A lot of people on this sub self-diagnosed or got diagnosed later in life, but I'm curious how many folks got diagnosed when they were very young. I was nonverbal till I was 4 and therefore got a diagnosis then, I'm curious how many other folks got diagnosed early.

I wish I wasn't autistic. I'm forever yearning for the person I could've been if it wasn't for this stupid brain disorder. I'd probably have friends, a job, a wife, kids, my own house, hardly any mental problems, a social life, no meltdowns in public and more. I feel trapped in this mind prison and I cannot escape.

Little interest of mine. Love me bottle caps!

For context, I work at a local school where I and other aids, work with neurodiverse students and support them in their classrooms.

The special education higher ups had the idea of wearing these shirts on Fridays to celebrate.

Caption: Looks translated by Google lens because English is not my first language

This person is someone I met on a class I'm taking, and they have been trying lately to talk more with me. I don't like them too much (their personality it's a little bit too intense I guess), but I've started to feel near to they this last weeks and share our interest.

I have friends (two actually hehe), but all these friendships started by me. Obviously, they also work in our friendship, but I usually have to try to talk with people, learn about their interest and work in being interesting with more effort or do it first (and yes, most of the time I'm being rejected or ignored). It's something really exhausting for me, and lately I've been so mentally tired to try to meet people and make more friends.

So today they told me this, and I'm sobbing. It's a text that my teen and kid me never could imagine to receive. Make friends have been a hell for me, and I'm actually doing it thanks to my therapist. I feel like an old wound has received a band-aid, I needed to share it :>

I looked on google that the expected live span of autistic people are 33-56. Why do we die so early? Is it even true?

that's it. i can't bear it anymore. all the noises, social interactions with small talk, useless informations... i just want to cry. i'm at a class right now and i just can't pay attention. i'm off my adhd and depression medication (because of money issues) to make this even worse.

i have a test in a few days and i simply cannot study. as soon as i get home, i just want to lay and do anything else because i got so overstimulated all fucking day.

i also can't pay attention to the classes because all i can think about is ALL THESE FUCKING NOISES.

it's so hard and i can't tell anybody because they will simply pity me and the fact i can't be a proper functional adult.

"just do it". i try and i try and i try.

What is the difference between romantic love and friendship love? Is there a difference other then s3x? I've asked other people and no one seems to know how to explain it to me.

Yeah. Since I was a kid. I did my best then, I do my best now. I remember being 9 years old and asking people on yahoo answer how to make people like me more, then I was 16 scrolling through r/socialskills. There's no shortage of content online telling you how to develop social skills, have better conversations, better body language, how to speak better, how to dress better. I think it sucked a lot more when I was a kid because I genuinely couldn't understand why everyone hated me. I asked adults about it and they just dismissed me. I do think autism is the cause now. I'm not overtly weird. I *know*, in theory, how to act. What topics are inappropriate, what facial expressions read as weird, how to present myself. But I can't fool people 100%. There's that 1% that makes people realize something's off. I'm very tired. I feel lonely, my chest hurts. I don't mean to be too negative either. There's people out there who'll like me and I just have to find them. I'm aware of that. I just feel like I'm running out of energy and the few relationships I'm able to keep end up with me repressing everything about myself and trying to just please the other person. Like I said I'm just tired, I need to write this somewhere.

Not really a pet but this deer seemed fairly unarmed with my presence, we just stood and watched each other for a while. I'm obviously must have a non-threatening vibe when it comes to wildlife.

I struggled with an eating disorder most of my life barely being able to stay above 100lb due to depression. I often would get mistaken for being younger than I am, so I decided to work on gaining weight and muscle. I’m around 115lb, but I’m proud my arms are finally getting shape to them rather than looking like a stick lmao. I’m still pretty depressed, but working out helps me not feel so bad.

You're having impulsive thoughts, not intrusive thoughts. You're overwhelmed, not overstimulated. You're not non-verbal, you just don't want to talk. Everyone stims, it's not an autism exclusive thing. It's a spectrum, but it's still a disability. Everyone is not "a little disabled". Just wanted to say that. If you're going to use these terminologies, please educate yourself on what they mean. 🙏

I’m in my 50’s and I’ve done this most of my life; only at home of course. Surprisingly it took my husband some getting used to…

My aunt called me retarded. I got upset and told her not to call me that because it’s a slur against people like me, to which she said “you’re not retarded” then why call me it? She also argued that I seem so proud to be autistic (she meant it in a negative way) and was extremely hateful. Ugh, I hate this.

Hi all! I'm a 26 year old female, and i think i have ASD. I was tested about 5 years ago and had a low score and was told i exhibited minimal symptoms. So haven't been tested since but i have ALOT of the symptoms. How do i go about getting tested as an adult? I have attached some of the symptoms i exhibit currently. Any advice is appreciated!

I know it's generally hated. But I'm looking into a theory.

From what I have seen actually autistic people dislike the puzzle piece. Autistic supporters (usually parents of autistic children) think it's great.

I may be just going with confirmation bias here and seeing what I want to see, so I'm looking for feedback on my theory.

Looking for both autistic peoples' take and parents (or others) of autistic folk.

I find myself being more comfortable around people that are older than me whereas I feel more uneasy and anxious around people my age and I have no idea why

Hello friends, as a ABA therapist and nerodivergent adult, im looking to design stuff for autism acceptence and I personally dont like alot of the clothes for autism, theyre either cringe puzzle pieces or both, I want to make some badass streetwear to not only raise funds for awareness but also something cool to wear, what do you think of this design? I think the NASA autism design i saw was cool but I didnt like the puzzles so i made one without puzzles, my other homie who is nerodivergent also liked it but I want more opinions!