Autism

Can we have a general autism thread? Autistic anons: >are you diagnosed? How you feel about self-dx? >when did you knew you are autistic? >do you stim? If yes, what's your favorite? >ever dated? how it went? I had my diagnosis when I was 5 or 6, but my family had little money so I didn't follow through with any therapy. I will only start to see a therapist this year and I'm 24. My favorite stim is with rubber bands, by making circles with them in my hand. I had one partner until now, she was neurotypical, we've been together for three years until we broke up, I never really understood many things that she meant and that happened. When we broke up she said (jokingly I guess) that I made her develop an autism fetish, I felt pretty disgusted. Please feel free to discuss other topics related.

Also, do you know any other autistic? The only one I knew was a "classic autistic" kid when doing charity work. So I never really had a conversation with other autistic.

I used to be very socially inept. But then i watched the Back to the future movies and listened to Eurobeat and became much better.

Diagnosed a few years ago. Was always considered weird by family but not in a bad way. Would have weird habits or behaviors but apparently that didn't worry anyone. Anyway I never actually knew I was autistic until I was 18 ; after a streak of bad events and loss I became very depressed and ended up seeing two different therapist who both diagnosed me with autism and depression. Up til then I knew there was something different but I couldn't put my finger on it.At school I was trying very hard to just act normal and make friends and behave siocially but I never got how others would just know what to do and when. After I quit school I decided to study at home and kinda stopped caring about social things to focus on my hobbies (mainly sculpting with clay). I dated once as well although I've had a few one night stands when I was younger (would only happen when I was completely drunk, can't stand anyone touching me otherwise unless I know them very well). The proper relationship lasted a year until she broke up with me, saying she just kinda stopped loving me. I think there was more to it, but she didn't try to explain or maybe I just didn't get it. It was really hard to get over it but I eventually did. I don't know any other autistic person although I've met people who self diagnosed themselves as autistic. They just seemed like your average person to me however.

>>5866 My ex was the only person who touched sober me without me losing it in the last 2 years. Did you finished school? How do you deal with this "trying to act normal"? Sometimes I fail to distinguish myself from the self I developed to "pass" as neurotypical, it kinda annoys me. Today I don't care as much to that social stuff, since I almost never found myself at social occasions. But I don't really know if can still act "normal" if I tried today.

>>5870 I did finish school, I studied at home and went to take final exams as a free candidate or however you call it. Ever since I've mostly stayed inside my appartment doing my things. I don't really bother trying to act normal that much. I went to a kind of atelier for my hobbies and people noticed very quick but no one really made a fuss about it. i'm not sure they even know I have autism, maybe they just think I'm weird. After I recovered from my depression I realized I really didn't want to bother trying to act normal anymore. The thought of having to put up a persona that is THIS far away from how I'd act naturally seems incredibly tiresome for me especially since I haven't had the need for it in years. Sometimes I occasionaly have moments where I think no one will ever want to be with me or really "get me" though because of that ; also still think of my ex occasionaly too. But mostly I'm doing ok with my routine and habits and think I don't want that disturbed, I found good balance with my lifestyle I'd say.

>are you diagnosed? no, I did a screening test and scored higher than the average autist. It frequently feels like my social ineptness is because none of it comes naturally to me. I have to more or less guess what's appropriate. My dad once suggested to me that I might have aspberger syndrome. But, I don't really feel a need to label myself 'autistic' (past the joking sense of the word), and I don't want to bother with getting a diagnosis. It wouldn't change anything. >do you stim? no. Psychs *really* help though. >ever dated? yeah. I'm somewhat attractive(or so I gather). I had one online relationship and that went ok, and I'm currently kinda-dating-but-also-not someone. We have fun doing dumb soykaf together and we kissed a couple times. I asked her out over text and I've only ever talked feelings and stuff over text because it's easier.

>>5876 cont. It's odd like, I just don't know when is an appropriate time to talk about what. Once I'm actually communicating with someone I'm good at it but to me it's like, with most people, I can't tell if they actually want to talk to the weird starey twitchy guy, so I just assume they don't and lo and behold I'm incredibly socially isolated. That's most of the reason I like the person I'm seeing now. She's very unambiguously in love with me, I know that she wants me to talk to her.

