===== Autism Thread ===== let's settle this once and for all: do i have autism? mute this thread if you're not interested, i'm going to go through screening questionnaires here so y'all can chime in if you think i'm answering them wrong. please reply with any tests you think i should take or questions about me that might help with diagnosis.
evidence i weigh most heavily in the "no" column: autism is a developmental disorder, if i have it, the symptoms should have appeared in childhood. but i attended public school in fairfax county va (which at the time was one of the highest rated districts in the country) and had various contact with the counseling staff for gifted placement, no one ever suggested i might have autism or that i should be evaluated for it. as a teen i got depressed and started going to doctors for what was eventually diagnosed as bipolar 2. i've had many mental health evaluations including various therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists and doing inpatient treatment. again no one has ever mentioned autism as a possibility or suggested screening for it.
evidence that motivates this thread in spite of the above: people on the internet persistently suggest i have autism or assume i'm already diagnosed - i assume they're responding to *something* about me i am somewhat socially anxious and don't take as much pleasure in social activities as some people seem to take and i spend a lot of time alone.