Late diagnosed last July at age 48. Went through a kind of grieving process for the life I could have had with an early diagnosis and apt accommodations and resources. Having a very patient and understanding wife has been incredibly helpful.
I just found your videos and I like them. I was diagnosed at 56 and my process was basically the same as yours. My diagnosis was ASD level 1 with comorbidities of social anxiety and panic attacks. It explains a lot of things in my life and I'm happy to know that my behaviour has a reason (it's not arbitrary) and I can try to predict and manage difficulties as they come up. Keep up the videos.
Having a diagnosis really does help me understand myself on such a deeper level and has allowed my inner voice to be a bit kinder in my self talk. I'm glad that you found the answers you needed! I appreciate that you're enjoying my videos and is definitely motivation to continue making them. 🌻
Wow, I rarely cry but my eyes got watery when you said this. I was diagnosed at 27 and felt like a "victim" because I was diagnosed "late". You got diagnosed double my life time. I'm glad you seem to be taking this in stride.
Update- I got diagnosed!:) Thank you for sharing your story! I am getting feedback at the end of this month to determine if I’m autistic or not. Never thought I’d be going for an evaluation ,until it started affecting my daily living skills more than usual. I know that whatever outcome will be a new path to start healing myself, but I can’t help but be scared at the fact that what if they tell me there’s nothing wrong with me and I’m not autistic. A diagnosis would explain so much ,like you said in the video.
This was so reassuring to hear! I'm currently in the process of looking into being assessed and you hear some not so positive or affirming stories. Hearing your story makes me feel so much better about going through with seeking a formal diagnosis.
Pretty much a carbon copy of my assessment process. Mine comes really late in life at 60. A sense of relief perhaps only to be followed up by more questions within. The puzzle/pattern part of the exam, knocked it out of the park. Social and verbal skills, I'll plead the 5th. Finale was ASD high functioning with a dash of CPTSD. Be safe.
Good to know that the assessment process was pretty similar for you. I felt the exact same with the puzzle/patterns and social/verbal skills! Take care 🌻
I have an appointment in May, but it's only one day. Like one looong day. They told me to bring a lunch and everything. As exhausting as you make it sound, that all squished into one day sounds overwhelming. Hopefully I come out the other side knowing a bit more about myself.
It is fucking power! I feel so much less crazy listening to your videos. I’m going to reach out to my doctor for an assessment. I’m 36, and have struggled my whole life. It would make my whole life make sense.
I was evulated two weeks ago and she said I don't have autism. I feel like she's wrong because everything I'm researching on it is so relatable. I still fell like I have autism. I'm seeking elsewhere. I honestly felt a weird vibe from her and she wasn't comforting and seemed uninterested. She did say she saw some autism in me so I don't understand. She said I made good eye contact but I never make eye contact when I'm talking to people. Maybe she just didn't like me and my big pantagram I was wearing as I'm wiccan. I have all signs and symptoms especially my interest in witchcraft which is my life. She said I have schizoid personality disorder. I feel stupid as I really do feel and believe I have autism but she said I didnt.I'm seeking someone else to diagnose me. I didn't even get to explain many things because she didn't ask.
Many of us struggle with getting diagnosed. I haven't heard a single person say "I think I'm autistic" that wasn't autistic. There is so much social stigma attached to being autistic that it is very unlikely that you relate to autism but are not autistic. Most autistics just want an explanation as to why life is so much harder for them than for the people around them. SPD and other disorders are commonly misdiagnosed in Autistics, especially womxn. Seek out someone who is actively interested in Autism in teens and adults and seems interested in what you are struggling with. Good luck!
I wonder if it's possible to have both Schizoid and ASD? Was Schizotypal considered? That also has overlaps with autism. If you can get a second opinion that would be valuable information for you. Good luck
“…and again, understand myself a little bit better. I left that appt feeling… *validated* … I left that appt feeling *seen* … feeling *heard* … and finally having confirmation that I’m *not crazy* … I’m *not lazy* … that my brain is *just wired differently* - and that knowledge is FU€K!NG *POWER.”* I felt that in my bones!! As I’m approaching my assessment (Nov 1, ‘23), THIS… *this* is what I am hoping to come away with. Basically, the answer that I already know. ✊😘
I took the IQ and lots of personality inventories a few years ago. I just started seeing a new counselor and they asked if I'm open to getting an assessment for autism. I hope I don't have to do those tests again because alot of the questions were vague and frustrating
Hello, I was curious where you took your assessment and Mabey the doctors name. Also did they take insurance. I'm on state insurance and just get the run around. I'm trying to figure out step 1, 2, and Hopfully 3 on what I need to do to get an assessment done. I'm glad you were able to get one done and get some of the answers you needed!
