adamant that people don't outgrow their diagnosis ever. They may learn to "pass" as NT but they still are AS, PDD, or whatever they are.


Well your psychiatrist is wrong: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/ar ... row-autism

I have a feeling this would have been me if I had been raised in an upper-middle class home and had the correct interventions early enough. Also if I had had the opportunity to socialize before I was 18. I outgrew a lot of things as it was, with no help or support at all.

Deltafunction, maybe you just outgrew it? Did you have early interventions?



deltafunction
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26 Feb 2013, 11:01 am

Ettina wrote:
Quote:
What I don't understand is that people on here are understanding if someone if misdiagnosed as something else. Why not AS as well? Can't that be misdiagnosed too, if people "grow out" of it successfully?


Of course AS can be misdiagnosed. I don't know where you get the impression WPers aren't considering that. I've seen several threads where a person thinks they may have been misdiagnosed and the responses mostly conclude that they're right.

Incidentally, judging from this forum, the condition most often mistaken for AS is social anxiety disorder.

However, there's also a big difference between being described as having 'autistic traits' and being diagnosed as on the spectrum. A person can have a few autistic traits and yet not have many other autistic traits, and it's not surprising that someone like that wouldn't identify much with autistics. Do you find you identify with some of what autistic people say about themselves, but not other parts? For example, someone with SCD (social disability only) would probably identify with things like 'I have no clue how other people are feeling' but not things like '[random nerdy subject] makes me feel a happy feeling whenever I think about it'.


Sorry, I've just heard a lot of doubts about misdiagnosis on the forum.

Yeah, my parents just thought that I was socially anxious.

I kind of identify with not having a clue about other people's feelings, but I think that I can figure it out if I put my mind to it. It's just that I am usually thinking about something else and not paying attention to those cues. That's partly why I think it might be ADHD.

I don't identify with a subject making me happy whenever I think about it.

Quote:

Deltafunction, maybe you just outgrew it? Did you have early interventions?


No, I didn't have any interventions. In fact if anything, I had less attention and care than most kids... My older sister needed a lot of assistance, leaving me to figure things out on my own.

I also grew up in a poor family. I had three siblings and ended up being a role model to my two younger siblings. I didn't have the opportunity to get any help from my parents.


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Tyri0n
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26 Feb 2013, 11:03 am

deltafunction wrote:
Ettina wrote:
Quote:
What I don't understand is that people on here are understanding if someone if misdiagnosed as something else. Why not AS as well? Can't that be misdiagnosed too, if people "grow out" of it successfully?


Of course AS can be misdiagnosed. I don't know where you get the impression WPers aren't considering that. I've seen several threads where a person thinks they may have been misdiagnosed and the responses mostly conclude that they're right.

Incidentally, judging from this forum, the condition most often mistaken for AS is social anxiety disorder.

However, there's also a big difference between being described as having 'autistic traits' and being diagnosed as on the spectrum. A person can have a few autistic traits and yet not have many other autistic traits, and it's not surprising that someone like that wouldn't identify much with autistics. Do you find you identify with some of what autistic people say about themselves, but not other parts? For example, someone with SCD (social disability only) would probably identify with things like 'I have no clue how other people are feeling' but not things like '[random nerdy subject] makes me feel a happy feeling whenever I think about it'.


Sorry, I've just heard a lot of doubts about misdiagnosis on the forum.

Yeah, my parents just thought that I was socially anxious.

I kind of identify with not having a clue about other people's feelings, but I think that I can figure it out if I put my mind to it. It's just that I am usually thinking about something else and not paying attention to those cues. That's partly why I think it might be ADHD.

I don't identify with a subject making me happy whenever I think about it.

Quote:

Deltafunction, maybe you just outgrew it? Did you have early interventions?


No, I didn't have any interventions. In fact if anything, I had less attention and care than most kids... My older sister needed a lot of assistance, leaving me to figure things out on my own.


So did I. I also grew up in a super poor family with 8 brothers and sisters. No help from parents except spankings. But you at least had opportunities to socialize when you were young. You're sure you didn't have it and then outgrow it as opposed to never having it to begin with? I may still outgrow it eventually, too, just on a delayed time frame.

Kids to outgrow it. It's been documented.



deltafunction
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26 Feb 2013, 11:10 am

I have no idea. I get so confused about it all. I wish there were a test that you could take to find out if you are autistic for sure but there isn't.

My parents don't like to talk about my diagnosis to confirm things from my childhood. They say that I was normal. My diagnosis was all based on my own reports because my parents were unclear about my developmental history. That's why I question it. :shrug: so all I have to go by are feedback from friends and my own feelings.


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mikassyna
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26 Feb 2013, 11:28 am

Tyri0n wrote:
Well your psychiatrist is wrong: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/ar ... row-autism


This article in no way states that the psychiatrist is wrong. It simply *speculates* the possibility that some people may grow out of it. It by no means says that they do.



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26 Feb 2013, 11:30 am

mikassyna wrote:
Tyri0n wrote:
Well your psychiatrist is wrong: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/ar ... row-autism


This article in no way states that the psychiatrist is wrong. It simply *speculates* the possibility that some people may grow out of it. It by no means says that they do.


Quote:
University of Connecticut researchers analyzed 34 children who had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder early on, but who no longer met the criteria for the disorder and lost all its symptoms. They used cognitive and observational tests to compare these 34 children with 34 classmates who were not autistic, reports the BBC. The result? The two groups of kids were nearly indistinguishable, and those who were at one point diagnosed with autism showed no signs of issues with language, face recognition, communication, or social interaction.


I know this would have been me under some circumstances, and it still might happen.



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26 Feb 2013, 11:41 am

Tyri0n wrote:
mikassyna wrote:
Tyri0n wrote:
University of Connecticut researchers analyzed 34 children who had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder early on, but who no longer met the criteria for the disorder and lost all its symptoms. They used cognitive and observational tests to compare these 34 children with 34 classmates who were not autistic, reports the BBC. The result? The two groups of kids were nearly indistinguishable, and those who were at one point diagnosed with autism showed no signs of issues with language, face recognition, communication, or social interaction.


I know this would have been me under some circumstances, and it still might happen.


I think it's a very worthwhile effort to get to the point of being "seamless" with NTs. However I will warn you that the observation of the children may or may not be reflective of the children as they pass through other milestones: adolescence, puberty, adulthood--which all provide their own unique challenges.

My son went through intensive Early Intervention from age 2-3. From 3-4 he was doing so well he was mainstreamed into an NT preschool. He seemingly assimilated very well. However, at age 4-5 as the social interactions got more complex, his behavioral problems have resurfaced, because he can only fit in to the point he can catch up to. When he is behind, the symptoms resurface. I hope this sheds light on my perspective. The article did make it a point to state that there was no definitive proof that the subjects outgrew their diagnosis. "Showing no signs of issues" does not reflect the internal struggles the children may have had--only the external obvious ones.