I'm thinking I may have autism?

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Last night I was pacing around in a circle in my backyard, and after about an hour and a half this lady that lives behind me came outside and asked me if I was ok. I was surprized because I thought that pacing wasn't that uncommon so I didn't know why this lady was so concerned about me. Today I looked it up pacing on the internet, and a thread about it on this website came up, so thats why I'm here.

I'm 16 and no one has ever seriously inquired about me being autistic, so if I do have it I assume it must be very mild. Anyway, here are some reasons why:

I do a lot of repetative things. I pace in circles inside my house (or in my backyard if it's dark out and the weather is nic) for about 2 or 3 hours, broken up throughout the day. I also rock back and forth (sitting down) in my bedroom for about 30-45 minutes a day. When I do this I am just thinking or listening to music. I have always done something like this, but I think I do it more and more as time goes on.

I used to have pretty bad social skills and not many friends. Then when I was 10, I had a sort of epiphany. I had always gone be the rule "treat others as you would like to be treated" so I talked to other kids about what I had found interest in, but generally I didn't talk to people that much because most of the time I wanted to be left alone so I figured that others did too. Then, I realised that in order to make friends, what you actually have to do is figure out how a person wants to be treated, then treat them that way. Now, pretty much everyone likes, me, I just don't like most people much. There are only 4 people I can think of that I would genuinly look forward to hanging out with. Also untilabout a year ago, I didn't realise that when someone says "how are you?" you are suppose to also ask them how they are also. I used to just say "good" and leave it at that.

I also don't really like touching people I don't know that well. For some reason, a lot of my friends (keep in mind I'm a 16 year old girl) think that it's great to hug people everytime they see them. I hate that. I also don't like new cloths. If I get a new shirt I wear an undershirt with it first before I wear the shirt by itself.

Also, this might not have much to do with it, but I have a really excellent memory. I can remember things I hear word for word easily if I focus on it.

Ok this post is long enough. Any thoughts?
Thanks.

You think you have autism and want to find out? Great! I'm glad you are curious. However, our opinions on the internet mean really nothing. I recommend actually getting a diagnosis from your school or from someone specifically trained to diagnose people.

It definitely sounds to me like you may have high-functioning autism. Everything you described about yourself are all classic traits of autism. By the way, the pacing and rocking back and forth are known as stimming, in case you didn't know.

Like Ferdinand said, you should see about getting a professional diagnosis. Otherwise, you'll have to rely on your own intuition and the opinions of others, which you likely wouldn't find very helpful in getting the support you need.

Hope I helped, and welcome to WrongPlanet.

Hey, wait, we don't know whether the OP even needs a professional diagnosis. I mean, sure, she may have autism; or she may have something else; but if she's coping fine on her own, why spend the money?

Reasons to seek diagnosis:
-You have real problems in your daily life that are caused by the traits that worry you
-You need accommodations at work or school (that is, you need permission to do things a different way from other people)
-Other people are worried about you (this often means you may have problems you don't recognize; but sometimes people are worried without cause, of course)
-You want to know more about yourself because you've hit a wall in learning/development that you don't know how to deal with (for example, being required to get out on your own, you need many new skills; if you can't learn these on your own you may want to hire an OT to teach you.)

What I see in your post are some repetitive movement and social impairment; both of which are common with autism. The question is, though: Do you need a diagnosis? A diagnosis is something you use to get extra help. And if you don't need extra help, you don't need a diagnosis. Do remember, though, that if you don't need extra help now, you may need it in the future, such as planning for independence; and these things have to start early (at sixteen, you're actually a couple of years late to start learning to live on your own--if you have any impairment in adaptive skills, I highly recommend evaluation so you'll be able to access transition planning at your school.)

Oh god, another pacer. I pace for hours everyday, typically in circles. .____.

^^THIS^^

Autism is a handicap (actually a whole set of handicaps). Do you feel handicapped?

Are you having, or fear you may have serious problems in future coping with everyday life because of your symptoms (and I'm talking about more serious issues than being too shy to meet a gf/bf).

If you're not disabled by your condition, then you don't need a diagnosis and in fact, your symptoms are probably too 'mild' to warrant a diagnosis, thus it doesn't warrant a 'label'.

If you do feel your quality of life is being restricted by your symptoms, then you'll need a diagnosis to get assistance. Be forewarned: Autism is not the designer fashion label some seem to think it is and could draw attention you'd rather do without.

Of course, if you do have it, you're already dealing with problems you could do without, but then you wouldn't likely consider them 'mild'.