Hi! I was assessed in Washington state. What I did and might be worth trying is to go on psychology.com and search for psychologist who specialize in ASD and Aspergers. You can customize the settings to only show results that are covered by your insurance. Once you find someone, you can email or call to request an appointment. I hope this helps a bit. Good luck! 🌷
Thanks for the great videos. I (35m) recently had an intake meeting for an assessment for ADOS 2, and the lady who interviewed me thought I would be a good candidate for the assessment. One question I have is, besides the actual diagnosis, did you find the rest of the report helpful? Did the 15-page report have information that helped you to learn more about yourself?
Thank you for explaining this! I love your videos. I’m probably going through this process with my 6 year old in the near future. I 💯 agree that knowledge is power, especially about ourselves! Good for you! And BTW, you are absolutely gorgeous lol.
> Regardless of whether or not.. I walked into my final appointment I was so nervous between my last evaluation session and my final feedback session. Before I went into my final feedback session, I had a whole essay prepared that I asked my diagnostician if I could say it before anything else. It was the usual. (1) I hope I'm not autistic. (2) If I am autistic, I will be very glad that at least I finally know. (3) If I am autistic and I find out I'm autistic, then I'm happy because I'll know what my next steps should be. (4) If I'm not autistic, then I'm happy because I'll know what my next steps should be. (5) So no matter what happens, either way, I'll be happy to know. (I had a lot more prose originally.) She listened and she thought for a moment and she said, "Daniel, I don't I think I have anything to tell you today that you don't already know." That humbled me. I think I'm going to remember that for the rest of my life.
I just had one appointment like this that was supposed to be 4 hours and I rushed through it so it only took me 3 hours. I’m exhausted and burnt out. I felt like crying and took a bathroom break. I only ate 1 snack to get thorough the horrible math part. I sirpressed my emotions but was biting my lips and shaking my leg a lot then The next day I had a break down. I wanted to go back and correct all my wrong answers. I Won’t know my results for two weeks. Is there any specific parts the doc said on the test that displayed that you had autism.
Thank you for sharing the experience. Had you talked with your husband about the thoughts you had about being autistic? Did he agree and was he supportive? I am nervous to talk to my husband because he was raised very much like “you don’t need labels and nothings wrong” and also he definitely has the idea of what “autism looks like” because the few family members he knows on the spectrum are on the moderate-severe end. So I don’t think he would see why I feel like me or our daughter could be on the spectrum and would slough it off. My daughter and I have other rare diagnosis’s that took years for him and other family members to “see” and understand but I think this is much harder and they feel like we are just searching for more diagnoses.
My husband was the first person I opened up to and in all honesty... it did not go great. He did come around and educated himself though. That period in our relationship was very difficult but we made our way through it and now he understands me so much better. I actually made a video talking about disclosing autism as an adult and I included a clip of him talking about what it was like from his perspective that might be helpful for you to watch. It's titled "How to tell people you're autistic as an adult". I wish you well on your journey 💕
I’m headed to my assessment right now. I’m in California and the NERVES are so present right now. One hour until my appt and I’m shaking and feeling very nauseous.
Great video! You should read "The Dyslexic Advantage." Thanks for sharing the video. It was really cool listening to your experience with getting diagnosed.
Thank you for the suggestion, I’ll add it to my audible list. I’m glad that you enjoyed watching my journey to getting diagnosed. More videos to come! 😊
@@neurodivergentme Very cool! Your videos so far are great! Something that I think you'd be great at making is a video on "how to make friends if you have autism." I think that's one of the questions a ton of people have.
Thank you for sharing your assessment this is super helpful! I'm curious to know if they asked about your childhood? I've heard from other people that their assessments focused heavily on their childhood development which has been freaking me out as I don't remember much of what I was like as a child and can't think of too many autistic child hood traits. Thank you for starting this channel I really love your content :)
He did ask me about my childhood throughout the assessment. I also don't have very clear memories of my childhood... I remember more how I felt during certain periods. The more time I spent remembering specifics and talking to family members, the easier it was for me to be able to find the connections. I also researched a lot so that I knew what I was looking for because it looks different in girls.