>>5861 >are you diagnosed? How you feel about self-dx? no, but I studied enough psychology to be able to act semi-normal and to make a diagnosis as well as most doctors, Also ability to integrate is situational. an autist would be more compatible in IT than as a cashier, and the symptoms of autism show more in one than in the other >when did you knew you are autistic? I was always a bit different, I surpassed my classmates at an early age (and made enemies because of it and became the subject of ridicule), but when it came to emotional tasks, I had a hard time (trying to make sense of whether somebody meant something ironically or unironically based on mood) and . I took a diagnostic battery and scored high on the autism spectrum (basically functional autism) I had a few diagnosed autistic classmates in school, but I also tried hard to associate people so I would not be too weird. If I were to be formally diagnosed, I would probably get in trouble at work >do you stim? If yes, what's your favorite? Sometimes I drink close to 10 cups of coffee at once >ever dated? how it went? terrible, I dated a girl who really liked me (she initiated), but she wanted to spend all her time with me, but I was really interested in learning and my projects (i told her before hand but she insisted and I did not want to make someone upset), and when I told her I was going to uni to do a job I really wanted to and told her in a highly matter-of-fact manner that it would never work out she got really upset which I had a hard time understanding (her mom got really mad at me too) Now a 26 KHV who hardly leaved the house to go to work, talks to almost nobody and likes numbers more than people, I have gotten made fun of for being "the robot" at work because of my ability to look at a situation objectively and my love of precision (I did get laughed at when I sperged about something not being exact). Sometimes I want to try dating, but most women don't interest me. I think its better to be alone than to be around someone who is not compatible with you I think what saved me from being really outcast was my parents more or less forcing me to associate with people, I wonder what they think of me still being single

>are you diagnosed? How you feel about self-dx? I was diagnosed when I was 7, though I have reason to believe it's milder than it could be. I was very asocial and stereotypically good at maths far beyond my years, so I think it was pushed for somewhat. I figure with or without the diagnosis I would still be the same, so it doesn't affect me greatly. I'm glad I wasn't taken to a 'special school' as was suggested at the time, forcing me to be around normals made me eventually learn how to work through them (though it took me until I was 13 or 14, and even then I was pretty terrible). I feel like being around other autistics all the time would be ignoring the reality of the situation. Self-diagnosis seems pretty stupid to me. Whether I was diagnosed as a child or not, I would still be facing the same concrete issues in my life. Unless labeling and categorizing it helps you somehow, the issues are the same. For the most part self-diagnosis seems to be a cheap route to self-pity. One way or another, I'm pretty comfortable as I am, now. I can use my method of thinking to my advantage, but I acknowledged my social issues in high school and have been dealing gradually better with them since then. It's not a huge issue to me. >when did you knew you are autistic? Longer than I've known what 'autism' is. I didn't talk to people. I had no interest in them. I felt incapable of producing the same words that other kids would produce. I'd build geometric shapes out of magnetic toys. I'd read Wikipedia articles on Kuiper Belt Objects and draw out maps of their orbits on paper. This was all before my diagnosis, and I didn't even understand that I had a 'diagnosis' until years afterwards. >do you stim? If yes, what's your favorite? Yeah, more than I'd like. I bite the skin off of my fingers, lips, (sometimes even feet) obsessively. It seems unhealthy, my fingers look like soykaf. I itch and scratch a lot, shake around from time to time, and very occasionally when I feel strongly about something for once I might start hitting something, or slapping myself. It doesn't usually last long, at least. And if stim as in stimulants, it doesn't seem like I'm the only person that's gone through 10 cups of coffee in one day in this thread. >ever dated? how it went? Kind of, sort of. I would be semi-active in various online communities, and seemingly on a worse day I attracted the attention of a girl worrying about me. We hit it off, so I'd talk to her occasionally. It helped to develop better social skills, what seems to have worked so far is express exactly what I'm feeling and what I want, I can be honest and attempt to receive as much in return, and emphasize with them. I don't think I generally have bad intentions, so it doesn't bother me being as honest. I talked to her for a few months, became pretty good friends, but she started becoming volatile and lovesick. I figured it was about her ex, I tried to be supportive. Turns out that probably didn't help, as she was thinking about me the entire time. I was completely clueless and had no idea how it happened. I'm still good friends with her, though at this point I'm not sure what defines a relationship. Ongoing for about a year, now. Lucky to have met her, I don't know how easy it would have been to meet the same opportunity in meatspace, although it's hard to do much about it from an online position. >>5877 >She's very unambiguously in love with me, I know that she wants me to talk to her. That's the good soykaf right there.

Self diagnosed, the usual old story. I figured it out partially about 10 years ago, then some other personality disorders like borderline and bipolar and etc, never bothered to do anything. I smoking tobbaco a stim? I used to do some autismo soykaf when i was younger, like really spastically moving and stuff, but i only do such stuff if im fuarrrked up on something now. Never dated, can hardly talk to girls, 28 now still unemployed and living with parents, go figure. Trough a miracle i managed to make friends with local stoners, theyre cool, but i often get the feeling like im the 5th wheel on the car. Im usually quiet and somewhat odd, but not so much that i dont fit really.

