I'm not actually diagnosed

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I was never actually officially diagnosed. Several people noted "autistic traits" and one person gave me an unofficial diagnosis. No one actually officially diagnosed me. I guess there's a chance in not autistic.

I think it would be better if you are autistic, yet are able to be an optometrist and live independently.

Than if you're not autistic, and are still living with your parents at age 30.

That's great.

Nothing wrong with picking and choosing - if you discover something that people known to be on the spectrum "have" like meltdowns, social interaction issues, sensory issues, etc. and the workarounds work for you, too then....yay~!

Really, it's not about having a formal diagnosis unless someone needs it for something (or to convince someone, or whatever). The important thing is to find a way to fit into the life you have or make it fit you.

I got myself diagnosed because it gave me knowledge and cleared some things up. I was referred to a local psychiatrist by the Autism Society of America. She quickly diagnosed me -- I guess it was pretty obvious. Now I'm engaged in a course of therapy with her in order to adjust to my diagnosis. She is very knowledgeable; she discussed how some of her patients are non-verbal and they use a letterboard or an ipad to communicate.

I believe I have health issues that cause neurological issues. Those neurological issues resemble autism and ADHD, but no one has been able to classify me as anything. I definitely had an autism designation in school, but it wasn't an official diagnosis.

When I found out that people labelled me with autism I didn't get the eureka moment everyone else on wrong planet did. My first gut feeling was the label being wrong. Knowing about my label definitely explained why people treated me differently.

I self-diagnosed then undiagnosed myself...I'm pretty NT so no point trying to lose my spots...

I read and article lately about some people growing out of autism as they reach adulthood.

I was ok when I was in my early 20's. I did not 'feel different' any more but I was studying on male dominated university so I was obviously different than them, autistic or not. I was very outgoing and knew loads of people. Sometimes I felt like I pretend to be someone who I was not, but on other times it felt pretty natural.

So if I had been diagnosed as a child, someone then could draw a conclusion that I grown out of it.

However, I can see now I chose this university because I knew I wanted to avoid women. I also had problems with following lectures in a real time and it all caused problems later.

It could be you don't have autism, or that you are naturally getting more sociable because of your age. I guess as you get a bit older things will get clearer.

I think you're a great person no matter what.

If you feel that you were wrongly unofficially diagnosed, why not get evaluated to find out? I felt very strongly once I started reading about the experiences of people with Asperger's and high-functioning ASD that it fit me perfectly. It was a eureka moment. I had finally found other people who think like I do, when I had never before found anyone like me at all. Reading some stories, it felt almost as if I had written them myself. I'm not sure if that is a standard reaction, but that is how it was with me.

If it matters to you, and you feel as though autism is not a good fit, then maybe you could try to find out what conditions you actually have, if any.

As for me using todays criteria I would have probably been diagnosed in my childhood, grown out of my diagnoses in my 20's and because of burnout became diagnosable again in middle age. Thing is I have never actually have been not autistic. My "not autustic" decade or two was really just coping measures and favorable circumstances. That is why I am suspicoius of claims of people growing out of or bieng recovered from autism

Everybody has a right to a second or more opinion. With the widespead and growing belief of that Aurism is bieng over diagnosed making people doubt thier official diagnosis it is a good idea for people doubting there diagnosis to find out if they were indeed wrongly diagnosed or have the earlier diagnoses confirmed.

Devilkisses, you say you have some health problems that contribute to neurological symptoms. Is it possible that you only would qualify for a designation of Broader Autism Phenotype (traits, but not the full-blown disorder), but with the addition of these other problems, it looks a lot like autism?

An example. My autistic daughter has a history of concussions. So any coping she might be able to achieve around her autism symptoms is destroyed, making her autism a lot worse.