Scale of 1-10. How much autism affects you?

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For me, 8.5-9 most days. Pretty bad. Some of us thrive and some don’t. I do not thrive. I am apparently very high functioning but that means ALMOST nothing to me at all. Sometimes nothing at all some days. It honestly really totally shocks me when people say I seem totally normal or once they find out I have autism it is a very mild case whereas in my mind I am constantly 24/7 going “dur dur durrr” like a low functioning person, I feel dumb in general, and certain important adulting things I have no idea how the F to do it. I wish I could get this rating down to at least a 5 somehow. But I don’t know how to do it. My parents suspected I had autism from age 1-3 but they chose to do absolutely nothing about it. Professionals had no clue. My parents still suspected it. But they did nothing. No research or resources. Nothing at all. They thought if they gave enough love, it would all work out. And as a result, they had to keep working their ass off. Even to this day. My life would have been so different if I had been diagnosed early.

Affects me? 10/10.

That's not to say it's all bad, but it's all me -- all the time -- always.

I can't think of a moment or a circumstance when it's not affecting me one way or another.

It's the launching point of every connect-the-dot in my psychology.

How much autism affects my life? 10. So is my family genes and traits that most of my NT relatives do.

How much autism gives me issues? 7. Chronic sinusitis surpasses this by 9.

How much autism made me suffer? 3. Chronic sinusitis, again, surpasses this by 10. Putting up with human ignorance is a mere 6.

How much autism held me back according to societal standards? 6. Points 9 had I moved the National Capital Region.

How much autism held me back according to my own standards? 5. My pride gives a 9.



Like you, everyone around me are clueless on what to do with me.
My family did gave me love, but I had to accept the fact that they lack the understanding to ever get it.

I practically told them to do nothing about it except support my decisions.

So I would have to do it myself -- find and make resources myself, research and teach myself, inquire and question things myself, and find myself the closest thing I could have for a mentor who can make sense of NTs for me.

And I'm aware I'm one of those lucky ones who have the right amount of self determination, and without any formal support systems other than a formal diagnosis and less than a year worth of childhood service.

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To answer you need a reference point, ideally imagine what my life would have been had I not had these neurological issues.

The short answer a lot easier and better.

Practically all negative things that have occurred to me and my family since childhood I can trace back to autism.

So 10

Autism affects me very little, except when it comes to making friends with my peers - then it affects me more than the average Aspie.

Anxiety, depression, OCD and ADHD are what affect my life the most. Take those all away and I don't think I'd qualify for autism.

Tbh... it doesn't really affect me. When trying to find ways that my "daily life" is disturbed, I find nothing. Probably because my daily life is now sitting in front of my computer, homeschool, coming back and sitting in front of my computer, eating the same 5 foods, yearn for socialization and get on my VR and stare ominously at other players, talk to sister, sleep, repeat. I guess I have adapted my surroundings to make it an almost zero.
To other people, it's a zero, or a one. To me, it's a 5 when I get out of the shower with cold and wet hair and go through sensory hell. But "sHe Is GoOd At EvErYtHiNg!! !" is what others say. And they say that because I'm always obedient to adults and always do exactly as I'm told.
When I tried to go to high school, it was an 8. I cried every day after I got home. It sucks that my "public mode" has worn down, or got a new update that's "haha we will be overly happy all day and you will sob once you get home".
I don't think we can describe anything in neat little numbers. A lot of things are too complex to communicate.

I don't think I can answer that question.

It fundamentally affects the person I am. High number here.

I cope reasonably well, I think. The Psychologist who diagnosed me identified issues that my bride hadn't really been aware of. And I look good on paper. So, functionally, middling low number (most impairment would be in the areas of socializing and communicating, I suspect).

Happiness? I have no idea because I have no idea what kind of life I would've had as an NT.

I have no idea how I can answer this question, although I am happy to see that many are able to. I was diagnosed with autism level two last month, at 56 years old. Is my lifelong challenge with _____ because of autism, or because of something else? No idea how people tell. For instance...

I have problems with filling out my taxes for the Internal Revenue Service. Is that because the tax forms are simply nonsensical for everyone...or, if I didn't have autism, I'd find that it's no problem?

I have trouble making friends. Is that because of an extensive history of early childhood trauma that caused everything from an attachment disorder to dissociative identity disorder?

Apparently, I also have trouble answering questions like, "Scale of 1-10. How much autism affects you?" Again, is it the autism...?

Don't really understand the questino autism si me? Autisma ffects everything about me? so 10/10 ig

I think it affects me about 7-8 when i am in a crowded place or social setting. when i am masking in the work place or some other social setting i always fail to notice some things or respond in a certain way.

But when i am home alone and can stim all i like i feel like everything is normal, but ofc that does not mean autism is not affect ing me any longer. It is Just that nobody is observing my autism.

How much it affects me 10/10, 24/7. It affects every aspect of my life, probably down to every single thought.

How different it makes life for me from other peoples’, 9/10. I cannot work, drive, or be fully independent, probably ever. I have never had my diagnosis questioned and only once that I remember ever gotten the “you must be high-functioning” comment. Seems to be pretty obvious to people that something is “off” about me right from the start.

How disabling, 7/10. Sensory issues and speech/communication issues greatly affect my everyday life (negatively) and are very limiting, but it could certainly be worse. Probably also other things like depression and anxiety are at least partly due to my autism, directly or indirectly.

As a side note, since this is also being discussed, I was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome when I was in fourth grade, but my parents thought that only meant that I was shy, smart, and didn’t like loud noises. So I spent most of my life being held to NT standards and told that I was lazy, not trying hard enough, and/or didn’t care (yes, told in exact words) when I couldn’t meet them, and had little in the way of support or accommodations. By today’s standards, I would probably be diagnosed as ASD level 2 (not 1). Not sure if my autism has gotten stronger or if it’s just become more apparent with changing life circumstances.

I'm not really sure I find trying to quantify something like this to be useful - how affected I feel ebbs and flows: some days I barely think about autism at all, some days I feel profoundly disabled by it. Comparing my experiences to others, at least in blunt terms of 'worse off' or 'better off' just makes me feel depressed.

4/10 for specifically autistic traits, but 10/10 for demand avoidance and executive dysfunction.

Anxiety fluctuates a lot. Sometimes I’d say it’s 10/10 or even 11/10. On the average day I’d say it’s 4/10.

I’d say my sleep issues are 10/10 as well. Even if I get decent sleep sometimes it definitely stops me from keeping to a regular schedule. I can improve my sleep, but it never seems to be reliable.