Hey! I'm getting some reccuring questions and comments, so I thought I'd take some of my responses and put them here in an easy-to-find way. Obviously, I'm not a doctor. This is my lived experience as a formally diagnosed autistic person, and I have referenced sources that are medically approved. In all instances, look at reliable resources such as embrace-autism.com/, www.nhs.uk/conditions/autism/ and www.autism.org.uk/ that have been written and approved by medical professionals to gain a more nuanced and educated understanding. It goes without saying, but just because you relate to me, it doesn't mean you definitely have autism! Just because you score high on a screening test or two, it doesn't mean you definitely have autism! Like I said at the end of the video, if you think you might, do your research using reliable resources, collect evidence, and speak to a doctor if you can. 💬"Is there a reason to get diagnosed? Or is it more of a curiosity thing?" ▶Depends on the person. For some, its helpful in self understanding and accessing help and resources. For others, they just want to know! Choosing to not get diagnosed is a choice many also make ▶[diagnosis] answered a lot of personal questions I had, and helped relieve some guilt I had about things I haven't been able to control, which has been really nice. Essentially, it helped me understand myself better, but that process of understanding started happening as soon as I realised I might be autistic, so it wasn't the diagnosis itself that did that. The diagnosis just helped me take my suspicions seriously and deeper understand. In terms of day-to-day functioning, not much is different, but I suppose I don't beat myself up as much if I think I'm being awkward in public or around others - my brain literally isnt wired for doing that well and I know that now! ▶personally, I chose to because I've had mental health issues my whole life and having a solid and confirmed explanation for it has been healing and helpful. additionally, if I ever need special accommodations or treatment relating to my health, it will be easier to be understood and get the appropriate help I need! lots of people don't persue diagnosis, especially if their autism doesn't impact their day-to-day life much, and that is valid ▶Would a diagnosis help you in any way? that's what you need to ask yourself. if its not helpful, it's probably not worth doing! 💬*criticisms of self diagnosis, thinking people self diagnose as an excuse to be unpleasant or not try, etc* ▶I tried to explain how important it is to thoroughly research for self diagnosis :) And in the end of the day, if someone is 'faking it', chances are they need help with something - i dont imagine many healthy or mentally well people want to look disabled. Explanations are not excuses! That's also important to remember - if I ever hurt someone I wouldn't dare blame it on my autism. It might explain why I did something, but I'm always going to profusely apologise! Anyone using it as an excuse to be bad, is simply... bad ▶➡ I gave autistic-made, medically approved sources of information ➡ I described with sources the reasons some people physically can't get a diagnosis ➡ I explained why thorough research is important and ways both personal and medical misdiagnosis can happen ➡ I stated you should do multiple layers of things if you think you might be autistic - not just do screening tools - and certainly didnt say that that is how you 'find out if you're autistic' 💬"I'm worried i'm being dramatic or faking my symptoms" ▶lots of people have issues with imposter syndrome - even for months after my diagnosis I was worried they got it wrong. it gets better in time!
Yeah, I am definitively thinking a lot that I have some symptoms it might be just me being under stress or I am just bad at dealing with emotions or some other reason, and thinking I should not have autism because I was able to be reasonably normal and even got to be one of the popular kids on my last year of high school. But like, I know I have felt way too many weird stuff that, from the people I have talked, the only ones that felt similar or understood was autistic people. So who knows? I know I will just follow the impostor voice and not do any move on it. (even though I am really curios about it)
Hey i just wanted to say ur video was awesome and i really like ur stuff, especially since i learned stuff i didnt know about autism. kind of wish this stuff was just taught to you in special education but hey its not like theyre made for neurodivergent people and should be teaching neurodivergent people how to deal with neurodivergence... wait
@@thegoddamnsun5657 Having autism makes people treat you in ways that aren't fun actually. Hell lot of people don't even believe adhd is a real condition.
I was diagnosed when I was 16-18, and was constantly getting asked "why weren't you diagnosed when you were a kid?" Meanwhile my mother was diagnosed a year before me, at the young age of 55.
God, that kept me from seeking a potential diagnosis as an adult because I was tired of seeing all these autism centers ONLY focus on kids. It felt sooo infantilizing.
My dad got diagnosed with ADHD at the same time as me, and honestly every time I hear a story about his earlier life I just realize how insane that must feel to put it into perspective.
My younger brother was diagnosed in his mid 20s, a few years after I'd moved out of the house. I've been told that by all accounts, my symptoms are more prominent, it's just nobody had thought to check. Then when the list of tells was gone over, my parents concluded my _dad_ was also likely autistic the whole time, but it's not like the 80s and 90s of my childhood where people vaguely knew about "Asperger's" and low-functioning autism, my dad was born in 1950 so at the time it was just "You're not a retard, so act normal" and learning to mask by brute force LOL.
they said "fake it till you make" it to me in school and actively told me i'd be better off masking since jobs, partners, and general public would treat me different if not worse but now that i've accepted that 'i'm autistic it feels more and more like they were telling me to 'fake it until I make it harder on myself :/'
I faked it for so long that I accidentally kept discovering enough random life hacks and subsequently appeared so competent people questioned if I was human for years
As an autistic person myself, I know your pain. I was diagnosed when I was like 2, I can only imaging how stressful it must be only finding out Now! You have all of our support; We're rootin' for ya!
it was relieving, but I'm processing some anger about being let down by systems throughout my childhood. I guess this video is part of me working through that! Thank you so much
Genuine question, how does it help to get diagnosed as autistic? Because ever since I know autism is a thing I've always felt like I might (not sure) be on the spectrum, but I have no idea what would be the point of actually getting a diagnosis.
@@nubo3517 To answer your question, it explains why you're the weird kid, explains your unique mannerisms, your difficulty in understanding social cues, and just a lot of your struggles in general. If you've been diagnosed, it could be a bit stressful at first, but it helps IMMENSELY in explaining why you're different compared to everybody else.
@@nubo3517 Well, not only does it help explain some of your weird traits & quirks, But it also helps you deal with those quirks. Think of it like this: You have depression. When you get diagnosed, not only does it explain a lot of things, but it puts you on the right path to help you, Most often with prescription medication.
@@owiebrainhurts Probably because instead of a living, breathing human being, you see a wall of LED's and code! I kinda do, too, so that's why all my autistic friends online say I have autism :3
For any of y'all who're curious, a really good channel to learn about high-masking autism is I'm Autistic, Now What? It's run by this British woman in her late 20s who talks about her experiences navigating social life as an autistic woman and reacts to other autism-centric content. Very wholesome vibes, and very helpful for picking apart the layers of uncertainty, insecurity, and imposter syndrome that high-masking folks often build up
People asked me if I was autistic before I was diagnosed. My mom would take me to a doctor to check my hearing because I wouldn't respond to my name being called(autism trait). They said I didn't have autism when I was 16. Later I got asperger diagnosis when I was 18, one from a private clinic and later from the public one. People underestimate how easy it is to slip through these systems that look very rigid from the outside.
I had my hearing tested too! I wasn't listening in class at kindergarten age and the school thought I couldn't hear. Turns out I was just... not paying attention. And yet, it took me 23 years to get an ADHD diagnosis !!
that moment when they give you a hearing test and then say you have "auditory *processing* issues" and literally no one thinks to consider i might be autistic
I've never heard of that one. I normally am a very distracted person that doesn't listen a lot but my brain turns on the moment someone says my name, somehow. Cool to see how other people like me (autisc too) can still be so diferent
I had an autism assessment in an inpatient mental health unit! Just Kidding, they didn’t take me seriously and asked me only one question: “Do you think you have autism?” And then they made fun of me 😊 CAMHS inpatient is just as bad xoxo
Australia is like this too, especially for young females. They'll just call you a brat and toss you in the "BPD and too hard to treat basket" I only managed to get tested for Autism and ADHD by saving $4000 out of my own pocket 🙃 I'm 25.
Australia is like this too, especially for young females. They'll just call you a brat and toss you in the "BPD and too hard to treat basket" I only managed to get tested for Autism and ADHD by saving $4000 out of my own pocket 🙃 I'm 25.
@@GeminiPlatypus ah I’m so sorry! I have BPD too, I am now 20. I fear the mental health service has become a bit “trigger happy” with the BPD diagnosis, as it’s like a sticker that you can’t really take off. I hope the service learns from their mistakes, a little like how they over diagnosed schizophrenia in the 50s. Hope it gets better for you love xxx
There's something about these videos that's so comforting. It's nice to hear someone other than family talk about these things. A second and possibly weird reason is this corner of the internet kinda feels like a safe space to me???? (pleasetellmethatmakessense) Idk, but idc because I love it and all of your content!!! Looking forward to future uploads!!! 🐈
The "pleasetellmethatmakessense" is something I can relate to a lot. I do feel like I need confirmation that something makes sense for what I'm saying to others frequently
I remember the reason I got diagnosed is because a teacher in my primary school suspected I had it, but my parents didn't want to go through the whole diagnosis rigamarole so it never came up again until I was 16 and we got health form things? for school and an autism diagnosis was just sitting there on mine. I remember getting really offended at first but over the course of a week it went from "how did anyone think I had autism" to "wait no that explains a lot". Looking back I'm suprised only one teacher ever noticed because it only occurred to me a while ago that I was one neurotic child. TLDR I went on this tangent, but was there a reason why? No, but maybe that's why I got diagnosed
I had a few people who when i told them i thought i was autistic they would be initially surprised and kinda doubt me, but after a while and thinking about it, presumably looking at how i behave, they'd go 'ohh. ohhh yeah i think you are' lmao
Same. I've told a lot of people I might be autistic and everyone sort of agreed that they felt it too. The only exception is my mom, though it seems to me like she doesn't know a lot about autism, and she believes a lot of New Age stuff so I can't really blame her for getting it wrong /hj
Learning I was on the spectrum changed so much for me... And explained why so many people around me were assholes. Aaand made me love myself more. Basically, it changed my entire life, and I'm learning to live with it in the best ways.
