21 Sep 2014, 8:43 pm
21 Sep 2014, 9:06 pm
1. Love and interpersonal connection aren't sappy in the remotest; if anything will save the planet, there you have it. Exemplifying trust in others is something they'll do well to learn from, though it's generally best to let them figure that out on their own time.
2. I'll begin with the party line about holding out for a professional evaluation, though I too love cats and cannot even stand the smell of bananas. I too entered my school's gifted programs around the same age, and I've had a wide range of sleep troubles.
Although I agree it's quite likely, I'm not qualified to diagnose you on or off the autism spectrum, though I strongly suggest you do some research into sleep paralysis; I'm fairly sure it's more common than any of the conditions we're discussing and you might find a lot of intriguing answers.
_________________
"Standing on a well-chilled cinder, we see the fading of the suns, and try to recall the vanished brilliance of the origin of the worlds."
-Georges Lemaitre
"I fly through hyperspace, in my green computer interface"
-Gem Tos
21 Sep 2014, 9:30 pm
ASPartOfMe
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Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 34,476
Location: Long Island, New York
23 Sep 2014, 12:27 am
Welcome to Wrong Planet
The diagnostic process can vary but usually revolves around a battery of tests, observations and discussion with you and structured interview with a family member. It can take a few months and that is difficult because you just want to know such an important thing about yourself.
I bolded the very possibly autistic traits. I also added comments including some I did not bold in order to help you make sense of them. A person can have these any one or several of these traits and not be autistic. It is the intensity of these traits, how much they are impairing your life, and how many you have. I am not a processional psychologist and can't diagnose people, just a guy who has lived with Aspergers-Autism his whole life.
-I was speaking in complete sentences by the time I was around 9 months old.
-I knew how to read by the time I was one and a half without any outside help.
-Mom had to cut all of the tags out of my clothes when I was little because they irritated me.
Being hyper sensitive to certain things are very common and many autistic people need to cut their tags off.
-I would only wear cotton leggings and shirts until I was 7 because everything else was uncomfortable. I wouldn't wear jeans until I was 10.
See above
-Things like eggs, yogurt, bananas, smoothies, etc. make me throw up when I try to eat them. The texture is repulsive.
Sensory sensitivity to taste
-I was identified as "gifted" by the State of California when I was 7.
-I have had a lot of trouble making friends. I used to always waltz up to strangers and ask them to "be my friends". I didn't understand why people looked at me funny.
Not understanding "boundaries" or why people react negativity to you is common
-I've lost a lot of friends, too. I used to hurt feelings unintentionally very frequently. I've never been able to maintain more than 3 close friendships at a time.
See above
-I used to be obsessed with cats (I would pretend to be a cat and eat grass out of the yard) and horses, but I had an especially long dolphin phase. I wanted to be a marine biologist from the time I was 5 to about 10.
Autistics have what is known as "special interests" that are often obsessive and can prevent us from doing other things we need to do, but we love researching or doing them
-I have perfect pitch, musically speaking. I love to sing and do musical theatre.
-I get bothered by weird things, like when too many things are moving in my peripheral vision or when things are not aesthetically pleasing.
Multitasking is often very difficult for Autistic peoples.
-I am not remotely organized but become very distressed when people move my stuff around or try to clean for me.
That is a contradiction that is vexing to many on the spectrum. We like order and routine and dislike change so moving your stuff will cause a negative reaction. Both are related to executive functioning deficits common in AS and ADHD people. Executive Functioning which is a broad category is a bit confusing but explains a lot. http://www.ldonline.org/article/29122/. So is poor multitasking mentioned above
-I have a tendency to overshare. Big time.
Autistic tend not to know the unspoken "boundaries" in personal interaction that others get instinctively
-I've been ostracized by several peer groups in my lifetime.
Sorry. Hopefully from this and other threads and the diagnostic process you will get some answers as to why
-I am also much too trusting and am dismayed when my "friends", who I glorify, betray me.
Many of us have a hard time understand motivations of other people
-I have a very hard time understanding when people are being unkind or nasty to me.
Another example of poor understanding of others motivations
-I instinctively blame myself when things go wrong.
People do tend to internalize bad things others say about them
-I apologize very frequently, even when I haven't done anything wrong.
Related to the above
-I am very unsure of my sexuality. I am attracted to fairly androgynous individuals, especially this one girl who was my best friend last year. I was absolutely in love with her for a year but that didn't work out when she wasn't straight. I also had a crush on a male friend (who now identifies as female) for a year.
It is not a noted trait by any means but has been a topic of discussion in the autism community.
You are young, so this is not uncommom. You will figure it out with time
-I can intuitively figure out what other people are thinking sometimes, due to a lot of practice and focus.
Some autistics can learn some of these skills but it is not natural. Autistic can be hyperfocused and learn things other get naturally
-Humans and human psychology fascinate me. I read up a lot on psychology and personality tests so I can understand other people and myself better.
-Speaking of which, I am an ENFP, and an Enneagram 4w3.
-I say strange things sometimes that I realize don't make any sense after the fact.
-I make a lot of weird noises (siren sounds, gurgling noises, bird sounds, gibberish) and say the same words over and over again and sing at innappropriate times.
The singing , weird noises are known as stimming. Wikipedia article about it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stimming Very Repetitive behavior is a core trait
-I can behave myself very well though and am great at talking to adults. I'm only obnoxious around family and friends at this point and even then, thanks to my AdderAll, I've gotten better at restraining myself.
-I confuse people.
Hopefully these comments are beginning to help you understand understand why
-I can't sleep at night unless I've shaved my legs. I also can't sleep with a shirt on.
The need for certain strict routines is part of the repetitive behavior mentioned above. It is considered a way of coping with what to autistics is a very confusing, overwheming world.
-I love to perform and make people smile and laugh.
-I practice conversations before I have them.
This is known as scripting
-I've been told that I give incredible advice and insight. I am very empathic. I am also a very loving person but can be smothering.
Autistics do think differently so they can have insight that most others won't . Smothering can be the lack of understanding boundaries.
-I love words and the way they sound. I write a lot of poetry (spoken word and verse) and love making words flow and feel alive. I have a wide vocabulary.
Autistics are known hyperfocus about things.
-I like children and dogs.
Most people do
-People do scare me. I don't usually get along best with people my age. I get along with intellectual individuals, people older than me, younger than me, and people with AS pretty well.
-I am really really bad at making small talk and ask people things like "what is the meaning of life?" instead, which doesn't end well.
Autistics (and introverts) do not like small talk. At Wrong Planet small talk is a rarity 
-I do weird things just to see how people react sometimes.
-I am incredibly expressive and animated. I have a "rubber face". My emotions are VERY intense and sometimes I have "episodes"
When autistic people get overstimulated from sensory overload or just too many things happening at once they have "meltdowns" or "shutdowns" which can take various forms. An analogy is what happens to machines when there is a strong power surge. "Rubber face" might be tenseness from the same reasons
-I have been told that I'm very self centered and obsessive.
Auttistic people get falsely accused of this often, because of not using the "appropriate" body language or just missing hidden meanings, thinking differently we can come off that way when we don't mean to
-I am agnostic-atheist in my religious beliefs.
-I am not very coordinated at all.
Coordination is often a problem
-I have had MAJOR difficulties with sleeping since I was very little.
Maybe not a core trait but it is thought to be an issue. But in your case it seemed to be resolved through surgery
-I fear being alone above all else and think that love and interpersonal connections between people are the meaning of life. (woo, so sappy.)
Common to most people.
Hope I have been helpful. Good luck with shrink . Let us know what happened
23 Sep 2014, 5:28 am
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