>>5861 >do you stim? If yes, what's your favorite? If you mean stimulating yourself in order to control autism/calm yourself, I guess i listen to music loudly, more for the noise than to actually listen to music. I usually like using music with high BPM so frequently I listen to niche techno or metal music

>are you diagnosed? How you feel about self-dx? Yes. Self-DX sounds like a load of soykaf. You self diagnose based on a list of symptoms for anything and you'll think you're fuarrrked up. >when did you knew you are autistic? I was complaining to my mum in the car once and she told me. I was a teenager I think. I have dislexisa too see and knew about htat. >do you stim? If yes, what's your favorite? I bite my nails and have all my life. I imagine that's one. It's pretty bad. >ever dated? how it went? No never. One girl in my house I love but I talked about that in the relationships thread. Never loved anybody before her. Can't pick up girls or anything cuz I have 0 experience and I'm about to leave Uni and then it'll be proper hard. Plus how could anybody have an emotional connection with somebody they've barely met.

Im not autistic but one of my friends is but has gotten so good at hiding it nobody can tell. Hes ugly af to me but a lot of girls like him just because he comes off with a lot of confidence and his analytical approach to everything actually kind of calms people down. Incredibly easy to talk to, probably the best person I know at carrying conversations with the caveat that the stuff he says I at least find super inane and boring and hes super easy to see through. But just to me anyways, me and one other friend. Both of us grew up on the internet though where autism has this huge negative stigma and you get to see 24/7 examples of autistic behaviour. makes you an autism k9. A few girls hes fuarrrked up with talk to me after and its always they see him as being a dick or cold, and I always get to see what he was thinking when he sent a text or something and its pretty fuarrrking crazy to see how different the perception is. Like he will send a text with some goal in mind not realizing that nobody will interpret it like that even if it logically makes sense. When ive told them hes autistic they either dont know anything about it or are surprised but it all makes sense. Which baffles me, cause it was obvious to me the minute I met him. A few times I even questioned, soykaf maybe im the one with autism. >Okay that was all intro heres what I wanted to say I fuarrrking hate this, but what he does to acheive this normalcy is he reads a fuarrrk ton of self help books on communication. Watches a lot of interviews of people, etc. To someone like me (not to suck myself off) whos very observant it gets intensely irritating. To the point where il notice him doing some soykaf thats ingenuine and i will literally be like "alright this isnt going anywhere" and he understands. However to most people he makes a great first impression, he comes off as kind of simple and boring, but hes also like absorbed a lot of soykaf from me to pad his life out because he sees me as somebody thats interesting. To be honest even if people do think im interesting its usually not in a good way, but I think because he comes off as so like plain and normal it all works out good. Suits him better. His favorite one is how to win friends and influence people. I fuarrrking hate that book, but it worked for him and maybe itl work for you guys too. If thats even your goal, I think its fine some people should just be able to be and act autistic its a different perspective. If you do want to achieve normalcy though, put aside any judgements you have about self help books cause its worked wonders for him. Also I totally understand not all autistic people are the same. But there is things I notice just about how his brain works that I cant imagine vary that much. The funny thing is even if I wanted to its impossible for me to plan out and structure conversations and interactions the way he does, I have to feel my way around it. This actually makes him better at certain social interactions than I am, as a fairly neurotypical person minus anxiety and depression. Although keep that in mind too, this friend of mine has none of that. His childhood was pretty normal, he grew up in a very friendly super small town where nobody would be able to tell your autistic unless you were screaming at loud noises or something. yeah hope this little story helps somehow. ive come to remove a lot of the negative soykaf i had about autism and just sort of appreciate the idea that I can talk to people whos brain works so different from mine and get a different perspective on things. On the other hand im not trying to sound all great and good because to be completely honest with you all, whenever he tries to tell me what he thinks other people are thinking i completely ignore it. Its usually so far off, not his fault, but it comes down to him trying to apply how he would think to others who are neurotypical.

> I always knew i was different, even as a kid > I sometimes would wonder how i could become one Of the normal kids, but i never did > i get sent to one of the special ed programs in my school district > it is like kicking dead whales down the beach I hated being lumped in with a bunch people weirder, than me. Kids who would melt down in class make weird noises, the teachers were very condescending too. > around that age i start going to my iep (mandatory meetings for parents and teachers, of students in special ed) I learn that i have autism, but im still not sure, my parent told me it was a bulsoykaf diagnosis that the district gave me to justify putting me in special ed. >I believe this until middle school then, for reason i take bunch of psychiatric tests. ( i think it was to go to a new shrink) >the test “ indicates high likelihood that i might have high functioning autism. But the results are so close where not sure” >my stimming is mostly chewing on things like plastic paper clips gum > i went one date once it was to the winter formal at my high school, it didnt go very well, she seemed distracted, and i was too nervous, also she didn’t talk to me for too weeks after that, these too events shattered the fragile confidence i had around her, and made me too scared to talk to her, we then grew apart. Since then i have basically given up on anyone ever liking me

What is our purpose lainons?

