Dude! I had friends all my life basically because other people would come up to me and I would be polite and nice to them. I never had a problem with other people, just wasn’t super interested in them. When I got into college I had no idea how to make friends because I wasn’t stuck with the same people all the time and no one came up to me anymore really. I always doubt whether i could be autistic because of this, but cool to know that you had a similar experience. Thanks for sharing!
@@islandgirl5382it may be a regional thing, but a lot of people either use dude as a gender-neutral term (like “guys”), or an exclamation for emphasis.
I was very glad to find your video because, as you have noticed I'm sure, most of the youtubers about autism, adhd and audhd are white and I am black like you are. and here in america there is a disparity of diagnosis for black and hispanic people. i am not officially diagnosed for a lot of reasons, but I am definitely autistic and ADHD. and it has been difficult to relate to many of the current youtubers about either of them. thank you for making these videos to show that black people are affected too. we're here, we exist.
It's the *Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ)* , published by Simon Baron-Cohen that measures personality traits along the 'autistic _spectrum'_ - with a full stack of _50 questions_ (some psychologist argue that it can be shortened to x to reach acceptable precision while the test still _underreports_ about x percent). *Individuals on the spectrum will spend considerable time on contemplating the semantics of the 'forced choice' questions* - as many seem arbitrary to them or open to quite misleading interpretation, being _often undecided between 'definite' or 'slightly' choices_ ... (the test requires _at least average intelligence_ to read and comprehend the questions in the first place, the test was also designed for _adults_ while variants for adolescents have been published) *The treshold value of **_clinical_** autism is a test score of 26 - out of possible 50* . Individuals on the high end (beyond a score of 32) are outright 'autists', someone below the threshold is mostly 'autistic' - with normal people - as simply defined by their majority among the population - on the low score of 17 (for males, 15 for females - averaging across genders at 16 - which makes it plausible that threshold for females should be a score of 24) - with the test emphasizing *'attention to detail'* and *'communication'* (subdivided into 'communication', 'social skill', *'imagination'* and 'attention switching'). 16:17 I do like the visualization of the spectrum as a 'field' or 'sphere' - with a multitude of polarities and directions - which arguably should be applied to all DSM traits, instead of it's categorizing 'drawers'. The test is best used as a screening in order to rule out ASD as it can't replace a clinical diagnosis which is supposed to offer support when in distress. docs.autismresearchcentre.com/papers/2005_Woodbury-Smith_etal_ScreeningAdultsForAS.pdf When I withdrew socially in 2017, I scored at 26 - right on the threshold - around 5 years later, it climbed one, sneaky point - which can also relate to acceptance and letting go of 'masking' (e.g. 'what answers do I have to fake to pass as normal'). [I suspect the withdrawal to be 'burnout', since sleeping is the only 'structured activity', left] I still don't understand the 'attention to detail' thingy - as I never have caught myself, 'counting beans' like 'Count von Count'... but I'll sacrifice my health in order to gain *a sharper 'big picture' of events and facts* ... so maybe that's some 'co-morbidity'... When it comes to 'primary care' doctors one needs to step back and look at the 'big picture' of public 'health care' politics and it's funding - because that determines the financial incentive to send a patient to some specialist (who may be overbooked with weeks of appointments). When my spine herniated years ago, some young _surgeons_ implored me to do surgery for spinal disc implants - while simply sitting out the time it takes to heal the tissue had lead to same level of quality of life, exactly as reflected in respective, comparative studies... High school sucked, because the state insists that every student becomes a rocket scientist or a novelist on the turn of the dime - instead of allowing pupils to specialize along their preferences and strenghts, inventing entirely novel courses if needs be (instead of merely preaching interdisplinary research in journals)... to the modern state, people are just blank slates that can be written upon, arbitrarily - and if it doesn't go well