I barely realized I was autistic at 24 years of age and I am self diagnosed because I am a girl from the Latino community. No wonder I couldn't realize it when I was younger. I used to believe I was probably BPD, but now I realize my meltdowns were a result of being over stimulated and not being able to understand social cues.
I had a similar experience!! I also come from a Latin family. They were so desperate for it not to be autism that they almost had me diagnosed with bpd at 15
It is rare for an undiagnosed autistic person not to have at least some level of trauma from being judged for “not performing” at neurotypical levels. This can look like not being able to sit still and pay attention, or needing a little longer to process verbal information, or not having things explained to you even when you ask. Someone can certainly have BPD and be autistic, but just by the numbers, it is more likely to be autistic and have PTSD and/or CPTSD due to years of being treated as broken and not recognized and accommodated for our differences.
@Ann963 Ain't that the truth, and it sucks even worse in poc communities as they are, in fact, the most ABLEIST when it comes to neurodivergent people. It's worse if you're a girl too because it manifests differently in girls. I was hyperverbal and learned to speak fast as a child but was selectively mute when it came to school peers as I took directions too literally 😅 🙃 . Then it became problematic in HS because when I got comfortable, I would blurt out everything that came into my mind in pure honesty and have no filter. I have since developed a filter and have matured more but I now realize why I was always ostracized by my peers. I will admit 8th grade was the worse year of my life as everyone bullied me and treated me like crap and the teacher would do NOTHING no matter how much I would snitch to her about my abuse from peers.
I turned 22 just last friday (jan 12) and since COVID started I've been thinking I'm autistic. Now watching your videos it felt like a warm hug. P.S. Happy late birthday! 💌
I recently got diagnosed at 19, no one ever thought I was autistic, was a bit of a shock when I realized that hiding certain habits of mine was me masking my neurodivergency
Man, every time I hear about people only getting diagnosed at later ages I feel more and more lucky that I was diagnosed as a small child. Unfortunately, I didn’t know what being autistic actually MEANT and just thought I was weird, but then a bit over a year ago I stumbled upon Rise of the TMNT, which has an autistic character (Donnie my beloved) and that led me to researching and going wait..so that’s why I do this random neurodivergent thing?? Sick I’m actually not just a dum dum Also your birthday is exactly 10 days after mine, happy mildly late birthday and I shall share your channel with some online friends :D
Same, [but diagnosed at 3 and sadly all nts were too rude] they always told my mum "This little girl has a bad behavior" and many nasty [Argentinian] words. I'm currently almost 22. Also my bday is on september 17th.
People in post-soviet countries are almost always openly ableist (autism is always a slur, like wth) and my guardians consider it a disease and that I'm just a healthy smart little kid (though I'm now in late teens), that's why I'm not getting taken to any test. I'm not even aware about organisations that could get me through testing. I've started my journey in this half a year ago and honestly this vid really felt like a hug to me.
sorry to hear that, here in algeria there is this mentality that only young children can be autistic, like a kid has any notisable mental health issue they are automatically autistic, and there is this misunderstanding that autism just means being sick, and is met with pitty rather than anything, which is better than what you desrcibed, but still makes life very difficult, ESPECIALLY for an adult
Good for you, as a fellow eastern European, I'm also slowly unwinding my past bad experiences and I hope I get the courage to look for a proper diagnosis for myself
Heheh true, my mom sometimes used to call me autistic to offend me (I don't know if I'm autistic, but like, why I would be offended to be one) and point out my "strange" behaviour. I asked her why she just doesn't take me to diagnosis if the calls me that so often so she'd know if her claims about me are actually correct. She started saying "nooo no you cannot be autistic you're normal you're normal" and that she'd be ashamed to take me to diagnosis Такие дела. Конечно, определенные черты у меня есть, но я не могу с уверенностью сказать, может ли у меня быть какой-то диагноз. Хотя у меня есть пара забавных историй с того времени, когда меня насильно водили к психологу
Subscribed to you as you uploaded this video, talk about coincidences. Great video, autism is definitely something that needs as much discussion as possible, especially within our strained modern times.
im trying to get diagnosed and they said the same thing "why didnt you find out when you were younger" the solution to both of us: we were just very good at masking
Go check your brain if it has Neuroinflammation somewhere where biochemistry gets taken seriously. What you talk about sounds much more as this especially when it appeard later on. And fix the diet, often worsen any brain condition
For me, when I got a diagnosis for my autism, I was treated worse than when I didn't have a diagnosis and I didn't get any help for my sensory issues and my grandparents (maybe my parents too) thought you could only be autistic when ur like 7 and younger and thought autism was a excuse too not do as much work or something. Also, my parents would explicitly teach me too mask when they knew I was autistic, and like you can teach someone to look both ways while crossing a street, that's not bad but my parents would get mad at me if i did visible stimming and they'd make me undergo sensory deprivation or/and would make me suffer through too many senses (noise, smelling, touch, etc.), and they did it on purpose :( Thanks for the video! (^_^)
I’m lucky (I guess? Does this qualify as lucky?) that I was diagnosed at the age of 5. My mom noticed some behaviors of mine were different than my older brother and sister, such as stacking dolls. She told me about my diagnosis when I was in third grade, and while I didn’t think much of it at the time (because, you know, I was 8), knowing early definitely helped save me from being confused later on. Well, at least on why I was different from other people, there were whole other struggles with my peers throughout school, especially in high school. I’m glad the people I’ve met at college so far are much more understanding and accepting, but high school was hell. People would meow at me in the hallways because I’d often meow in earlier grades, and my bitch of a principal would just dismiss it. Made my blood boil, and my mom was arguably more pissed than me.
I'm currently 17 and considering for the first time in my life that I might be neurodivergent - and when I raised this with my parents they both independently said "oh yeah lol we've known you had these traits since forever but you cope fine so whatever". So after seeing my GP about it just a week ago, I'm right at the threshold age where I've been put through _both_ CAMHS _and_ the adult system, didn't even know that was possible lol Thanks for the insightful and comforting video! 🎉 yippee :> 🎉
Good luck with everything! I'm around your age and I got diagnosed last year. I was super lucky because we used savings so I could go private, I know the wait lists for cahms are long.
Ok hear me out. Im Autistic (very early diagnosed) and i can tell you, that unfortunatley its completly normal and based on instinct that poeple react negative if someone shows negative abnormal behaviour, theres nothing we can force it to change, only one who can change is yourself. I actually eliminated 90% of my autism symptoms and no oner ever sees autism in me. Theres a way, that is doing a full biochemical chekup and adressing the problems found in the procedure, mostly gut flora and very low gluthaione.
I KNEW IT. I FUCKING KNEW IT. im autistic and adhd and generally am amazing at picking up if ppl are autistic and the minute i watched your stuff for the first time i was like "yep, bros autistic". btw my raads-r score is a 155. also on top of that im like the opposite when it comes to the heat stuff lol. instead of feeling cold as fuck when its like 70f outside, i wanna literally die from the heat and like 40-60 is amazing for me. around 15-25 with a coat or jacket (and no wind, with wind i def need a coat)
@@thegoddamnsun5657 im 16 my man. also i wasnt picking on anyone :P i was just stating that i was sure they were autistic... and i was right. also i literally am autistic myself
@@tristantheoofer2 do you know what "deragotary" is? you evidently act like a toddler either way so i dont care about how old you truly are, not that it helps your case what i mean is you act like you have some sort of super powers that lets you detect autism like as if it isnt a behaviorial disorder thats easy to spot
A couple weeks ago I saw your "Am I too old" video, and it inspired me so much as an artist and just a human, that I excitedly sent it to my therapist. I was STOKED to see the title of this video just now. I'm 37, and was finally diagnosed as autistic (and ADHD) at the age of 32. It was like I spent my life in a fog, and BAM! I have explanations and tools to help with the difficult parts! I finally got to go to college, and start (slowly) working towards my dream of being a professional artist. I was actually feeling pretty down about just slow that process is going and was looking for a mood boost when I came across this video. So thank you :-) Please know you're making a difference, even for this gal who's a good 14 years older, but can seriously identify with you
i am autistic but NOT a red cat. this helped me understand some of my symptoms like being hungry but feeling something else that is not hungry instead, heat regulation, and a bunch of other stuff u mentioned. luckily i was diagnosed at ~12-13 years old.
I’ve gone through about a year of research despite not being able to get diagnosed yet. Hearing all this was really affirming :) Happy late birthday btw!
I did loads of research and loads of tests and I'm most likely on the spectrum. I also relate to autistic memes A LOT. Also also, maybe it's my personality but I relate to what autistic women say much more than to what autistic male youtubers say, but that can just be due to the personality differences and not gender differences. Tbh what really made me go 'Oh shit, there's some merit to that huh...?' was being friends with a girl that is also autistic and we talked about some autistic things she does that I considered a regular behavior (or just weird things that are just me being weird) and we were like, I guess that's why we are friends. I do not feel like getting a formal diagnosis because it has 0 benefits besides knowing that someone will say 'yeah, most likely you are on the spectrum'. In fact it has downsides if anything.
Just finished reading 3 wikipedia pages about otters (irrelevant) and this is the first video I get recommended! Thank you for sharing your experience, you deserve another sub! (me) Have a good day :3
OH MY GOD FINALLY I CAN EXPLAIN TO PEOPLE WHY I DON'T EAT ANYTHING THAT ISN'T BREADED CHICKEN I genuinely have been told off by so many people about my "pickyness" that it's given me self-worth issues, for the love of god I *wish* my palette was diverse as yours BUT THAT'S NOT HOW MY BRAIN WORKS OKAY
the things I showed in the video are things I WOULDN'T eat! there's at least one thing on each of those plates I'd not want to touch! despite that, I still have a wider palate than some other autistic people, so you're not wrong ;p being observed by others makes it worse and I'm sorry people have commented on it :( I've found trying new things without people observing me has helped
same birthday!!! after watching this along with the high school and adhd videos, i realized i related way too much lol ive figured im at least either autistic or have adhd but seeing someone with experiences * comically * close to my own, it definitely made me feel more confident that something is most definitely up with me lol watching these three videos brought me comfort (and frankly some distress lol), so thanks! it very much made me feel well seen! if I do eventually get diagnosed with one or the other, double thanks!