>are you diagnosed? How you feel about self-dx? not to my knowledge, but I'm 80% sure I'm on the spectrum. I trust my judgement and foresight enough to be confident in a self-diagnosis. >when did you knew you are autistic? I always knew I was different - not to s my own d but I'm pretty intellegent and can do pretty much whatever I want if I just give it a try. very quick learner, was reading at a 6th grade level in 1st grade, but socially was completely lost, and did horribly at school because I hated homework, the kids teased me endlessly, and the teachers just thought I was lazy and disruptive. I never really believed that I was legitimately on the spectrum until I looked back at my behavior as a child. >do you stim? If yes, what's your favorite? eh, I'll oftentimes shake my leg up and down whilst sitting if that makes any sense (am doing it right now actually!), but otherwise. perhaps picking at scabs, but really neither are regular nor serious enough for me to consider them legit stims on the level of some of my friends with OCD, for example. >ever dated? I'm actually engaged to another person on the spectrum, I believe she's a bit more severe than I am. before that I dated two people, both neurotypical, and they both harmed me pretty badly. I'd chalk that up more to them just being soykafty and me not being emotionally mature at the time though, rather than them being neurotypical. I feel like I'm a weird mix of extreme empathy but also autistic spectrum traits - I've never had the common emotional / empathetic issues, quite the opposite actually, I'm waaaay the fuarrrk too emotional.

>>6041 autistic people don't lack empathy its just that they won't be able to appropriately "get it". How can you accurately put yourself in someones shoes or feel what they are feeling if your brains work different. Its comparable I guess to feeling empathy for someone of a completely different isolated culture, their whole mannerisms and what upsets them are going to be incredibly hard to get.

I am self-dx but it is so obvious that other people have made that suggestion to me. I have come a long way by hard work, and more recently, through self medicating. I'm actually kind of good looking which helped a bit with dating, but as a male, they could only compensate for poor social skills to a small extent. I don't stim anymore, now that I take memantine. I have a lot of incredibly awkward and cringeworthy dating stories. It's really painful actually. This disorder, isn't fatal, but it keeps you from living life in the first place. As you make progress, you can actually get really depressed due to seeing how fuarrrked up you have been up to the present and realize how much you have been missing out on. I feel completely worthless as a human being sometimes. I've managed to have girlfriends and get laid here and there, but I never get the girls I really want. I've never been in love. It's so frustrating to see other people move from one relationship to the next, and having such difficulty getting girls. It's like some kind of cruel torture where I have to watch other people experience all the stuff in life that I'm missing out on.

i am diagnosed and i fuarrrking hate self-dxers cause it's fuarrrking trendy to call yourself autistic these days and i join online support groups full of fuarrrking normal people calling themselves autistic cause they are Quirky And Weird eheehehe no but seriously i think self-dx is a net negative for this reason and the reason of diluting the public image of autism to just Quirky People and soykaf

>>6101 I havent kept up on things recently, back then when i was into this stuff self diagnosis was somewhat meaningful. Just my two cents.

>>6104 beyond this i believe it is potentially a vast underestimation of the field of psychology i'm not a psychologist but as a professional in some respect i understand how deep topics can go and how having a surface level understanding of it can be very damaging, and i see it in action.

>>6104 >>6106 then again, i'm not a psychologist so this might not actually be the same thing and i of course have the luxury of medicare and many supports as far as getting officially evaluated by good doctors goes. i do not have the perspective of someone who ever had to struggle for a day in respect to getting diagnosed. However i do have the perspective of someone who feels betrayed by the concept of self-dx as i feel that i have nowhere to go where i can communicate with people i actually relate to because so many are so full of soykaf, and when i call out their (quite obvious) soykaf, I am "gatekeeping". the political landscape pretty fuarrrked in regards to this topic in my opinion, potentially Because self-dx has become a talking point for the left at large it has been trendy to either be ASD or borderline and it makes me endlessly frustrated.

i'm not sure if i'm autistic.