then the people must be malignant (which sums up 21st century political discourse)... *I dropped out* and made a *GED* within 3 months, two decades later (it is a different process in Germany, demanding to be tested and interviewed in all subjects) - but after the 'Bologna Reforms' college is nowadays much like high school, so there's little reason to put faith into it, beyond *'muddling through'* (I did drop out after almost completing it)... Regarding Your diagnosis of 'Social Pragmatic Communication Disorder' - right - watch out that You don't become an 'influencer' on social media with those wanting language skills... ua-cam.com/video/HCsi9Vqv1jY/v-deo.html *Not following through* ... what is 'time', but 'a lasting ocean of possibility' from which to rise, _momentarily_ , clasping at a current opportunity ? Give me opportunities, I'll _make_ 'time'... Regarding to ADHD, there is also a non-medical concept of 'scanning' (Barbara Sher - who loved to study 'bits of fields' in order to comprehend complex questions). ua-cam.com/video/o29KOV0jYRM/v-deo.html 24:41 "It feels good to understand why You do things." [insert 'smooth face meme'] ua-cam.com/video/-9xipwq3nrs/v-deo.html
I relate with a lot of this, including the psychiatrist not really knowing much about autism. I got my ADD (inattentive ADHD I guess it's called now), this spring and over the summer I got my aspergers diagnosis, and yeah, even here in 2024 Denmark she called it aspergers. So even though I've gotten those 2 at the ripe age of 41, I still have the imposter syndrome when I'm around other neurodivergent people. As soon as I'm around neurotypicals I feel unsafe and go into shy mode as you mention. And for reference, I'm a white man from primarily white Denmark. And yeah, I never understood how to get friends either, it's not like there's a "script" running in my head telling me "hey it's been a while since you talked to X, give them a call" PS: I'm a bit late to this video, did you ever get your diagnosis? 2 years is a bit of time, but that's actually how long I had to wait to get my first time at my psychiatrist - after the pandemic psychologists and psychiatrists has been swamped around here.
Rachel, your story sounds so similar to what I have experienced. The main difference is that I'm just now coming to the realization that I may have asd and or ADHD and who knows what else. I'm also in my mid 40's and life has been hard. My goal this year is to look into getting diagnosed.
Its so sad to hear the professionals weren't able to give you the correct diagnosis. Well done for persevering and exploring autism for yourself. Thanks for sharing part 2
White. I have ADHD. 26:41. I can relate to the free flowing way you talk. I understand ADHD. Still extremely confused about autism. There exist symptoms many people have. Apparently not all.
26:41 The IMPOSTOR spectrum is common for all neurodivergent people, including White ones because the diagnosis is done based on subjective factors that involve communication/miscommunication as opposed to by brain scans or investigation of other objective physical observations. As a Black person, your cultural experience differs from mine but if you have ADHD too, we will absolutely have symptoms in common. If you are autistic, you will have symptoms i don't have. I think, if a person SUSPECTs they are neurodivergent, they probably are, but whether they are a rype of ADHD, ASD, AUDHD (experts debate the idea that one can be both), OCD, Anxiety disorder, Social anxiety or whatever or a combo probably benefits from expert opinion. I am White. I am not a typical White person in multiple ways but certainly my culture impacts me
There are varying degrees of traits on the autistic spectrum, You actually can be "mild", i.e, have less sensory sensitivity, struggle in social situations but can pick up sarcasm to give an example. Not all of us need days or weeks to recover, some of us can get stimulated from social situations, given the right environment, rather than depleted. We can fluctuate throughout the day but that too can happen in degrees. There is no such thing as "just autistic" because that implies that every person with autism presents the same as the next, which is not true, we are all different, hence the word spectrum. I was diagnosed with autism, but my presentation is milder than other cases, my diagnostician, who was fantastic, said that. It doesn't make any sense to say everyone is different, yet say mild does not exist. It does and its ridiculous to say it doesn't. I'm not targeting you, I'm mainly trying to explain the general mindset of the autistic community, it shouldn't speak for everyone.