It's videos like this that make me realize I'm probably not neurotypical - I am constantly fidgeting in some way (usually by bouncing my leg, which I got from my mom, or doodling), sometimes when I am standing in one place I will start stepping around and sometimes even walking in a circle, I usually keep quiet in conversations with more than one person (mostly because I can't find the right place to put in my thoughts without seeming rude, and by the time I get a space the topic has shifted) and when I find something new I like it will be the main/only thing I submerse myself in for like a month or more, with some fixations such as Minecraft roleplay still continuing on and off after years, and whenever I find a new song I like I will only listen to that on loop for at least a few hours. I also have issues with food textures, but only when a food loses flavor - if I am eating something that takes too long to chew and it gets to the point that it's just a wet lump of flavorless gunk in my mouth, I will do anything in my power to secretly spit it out. I also walk like a digitigrade for some reason, which is probably not a neurodivergent thing but it's still weird
these are things that you don't have to be neurodivergent to experience. i know many neurotypical people who say the same thing, if you are really suspecting that you have autism or something else i recommend you do thorough research on the thing before coming to an answer of your own, im saying this as a diagnosed autistic. wishing you luck
a lot of your experiences (food issues, temperature issues, "faking for attention" feeling weird/bar) this is and has always been my experience. im not able to get an official dx due to the financial blockade, but I'm 100% sure I'm autistic. I started considering it many years ago, when I dated an autistic person who pointed out shared traits, and honestly it made so much of my everything make sense. I wish I could explain to folks like employers why things are so hard for me and them accept such
I also have a female friend who got diagnosed with autism as an adult. I wasn't familiar with the term "masking" at the time, so I ended up asking her if she thought I was doing it too, since I'm also autistic. She said that no, it's very obvious that I'm neurodivergent. I don't know how I should take that response. I was diagnosed as a kid, so maybe that's why I don't mask.
DUDE SAME. growing up, i was just a weird kid, never labeled as autistic. "oh thats just alex" well thats because alex was autistic. i got 91? on RAADS R, and i got tested for everything and they said im dyslexic (which i was) but i didnt have adhd, and autism wasnt even mentioned, i was just really anxious and a little depressed. Of course, i was really anxious, BUT THEY WERENT EVEN TESTING FOR THAT
im autistic, i was diagnosed at 16 but. my mother knew i was autistic since i started showing symptoms, she'd even just tell me i have it even though i didn't have an official diagnosis. usually i'd just be told i have anxiety whenever she'd try to get me diagnosed But once i came out as trans, i just told my therapist i wanted an autism assessment and i ended up being diagnosed pretty quickly and it's one of the best things to happen to me just cuz. i can finally understand why im So strange :D
I'm not autistic, but I hold some of these traits. I was checked for autism when small, and I think I might retain a lil bit of autism from someone in my family tree. Autism is so much different than what I initially learned in school, and i'm startin to love it :) _-Edit:-_- how tf do i end this comment??-
This content is just so charming. Love the little cat sprite avatar and the edits you do with it. I'm waiting for my diagnosis that I think that I might have ADHD, but there's so much that doesn't make sense with me that I probably might be on the spectrum too. The wait is driving me nuts, and being nonbinary / somewhere else on the gender spectrum just makes diagnosis harder, I guess. Nearly 40 years, never had a diagnosis before. My sister has ADHD, I probably do, my family probably does in general BUT no one besides me and my sister are seeking treatment for it.
I’m in the process of getting an ASD diagnosis and the “feeling ill when I was probably just hungry” hits so close to home. Especially in my early teens, I would feel anxious and skip meals because 1. I felt too sick to eat and 2. anxiety would make (and still does) my stomach ache. I went to the school nurse so frequently everyone thought I was making it up to the point when my grandad came to pick me up early one day, she told him to take me to A&E for an ultrasound to scare me. The nurse didn’t find anything and I started hiding my stomach aches but because I would get any pain medication or really gaslit myself into believing I made it up, it got so much worse. Those were truly the dark ages of my stomach’s life.
I'm glad you mentioned how important self-diagnosis is. Since I figured that out after doing a bunch of tests and asking fellow autistic friends, I realized how much shit in my life was left unexplained until now, and when I tried to get assessed officially, I got a waiting list of more than half a year :3 ...... *dying inside*
Also Autistic here, got diagnosed because I was acting up a lot to everyone else in 3rd and 4th grade. I was already feeling depressed getting in trouble before I was diagnosed, and I still felt depressed after. Discriminated against a lot, people staying away from me, getting called "Sped" now, being denied some things 'cause of that, tough world, man. Back in 3rd and 4th grade anyways, I got depression technically 'cause of all the Autism bullyin'. I was 9! Eh, anyways, Happy Birthday.
I am 22 now and I just started considering if I'm autistic few months ago. Before that I thought that autism is something similar to Down syndrome. If that's what people think, no wonder they aren't getting diagnosed. Autistic people look nothing like people with down syndrome. Now you have me subscribed.
It's always interesting to see peoples stories of growing up un or misdiagnosed until adulthood! I'm AFAB and I somehow managed to get diagnosed with Autism at the ripe age of 3. I was a feral hyperactive little child and everyone in my family says they've never seen a kid like me before I was born or since, which is really interesting but also kinda sucks cuz I want to meet other AFAB folks who showed really obvious signs from a young age, and hear their experiences 👉👈 Either way tho, as an adult I at least know now about how being autistic works instead of thinking I'm broken or that its a bad thing! It's rad having so many neurodivergent friends and their life stories 🩵
I was diagnosed with ADHD at 5 but no one told me about it til I was like 14 or 15. For the ajority of my childhood I thought I was just stupid and weird, that I couldn't control myself and that there was something wrong with me. Additionally, 2 years ago I started doing research on autism and I am 98% sure I am autistic. It explains so much of why I am different from my sibling who only has ADHD and one who I speculate that has autism based on my observation. It hepled me understand many things in my life and accomodate my life to my autistic needs. I am not sure if I'll seek professional diagnosis because I have bad experiences with the latest rediagnosis of ADHD (doctors said I had to re-do it because it was done long ago which is fair). I might try later in life but I don't think it will give me any benifits like accomodations apart from feeling validated. I am still learning about autism as it is a complicated matter and so I am glad to see more and more autistic representation on social media, it is so crucial to fight the stigmma of autism and educate people on it. I also love your art style, it's so unique and fun :]
I'm glad i got my autism diagnosis, even if i got it way later than i should have. Without it, i'm not sure if i'd be around today because of work and social life challenges that would have most likely branded me as lazy and problematic if i didn't get diagnosed. Good to see you got help with it too!
As a boy who grew up with 2 older sisters im suprised that my parents didnt even know they can test for autism... I had to explain to them how the hyperfixations that I have STRONGLY imply that im on the spectrum. Then my oldest sister was trying to tell me that im not autistic... Im definetly on the spectrum, even if it is the lower end
Amazing vid! (I know, I was supposed to study anatomy as written in previous vid comment) Your sense of humor is incredible and video is fun and informative
Second comment because at 1:20 might be unintentionally misinforming people. Men mask as well, there are many men who might not be diagnosed until later in life, it might just be more often the case for women because men are estimated to be more likely to struggle to mask (I definitely did) but that doesn't mean only women mask nor do only women get misdiagnosed.
i was diagnosed with ADHD as a child and took medicine for it, and recently when i'd visited my doctor she asked about it and worded in a way that implied my ADHD had now went away. "so, your ADHD, how is that doing? not here anymore?" and that lack of understanding makes me very nervous to ask to get tested for autism, which for three years of compiling evidence for, i am certain i have autism. but i am still very afraid to get a diagnosis, im afraid that they won't be able to tell, or they won't listen, or something else horrible i can't imagine right now. its videos like these that are slowly bringing up my courage to actually get a diagnosis, or try to. from my own personal self diagnosis i have figured out that im low functioning and may need assistance later in my life, which i think requires a diagnosis to get compensations for. im often nonverbal, talking is difficult for me, and typing has been my strongsuit ever since i got a keyboard. so yea. um. wish me luck on that and thank you for making this video! ❤🧡💛💚💙💜
Hell yeah! We love self discovery. Got my diagnosis recently. I need to actually read the document about it. It's so nice for learning more about myself and my behaviour which went under the radar. I was a quiet kid so I guess nobody thought there was anything particularly different about me. And while the UK's waiting list may be long I seriously do recommend trying to get a diagnosis if you can. The professionals might not be able to identify what to diagnose you with immediately though. It took them two sessions of talking with me and my mum to get a full picture of what I was like.
I personally feel like I have had autism ever since I was a kid, but honestly now being an adult, i just don't find any reason to diagnose it, because I don't want a disorder to define who I am! but sometimes the symptoms can be so apparent I feel like going for it. im not sure what to do :c
For some odd reason, I was never diagnosed, and I diagnosed myself after having so much evidence that it was pretty undeniable I had autism. What's even stranger was my famiky had suspicions but never discussed it with me, whereas everyone else thought I knew!... I didn't, at all... not until last year, anyway. I'm just happy I finally have a reason why I'm so different and why I fail in many areas. There is no longer as strong a presence of the unknown are more comes to light. I feel more comfortable.
i was diagnosed with autism at around 6. i visited over 20 psychologists before i turned 10 because my parent's couldn't accept that im autistic. to this day they keep saying im just faking it, that im completely normal and just like to act stupid. and of the 20 psychologists, except for one, diagnosed me with autism, but my parents refused to listen. at around 18 i began seeing others differently, now being around people feels like torture. i can't learn new things and engage in repetitive behavior that i know is bad and also hate but can't stop, though having a job helped a lot with this but is also causing me a lot of stress which i cannot handle nearly as well as a normal person, this triggers feelings of anxiety and illness as i pretty much have no stress resistance. im pretty sure i used to have a much better perception of things as a teen than i do now at 26, a good thing not being overwhelmed all of the time. edit: i also talk a lot about myself and have no idea how to talk to or with others :v
My parents insisted I was a problem child, found I had depression, and wrote off everything else after that. I'm into my adulthood but after having multiple friends if I'm autistic, and reading several books and doing many deepdives, I finally got my diagnosis. I feel vindicated but it sucks that all of my younger years wouldn't have been "suffered through" if someone had taken the time to actually help me understand myself. It answers a lot, and at least I know. My family still sometimes scoffs, but my diagnosis backs me up so they actually back off when I tell them to.
