Signs that you might have undiagnosed autism
For those who are questioning whether they may/may not be autistic, here is a list of possible signs/symptoms that you could be autistic. I broke them up into categories so they're easier to analyze.
You find eye contact uncomfortable or painful, or find that eye contact distracts you from conversation and is difficult to maintain
You find that social interaction takes a lot of planning, thought, and effort, and as a result it can be very draining
You've always felt different from other people - you may have thought when you were younger that you were a different species or there was something wrong with you or everyone else
You've often been the target of bullying, teasing, etcetera and you don't know why
You feel like you're not getting something that everyone else is or you're on a different wavelength
You struggle to pick up on social cues or things that are implied, instead relying on direct communication, and you wonder why people have to be so subtle and confusing
You get burned out or tired in social situations quickly
You find yourself memorizing scripts for how to engage in small talk rather than going with the flow and just conversing
People often say that you're rude or disrespectful and you don't understand why
You don't understand why people can't just say what they mean instead of hinting all the time
You struggle to read tone of voice and facial expressions
You often miss sarcasm or jokes that everyone else gets go over your head
You like to talk about facts in conversation rather than people or smalltalk (for example, sharing facts about a topic you're interested in VS. talking about your day)
You've often wondered why you can't fit in
You often have one particular thing or a few particular things at any given time that you are very interested in, think about constantly, and want to talk about over everything else
People often tell you you're going on and on about the same thing
You are most passionate and happy when you're researching or engaging with an interest of yours (for example, learning about penguins or playing a video game you're interested in)
You want to connect with people over interests rather than traits, and you're drawn to smalltalk about facts rather than emotions or personal stories
When you're interested in something , you involve it in everything else and try to find ways to work it into all aspects of your life, or you get upset when you can't engage with it
You rely on sameness to function - change is very stressful to you
You like to follow a strict routine, either of specific times or specific activities (e.g. I eat a specific brand of chocolate pudding in my specific chair once a day)
People tell you you need to be more flexible
You like to eat the same foods over and over, watch the same movies over and over, or listen to the same song on repeat
Familiarity is more satisfying to you than novelty
You cannot handle loud noises, bright lights, crowds, being touched, or any other high sensory input (it can be any one of these, not necessarily all of them)
You sometimes feel understimulated and seek out deep pressure (weight on you, tight hugs, etc.)
You sometimes feel overloaded with sensory input and need to go into a quiet place alone to calm down
If you can't go to a quiet place during these moments, you may either shut down (have trouble speaking, moving, etc.) or meltdown
You like to "stim" by doing any of the following:
Singing, repeating words over and over,. making noises, or otherwise creating noise (vocal/auditory)
Looking at bright lights or sparkly, bright, shiny, etc. things
Tapping, clapping, hand flapping, wiggling or making motions with your fingers, rubbing or touching something with a nice texture (tactile)
Spinning, jumping, balancing (vestibular)
Putting things in your mouth or chewing on things (oral)
You sometimes don't notice pain / notice you have scratches or bruises and don't know where you got them from (nociceptive hyposensitivity)
You can hear well, but have difficulty interpreting words / processing sound and understanding what people are saying (auditory processing difficulties)
You have synesthesia (sensory crossover - tasting sound, hearing sound, tasting colors, colors for letters and numbers, spatial locations for days of the week or months, there are many types)
You have little empathy and have trouble connecting with others' feelings
Alternatively, you have a lot of empathy, more than the average person, and you feel others' feelings very intensely
You have been diagnosed with ADHD (commonly comorbid + also often misdiagnosed instead of autism, especially in girls)
You have poor coordination, either in gross motor skills, tasks like sports, not bumping into things etc., and fine motor skills, handwriting etc., if this is a particularly significant difficulty for you this may even be dyspraxia or dysgraphia, which have high comorbidity
You have very uneven skills, aka great difficulty in one area with great skill in another
You have difficulty with executive functions - planning, working/short term memory, organization, difficulty starting a task or switching tasks, difficulty following multiple directions (do this then this)
Alternatively, when you get focused on a task you can stay focused on one thing for hours and hours and be so sucked into it you notice nothing else
If you relate to a lot of these, that is definitely not a diagnosis, but you definitely might want to do some research. This is not a diagnostic list in any way. Informed self diagnosis should involve doing a lot of research and spending time in the community to see if you relate and feel like this explains you or this is where you fit in.
