I think I might have autism

[anonymous_username]

(I wasn’t sure where to post this). So recently my family and I went on this trip where we visited a giant city. I was really looking forward to it, and don’t get me wrong, it was amazing, but the whole time I was feeling really off for no reason. I live in a small town where you know most people, and go to a small school so I have never really been to a place with that many people before. 

I wanted to know why I was feeling so off when I was scrolling through YouTube and came across a video about autism (like signs of it or what is felt like or something like that). There are a few autistic people at my school so I thought ‘hey, maybe you could get to know them better!’. So I was watching the video and realised that a lot of these things I could relate to. It got me thinking and I started researching everything I could about ASD.

So I think that I have maybe high functioning autism, and I asked my mum and she said ‘yes probably but you don’t need a test because it’s not that much of an issue’. It annoyed me at first but then I started thinking that if I got a test and it said I don’t have autism then I would feel like I was just really bad at communicating and everything social. 

I dunno, it was just worrying me.

-anonymous 

[Croix]

Dear Anonymous_username~

I guess the first thing to say is that you have been though a very worrying  time with your friends self-harming and not realy having a clear path of action to take which in turn has led to you self-harming too. I do hope you have taken advice and told your parents, or if that's too hard then chatted on the Kids Help Line (you do not have ot use the phone unless you want, you can use web-chat if you prefer, many do)

I too live in a rural town and went to Melbourne a while ago. It was another world, so many strangers, so many tall buildings, shops, trams, cars and all the rest. I was very glad to get home, it was overwhelming.

Now I've no idea if you have autism however I do know if you use the internet you are guaranteed to find someone has listed symptoms that seem familiar for all sorts of illnesses. It is misleading as well as frightening at times.

The only way to be sure would be to see your doctor, explain how you have been feeling and ask to be tested. Then you will have a proper professional diagnosis. I'm afraid Dr Google is simply a waste of time.

I hope this helps, and would like to know how you get on

Croix

[anonymous_username]

Thank you so much ☺️

[Autistic_Aria]

talk to a doctor or counsellor you think you feel comfy with. 

I had a late diagnosis in life - because I’m female who can mimic and mask well. I’ve had a therapist since school and too embarrassed to ask her because thought she would’ve told me by now if I am autistic. Too embarrassed to ask GP who’s known me for 15yrs. So went to see a random GP who referred me to a random psychologist but they didn’t know me and I didn’t want to explain whole medical history. 

One day in therapy, the subject came up and I asked therapist if she thought I’m autistic. When she said yes, she said she wasn’t sure if I wanted to know, and also some characteristics could be  cultural and difficult to distinguish from autism, so has waited for me to ask. 

so if you haven’t already done so, ask a health professional, anonymously or not, the worst that could happen is they won’t help. Just keep looking for someone willing to run diagnostics because if you think you’re autistic, there’s a chance you are on the spectrum