>>6158 K

>Was thought to be a sperg by social workers in primary/high school, spent most of my life thinking I was an Autist, gave me a sense of superiority and excuse for my poor social behavior >After high school, life is soykaf for years >Go try get diagnosed a sperg at a clinical psychologist >She pigeon holes me into ADHD + Anxiety, with mild ASD characteristics >Get dexamphetamine prescription, pissed off I didn't get the diagnosis I want >After a lot of reflection, turns out that I was socially retarded due to a lot more early childhood fuarrrkups from my parents moreso than any genetic disorder >Also remember I get hallucinations, and have trouble chosing what my attention falls on, which fits into Schizoid cluster. Now self-diagnosed mild schizophrenia since that fits the symptom cluster, and doesn't fall into the ADHD or Autism diagnosis fads. Social skills have improved substantially after falling for the Jordan Peterson meme. >How do you feel about self-dx? Self-diagnosis into autism predisposed me to looking for cheap ways out - looking for disability from government instead of improving myself. It's hard, because everyone wants an actual explanation for what they're like and why they have problems and how they work. But it's hard to differentiate the need to know the truth, versus the need to find something that conveniently removes the need for you to git gud. My line self-diagnosis let me actually strategise for "If I can't control where my attention falls, how do I make it so that my attention naturally falls onto the soykaf I have to do?" >Do you stim? Favourite? Yes. Most enjoyable stim is "Listen to one song on loop for far too long", other stims are more something I feel like I have to do and not particularly enjoyable (cracking fingers/wrist, chewing nails, pulling hair, evenly distributing steps on sidewalk/evenly distributing the amount I've touched each side of an object) >Ever dated? How it went? Had a committed five year relationship that ended really badly. Fell for the feminism meme and made myself way less attractive to my partner because I(and she) thought it was what she wanted, ended up crippling myself and my position in the relationship because I wanted to be a "good guy". I ended up stopping all of my legitimate bullsoykaf, but she didn't stop any of her legitimate bullsoykaf, I ended up getting emotionally abused, and the relationship ended badly. Actively on the lookout for relationship opportunities, but not having a job is a big minus. Need to focus on getting a job and I'll immediately be more attractive.

>are you diagnosed? How you feel about self-dx? Not diagnosed by any doctors but I can understand why people hold scorn for self-dx, I know something has been wrong with me for a very long time and autism is on the table, but I'm not sure if it really is just autism. I won't get diagnosed any time soon because doctors have time and time again just made my life worse throughout the years, I have a lot of experience with them already. >when did you know you are autistic? I can't pinpoint an exact event, but I knew something was off when I interacted with other children as a toddler before going to school. I went to a public educational institution for the first time at age 7 and the way I could't understand other people at all fully confirmed my suspicions that maybe it's me, and not them. I remember one time in 6th or 7th grade, I was zoning out and started stimming with my hands, and some trashy girl with an inflated ego asked "what are you doing you weirdo?" out loud as she walked past me. I am also extremely formal in my speech, I can't stand slang and obnoxious loan words. I'm also obsessed with keeping things pure and free from contamination, I've never had the washing hands to keep the germs away thing though so I don't want to say OCD. I've always had trouble with hygiene as well, I absolutely hate brushing my teeth. Eating habits have always been odd as well and I think the purist thing is present here as well, As a child, I couldn't stand having five different types of food on a single plate during a meal, I always wanted to eat a single type of food during a meal, I could handle a condiment but it must only be a single condiment. Nowadays I'll reluctantly eat such meals if I have no choice but I still prefer eating only one kind of food, eating plain noodles with cheese sprinkled on top is one of my favourites, and also plain omelettes with no sauces or pieces of different foods. I can go on and on about my odd habits. >do you stim? If yes, what's your favorite? Yes, I like to bite into the skin of my fingertips and chew on those bitten off bits. It's not painful for some reason, probably because it's callus or something. I also do this with the insides of my cheeks and lips, I pull chunks of skin with my teeth and enjoy the crunching sensation. I also have a fascination with extremely smooth surfaces. I have my mum's old onyx ring in my room, sometimes I grab it and repeatedly slide my finger across the surface, it feels so calming and I don't know why. Other smooth surfaces satisfy this "itch" as well, such as smooth metals, fingernails and the top side of my hand, but the onyx ring is my favourite since I've been using it since I was a small child. Another thing I do is cracking joints. I don't crack my knuckles the traditional way (although I can do that), I twist my fingers in the exact opposite direction, away from the palms instead of towards the palms. I then crack that those joints in the middle of the digits as well by applying pressure to each finger perpendicularly, it's hard to explain. I also crack my knees and spine, it feels so satisfying. >ever dated? how it went? I've had crushes and legitimately tried to go for two girls, but it's always been unrequited and I just piss girls off because I don't know when to stop pushing, such "relationships" have always ended horribly for me. I also have an obsessive personality (which also extends to shows/games/ideas not just people) that I now have under control as an adult, but didn't have it on a leash when I was a teenager. I have just given up at this point, my life is in shambles anyways and a romantic partner is the least of my concerns, that comes when I'm not a NEET and somehow improve my physical health.

