#my country is just terrible in autism diagnosis on afabs | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

awetistic-things · 11 months

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hi this is my first time doing this i never used this function on tumblr before and i need some advice from a fellow autistic person immediately!!!! Also sorry if english is terrible, i'm not that great in grammar :-(

tw (if needed): meltdowns;

My (nb14 he/she) is looking for a diagnosis. I have a appointment on the next month (July) with a neurologist who's going to refer me (i think that's the word) to a neuropsychological evaluation. That's the closest thing to acquiring a Autism diagnosis in my country. The problem is, from having to mask since a early age and due to immense pressure from both my parents, i've built up great ability to resist overstimulation and if i do, very rarely have any meltdowns - i usually have more shutdowns when my sensory issues are super chaotic. My meltdowns are often me crying, running until the entire house and choking badly. much more different than any other descriptions of a meltdown. I know every autistic person is different, but i can't help but be worried, beacuse a afab teenager who is autistic is more uncommon to deal with outside on the internet. And i'm worried beacuse i don't know what it's going like to be talking with a professional like a neurologist. I don't know if i get a google doc with my traits, without telling her directly that i'm autistic, or i just go there and talk honestly. Just the thought of it makes my stomach churn out of anxiety. Ik our experiences are much different, beacuse i live in a third world country and the process of acquiring a autism diagnosis can vary on where you are. Any kind of advice is accepted!!!

hey 👋🏼

if need-be, which it definitely seems to be, please feel free to act-out more textbook autistic traits in order to make the process slightly less difficult than it already is

this could mean avoiding eye contact (which is what they’re expecting you to do, so there’s no pressure to force eye contact), making your subtle stimming more obvious, or basically doing anything that they are waiting for you to do

once you get a diagnosis, then that’s when you can drop the act and get with a therapist/specialist to start working on the problems you actually experience

there is a serious lack of research for afab autistics and the cards are already against you when it comes to getting a diagnosis, so making their job easier can also make your life (hopefully) easier as well

however, i do want to add that since your appointment is with a female neurologist, talking about how your masking was affected by being afab might be helpful as well

#do this especially with male psychiatrists #if they’re a woman then you can try to be a bit more open #autism #autistic #actually autistic #asd #autism spectrum disorder #on the spectrum #autism resources #autism evaluation

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shytimesabandonableplatform · 6 years

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ent row duct shun

Ugh okay, I guess I should give people something to go on if anyone ever looks here. I’m on the older side of “millennial”, meaning I remember the time before the internet but was online while I was still in school. School peers called me a dork and a freak because nobody knew much about autism yet. I used to read a lot more but being an adult often makes me feel tired and stupid. I’m crazy-NOS, had a lot of diagnoses and been on a lot of meds, now mostly happy if not “recovered”, self-medicating and seeing a most excellent therapist who, if fortune favors me, will not retire anytime soon. I went into a Somewhat Unexpected Field after college (although I’m not unusual within the field at all) and have done pretty well, enough to give me some financial stability, so I’m reasonably privileged.

Speaking of the p-word, here are some basic facts that you can use to decide to yell at me or not if that’s your thing, or to decide I know what I’m talking about/am spewing garbage out my mouth-hole.

- agender and wishing that my sex-assignment-at-birth could actually be nobody’s business but understanding how it can be important to the current discourse (AFAB, now dress colorful androgynous/ren faire masculine/thrift store fashion femme). Would prefer not to have boobs but they’re useful for work so no top surgery for me. Don’t want to be hairier (already plenty hairy). My voice is naturally deep. Some agender people ID as trans but I don’t - I’m not transitioning to a different gender, just being me. (Nothing wrong with trans people transitioning, don’t get it twisted.)

- torn between finding gender stuff really interesting and wishing nobody had to talk about it so much

- tend to have a hard time socializing with heavily-identified-as-women women unless they’re also autistic or at least big geeks

- pansexual

- polyamorous but polysaturated

- personally and professionally sex-positive and kinky

- pedantic (but trying to temper it)

- okay that’s a lot of Ps so let’s move on

- lots of autism in my family, but I was an adult before it started getting diagnosed and there’s not much point in me seeking an official diagnosis, plus my doctors already get condescending enough

- definitely many Depressions and Anxieties. C-PTSD from ye olde Abusive Relationship. maybe some Hypomania. also if there’s a version of anorexia where you’re not trying to get thinner but Food is Difficult, that too.

- have had physical health issues since I was a teenager, they flare up sometimes but currently they’re a lot better (yay appropriate medical care finally)

- ancestry is mostly Jewish but nobody in my immediate family practices. I’ve got that Conditional Whiteness thing going on, but also I’ve been physically attacked (got a not-so-badass scar) and had people randomly come up and shout slurs at me, so.

- grew up in the Deep South (might explain some of the previous)

- but not terribly Country

- got my B.A. in English by the skin of my teeth due to Crazy but was smart enough to keep my scholarship somehow

- tall and skinny, totally get Appearance Privilege if I spent a bunch of time grooming myself, but apparently fall into Creepy Lurching Type if I don’t

- keeper of cats

- played videogames since Duck Hunt

- cheated at videogames since Duck Hunt (standing too close to the screen hell yeah)

- but I don’t play competitive games so my cheating is My Business

- I actually like D&D 4e best as a DM because it’s easy to make interesting fights without having to stat anything out fully. also the characters are balanced to each other so the players whine less.

- Some Anime is Good

- Minecraft is an Excellent Game

- I SUCK AT TAGGING SO IF YOU NEED THINGS TAGGED THEN THIS IS NOT THE BLOG YOU’RE LOOKING FOR

That’s long enough, quitting now.

#infodump #about the least interesting topic ever:#me

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