01:39 I always love seeing graphs like this, that are almost a checklist for stuff that perfectly applies to me, that I talked about with doctors and everything, and the only diagnosis I ever got is depression. Edit: Well, I watched more of the video and damn, it's actually funny how accurate some of these things are for me, like the whole feeling ill when you're hungry thing is a thing I'm dealing with right now. Also ended up doing both RAADS-R and CAT-Q Scored a 116 in RAADS (strong indications for Autism) Scored a 108 in CAT-Q (average for male autistics in CAT-Q is 109.6)
it answered a lot of personal questions I had, and helped relieve some guilt I had about things I haven't been able to control, which has been really nice. Essentially, it helped me understand myself better, but that process of understanding started happening as soon as I realised I might be autistic, so it wasn't the diagnosis itself that did that. The diagnosis just helped me take my suspicions seriously and deeper understand. In terms of day-to-day functioning, not much is different, but I suppose I don't beat myself up as much if I think I'm being awkward in public or around others - my brain literally isnt wired for doing that well and I know that now!
Been going through a bit of the same journey myself with ADHD, never got tested for anything as a kid really but later in life not only have i gone on to research about ADHD and see _so many_ of the symptoms in myself but ive had so many friends just outright say they thought i knew when i brought it up on top of the fact it seems to run in my family as both my mum and brother have it. At this point i just need to decide whether i want more abysmal NHS wait times 💀
might as well throw yourself onto a waitlist just to get the ball rolling. cancelling a referral later on is easier than regretting not asking for one sooner!
There is Right To Choose (awful name I know) where you can have your referral put out to Psychiatry UK who are a private contractor for NHS. Their wait times are less because NHS psychiatry (I think ADHD is covered by them) is fucked. Was on the wait list for over 2 years. Now procrastinating getting the forms done on this new referral, yaaaay. Allegedly their wait time is more like six months than indefinitely. Do check with your local mental health nurse (if your practice has one), don't just take the word of some youtube comment section rando.
As a Dyspraxic ADHD person guy dude, i feel your pain even if im not autistic. I was diagnosed when i was still very young luckily. (it still takes time for people around to to understand me)
I actually did get tested when I was 3 years old, *but they got it wrong lmao* At like 15 I realised it for myself and asked to get tested again, and after a few years at camhs I got a diagnosis
Same!! I am not diagnosed with autism but I’m looking into it bc every mental health professional thinks there’s something wrong with me but no actual diagnosis. But when I was a child, they tested me for autism and said it came back something like 60/70 or smth Anyway so my mum knows some autism testing people so she told them about this, and they were like “the national standardised test is out of 50 what the hell??”
I’ve known my entire life that I wasn’t normal, but my family was more focused on my diagnosed siblings and leaving me to fend for myself. I think it falls under neglect, refusing to get your child the mental (and even physical) help that they OBVIOUSLY need. I was constantly bullied from kindergarten to middle school, and had absolutely no idea why. It ended up with me becoming selectively mute, which is something that still happens. On top of that, it also caused me to develop really terrible RSD. When the RSD kicks in, that’s mostly when I go mute and don’t want to talk or have anybody else talk around me. I have a whole Google Doc full of ASD and ADHD checklists and they’re all almost checked off all the way, and a lot of my childhood “quirks” have been pointed out by diagnosed friends who seem sort of shocked that I’M not diagnosed? I do plan on getting evaluated eventually, but with how the healthcare system here is in the US I’m so terrified that they’ll try to just pass it off as something else without even listening and letting me speak or explain myself once
4:01 Foreshadowing is a narrative device in which a storyteller gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story. Foreshadowing often appears at the beginning of a story, and it helps develop or subvert the audience's expectations about upcoming events.
i had the exact same experience of doctors not listen to me at all and just say "why weren't you diagnosed as a child" which i think is ridiculous like why would they be so confident that any medical professionals i was around as a kid would have been able to diagnose me? (to the point of not even entertaining the thought that i could be autistic) honestly it feels like they're just avoiding the situation at least that's how it felt for me
As an autistic person who masks a ton with a self-diagnosed mom and a father who (i think) has been diagnosed with aspbergers, I've had the luck to be surrounded by a lot of people who let my wacky little brain be. But I still doubt like crazy and I'm constantly trying to delude myself that I'm just anxious or it's normal or I'm completely fine. I'm really hopeful that I can get a formal diagnosis soon, and all of these videos about people struggling with their autism or wondering if their traits might be from something else warms my heart and makes me feel less alone
I love your style and pixelarts and now this??? Goddamn this is a blessing I myself did my own research already, quite a couple times and was suspected by a couple people, yet I don't like to self diagnose too much? It's something I could say "Yeah I'm _probably_ ND but not diagnosed soooo who knows" because even if someone could look at me and SEE THROUGH THE SILLY and FIND THE TISM like it's so obvious I still don't like to feel like I could be wrong sdkjbhjf Happy (late) birthday Owie!! And happy (later) new year :3! Have a great one!
lily’s video helped me so much realizing i may have autism. at first i thought “i relate to this only because i have adhd” (later i also found out i had a sensory disorder diagnosed when i was 9 (i didn’t even know about it until last year)) but when i was reflecting on my childhood. my interests, eating habits, sound sensitivity, social interactions, avoidance to eye contact, my general developmental issues as a child and even now. i realized there could be more there. i told my mom only like 2 weeks later but she never did anything about it. i will tell her it soon but that was almost 2 years ago. like its very long due for me to have a diagnosis. i’ve been wondering if it’s just a lot of different disorders but we’ll find out ig :)
oh wow we share the same bday too!! I already have an adhd (inattentive) diagnosis and have been suspecting autism as well for a long time. this'll be the push to do more than surface-level research on the topic, thanks!
i was diagnosed with aspergers and adhd when i was 6 back in 2012. my mom took me to the hospital to see if i had both, because she suspected i had it since i was pretty much a trouble maker and not even aware of anything before i was diagnosed. after i got my diagnosis, they subscribed me with two pills, one for daytime, and one for night time. i remember vividly taking that pill for the first time. it was like i had gained control of my body and connected with the world. im almost 18 and have lived with autism and adhd for almost my whole life. thank you for reading this
Hey! I'm getting some reccuring questions and comments, so I thought I'd take some of my responses and put them here in an easy-to-find way.
Obviously, I'm not a doctor. This is my lived experience as a formally diagnosed autistic person, and I have referenced sources that are medically approved.
In all instances, look at reliable resources such as embrace-autism.com/, www.nhs.uk/conditions/autism/ and www.autism.org.uk/ that have been written and approved by medical professionals to gain a more nuanced and educated understanding.
It goes without saying, but just because you relate to me, it doesn't mean you definitely have autism! Just because you score high on a screening test or two, it doesn't mean you definitely have autism! Like I said at the end of the video, if you think you might, do your research using reliable resources, collect evidence, and speak to a doctor if you can.
💬"Is there a reason to get diagnosed? Or is it more of a curiosity thing?"
▶Depends on the person. For some, its helpful in self understanding and accessing help and resources. For others, they just want to know! Choosing to not get diagnosed is a choice many also make
▶[diagnosis] answered a lot of personal questions I had, and helped relieve some guilt I had about things I haven't been able to control, which has been really nice. Essentially, it helped me understand myself better, but that process of understanding started happening as soon as I realised I might be autistic, so it wasn't the diagnosis itself that did that. The diagnosis just helped me take my suspicions seriously and deeper understand. In terms of day-to-day functioning, not much is different, but I suppose I don't beat myself up as much if I think I'm being awkward in public or around others - my brain literally isnt wired for doing that well and I know that now!
▶personally, I chose to because I've had mental health issues my whole life and having a solid and confirmed explanation for it has been healing and helpful. additionally, if I ever need special accommodations or treatment relating to my health, it will be easier to be understood and get the appropriate help I need! lots of people don't persue diagnosis, especially if their autism doesn't impact their day-to-day life much, and that is valid
▶Would a diagnosis help you in any way? that's what you need to ask yourself. if its not helpful, it's probably not worth doing!
💬*criticisms of self diagnosis, thinking people self diagnose as an excuse to be unpleasant or not try, etc*
▶I tried to explain how important it is to thoroughly research for self diagnosis :) And in the end of the day, if someone is 'faking it', chances are they need help with something - i dont imagine many healthy or mentally well people want to look disabled. Explanations are not excuses! That's also important to remember - if I ever hurt someone I wouldn't dare blame it on my autism. It might explain why I did something, but I'm always going to profusely apologise! Anyone using it as an excuse to be bad, is simply... bad
▶➡ I gave autistic-made, medically approved sources of information
➡ I described with sources the reasons some people physically can't get a diagnosis
➡ I explained why thorough research is important and ways both personal and medical misdiagnosis can happen
➡ I stated you should do multiple layers of things if you think you might be autistic - not just do screening tools - and certainly didnt say that that is how you 'find out if you're autistic'
💬"I'm worried i'm being dramatic or faking my symptoms"
▶lots of people have issues with imposter syndrome - even for months after my diagnosis I was worried they got it wrong. it gets better in time!
Yeah, I am definitively thinking a lot that I have some symptoms it might be just me being under stress or I am just bad at dealing with emotions or some other reason, and thinking I should not have autism because I was able to be reasonably normal and even got to be one of the popular kids on my last year of high school. But like, I know I have felt way too many weird stuff that, from the people I have talked, the only ones that felt similar or understood was autistic people.
