Diane, 7:42am, December 13th. Entering the Wrong Planet.

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Recently think I might be on the spectrum. Can't seem to get a diagnosis because I'm an adult. It sucks.

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Welcome to the forum!

Hi Reggae, welcome aboard.

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Welcome to WP! I hope you like it here.

Do you live in the U.S.? If "YES" then you could probably get an Adult Autism Assessment to determine if you are Autistic. Being an adult would not disqualify you from being tested. It is for testing adults. I was 64 when I got my assessment...and my diagnosis:

Autism Spectrum Disorder, Level1 (Mild)
with an additional note that I also satisfied the criteria previously associated with Asperger's Syndrome.

Yes, usually it is children being assessed for Autism so parts of the assessment were clearly designed for children. I don't think my age invalidated the results but it did make the assessment kind of fun.

The assessment should be performed by a licensed Psychologist who works with Autism and takes patients your age. They will know if they can assess you. You can look for licensed Psychologists here and perhaps your state has a web page listing licensed psychologists.

CAUTION: I think Adult Autism Assessments must be uncommon. I did not find a listing for a psychologist in my area who did them. I figure it must be a small market so they don't waste space on their listing or on their practice's web page mentioning it.

And, when I called a local practice to ask if they could do the assessment the office-staff-person who answered the phone did not know (and thought they did not). Fortunately they checked and one of their psychologists did my assessment.

Start with your insurance, however. If your insurance will help with the cost then you want to follow their rules!

Complicating factors:
● "Broad Autism Phenotype" is a possible diagnosis, too. That's for folk who have some Autistic traits but not enough to qualify for an Autism diagnosis.
● Many of the traits of Autism are not unique to Autism. So, someone could have traits of Autism but not be Autistic.

Please remember, though, Wrong Planet does not require an Autism Diagnosis. You can "belong" on WP even if you know for a fact you are not Autistic. A polite interest in the topic, however, would be very appropriate.

Good hunting!

Yes. I am in the United States.




Thank you for the link. I've already contacted some of the same people found there just from Google searching my area, and haven't had much success with them. I only have Medicare Part B, which has never been good for much.




I could speak early and use complex words, but I hated speaking and never wanted to do so. I still don't really like talking much, unless it's about something I'm interested in. Strong dislike for casual chit-chat in person.

I just want to and do eat the same food types for weeks or months. Only soft, mushy things or hard, crunchy things. Never soft, crunchy things or wet, slimy things. Even drink the same drinks, at the same time of day, for years.

Certain clothing textures make me angry. Certain physical textures gross me out.

I like to wear the same outfit every day.

Absolutely HATE last minute changes to plans, especially if I've put a lot of mental effort into planning out exactly how things are going to go.

Usually watch the same genre or type of television shows for months, before rotating back to a previous favourite.

The same with music. I'll listen to the same albums or genres for months, sometimes a year straight before rotating back to a previous favourite.

I've been told that I don't speak very loud and people will have trouble understanding me at that volume, but if I speak any louder I feel like I'm yelling.

Obsessive collecting, very specific things that I feel compelled to learn about as much as I can.

Perfectionism to the point of ruining things.

Completely shutting down when I get overwhelmed.

Needing several hours of alone time after going out and doing anything from mailing a letter at the post office to grocery shopping.

Also absolutely HATE strong smells of any kind. Like, air fresheners will make me irrationally angry.

Any little bit of fat on meat will make me want to vomit.

Treatment resistant depression and bad social anxiety.

Trypanophobia.

Getting overwhelmed dealing with people.

Using the same words frequently or repeating phrases, usually to myself.

Making lists.

I had a random cashier tell me I should do ASMR videos because my voice is so monotone.

Not being able to tell if people are being genuinely nice or viciously cruel when giving me a compliment.

Also, also, absolutely HATE fluorescent lighting.

Wish people would be completely direct and to the point instead of side stepping around what they mean.

Difficulty with shoelaces as a child.

Never using anyone's name when addressing them directly. Only using a person's name when speaking about them to someone else.

Feeling angry as a child if we drove past a McDonald's that I'd never been in before, because I felt I needed to go inside it to collect it, and then being irritated for the rest of the day over it. Like something was missing that couldn't ever be replaced.

Perpetually feeling like I'm still a child, even though I've been an adult for decades.

Much happier being surrounded by my things than being around most people.

Feeling sad about crumpling up a piece of trash paper because the paper deserved better.

Being told I'm rude and inconsiderate for being honest and speaking the truth.

Hating making eye contact with people but slowly forcing myself to do it over the years after enough people said I never looked them in the eyes.

Shaking my leg very quickly when sitting after getting overwhelmed speaking to another adult.

Dermatophagia aka Wolf Biting.

Lifelong insomnia where only melatonin seems to help, but doesn't cure.

Planning out and practicing conversations in my head so I will know what to say and still getting flustered and messing it up when I actually have to speak.

Feeling more at ease when I take 15mg of L-Methylfolate.

I enjoy driving but after a while it makes me feel exhausted because I'm paying attention to every other vehicle, their speed, their car type, if they have interesting number/letter combination license plates, the road signs, the angles the other cars take curves and turns, how most people are pretty bad drivers, the bird sitting on the power wires, when is the city ever going to fix that pothole, I HATE LED lights, the woman at the light beside me is knuckle deep in her nostril, that's a stupid bumper sticker, and about a million other things.

I wasn't comfortable trying to diagnose myself so no matter how many Autistic traits you have, I can't diagnose you.

^{I might guess the diagnosis the the psychologist will give, though!}

Yes. I know. I meant the list more as, from my perspective, enough cause for me to seek out getting an actual diagnosis. I seem to have a lot of the specific traits, and not just broad traits, to convince myself that this is something I should look into.

For the record, I don't want to have autism. I'm not excited about this at all. But, now that I am aware I might have it, everything seems to constantly be pointing that way.