There’s some significant comorbidity between ASD and anxiety disorders, so it wouldn’t be too surprising.
It’s also a spectrum, so you could be “more autistic” than the average neurotypical, while still not “autistic enough” to actually receive a diagnosis.
There’s some significant comorbidity between ASD and anxiety disorders, so it wouldn’t be too surprising.
true, but there’s also a lot of comorbidity between anxiety disorders & depression and the amazing fuckton of life issues i’m experiencing atm, so it’s probably that. and, not for nothing, but in the decades of therapy i’ve undergone, none of my psychologists or psychiatrists have ever thought to wonder if i had ASD. that’s not to say that i don’t, but one would think that, if i did, one of those many, many doctors would have thought to, at least, test me for it.
I think it really depends on whether you think there’s any benefit that could come from that. In whether you believe having an official label to describe the problem and receiving treatment for it would be worth it for you, or if it would be getting a diagnosis purely for the sake of having the diagnosis. And that’s something only you can know for your own situation.
I will say that as someone who was diagnosed somewhat later in life, I think part of why it wasn’t caught sooner for me was that doctors seemed to assume “oh, this would’ve surely been investigated already”, because I was such a complex blob of issues. Certainly the severity of my anxiety and depression made more sense in the context of autism.
I don’t know if you’ve ever done a quiz such as the Autism Quotient test before, but you might be interested in trying it. I like this version here, because it discusses some of the many problems that this and other similar tests have. Many diagnostic processes involve at least one of these silly little quizzes, usually the AQ, which I linked. Both doctors and autistics alike agree on the limited utility of these tests though, especially on their own, so take anything it says with a pinch of salt.
There’s some significant comorbidity between ASD and anxiety disorders, so it wouldn’t be too surprising.
It’s also a spectrum, so you could be “more autistic” than the average neurotypical, while still not “autistic enough” to actually receive a diagnosis.
true, but there’s also a lot of comorbidity between anxiety disorders & depression and the amazing fuckton of life issues i’m experiencing atm, so it’s probably that. and, not for nothing, but in the decades of therapy i’ve undergone, none of my psychologists or psychiatrists have ever thought to wonder if i had ASD. that’s not to say that i don’t, but one would think that, if i did, one of those many, many doctors would have thought to, at least, test me for it.
perhaps i’ll ask again, though.
I think it really depends on whether you think there’s any benefit that could come from that. In whether you believe having an official label to describe the problem and receiving treatment for it would be worth it for you, or if it would be getting a diagnosis purely for the sake of having the diagnosis. And that’s something only you can know for your own situation.
Well, what I seek is answers and relief from my symptoms, not “labels” really. That’s my motivation, if that’s what you’re wondering.
Ya know, perhaps it’s best to just trust my doctors on this one.
I will say that as someone who was diagnosed somewhat later in life, I think part of why it wasn’t caught sooner for me was that doctors seemed to assume “oh, this would’ve surely been investigated already”, because I was such a complex blob of issues. Certainly the severity of my anxiety and depression made more sense in the context of autism.
I don’t know if you’ve ever done a quiz such as the Autism Quotient test before, but you might be interested in trying it. I like this version here, because it discusses some of the many problems that this and other similar tests have. Many diagnostic processes involve at least one of these silly little quizzes, usually the AQ, which I linked. Both doctors and autistics alike agree on the limited utility of these tests though, especially on their own, so take anything it says with a pinch of salt.