I'm in the process of being assessed now. Mine is basically just the interview part and the questionnaire part so far, but really extensively done. There is supposed to be something about pictures later. But I also didn't have to do all of that preliminary stuff about anxiety or schizophrenia because I got referred to a specialist in autism by my psychologist, so I guess she lent me some credibility already. Or maybe the process is just different in the Netherlands than it is in the US, who knows. I asked the assessor if she was autistic, and she said yes, so I feel I'm in good hands. What's up with the IQ test? Autistic people can have any level of IQ, right?
Thanks for sharing your assessment experience. I've had a couple of people message me saying that their experience was similar to yours and others saying they were identical to mine so I assume it just depends who's doing it. I love hearing about the differences though because I have a very curious mind. You're right that autistic people have varying IQs. I believe that the IQ part is more about evaluating processing speed more than intelligence but I'm not positive.
I would like to maybe go for an assessment, but I have a question. I'm extremely ticklish. I know people with autism are sensitive to certain types of sensory stimulation. Will I be tickled during an assessment to test my sensitivity? I literally freak out whenever I'm tickled.
@@neurodivergentme Thanks for the reply. My mum claims that I was tested for autism when I was young, but was told I wasn't autistic. I keep telling her that there is such a thing as a misdiagnosis, but she refuses to listen to me. I've watched lots of UA-cam videos of other people describing their autism, and what they describe is effectively the same thing I experience.
@@singsongsign Also they have slowly been testing less and less severe cases for Autism. So your case may have been too mild to be recognized when you were a kid but it might qualify now. I am not saying that is what happened, just that it could be another possibility.
Hahaha it was my mask making an appearance. While I was editing this video I had to google why people say it because I had no idea... I just knew people said it when they cursed 🤷🏼♀️
It depends on where you live. Some people can talk to their GP and get a referral but if the doctor is less aware of autism in females this option might not take you far. I live in America and I found my psychologist on psychology.com and sent him a direct email. He specialized in adult assessments and was very familiar with the differences in autistic women. So in my scenario, I was able to self refer. I hope this helps some what. 🌻
To my knowledge, I didn't have a speech delay but to be totally honest I don't completely trust my parents accuracy when recalling my milestones. Speech delay is commonly seen with children on the spectrum but not required, especially for those who are lower needs.
It’ll depend on your country/insurance. Mine is covered at 100% no co pay. But the office does have a $75 fee that isn’t associated with insurance I’ll have to pay.
I went through the evaluation as well. I also had the Where's Waldo looking picture where everyone was at the beach. The psychologist told me something about her family Well I was looking at it and I stopped, looked up and responded to what she had said. I figured she was trying to test my ability to have reciprocal conversation and that it had nothing to do with the picture at all. But, funny enough, since you did not mention that your psychologist tried to have a personal conversation with you for the first picture I thought for a second my assumptions about what she was looking for were wrong... Then you said he did it with the second picture of the map and I kind of giggled to myself 😂 nope, same for you too. Later on she told me she was really surprised that I had reciprocal conversation with her, but I have learned how to do that throughout my life. It doesn't come naturally. And apparently, girls are better at this than boys. I believe the reason why they show you the picture while they ask you question is because it would be easier for someone on the spectrum to ignore the question when they have another task at hand as opposed to just staring at them and waiting for them to respond. The distraction provides an opportunity to see what someone would do in that situation.
Late diagnosed last July at age 48. Went through a kind of grieving process for the life I could have had with an early diagnosis and apt accommodations and resources. Having a very patient and understanding wife has been incredibly helpful.
I just found your videos and I like them. I was diagnosed at 56 and my process was basically the same as yours. My diagnosis was ASD level 1 with comorbidities of social anxiety and panic attacks. It explains a lot of things in my life and I'm happy to know that my behaviour has a reason (it's not arbitrary) and I can try to predict and manage difficulties as they come up. Keep up the videos.
Having a diagnosis really does help me understand myself on such a deeper level and has allowed my inner voice to be a bit kinder in my self talk. I'm glad that you found the answers you needed! I appreciate that you're enjoying my videos and is definitely motivation to continue making them. 🌻
Wow, I rarely cry but my eyes got watery when you said this. I was diagnosed at 27 and felt like a "victim" because I was diagnosed "late". You got diagnosed double my life time. I'm glad you seem to be taking this in stride.