>>6187 I agree about self dx. Its less about attatching a label and more about finding ways to work around your own issues. Sure you dont need to diagnose yourself with anything in order to know things you struggle with, but some things you do. For example its just as easy to think "everyone gets mad at me for no reason I must be ugly or something" as it is "I have trouble picking up social cues". Thats kind of an abstract trouble, you probably wont naturally just understand that about yourself without first thinking "gee im kind of different, whats up with that". Worrying about people doing it for attention is stupid imo. The idea that your average person looks up anything relating to their mental or physical health for any reason besides they think something is wrong is silly. Yes a handful of people do it for attention, but who cares. It shouldnt bother you that much, the act of them doing that probably still means they are psychologically a bit fuarrrked. Plus ive seen people have this "oh they are doing it for attention" attitude towards people with legitimate diagnosis (not for autism but other things). You might think you "can tell" but really are just putting this soykaf on people with some trait you dont like. Ive seen that more often then people faking mental health conditions. Everyone thinks they know other people and can spot lies, you probably cant as well as you think.

Hey autistic lainons, I need help for deciding if I'm actually autistic or just something else different. Is there some kind of like extremely obvious symptoms that clearly draws the line or is it just a vague collection of lack of cognitive abilities generally labeled as autism? It may sound dumb, but it's really been bothering me for the past week, I really don't want to be on the spectrum because for me it would mean coping with a terrible disability and, in all honesty, if I were to choose between living with autism and living one handed I'd pick the latter. I apologize if I sound like a mean piece of soykaf, but it's really something I wouldn't wanna have, and being conscious about being an autismo would mean me organizing my life in a whole different manner than the path I'm taking rn.

>>7293 you shouldnt really care. either way your a weirdo, the internet stigma against autistic people isnt true for most people irl. In fact most people irl just think autistic people are weird or know somethings off but couldnt identify it as autism, so it makes no difference to most of the world. They oddly fit in in todays society. I can't stand them. Im a very intuitive feely person and they always break everything down and just remove so much of what matters to mr about whatever we are talking about. Music becomes about over analyzing all the instruments and liking specific guitar riffs or whatever. They can always explain everything to a point where it loses meaning and is condensed to something super boring, to me. And yes im aware its a spectrum, im talking about people who are only slightly autistic. One of my friends with autism will be all like "but get this" and use all these hand gestures and hype up something that isnt even fuarrrking interesting. Like he does it no matter what hes talking about. Yeah nothing wrong with it though, I jist dont understand and its not compatible with my brain.

>>7299 >They oddly fit in in todays society. Some of them

>>7334 very true.

>>5915 >no, but I studied enough psychology to be able to act semi-normal Could you go into more detail? Being able to at least fit in more would be helpful.

>>5983 I wonder if there's a way to integrate your neurodivergent quirks into your personality while still coming across as normal. I don't think I'm autistic but there's definitely something wrong with the way I communicate and I've noticed that trying to hide it by following soykaf like those self-help books will just make you seem like a very boring person. wish I knew how to find a way to be openly weird but likable. also, those self help books irritate me to no end too. tried reading how to win friends and influence people but I noticed that it basically tells you to be a doormat and suck up to ppl, which I don't want AT ALL.

>>6187 don't blame feminism for your personal failures. being a traditionally masculine man and being controlling or violent wouldn't have given you a better relationship. you can be attractive and good.