So who knows? I know I will just follow the impostor voice and not do any move on it. (even though I am really curios about it)
Hey i just wanted to say ur video was awesome and i really like ur stuff, especially since i learned stuff i didnt know about autism. kind of wish this stuff was just taught to you in special education but hey its not like theyre made for neurodivergent people and should be teaching neurodivergent people how to deal with neurodivergence... wait
m
Hey i watch the same CZcamsr's nice!
@@thegoddamnsun5657 Having autism makes people treat you in ways that aren't fun actually.
Hell lot of people don't even believe adhd is a real condition.
I was diagnosed when I was 16-18, and was constantly getting asked "why weren't you diagnosed when you were a kid?"
Meanwhile my mother was diagnosed a year before me, at the young age of 55.
God, that kept me from seeking a potential diagnosis as an adult because I was tired of seeing all these autism centers ONLY focus on kids. It felt sooo infantilizing.
My dad got diagnosed with ADHD at the same time as me, and honestly every time I hear a story about his earlier life I just realize how insane that must feel to put it into perspective.
My younger brother was diagnosed in his mid 20s, a few years after I'd moved out of the house. I've been told that by all accounts, my symptoms are more prominent, it's just nobody had thought to check.
Then when the list of tells was gone over, my parents concluded my _dad_ was also likely autistic the whole time, but it's not like the 80s and 90s of my childhood where people vaguely knew about "Asperger's" and low-functioning autism, my dad was born in 1950 so at the time it was just "You're not a retard, so act normal" and learning to mask by brute force LOL.
@@RoninCatholic dang-
they said "fake it till you make" it to me in school and actively told me i'd be better off masking since jobs, partners, and general public would treat me different if not worse but now that i've accepted that 'i'm autistic it feels more and more like they were telling me to 'fake it until I make it harder on myself :/'
It's like some type of "It works fine when everyone who does it naturally does it, so it must never work in any other way" thing
@@fabiosonhandogrande1697that's called one-size-fits-all, though, unfortunately, this very much isn't
Verdadero!
(For real)
"fake it till you can't take it"
I faked it for so long that I accidentally kept discovering enough random life hacks and subsequently appeared so competent people questioned if I was human for years
As an autistic person myself, I know your pain. I was diagnosed when I was like 2, I can only imaging how stressful it must be only finding out Now! You have all of our support; We're rootin' for ya!
it was relieving, but I'm processing some anger about being let down by systems throughout my childhood. I guess this video is part of me working through that! Thank you so much
Genuine question, how does it help to get diagnosed as autistic? Because ever since I know autism is a thing I've always felt like I might (not sure) be on the spectrum, but I have no idea what would be the point of actually getting a diagnosis.
I've read too many memes. My mind thought you said "As an acoustic person myself."
@@nubo3517 To answer your question, it explains why you're the weird kid, explains your unique mannerisms, your difficulty in understanding social cues, and just a lot of your struggles in general. If you've been diagnosed, it could be a bit stressful at first, but it helps IMMENSELY in explaining why you're different compared to everybody else.
@@nubo3517 Well, not only does it help explain some of your weird traits & quirks, But it also helps you deal with those quirks. Think of it like this: You have depression. When you get diagnosed, not only does it explain a lot of things, but it puts you on the right path to help you, Most often with prescription medication.
As a fellow neurodivergent person- how??? You radiate neurodiversity (this is a compliment btw)
thats what im sayin !!! (i think i unmask online better tbh)
Its like weirdos help other weirdos feel not broken ❤
Neurodivergent gang B)
@@owiebrainhurts Probably because instead of a living, breathing human being, you see a wall of LED's and code! I kinda do, too, so that's why all my autistic friends online say I have autism :3
essentially, systematic misogyny
I’m disappointed, I wanted a 2 hour heavy lore video
this video took me nearly two weeks to make omg can you imagine a 2 hour video
(i think i'll do a diagnosis story/lore video eventually tho)
for some reason my first thought was owie reading lore of heavy from tf2
@@synthetic_creature
i thought the same thing XD
@@CarMedicine same
wait im confusdd are you talking about heavy tf2 or heavy like the word?? the replies made me think differently and idk which one it is please
For any of y'all who're curious, a really good channel to learn about high-masking autism is I'm Autistic, Now What? It's run by this British woman in her late 20s who talks about her experiences navigating social life as an autistic woman and reacts to other autism-centric content. Very wholesome vibes, and very helpful for picking apart the layers of uncertainty, insecurity, and imposter syndrome that high-masking folks often build up
yooo I'll have to check her out! thank you for the rec!
i also recommend Sydney Zarlengo !! similar channel
@owiebrainhurts I also recommend “The Thought Spot”
YES SHE SLAYS
I also suggest Orion Kelly
People asked me if I was autistic before I was diagnosed. My mom would take me to a doctor to check my hearing because I wouldn't respond to my name being called(autism trait). They said I didn't have autism when I was 16. Later I got asperger diagnosis when I was 18, one from a private clinic and later from the public one.
People underestimate how easy it is to slip through these systems that look very rigid from the outside.
I had my hearing tested too! I wasn't listening in class at kindergarten age and the school thought I couldn't hear. Turns out I was just... not paying attention. And yet, it took me 23 years to get an ADHD diagnosis !!
yeah they missed me bad. I was literally non verbal for a while. I dont know how I was missed.
@@galileodirectio same here. looking back i feel like the adults around me just didnt give a fuck enough to try to figure out what was clearly wrong
that moment when they give you a hearing test and then say you have "auditory *processing* issues" and literally no one thinks to consider i might be autistic
I've never heard of that one. I normally am a very distracted person that doesn't listen a lot but my brain turns on the moment someone says my name, somehow. Cool to see how other people like me (autisc too) can still be so diferent
as an autistic + adhd bengali my heart was truely touched to see bangladesh's name invoked by the great owiebrainhurts
HELLO TO YOU, FELLOW BENGALI 🥺❤
I had an autism assessment in an inpatient mental health unit! Just Kidding, they didn’t take me seriously and asked me only one question:
“Do you think you have autism?”
And then they made fun of me 😊 CAMHS inpatient is just as bad xoxo
Australia is like this too, especially for young females. They'll just call you a brat and toss you in the "BPD and too hard to treat basket"
I only managed to get tested for Autism and ADHD by saving $4000 out of my own pocket 🙃 I'm 25.
Australia is like this too, especially for young females. They'll just call you a brat and toss you in the "BPD and too hard to treat basket"
I only managed to get tested for Autism and ADHD by saving $4000 out of my own pocket 🙃 I'm 25.
@@GeminiPlatypus ah I’m so sorry! I have BPD too, I am now 20. I fear the mental health service has become a bit “trigger happy” with the BPD diagnosis, as it’s like a sticker that you can’t really take off. I hope the service learns from their mistakes, a little like how they over diagnosed schizophrenia in the 50s. Hope it gets better for you love xxx
why do people share their mental disabilites online they asking to be bullied bro
@@thegoddamnsun5657Picture for a moment, the biggest uno reverse card you have ever seen
There's something about these videos that's so comforting. It's nice to hear someone other than family talk about these things. A second and possibly weird reason is this corner of the internet kinda feels like a safe space to me???? (pleasetellmethatmakessense) Idk, but idc because I love it and all of your content!!! Looking forward to future uploads!!! 🐈
so relatable
The "pleasetellmethatmakessense" is something I can relate to a lot. I do feel like I need confirmation that something makes sense for what I'm saying to others frequently
I remember the reason I got diagnosed is because a teacher in my primary school suspected I had it, but my parents didn't want to go through the whole diagnosis rigamarole so it never came up again until I was 16 and we got health form things? for school and an autism diagnosis was just sitting there on mine. I remember getting really offended at first but over the course of a week it went from "how did anyone think I had autism" to "wait no that explains a lot". Looking back I'm suprised only one teacher ever noticed because it only occurred to me a while ago that I was one neurotic child. TLDR I went on this tangent, but was there a reason why? No, but maybe that's why I got diagnosed
Nobody acted surprised when I said I had Aspergers syndrome.
I had a few people who when i told them i thought i was autistic they would be initially surprised and kinda doubt me, but after a while and thinking about it, presumably looking at how i behave, they'd go 'ohh. ohhh yeah i think you are' lmao
@@owiebrainhurts this is concerning
ive had something similar
Same. I've told a lot of people I might be autistic and everyone sort of agreed that they felt it too.
The only exception is my mom, though it seems to me like she doesn't know a lot about autism, and she believes a lot of New Age stuff so I can't really blame her for getting it wrong /hj
Learning I was on the spectrum changed so much for me...
And explained why so many people around me were assholes.
Aaand made me love myself more.
Basically, it changed my entire life, and I'm learning to live with it in the best ways.
thats called narcissism not autism
@@thegoddamnsun5657 Hello asshole
^professional hater has nothing better to do with their time apparently!
I barely realized I was autistic at 24 years of age and I am self diagnosed because I am a girl from the Latino community. No wonder I couldn't realize it when I was younger. I used to believe I was probably BPD, but now I realize my meltdowns were a result of being over stimulated and not being able to understand social cues.
I had a similar experience!! I also come from a Latin family. They were so desperate for it not to be autism that they almost had me diagnosed with bpd at 15
It is rare for an undiagnosed autistic person not to have at least some level of trauma from being judged for “not performing” at neurotypical levels. This can look like not being able to sit still and pay attention, or needing a little longer to process verbal information, or not having things explained to you even when you ask. Someone can certainly have BPD and be autistic, but just by the numbers, it is more likely to be autistic and have PTSD and/or CPTSD due to years of being treated as broken and not recognized and accommodated for our differences.
My experience is so similar to yours. Omg!
@Ann963 Ain't that the truth, and it sucks even worse in poc communities as they are, in fact, the most ABLEIST when it comes to neurodivergent people. It's worse if you're a girl too because it manifests differently in girls. I was hyperverbal and learned to speak fast as a child but was selectively mute when it came to school peers as I took directions too literally 😅 🙃 . Then it became problematic in HS because when I got comfortable, I would blurt out everything that came into my mind in pure honesty and have no filter. I have since developed a filter and have matured more but I now realize why I was always ostracized by my peers. I will admit 8th grade was the worse year of my life as everyone bullied me and treated me like crap and the teacher would do NOTHING no matter how much I would snitch to her about my abuse from peers.
holy shit thats alastor
5:09 "There will be so much more owie in the coming months". That sounds more like a threat than I think it was supposed to sound
I turned 22 just last friday (jan 12) and since COVID started I've been thinking I'm autistic. Now watching your videos it felt like a warm hug.