Update- I got diagnosed!:)
Thank you for sharing your story! I am getting feedback at the end of this month to determine if I’m autistic or not. Never thought I’d be going for an evaluation ,until it started affecting my daily living skills more than usual. I know that whatever outcome will be a new path to start healing myself, but I can’t help but be scared at the fact that what if they tell me there’s nothing wrong with me and I’m not autistic. A diagnosis would explain so much ,like you said in the video.
This was so reassuring to hear! I'm currently in the process of looking into being assessed and you hear some not so positive or affirming stories. Hearing your story makes me feel so much better about going through with seeking a formal diagnosis.
Pretty much a carbon copy of my assessment process. Mine comes really late in life at 60. A sense of relief perhaps only to be followed up by more questions within. The puzzle/pattern part of the exam, knocked it out of the park. Social and verbal skills, I'll plead the 5th. Finale was ASD high functioning with a dash of CPTSD. Be safe.
Good to know that the assessment process was pretty similar for you. I felt the exact same with the puzzle/patterns and social/verbal skills! Take care 🌻
I have an appointment in May, but it's only one day. Like one looong day. They told me to bring a lunch and everything. As exhausting as you make it sound, that all squished into one day sounds overwhelming. Hopefully I come out the other side knowing a bit more about myself.
It is fucking power! I feel so much less crazy listening to your videos. I’m going to reach out to my doctor for an assessment. I’m 36, and have struggled my whole life. It would make my whole life make sense.
This really makes me want to get assessed but I have no idea where to start lol. I'm glad I found your channel, I like your content! :)
Me too!!
Happy to have you here, friend! 🌻
I was evulated two weeks ago and she said I don't have autism. I feel like she's wrong because everything I'm researching on it is so relatable. I still fell like I have autism. I'm seeking elsewhere. I honestly felt a weird vibe from her and she wasn't comforting and seemed uninterested. She did say she saw some autism in me so I don't understand. She said I made good eye contact but I never make eye contact when I'm talking to people. Maybe she just didn't like me and my big pantagram I was wearing as I'm wiccan. I have all signs and symptoms especially my interest in witchcraft which is my life. She said I have schizoid personality disorder. I feel stupid as I really do feel and believe I have autism but she said I didnt.I'm seeking someone else to diagnose me. I didn't even get to explain many things because she didn't ask.
Many of us struggle with getting diagnosed. I haven't heard a single person say "I think I'm autistic" that wasn't autistic. There is so much social stigma attached to being autistic that it is very unlikely that you relate to autism but are not autistic. Most autistics just want an explanation as to why life is so much harder for them than for the people around them. SPD and other disorders are commonly misdiagnosed in Autistics, especially womxn. Seek out someone who is actively interested in Autism in teens and adults and seems interested in what you are struggling with. Good luck!
I wonder if it's possible to have both Schizoid and ASD?
Was Schizotypal considered? That also has overlaps with autism.
If you can get a second opinion that would be valuable information for you.
Good luck
“…and again, understand myself a little bit better. I left that appt feeling… *validated* … I left that appt feeling *seen* … feeling *heard* … and finally having confirmation that I’m *not crazy* … I’m *not lazy* … that my brain is *just wired differently* - and that knowledge is FU€K!NG *POWER.”*
I felt that in my bones!!
As I’m approaching my assessment (Nov 1, ‘23), THIS… *this* is what I am hoping to come away with. Basically, the answer that I already know. ✊😘
How’d it go?
I took the IQ and lots of personality inventories a few years ago. I just started seeing a new counselor and they asked if I'm open to getting an assessment for autism. I hope I don't have to do those tests again because alot of the questions were vague and frustrating
My assessment, was Exactly like yours, or at least almost exactly the same I felt. Waiting on results 😖
I've watched a lot of different easement videos and yours seems to covers it in the best detail.
Thank you for these videos i recently got a date set for my evaluation (the initial one) and its so nice to have a little window into what to expect.
I'm 46 and was just assessed! Mine was different bc we did it over zoom, but the person assessing me also knows me well, so it was fine.
Hello, I was curious where you took your assessment and Mabey the doctors name. Also did they take insurance. I'm on state insurance and just get the run around. I'm trying to figure out step 1, 2, and Hopfully 3 on what I need to do to get an assessment done. I'm glad you were able to get one done and get some of the answers you needed!