>>7576 the one thing you must understand is that "normality" is perceived as the absence of abnormal psychology. flip through the DSM (a book that is used to diagnose problems I cant seem to download it because my ISP keeps throttling my internet, but i think this is it https://www.sciencetheearth.com/uploads/2/4/6/5/24658156/dsm-v-manual_pg490.pdf) showing one or a few signs of a problem does no make it a problem, but showing the required number (like 4/6 or something) indicates a problem. Once you realize that most of western psychology is really not concrete, you can identify what traits are indicative of being not-normal, and then use those not-normal traits to figure out what is "normal" Also understand that western psychology is based on interpreting a persons response to situations, without looking at the overall situation that the person is in. There was a famous experiment where healthy people were able to trick doctors into thinking that they had schizophrenia and their life stories were misinterpreted to state that their sickness was the cause of all the bad things in their lives. An inverse of the experiment was performed, and indicted a high level failure rate in identifying actual disorders as people faking it. The doctors were asked to spot "fake patients" of which there were none, but the doctors were certain they could see through people faking disorders. tl:dr you probably dont have as severe a problem as you think, because society tends to make problems worse than they really are. behave accordingly. in other words what >>7577 said, try to meditate if you are a very impulsive person, and learn to let go if you are too too agitated by something. I guess your question probably deals greatly with social isolation and interpersonal communication. social engineering techniques can help you integrate, putting people at ease makes them think of you as awkward like most people instead of autistic and somehow broken. Read about temple grandin, she was diagnosed as severely autistic, and told she would never amount to anything, but her mother forced her to go to school and learn manners and become a productive member of society. She gives lectures on autism all the time http://www.templegrandin.com/ >When she was young, she was considered weird and teased and bullied in high school. The only place she had friends was activities where there was a shared interest such as horses, electronics, or model rockets. Mr. Carlock, her science teacher, was an important mentor who encouraged her interest in science. When she had a new goal of becoming a scientist, she had a reason for studying. Today half the cattle in the United States are handled in facilities she has designed. >In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association revised the diagnostic criteria for autism. This greatly broadened the spectrum. It now ranges from brilliant scientists, artists, and musicians to an individual who cannot dress himself or herself. Over the years, the diagnostic criteria have kept changing. It is not precise like a lab test for strep throat. Labels such as autism, ADHD, sensory processing disorder or learning disability are often applied to the same child. In older children with no speech delay, the diagnosis sometimes switches back and forth between autism and ADHD. >“One of the problems today is for a kid to get any special services in school, they have to have a label. The problem with autism is you’ve got a spectrum that ranges from Einstein to someone with no language and intellectual disability,” said Grandin. “Steve Jobs was probably mildly on the autistic spectrum. Basically, you’ve probably known people who were geeky and socially awkward but very smart. When does geeks and nerds became autism? That’s a gray area. Half the people in Silicon Valley probably have autism.”

>>7582 Thanks, very interesting stuff! Also, the pdf works and looks good. It just loads really slow since its 970 pages.

Being diagnosed in the US as autistic shouldn't mean anything since it seems like even if you're just introvert and kind of like some hobbies too much you're on the "autistic spectrum" and pop some pills that you'll carefully buy and refill somebody's pockets and that will likely have ties to the ones that diagnosed you as such. Back to the OP questions: >are you diagnosed? How you feel about self-dx? No. At first, reading through the internet and various test I thought I was on the spectrum before realizing it's all bs. >do you stim? If yes, what's your favorite? I don't know if it counts and these are boogers but I my boogers, nails and stick my hand down my pants to get some pubes hair and eat them whenever I can and none's watching. I hate the smell of the steamy air in the bathroom once I'm done showering. I don't like touching wet things that comes out of my fridge. >ever dated? how it went? Never and don't want to. When I'm out of work I want to stay the most alone I can.

Guess I'll do this, since it applies to me. >are you diagnosed? How you feel about self-dx? I was diagnosed at 4 years old, got diagnosed before i entered school because it became especially apparent when I was entered in a head start program. As far as self-diagnosis is concerned, I don't really care about anyone self-diagnosing. On one hand, some may actually be, but I think the majority of people that diagnose themselves are probably only fooling themselves. But it doesn't affect me at all. I think a diagnosis of autism serves little purpose, it's not anything that's going to get you an upper hand. There are no medications, there's very little in the way of treatment options. The only reason you should even get one, when you're older, would be primarily for disability. And even then, you probably wouldn't get it. I think that rather than self diagnose, people should stop worrying about it. It doesn't really matter if you're autistic, because there isn't very much treatment available for it, especially if you're already out of school. >when did you knew you are autistic? I was really oblivious, to the point where I thought people that completely hated me were my friends, so I never learned about my diagnosis until I was well into my last year of high school. Once I did, everything made a lot of sense. >do you stim? If yes, what's your favorite? Yeah, though sometimes it can be hard to recognize that I am indeed stimming. The one I catch myself doing most often is snapping. Specifically, I snap in tune with my footsteps, using both hands. I try to limit it around other people though because people tend to think badly of me. But they probably already do that when they try to talk to me and I just stare back like a deer in headlights. >ever dated? how it went? Not anything serious, once when I was adolescent but it wasn't really anything at all. Curiously enough, though, after we'd broken up she went crazy and got committed to a psychiatric ward. Pretty sure it was BPD. Glad I got away from that mess. >>7594 >stick my hand down my pants to get some pubes hair and eat them oh wow

I just learned what stimming is and hoooly soykaf I do that all the time. I curl my hair into a knot when I'm really focusing on something, and sometimes I'll tickle the inside of my fingers with my hair to produce this orgasm-like feeling. I've done both of these for as long as I can remember.