P.S. Happy late birthday! 💌
Hi I have the same birthday as you bye
@@azumars Hi twin! 🎂
I recently got diagnosed at 19, no one ever thought I was autistic, was a bit of a shock when I realized that hiding certain habits of mine was me masking my neurodivergency
As someone smacked with a diagnosis due to being distracted in class, it's unbelievably wonderful that it's viewed so much more inclusively.
Man, every time I hear about people only getting diagnosed at later ages I feel more and more lucky that I was diagnosed as a small child. Unfortunately, I didn’t know what being autistic actually MEANT and just thought I was weird, but then a bit over a year ago I stumbled upon Rise of the TMNT, which has an autistic character (Donnie my beloved) and that led me to researching and going wait..so that’s why I do this random neurodivergent thing?? Sick I’m actually not just a dum dum
Also your birthday is exactly 10 days after mine, happy mildly late birthday and I shall share your channel with some online friends :D
I got diagnosed at 16 and I actually see my Asperger’ as “it just makes me weird lol”.
Same, [but diagnosed at 3 and sadly all nts were too rude] they always told my mum "This little girl has a bad behavior" and many nasty [Argentinian] words. I'm currently almost 22. Also my bday is on september 17th.
Is it true that you are a red pixel cat in real life?
Bro was fully ignored 😭😭
yes
I think their name is the answer
People in post-soviet countries are almost always openly ableist (autism is always a slur, like wth) and my guardians consider it a disease and that I'm just a healthy smart little kid (though I'm now in late teens), that's why I'm not getting taken to any test. I'm not even aware about organisations that could get me through testing.
I've started my journey in this half a year ago and honestly this vid really felt like a hug to me.
sorry to hear that, here in algeria there is this mentality that only young children can be autistic, like a kid has any notisable mental health issue they are automatically autistic, and there is this misunderstanding that autism just means being sick, and is met with pitty rather than anything, which is better than what you desrcibed, but still makes life very difficult, ESPECIALLY for an adult
Good for you, as a fellow eastern European, I'm also slowly unwinding my past bad experiences and I hope I get the courage to look for a proper diagnosis for myself
Heheh true, my mom sometimes used to call me autistic to offend me (I don't know if I'm autistic, but like, why I would be offended to be one) and point out my "strange" behaviour. I asked her why she just doesn't take me to diagnosis if the calls me that so often so she'd know if her claims about me are actually correct. She started saying "nooo no you cannot be autistic you're normal you're normal" and that she'd be ashamed to take me to diagnosis
Такие дела. Конечно, определенные черты у меня есть, но я не могу с уверенностью сказать, может ли у меня быть какой-то диагноз. Хотя у меня есть пара забавных историй с того времени, когда меня насильно водили к психологу
@@cherepizzza imagine finding good in being autistic lmao
@@abdelillahbentabet5557 seethe its up to YOU to fix that not the parents, they clearly mean it DERAGOTARILY they could care less
keep up the good work owie!
Subscribed to you as you uploaded this video, talk about coincidences.
Great video, autism is definitely something that needs as much discussion as possible, especially within our strained modern times.
im trying to get diagnosed and they said the same thing "why didnt you find out when you were younger" the solution to both of us: we were just very good at masking
OMG CHRIS P PFP SPOTTED!!!
Go check your brain if it has Neuroinflammation somewhere where biochemistry gets taken seriously. What you talk about sounds much more as this especially when it appeard later on. And fix the diet, often worsen any brain condition
For me, when I got a diagnosis for my autism, I was treated worse than when I didn't have a diagnosis and I didn't get any help for my sensory issues and my grandparents (maybe my parents too) thought you could only be autistic when ur like 7 and younger and thought autism was a excuse too not do as much work or something. Also, my parents would explicitly teach me too mask when they knew I was autistic, and like you can teach someone to look both ways while crossing a street, that's not bad but my parents would get mad at me if i did visible stimming and they'd make me undergo sensory deprivation or/and would make me suffer through too many senses (noise, smelling, touch, etc.), and they did it on purpose :(
Thanks for the video! (^_^)
I’m lucky (I guess? Does this qualify as lucky?) that I was diagnosed at the age of 5. My mom noticed some behaviors of mine were different than my older brother and sister, such as stacking dolls. She told me about my diagnosis when I was in third grade, and while I didn’t think much of it at the time (because, you know, I was 8), knowing early definitely helped save me from being confused later on. Well, at least on why I was different from other people, there were whole other struggles with my peers throughout school, especially in high school. I’m glad the people I’ve met at college so far are much more understanding and accepting, but high school was hell. People would meow at me in the hallways because I’d often meow in earlier grades, and my bitch of a principal would just dismiss it. Made my blood boil, and my mom was arguably more pissed than me.
I'm currently 17 and considering for the first time in my life that I might be neurodivergent - and when I raised this with my parents they both independently said "oh yeah lol we've known you had these traits since forever but you cope fine so whatever". So after seeing my GP about it just a week ago, I'm right at the threshold age where I've been put through _both_ CAMHS _and_ the adult system, didn't even know that was possible lol
Thanks for the insightful and comforting video! 🎉 yippee :> 🎉
Good luck with everything! I'm around your age and I got diagnosed last year. I was super lucky because we used savings so I could go private, I know the wait lists for cahms are long.
I actually love this artstyle/animation. it's adorable, and really fluid.
Crazy how people attacking you for doing anything that isn't "normal" makes you really good at being "normal"
Ok hear me out. Im Autistic (very early diagnosed) and i can tell you, that unfortunatley its completly normal and based on instinct that poeple react negative if someone shows negative abnormal behaviour, theres nothing we can force it to change, only one who can change is yourself. I actually eliminated 90% of my autism symptoms and no oner ever sees autism in me. Theres a way, that is doing a full biochemical chekup and adressing the problems found in the procedure, mostly gut flora and very low gluthaione.
Guys. Guys. This is the Sheldon drawing video
OMG LMAO
Bangladesh
@@synthetic_creature scodlingt/'s cat
I KNEW IT. I FUCKING KNEW IT. im autistic and adhd and generally am amazing at picking up if ppl are autistic and the minute i watched your stuff for the first time i was like "yep, bros autistic". btw my raads-r score is a 155. also on top of that im like the opposite when it comes to the heat stuff lol. instead of feeling cold as fuck when its like 70f outside, i wanna literally die from the heat and like 40-60 is amazing for me. around 15-25 with a coat or jacket (and no wind, with wind i def need a coat)
you are eight yr olds but ok lmao
yeah picking on someone being autistis isnt hard maybe bc autism is a behavioral disorder??
@@thegoddamnsun5657 im 16 my man. also i wasnt picking on anyone :P i was just stating that i was sure they were autistic... and i was right. also i literally am autistic myself
@@tristantheoofer2 do you know what "deragotary" is? you evidently act like a toddler either way so i dont care about how old you truly are, not that it helps your case
what i mean is you act like you have some sort of super powers that lets you detect autism like as if it isnt a behaviorial disorder thats easy to spot
A couple weeks ago I saw your "Am I too old" video, and it inspired me so much as an artist and just a human, that I excitedly sent it to my therapist. I was STOKED to see the title of this video just now. I'm 37, and was finally diagnosed as autistic (and ADHD) at the age of 32. It was like I spent my life in a fog, and BAM! I have explanations and tools to help with the difficult parts! I finally got to go to college, and start (slowly) working towards my dream of being a professional artist.
I was actually feeling pretty down about just slow that process is going and was looking for a mood boost when I came across this video. So thank you :-) Please know you're making a difference, even for this gal who's a good 14 years older, but can seriously identify with you
I’m entertained, thank you owie. Love your work
thank you tom !!!!!!
i am autistic but NOT a red cat. this helped me understand some of my symptoms like being hungry but feeling something else that is not hungry instead, heat regulation, and a bunch of other stuff u mentioned. luckily i was diagnosed at ~12-13 years old.
I hate how much I relate to this. It's turned my perception of myself and how my autism affects me upside-down.
I’ve gone through about a year of research despite not being able to get diagnosed yet. Hearing all this was really affirming :)
Happy late birthday btw!
I did loads of research and loads of tests and I'm most likely on the spectrum. I also relate to autistic memes A LOT. Also also, maybe it's my personality but I relate to what autistic women say much more than to what autistic male youtubers say, but that can just be due to the personality differences and not gender differences. Tbh what really made me go 'Oh shit, there's some merit to that huh...?' was being friends with a girl that is also autistic and we talked about some autistic things she does that I considered a regular behavior (or just weird things that are just me being weird) and we were like, I guess that's why we are friends. I do not feel like getting a formal diagnosis because it has 0 benefits besides knowing that someone will say 'yeah, most likely you are on the spectrum'. In fact it has downsides if anything.
Just finished reading 3 wikipedia pages about otters (irrelevant) and this is the first video I get recommended!
Thank you for sharing your experience, you deserve another sub! (me)
Have a good day :3
I am in LOVE with your animation in this video!! It's so good and fun and reminds me of the nostalgia of Flipnotes
hellow fellow acoustics
I am artistic
@@TheDoomSlayerButPettingaCatWhen a British person tells you that you are autistic, it really means that you are artistic.
I'm Autistic
helloy is am a kiss tick and thinges are cool
the amount of autism in my recommend is one thing, but why is it so relatable????
your tiny little cat makes me smile :D your videos are so cozy and wholesome!!