Hi! I was assessed in Washington state. What I did and might be worth trying is to go on psychology.com and search for psychologist who specialize in ASD and Aspergers. You can customize the settings to only show results that are covered by your insurance. Once you find someone, you can email or call to request an appointment. I hope this helps a bit. Good luck! 🌷
I’m waiting for my report and am so nervous! 😅
OMG! This is exactly how I felt when I left my appointment!
Thanks for the great videos. I (35m) recently had an intake meeting for an assessment for ADOS 2, and the lady who interviewed me thought I would be a good candidate for the assessment. One question I have is, besides the actual diagnosis, did you find the rest of the report helpful? Did the 15-page report have information that helped you to learn more about yourself?
Thank you for explaining this! I love your videos. I’m probably going through this process with my 6 year old in the near future. I 💯 agree that knowledge is power, especially about ourselves! Good for you! And BTW, you are absolutely gorgeous lol.
I wish you and your child a positive experience! Context is everything and now that I know, I'm able to be significantly kinder to myself. 💕
> Regardless of whether or not.. I walked into my final appointment
I was so nervous between my last evaluation session and my final feedback session. Before I went into my final feedback session, I had a whole essay prepared that I asked my diagnostician if I could say it before anything else. It was the usual. (1) I hope I'm not autistic. (2) If I am autistic, I will be very glad that at least I finally know. (3) If I am autistic and I find out I'm autistic, then I'm happy because I'll know what my next steps should be. (4) If I'm not autistic, then I'm happy because I'll know what my next steps should be. (5) So no matter what happens, either way, I'll be happy to know. (I had a lot more prose originally.) She listened and she thought for a moment and she said, "Daniel, I don't I think I have anything to tell you today that you don't already know."
That humbled me.
I think I'm going to remember that for the rest of my life.
I just had one appointment like this that was supposed to be 4 hours and I rushed through it so it only took me 3 hours. I’m exhausted and burnt out. I felt like crying and took a bathroom break. I only ate 1 snack to get thorough the horrible math part. I sirpressed my emotions but was biting my lips and shaking my leg a lot then The next day I had a break down. I wanted to go back and correct all my wrong answers. I Won’t know my results for two weeks. Is there any specific parts the doc said on the test that displayed that you had autism.
Thank you for sharing the experience. Had you talked with your husband about the thoughts you had about being autistic? Did he agree and was he supportive? I am nervous to talk to my husband because he was raised very much like “you don’t need labels and nothings wrong” and also he definitely has the idea of what “autism looks like” because the few family members he knows on the spectrum are on the moderate-severe end. So I don’t think he would see why I feel like me or our daughter could be on the spectrum and would slough it off. My daughter and I have other rare diagnosis’s that took years for him and other family members to “see” and understand but I think this is much harder and they feel like we are just searching for more diagnoses.
My husband was the first person I opened up to and in all honesty... it did not go great. He did come around and educated himself though. That period in our relationship was very difficult but we made our way through it and now he understands me so much better. I actually made a video talking about disclosing autism as an adult and I included a clip of him talking about what it was like from his perspective that might be helpful for you to watch. It's titled "How to tell people you're autistic as an adult". I wish you well on your journey 💕
I’m headed to my assessment right now. I’m in California and the NERVES are so present right now. One hour until my appt and I’m shaking and feeling very nauseous.
Great video! You should read "The Dyslexic Advantage." Thanks for sharing the video. It was really cool listening to your experience with getting diagnosed.
Thank you for the suggestion, I’ll add it to my audible list. I’m glad that you enjoyed watching my journey to getting diagnosed. More videos to come! 😊
@@neurodivergentme Very cool! Your videos so far are great! Something that I think you'd be great at making is a video on "how to make friends if you have autism." I think that's one of the questions a ton of people have.
I'm just curious, were there any third party interviews with the Psychologist?
Thank you for sharing this.
Are there resources for doing an assessment via telemedicine? There seem to be for other ND afflictions.
Thank you for sharing your assessment this is super helpful! I'm curious to know if they asked about your childhood? I've heard from other people that their assessments focused heavily on their childhood development which has been freaking me out as I don't remember much of what I was like as a child and can't think of too many autistic child hood traits. Thank you for starting this channel I really love your content :)
He did ask me about my childhood throughout the assessment. I also don't have very clear memories of my childhood... I remember more how I felt during certain periods. The more time I spent remembering specifics and talking to family members, the easier it was for me to be able to find the connections. I also researched a lot so that I knew what I was looking for because it looks different in girls.
