How I Found Out I'm Autistic + ADHD | Story Time | Part 2

"I'll just live my autistic life" - I love that statement! Go Rachel

Dude! I had friends all my life basically because other people would come up to me and I would be polite and nice to them. I never had a problem with other people, just wasn’t super interested in them. When I got into college I had no idea how to make friends because I wasn’t stuck with the same people all the time and no one came up to me anymore really. I always doubt whether i could be autistic because of this, but cool to know that you had a similar experience. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for sharing, Rachel! I'm Robyn, self-diagnosed autistic woman, age 33 😄🙌

Happy you described the reality of the spectrum. Too many folks do think it is a linear spectrum. Keep posting !

You have a really chill voice, it's nice to listen to. Also relate 100%, hope you keep making videos :)

It's the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) , published by Simon Baron-Cohen that measures personality traits along the 'autistic spectrum' - with a full stack of 50 questions (some psychologist argue that it can be shortened to x to reach acceptable precision while the test still underreports about x percent). Individuals on the spectrum will spend considerable time on contemplating the semantics of the 'forced choice' questions - as many seem arbitrary to them or open to quite misleading interpretation, being often undecided between 'definite' or 'slightly' choices ... (the test requires at least average intelligence to read and comprehend the questions in the first place, the test was also designed for adults while variants for adolescents have been published) The treshold value of clinical autism is a test score of 26 - out of possible 50 . Individuals on the high end (beyond a score of 32) are outright 'autists', someone below the threshold is mostly 'autistic' - with normal people - as simply defined by their majority among the population - on the low score of 17 (for males, 15 for females - averaging across genders at 16 - which makes it plausible that threshold for females should be a score of 24) - with the test emphasizing 'attention to detail' and 'communication' (subdivided into 'communication', 'social skill', 'imagination' and 'attention switching'). 16:17 I do like the visualization of the spectrum as a 'field' or 'sphere' - with a multitude of polarities and directions - which arguably should be applied to all DSM traits, instead of it's categorizing 'drawers'. The test is best used as a screening in order to rule out ASD as it can't replace a clinical diagnosis which is supposed to offer support when in distress. https://docs.autismresearchcentre.com/papers/2005_Woodbury-Smith_etal_ScreeningAdultsForAS.pdf When I withdrew socially in 2017, I scored at 26 - right on the threshold - around 5 years later, it climbed one, sneaky point - which can also relate to acceptance and letting go of 'masking' (e.g. 'what answers do I have to fake to pass as normal'). [I suspect the withdrawal to be 'burnout', since sleeping is the only 'structured activity', left] I still don't understand the 'attention to detail' thingy - as I never have caught myself, 'counting beans' like 'Count von Count'... but I'll sacrifice my health in order to gain a sharper 'big picture' of events and facts ... so maybe that's some 'co-morbidity'... When it comes to 'primary care' doctors one needs to step back and look at the 'big picture' of public 'health care' politics and it's funding - because that determines the financial incentive to send a patient to some specialist (who may be overbooked with weeks of appointments). When my spine herniated years ago, some young surgeons implored me to do surgery for spinal disc implants - while simply sitting out the time it takes to heal the tissue had lead to same level of quality of life, exactly as reflected in respective, comparative studies... High school sucked, because the state insists that every student becomes a rocket scientist or a novelist on the turn of the dime - instead of allowing pupils to specialize along their preferences and strenghts, inventing entirely novel courses if needs be (instead of merely preaching interdisplinary research in journals)... to the modern state, people are just blank slates that can be written upon, arbitrarily - and if it doesn't go well then the people must be malignant (which sums up 21st century political discourse)... I dropped out and made a GED within 3 months, two decades later (it is a different process in Germany, demanding to be tested and interviewed in all subjects) - but after the 'Bologna Reforms' college is nowadays much like high school, so there's little reason to put faith into it, beyond 'muddling through' (I did drop out after almost completing it)... Regarding Your diagnosis of 'Social Pragmatic Communication Disorder' - right - watch out that You don't become an 'influencer' on social media with those wanting language skills... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCsi9Vqv1jY Not following through ... what is 'time', but 'a lasting ocean of possibility' from which to rise, momentarily , clasping at a current opportunity ? Give me opportunities, I'll make 'time'... Regarding to ADHD, there is also a non-medical concept of 'scanning' (Barbara Sher - who loved to study 'bits of fields' in order to comprehend complex questions). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o29KOV0jYRM 24:41 "It feels good to understand why You do things." [insert 'smooth face meme'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9xipwq3nrs&t=125s

I know that my daughter and I have Autism and ADHD, and self-diagnosis is just fine. We are waiting to find the right way to get official diagnosis.

Hearing ur story I feel less alone now I’m rlly sorry that all happend 💕

"I understand myself better and it feels good." Yes.

Its so sad to hear the professionals weren't able to give you the correct diagnosis. Well done for persevering and exploring autism for yourself. Thanks for sharing part 2

It's so validating to hear from you.

Thank you for your videos. You are helping a lot of people. You are beautiful . Please keep posting.

I wish dr would be more educated in girls with autism because here I am almost 60 and it would have been very helpful to be diagnosed at an early age

Rachel, your story sounds so similar to what I have experienced. The main difference is that I'm just now coming to the realization that I may have asd and or ADHD and who knows what else. I'm also in my mid 40's and life has been hard. My goal this year is to look into getting diagnosed.

Awesome video Rachel, thank you 😊💓👍

love you channel keep making content we need you.

This is great. Thanks for having the courage to make these videos.

White. I have ADHD. 26:41. I can relate to the free flowing way you talk. I understand ADHD. Still extremely confused about autism. There exist symptoms many people have. Apparently not all.

I’ve been going back and forth to like no I’m not to many I am to yes I am to maby I’m not and all over the place

Thank you.