Here early, but I’m also autistic and people act so surprised when they find out like 💀
when i tell people they're either like "oh that makes perfect sense" or some wild shit like "you're too funny to be autistic". like huh
when i tell people they're either like "oh that makes perfect sense" or some wild shit like "you're too funny to be autistic". like huh
OH MY GOD FINALLY I CAN EXPLAIN TO PEOPLE WHY I DON'T EAT ANYTHING THAT ISN'T BREADED CHICKEN
I genuinely have been told off by so many people about my "pickyness" that it's given me self-worth issues, for the love of god I *wish* my palette was diverse as yours BUT THAT'S NOT HOW MY BRAIN WORKS OKAY
the things I showed in the video are things I WOULDN'T eat! there's at least one thing on each of those plates I'd not want to touch!
despite that, I still have a wider palate than some other autistic people, so you're not wrong ;p
being observed by others makes it worse and I'm sorry people have commented on it :( I've found trying new things without people observing me has helped
@@owiebrainhurts Lol I wasn't referring to you in specific, I got what you meant. It was more just yelling into the void yknow?
@@lptotheskull my bad! I took the comment literally!!
@@owiebrainhurts It's alright, I probably should've elaborated lol. Still, thanks for replying!
@@owiebrainhurts i wonder why
same birthday!!! after watching this along with the high school and adhd videos, i realized i related way too much lol
ive figured im at least either autistic or have adhd but seeing someone with experiences * comically * close to my own, it definitely made me feel more confident that something is most definitely up with me lol
watching these three videos brought me comfort (and frankly some distress lol), so thanks! it very much made me feel well seen! if I do eventually get diagnosed with one or the other, double thanks!
It's videos like this that make me realize I'm probably not neurotypical - I am constantly fidgeting in some way (usually by bouncing my leg, which I got from my mom, or doodling), sometimes when I am standing in one place I will start stepping around and sometimes even walking in a circle, I usually keep quiet in conversations with more than one person (mostly because I can't find the right place to put in my thoughts without seeming rude, and by the time I get a space the topic has shifted) and when I find something new I like it will be the main/only thing I submerse myself in for like a month or more, with some fixations such as Minecraft roleplay still continuing on and off after years, and whenever I find a new song I like I will only listen to that on loop for at least a few hours. I also have issues with food textures, but only when a food loses flavor - if I am eating something that takes too long to chew and it gets to the point that it's just a wet lump of flavorless gunk in my mouth, I will do anything in my power to secretly spit it out. I also walk like a digitigrade for some reason, which is probably not a neurodivergent thing but it's still weird
these are things that you don't have to be neurodivergent to experience. i know many neurotypical people who say the same thing, if you are really suspecting that you have autism or something else i recommend you do thorough research on the thing before coming to an answer of your own, im saying this as a diagnosed autistic. wishing you luck
a lot of your experiences (food issues, temperature issues, "faking for attention" feeling weird/bar) this is and has always been my experience. im not able to get an official dx due to the financial blockade, but I'm 100% sure I'm autistic. I started considering it many years ago, when I dated an autistic person who pointed out shared traits, and honestly it made so much of my everything make sense. I wish I could explain to folks like employers why things are so hard for me and them accept such
I also have a female friend who got diagnosed with autism as an adult. I wasn't familiar with the term "masking" at the time, so I ended up asking her if she thought I was doing it too, since I'm also autistic. She said that no, it's very obvious that I'm neurodivergent.
I don't know how I should take that response. I was diagnosed as a kid, so maybe that's why I don't mask.
DUDE SAME. growing up, i was just a weird kid, never labeled as autistic. "oh thats just alex" well thats because alex was autistic. i got 91? on RAADS R, and i got tested for everything and they said im dyslexic (which i was) but i didnt have adhd, and autism wasnt even mentioned, i was just really anxious and a little depressed. Of course, i was really anxious, BUT THEY WERENT EVEN TESTING FOR THAT
Hey, we’re both January babies!
I was born on the 17th, which means my birthday is actually tomorrow as of me posting this, happy birthday to you !
Happy birthday!!!
@@rec8127 her or me?
im autistic, i was diagnosed at 16 but. my mother knew i was autistic since i started showing symptoms, she'd even just tell me i have it even though i didn't have an official diagnosis. usually i'd just be told i have anxiety whenever she'd try to get me diagnosed But once i came out as trans, i just told my therapist i wanted an autism assessment and i ended up being diagnosed pretty quickly and it's one of the best things to happen to me just cuz. i can finally understand why im So strange :D
I'm not autistic, but I hold some of these traits. I was checked for autism when small, and I think I might retain a lil bit of autism from someone in my family tree.
Autism is so much different than what I initially learned in school, and i'm startin to love it :)
_-Edit:-_- how tf do i end this comment??-
This content is just so charming. Love the little cat sprite avatar and the edits you do with it.
I'm waiting for my diagnosis that I think that I might have ADHD, but there's so much that doesn't make sense with me that I probably might be on the spectrum too. The wait is driving me nuts, and being nonbinary / somewhere else on the gender spectrum just makes diagnosis harder, I guess.
Nearly 40 years, never had a diagnosis before. My sister has ADHD, I probably do, my family probably does in general BUT no one besides me and my sister are seeking treatment for it.
funni red fluffy neurodivergent british kat 1!111!!!1!
I’m in the process of getting an ASD diagnosis and the “feeling ill when I was probably just hungry” hits so close to home. Especially in my early teens, I would feel anxious and skip meals because 1. I felt too sick to eat and 2. anxiety would make (and still does) my stomach ache. I went to the school nurse so frequently everyone thought I was making it up to the point when my grandad came to pick me up early one day, she told him to take me to A&E for an ultrasound to scare me. The nurse didn’t find anything and I started hiding my stomach aches but because I would get any pain medication or really gaslit myself into believing I made it up, it got so much worse. Those were truly the dark ages of my stomach’s life.
I'm glad you mentioned how important self-diagnosis is. Since I figured that out after doing a bunch of tests and asking fellow autistic friends, I realized how much shit in my life was left unexplained until now, and when I tried to get assessed officially, I got a waiting list of more than half a year :3 ...... *dying inside*
Oh yeah here in the UK it can take years just to get a referral :3
🎉yippee! this came out on MY birthday! This resonates a lot with my experiences with mental health professionals when it comes to autism.
Also Autistic here, got diagnosed because I was acting up a lot to everyone else in 3rd and 4th grade. I was already feeling depressed getting in trouble before I was diagnosed, and I still felt depressed after. Discriminated against a lot, people staying away from me, getting called "Sped" now, being denied some things 'cause of that, tough world, man. Back in 3rd and 4th grade anyways, I got depression technically 'cause of all the Autism bullyin'. I was 9! Eh, anyways, Happy Birthday.
I am 22 now and I just started considering if I'm autistic few months ago. Before that I thought that autism is something similar to Down syndrome. If that's what people think, no wonder they aren't getting diagnosed. Autistic people look nothing like people with down syndrome. Now you have me subscribed.
0:07 He appears.
It's always interesting to see peoples stories of growing up un or misdiagnosed until adulthood! I'm AFAB and I somehow managed to get diagnosed with Autism at the ripe age of 3. I was a feral hyperactive little child and everyone in my family says they've never seen a kid like me before I was born or since, which is really interesting but also kinda sucks cuz I want to meet other AFAB folks who showed really obvious signs from a young age, and hear their experiences 👉👈 Either way tho, as an adult I at least know now about how being autistic works instead of thinking I'm broken or that its a bad thing! It's rad having so many neurodivergent friends and their life stories 🩵
I was diagnosed with ADHD at 5 but no one told me about it til I was like 14 or 15. For the ajority of my childhood I thought I was just stupid and weird, that I couldn't control myself and that there was something wrong with me. Additionally, 2 years ago I started doing research on autism and I am 98% sure I am autistic. It explains so much of why I am different from my sibling who only has ADHD and one who I speculate that has autism based on my observation. It hepled me understand many things in my life and accomodate my life to my autistic needs.
I am not sure if I'll seek professional diagnosis because I have bad experiences with the latest rediagnosis of ADHD (doctors said I had to re-do it because it was done long ago which is fair). I might try later in life but I don't think it will give me any benifits like accomodations apart from feeling validated.
I am still learning about autism as it is a complicated matter and so I am glad to see more and more autistic representation on social media, it is so crucial to fight the stigmma of autism and educate people on it.
I also love your art style, it's so unique and fun :]
I'm glad i got my autism diagnosis, even if i got it way later than i should have. Without it, i'm not sure if i'd be around today because of work and social life challenges that would have most likely branded me as lazy and problematic if i didn't get diagnosed.
Good to see you got help with it too!
As a boy who grew up with 2 older sisters im suprised that my parents didnt even know they can test for autism... I had to explain to them how the hyperfixations that I have STRONGLY imply that im on the spectrum. Then my oldest sister was trying to tell me that im not autistic... Im definetly on the spectrum, even if it is the lower end
I'm 17 now, so it's only a race against time until I'm classified as a late diagnosis I suppose
Amazing vid! (I know, I was supposed to study anatomy as written in previous vid comment) Your sense of humor is incredible and video is fun and informative
Second comment because at 1:20 might be unintentionally misinforming people.
Men mask as well, there are many men who might not be diagnosed until later in life, it might just be more often the case for women because men are estimated to be more likely to struggle to mask (I definitely did) but that doesn't mean only women mask nor do only women get misdiagnosed.
Hiiiii stick!!
i was diagnosed with ADHD as a child and took medicine for it, and recently when i'd visited my doctor she asked about it and worded in a way that implied my ADHD had now went away. "so, your ADHD, how is that doing? not here anymore?" and that lack of understanding makes me very nervous to ask to get tested for autism, which for three years of compiling evidence for, i am certain i have autism. but i am still very afraid to get a diagnosis, im afraid that they won't be able to tell, or they won't listen, or something else horrible i can't imagine right now. its videos like these that are slowly bringing up my courage to actually get a diagnosis, or try to. from my own personal self diagnosis i have figured out that im low functioning and may need assistance later in my life, which i think requires a diagnosis to get compensations for. im often nonverbal, talking is difficult for me, and typing has been my strongsuit ever since i got a keyboard. so yea. um. wish me luck on that and thank you for making this video! ❤🧡💛💚💙💜
God I love my country! /s
Can't get diagnosed because I'm an adult!