Thank you for these videos!!
I had 5 appointments of between 1 to 2h30. I am waiting for my diagnosis since March and I am really depressed :(
I'm in the process of being assessed now. Mine is basically just the interview part and the questionnaire part so far, but really extensively done. There is supposed to be something about pictures later. But I also didn't have to do all of that preliminary stuff about anxiety or schizophrenia because I got referred to a specialist in autism by my psychologist, so I guess she lent me some credibility already. Or maybe the process is just different in the Netherlands than it is in the US, who knows.
I asked the assessor if she was autistic, and she said yes, so I feel I'm in good hands.
What's up with the IQ test? Autistic people can have any level of IQ, right?
Thanks for sharing your assessment experience. I've had a couple of people message me saying that their experience was similar to yours and others saying they were identical to mine so I assume it just depends who's doing it. I love hearing about the differences though because I have a very curious mind.
You're right that autistic people have varying IQs. I believe that the IQ part is more about evaluating processing speed more than intelligence but I'm not positive.
Merci beaucoup! Je t’aime le francais! 🤣
I would like to maybe go for an assessment, but I have a question. I'm extremely ticklish. I know people with autism are sensitive to certain types of sensory stimulation. Will I be tickled during an assessment to test my sensitivity? I literally freak out whenever I'm tickled.
I was not touched in any way. If you're concerned about the possibility of it, I would vocalize it to the medical professional assessing you. 💕
@@neurodivergentme Thanks for the reply. My mum claims that I was tested for autism when I was young, but was told I wasn't autistic. I keep telling her that there is such a thing as a misdiagnosis, but she refuses to listen to me. I've watched lots of UA-cam videos of other people describing their autism, and what they describe is effectively the same thing I experience.
@@singsongsign Also they have slowly been testing less and less severe cases for Autism. So your case may have been too mild to be recognized when you were a kid but it might qualify now. I am not saying that is what happened, just that it could be another possibility.
I am intrigued about the "Excuse my French" part at 7:46 😅
Hahaha it was my mask making an appearance. While I was editing this video I had to google why people say it because I had no idea... I just knew people said it when they cursed 🤷🏼♀️
As a French Canadian, I strangely never heard of that. I read more on the subject and now I know a new expression in English 😄
Was the full part 1 and part 2 in 1 day? Or different days? I'm so nervous for mine🤣
The entire process was split between 4 appointments, 4 separate days.
Where do you start to get diagnosed? I feel like I may be autistic myself and want to be tested, but have no idea where to start.
It depends on where you live. Some people can talk to their GP and get a referral but if the doctor is less aware of autism in females this option might not take you far. I live in America and I found my psychologist on psychology.com and sent him a direct email. He specialized in adult assessments and was very familiar with the differences in autistic women. So in my scenario, I was able to self refer. I hope this helps some what. 🌻
Hello, I'm just curious as a child were you speech delayed? I have a 2 year old son who just got diagnosed..
To my knowledge, I didn't have a speech delay but to be totally honest I don't completely trust my parents accuracy when recalling my milestones. Speech delay is commonly seen with children on the spectrum but not required, especially for those who are lower needs.
How much did it cost you?
It’ll depend on your country/insurance. Mine is covered at 100% no co pay. But the office does have a $75 fee that isn’t associated with insurance I’ll have to pay.
👍👍❤️❤️‼️
until your cussing, i was going to use your video to have the conversation with my grandson. 😢
I went through the evaluation as well. I also had the Where's Waldo looking picture where everyone was at the beach. The psychologist told me something about her family Well I was looking at it and I stopped, looked up and responded to what she had said. I figured she was trying to test my ability to have reciprocal conversation and that it had nothing to do with the picture at all. But, funny enough, since you did not mention that your psychologist tried to have a personal conversation with you for the first picture I thought for a second my assumptions about what she was looking for were wrong... Then you said he did it with the second picture of the map and I kind of giggled to myself 😂 nope, same for you too.
Later on she told me she was really surprised that I had reciprocal conversation with her, but I have learned how to do that throughout my life. It doesn't come naturally. And apparently, girls are better at this than boys. I believe the reason why they show you the picture while they ask you question is because it would be easier for someone on the spectrum to ignore the question when they have another task at hand as opposed to just staring at them and waiting for them to respond. The distraction provides an opportunity to see what someone would do in that situation.