Autistic Pride
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Holysocks It's definitely okay that you're posting here! Even if you don't get tested, and you do a lot of research/have done a lot of research and feel strongly that you're autistic- the autism community is usually very welcoming of self-diagnosed individuals because not everyone has access to testing etc.
So for the advice:
1. I would do a bunch of research about autism, reading/watching things from both autism specialists aswell as autistics. (autism specialists who aren't autistic still don't always get the experience right, but I still think it's important to look at what they have to say).
2. Write down everything that makes you think you're autistic. Note all the similarities you notice while researching. Physically write them down so in the moment you're not trying to wrack your brain for everything you know. Even now, when someone asks me sort of what makes me autistic or what traits I have- I blank!
3. Approaching your parents specifically depends on what your parents are like and what they know about autism/how they feel about autism. Unfortunately there's a lot of misinformation and stigma surrounding autism. So people are often quick to shut down the idea that someone who seems "normal" to them, is autistic. If they're on the fence, I might show them this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt1r-GlRkJg by Yo Samdy Sam. She's a great autistic youtuber- who does videos on autism, and what it was like for her getting diagnosed later in life. Also, Yo Samdy Sam has a lot of videos that are really good, so I'd definitely encourage you looking at some of those aswell!
You might find it easier to write a note to your parents on why you think you're autistic, also.
I didn't really have the chance to learn about autism before my diagnosis- I didn't really have access to the internet at the time, so I didn't know much about it at all. Which was not great during testing because when they asked something like "do you do any repetitive movements?" or something along those lines, trying to figure out if I stimmed or not- I didn't think I did! I didn't even know what stimming was, and I for a long time after my diagnosis, I didn't think I really stimmed at all. But I did- I actually have a short throat clearing/hum sound I make while I'm trying to fall asleep, that I didn't even notice until my boyfriend pointed it out (it's really obvious, I don't know how I missed it) and I used to zip my hoodie up and down really fast over and over as a stim, bounce my leg/foot a ton. Anyway my point is, use this time to familiarize yourself with what traits of yours match and give it a little time if possible- because at least in my case, some things took a long time for me to clue in/start realizing were traits of me being autistic.
Hopefully this helps a little! Best wishes! Feel free to keep us updated/ask more questions c:
Apr 11, 2022
Holysocks You're welcome c:
Apr 13, 2022
Apr 9, 2022
I hope its okay that I'm posting this here, I don't really know where else to go with this.
I, for a long time, have strongly suspected that I am autistic, I want to get formal testing for it. I was wondering if anyone would be willing to give me some advice on how I could go about bringing this up to my parents?