Hell yeah! We love self discovery. Got my diagnosis recently. I need to actually read the document about it.
It's so nice for learning more about myself and my behaviour which went under the radar. I was a quiet kid so I guess nobody thought there was anything particularly different about me.
And while the UK's waiting list may be long I seriously do recommend trying to get a diagnosis if you can. The professionals might not be able to identify what to diagnose you with immediately though. It took them two sessions of talking with me and my mum to get a full picture of what I was like.
I personally feel like I have had autism ever since I was a kid, but honestly now being an adult, i just don't find any reason to diagnose it, because I don't want a disorder to define who I am! but sometimes the symptoms can be so apparent I feel like going for it. im not sure what to do :c
would a diagnosis help you in any way? that's what you need to ask yourself. if its not helpful, it's probably not worth doing!
it would answer so many questions but I feel like i already know the answer to them. ill think about it though! love your videos btw c:
For some odd reason, I was never diagnosed, and I diagnosed myself after having so much evidence that it was pretty undeniable I had autism. What's even stranger was my famiky had suspicions but never discussed it with me, whereas everyone else thought I knew!... I didn't, at all... not until last year, anyway. I'm just happy I finally have a reason why I'm so different and why I fail in many areas. There is no longer as strong a presence of the unknown are more comes to light. I feel more comfortable.
tom scott in the background is amazing
TRUE. GOOD REFERNFECE AM I RITE? AM I RITE DOE?
i already knew i was autistic but is this how i get conformation i fit literally every single thing you brought up
I was diagnosed at 38 🤡!
Welcome to spectrum of acceptance, friend ♥️
i was diagnosed with autism at around 6. i visited over 20 psychologists before i turned 10 because my parent's couldn't accept that im autistic. to this day they keep saying im just faking it, that im completely normal and just like to act stupid. and of the 20 psychologists, except for one, diagnosed me with autism, but my parents refused to listen.
at around 18 i began seeing others differently, now being around people feels like torture. i can't learn new things and engage in repetitive behavior that i know is bad and also hate but can't stop, though having a job helped a lot with this but is also causing me a lot of stress which i cannot handle nearly as well as a normal person, this triggers feelings of anxiety and illness as i pretty much have no stress resistance. im pretty sure i used to have a much better perception of things as a teen than i do now at 26, a good thing not being overwhelmed all of the time.
edit: i also talk a lot about myself and have no idea how to talk to or with others :v
2:45 wait autism affects temperature regulation?? is that why i always overheat way faster than everyone around me????
My parents insisted I was a problem child, found I had depression, and wrote off everything else after that. I'm into my adulthood but after having multiple friends if I'm autistic, and reading several books and doing many deepdives, I finally got my diagnosis. I feel vindicated but it sucks that all of my younger years wouldn't have been "suffered through" if someone had taken the time to actually help me understand myself. It answers a lot, and at least I know. My family still sometimes scoffs, but my diagnosis backs me up so they actually back off when I tell them to.
01:39 I always love seeing graphs like this, that are almost a checklist for stuff that perfectly applies to me, that I talked about with doctors and everything, and the only diagnosis I ever got is depression.
Edit:
Well, I watched more of the video and damn, it's actually funny how accurate some of these things are for me, like the whole feeling ill when you're hungry thing is a thing I'm dealing with right now.
Also ended up doing both RAADS-R and CAT-Q
Scored a 116 in RAADS (strong indications for Autism)
Scored a 108 in CAT-Q (average for male autistics in CAT-Q is 109.6)
As a person who is Neurodivergent, i would just like to say..Welcome to the Neurodivergent Club!
Owie, I have a question. How much and how did your life change after getting diagnosed?
Thanks for the video, take care.
it answered a lot of personal questions I had, and helped relieve some guilt I had about things I haven't been able to control, which has been really nice.
Essentially, it helped me understand myself better, but that process of understanding started happening as soon as I realised I might be autistic, so it wasn't the diagnosis itself that did that. The diagnosis just helped me take my suspicions seriously and deeper understand.
In terms of day-to-day functioning, not much is different, but I suppose I don't beat myself up as much if I think I'm being awkward in public or around others - my brain literally isnt wired for doing that well and I know that now!
@@owiebrainhurts That is helpful, thank you very much. 💚
i got diagnosed at 3, and i'm really lucky i did, to all the late diagnoses out there, i feel u
Been going through a bit of the same journey myself with ADHD, never got tested for anything as a kid really but later in life not only have i gone on to research about ADHD and see _so many_ of the symptoms in myself but ive had so many friends just outright say they thought i knew when i brought it up on top of the fact it seems to run in my family as both my mum and brother have it.
At this point i just need to decide whether i want more abysmal NHS wait times 💀
might as well throw yourself onto a waitlist just to get the ball rolling. cancelling a referral later on is easier than regretting not asking for one sooner!
There is Right To Choose (awful name I know) where you can have your referral put out to Psychiatry UK who are a private contractor for NHS. Their wait times are less because NHS psychiatry (I think ADHD is covered by them) is fucked. Was on the wait list for over 2 years. Now procrastinating getting the forms done on this new referral, yaaaay. Allegedly their wait time is more like six months than indefinitely. Do check with your local mental health nurse (if your practice has one), don't just take the word of some youtube comment section rando.
As a Dyspraxic ADHD person guy dude, i feel your pain even if im not autistic.
I was diagnosed when i was still very young luckily. (it still takes time for people around to to understand me)
I actually did get tested when I was 3 years old, *but they got it wrong lmao*
At like 15 I realised it for myself and asked to get tested again, and after a few years at camhs I got a diagnosis
Same!!
I am not diagnosed with autism but I’m looking into it bc every mental health professional thinks there’s something wrong with me but no actual diagnosis.
But when I was a child, they tested me for autism and said it came back something like 60/70 or smth
Anyway so my mum knows some autism testing people so she told them about this, and they were like “the national standardised test is out of 50 what the hell??”
I’ve known my entire life that I wasn’t normal, but my family was more focused on my diagnosed siblings and leaving me to fend for myself. I think it falls under neglect, refusing to get your child the mental (and even physical) help that they OBVIOUSLY need.
I was constantly bullied from kindergarten to middle school, and had absolutely no idea why. It ended up with me becoming selectively mute, which is something that still happens.
On top of that, it also caused me to develop really terrible RSD. When the RSD kicks in, that’s mostly when I go mute and don’t want to talk or have anybody else talk around me.
I have a whole Google Doc full of ASD and ADHD checklists and they’re all almost checked off all the way, and a lot of my childhood “quirks” have been pointed out by diagnosed friends who seem sort of shocked that I’M not diagnosed?
I do plan on getting evaluated eventually, but with how the healthcare system here is in the US I’m so terrified that they’ll try to just pass it off as something else without even listening and letting me speak or explain myself once
0:12 I don't exactly know what this could be referencing, but I really hope you drew over an actual photo of yourself from when you were 22 years old
Taylor swift - 22
Search it down and you'll know.
4:01 Foreshadowing is a narrative device in which a storyteller gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story. Foreshadowing often appears at the beginning of a story, and it helps develop or subvert the audience's expectations about upcoming events.
0:45 hey, at least you don’t live in America and still have most of your money
i had the exact same experience of doctors not listen to me at all and just say "why weren't you diagnosed as a child" which i think is ridiculous like why would they be so confident that any medical professionals i was around as a kid would have been able to diagnose me? (to the point of not even entertaining the thought that i could be autistic)
honestly it feels like they're just avoiding the situation at least that's how it felt for me
I'm so sorry you were diagnosed with being bri'ish, truly a tragedy 😔
As an autistic person who masks a ton with a self-diagnosed mom and a father who (i think) has been diagnosed with aspbergers, I've had the luck to be surrounded by a lot of people who let my wacky little brain be. But I still doubt like crazy and I'm constantly trying to delude myself that I'm just anxious or it's normal or I'm completely fine. I'm really hopeful that I can get a formal diagnosis soon, and all of these videos about people struggling with their autism or wondering if their traits might be from something else warms my heart and makes me feel less alone
hey early gang 🦅🦅🦅
I love your style and pixelarts and now this??? Goddamn this is a blessing
I myself did my own research already, quite a couple times and was suspected by a couple people, yet I don't like to self diagnose too much? It's something I could say "Yeah I'm _probably_ ND but not diagnosed soooo who knows" because even if someone could look at me and SEE THROUGH THE SILLY and FIND THE TISM like it's so obvious I still don't like to feel like I could be wrong sdkjbhjf
Happy (late) birthday Owie!! And happy (later) new year :3! Have a great one!
aw tysm, this is very intresting and insightful
lily’s video helped me so much realizing i may have autism.
at first i thought “i relate to this only because i have adhd” (later i also found out i had a sensory disorder diagnosed when i was 9 (i didn’t even know about it until last year)) but when i was reflecting on my childhood. my interests, eating habits, sound sensitivity, social interactions, avoidance to eye contact, my general developmental issues as a child and even now. i realized there could be more there. i told my mom only like 2 weeks later but she never did anything about it. i will tell her it soon but that was almost 2 years ago. like its very long due for me to have a diagnosis. i’ve been wondering if it’s just a lot of different disorders but we’ll find out ig :)
Im a biological male but many of these issues line up perfectly with crap ive learned to suppress in the past and now feels they’re taking over again
oh wow we share the same bday too!! I already have an adhd (inattentive) diagnosis and have been suspecting autism as well for a long time. this'll be the push to do more than surface-level research on the topic, thanks!
As a victim of CAHMS. I waited about a year or more for a meeting about ADHD and the verdict... I migghhttt have autism...
a year!? damn ive been waiting for five
i was diagnosed with aspergers and adhd when i was 6 back in 2012. my mom took me to the hospital to see if i had both, because she suspected i had it since i was pretty much a trouble maker and not even aware of anything before i was diagnosed. after i got my diagnosis, they subscribed me with two pills, one for daytime, and one for night time. i remember vividly taking that pill for the first time. it was like i had gained control of my body and connected with the world. im almost 18 and have lived with autism and adhd for almost my whole life. thank you for reading this