>>7700 also used to flap my hands as a kid

Watch this https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6IHaE-TXbZQ#

>>5861 >are you diagnosed? How you feel about self-dx? Yes. Too many people get self diagnosed, most people aren't on the spectrum. >when did you knew you are autistic? I don't think about it like that. >do you stim? If yes, what's your favorite? Yes. Finger drumming. >ever dated? how it went? Get boatloads of puss. Women have never been a problem. Autists can be sex machines, despite the hype.

>>7702 I haven't really watched many of Varg's videos but this one was actually pretty interesting. I wouldn't go as far to say that autists are "better". They just function better in a different environment. There's also the element of physical awkwardness which is nothing but a negative trait, something I have pretty bad. I was bracing myself to watch a video that dismisses autism as something that doesn't exist. I object to putting a label on it though, autists are just different. I'd rather be known as "weird" or "different" than seen as diseased. That's why, in my opinion, if you're an autist you should flat out never tell anyone about your diagnosis.

I don't know how anyone can take "autism" seriously anymore. I get called "autistic" every time I post anything anywhere on 4chan or 8chan. It's bullsoykaf.

>>7738 I see it as just multiple uses of the word. A stylistic way to call someone retarded.

Honestly doubt that I’m autistic though friends and family have suggested it. I will however admit I share a lot of the common symptoms and reading about the experiences of autistic people somehow makes me feel less alone. I have a hard time taking an interest in people outside of a kind of buffer to stave off depression and anxiety. Loathe being touched even in a platonic way it makes my skin crawl. Have a strong compulsion to understand everything down to the minute details, spend hours reading entire wikipedia pages about any and everything I take even a passing interest in. Have been accused of being a robot on multiple occasions. And as other lainons have mentioned certain tactile sensations tend to have a calming effect on me, more specifically I like to roll frayed pieces of fabric up into knots and pick at them with my finger nails it is something I’ve done for as long as I can remember. >tl;dr alienated neurotypical feels a sense of companionship with alienated neuro divergents that though have greatly differing personal experiences still feel at odds with the society in which they are placed

>are you diagnosed? How do you feel about self-dx? i was diagnosed at 3 years old because i wasn't talking and wasn't reaching other milestones that normal children were reaching when i was little i used to ride the short bus because of it.One day the teacher realize i wasn't a complete retard and i got to go to the normal people classes and learn stuff.i remember running in the special olympics and getting 2nd place >when did you know you were autistic? when my mom told me in middle school >do you stem? if yes, what's your favorite? i shake. when i was little my mom and dad thought i was having seizures and the doctor made me wear this thing on my head for a few days to see if it was seizures or not(don't worry fellow lains it wasn't) but i still shake violently when i feel emotion also when i'm outside i take off running for no reason. >ever dated? how it went? no, i have not ever dated i am unsure with sexulality and what to do in a realationship

For a while after taking my first E I really took an interest in people and things. I wanted to go out constantly and realised that I needed other people to function. Still after months of giving it my all and just getting so little in return all that started to go away. Now I'm depressed and feel worthless again, can't take an interest in others as I'm completely self absorbed, back to robot mode and all that. I don't know how to get out of this loneliness. Anybody have any advice

Not autistic myself but my little brother is, was diagnosed at like age 13 but we all knew he didn't develop normally mentally and watching my other younger brother quickly being able to trick my autistic brother was really weird. Of course the youngest one has a bad case of 4chan autism with a healthy dose of fat fetishes and IRL meme usage and even printing out dank memes at school and me being the oldest brother is just a bit awkward with a lot of charisma since most people like me but I feel like I'm just a introverted neurotypical. But, my high function autistic brother is like extremely outgoing. He's pretty awkward and it shows when he talks to people but he actively tries to talk to people and he would like to have more neighbors than what we do now. The second he finds out you share an interest with him, he will happily bring it up when he sees you again. Like for a while, he used to love to go to the local library to buy old VHS tapes even though he never watches them and there used to be a nice old lady at the grocery store who would go to those same book sales for books, so he would remind her when the book sale would happen. On top of loving old tech (yet not really using it) like VHS tapes, he just likes old things in general. He enjoys the show Young Sheldon because it takes place in an old time before smartphones and DVDs. He was really fascinated by the Tandy computer which had an episode centered around it. He loves Big Brother and Hanna Barbara cartoons too. And he has a pretty sweet plushie collection as well featuring a lot of different cartoon characters. He doesn't really stim though, when he isn't on his computer or working with me he will just aimlessly walk around the house but he, like everyone else autist or not, is such a different person when there are a ton of people. He has never had a girlfriend.