Saying "mild" autism is a functioning label. Functioning labels aren't helpful. Support needs are what's in the DSM-5 and that's what most autistics agree on. Some autistics have high support needs others have low support needs. The degree of support needs varies from time to time.
It’s not that Asperger’s doesn’t exist, it’s a part of the autism spectrum. So, if someone was diagnosed with Asperger’s previously, now the diagnosis would be autism spectrum disorder. Also, Autism Spectrum Disorder is the full name for autism. I hope that helps!
@@therachelisticchannel Well...not exactly. I still really think there's a difference between autism and ASD. They have their own individual wikipedias
@@johnrainsman6650 There isn't a difference between autism and asd. Asd is just the diagnostic term. I don't know why there would be separate Wikipedia pages. But also the pages seem to be very outdated.
"I'll just live my autistic life" - I love that statement! Go Rachel
Thanks! ☺️
Dude! I had friends all my life basically because other people would come up to me and I would be polite and nice to them. I never had a problem with other people, just wasn’t super interested in them. When I got into college I had no idea how to make friends because I wasn’t stuck with the same people all the time and no one came up to me anymore really. I always doubt whether i could be autistic because of this, but cool to know that you had a similar experience. Thanks for sharing!
No problem! I’m glad you could relate 😊
THIS IS ME I graduate high school next year and this is what I’m terrified of
@@caspen same!
May I ask; why address this female as 'dude'? really can't believe you did this. very insensitive! :(
@@islandgirl5382it may be a regional thing, but a lot of people either use dude as a gender-neutral term (like “guys”), or an exclamation for emphasis.
I wish dr would be more educated in girls with autism because here I am almost 60 and it would have been very helpful to be diagnosed at an early age
I was very glad to find your video because, as you have noticed I'm sure, most of the youtubers about autism, adhd and audhd are white and I am black like you are. and here in america there is a disparity of diagnosis for black and hispanic people. i am not officially diagnosed for a lot of reasons, but I am definitely autistic and ADHD. and it has been difficult to relate to many of the current youtubers about either of them. thank you for making these videos to show that black people are affected too. we're here, we exist.
Thanks for sharing, Rachel! I'm Robyn, self-diagnosed autistic woman, age 33 😄🙌
Happy you described the reality of the spectrum. Too many folks do think it is a linear spectrum. Keep posting !
It can be, I match the criteria but I am milder than other cases of the condition.
I know that my daughter and I have Autism and ADHD, and self-diagnosis is just fine. We are waiting to find the right way to get official diagnosis.
Same boat atm, still debating on trying for an official dx just for confirmation or simply letting it be and just figuring it out as we go.
@earthtoken112 yep. I am torn also.
You have a really chill voice, it's nice to listen to. Also relate 100%, hope you keep making videos :)
Thanks! ☺️
It's the *Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ)* , published by Simon Baron-Cohen that measures personality traits along the 'autistic _spectrum'_ - with a full stack of _50 questions_ (some psychologist argue that it can be shortened to x to reach acceptable precision while the test still _underreports_ about x percent).
*Individuals on the spectrum will spend considerable time on contemplating the semantics of the 'forced choice' questions* - as many seem arbitrary to them or open to quite misleading interpretation, being _often undecided between 'definite' or 'slightly' choices_ ... (the test requires _at least average intelligence_ to read and comprehend the questions in the first place, the test was also designed for _adults_ while variants for adolescents have been published)
*The treshold value of **_clinical_** autism is a test score of 26 - out of possible 50* .
Individuals on the high end (beyond a score of 32) are outright 'autists', someone below the threshold is mostly 'autistic' - with normal people - as simply defined by their majority among the population - on the low score of 17 (for males, 15 for females - averaging across genders at 16 - which makes it plausible that threshold for females should be a score of 24) - with the test emphasizing *'attention to detail'* and *'communication'* (subdivided into 'communication', 'social skill', *'imagination'* and 'attention switching').
16:17
I do like the visualization of the spectrum as a 'field' or 'sphere' - with a multitude of polarities and directions - which arguably should be applied to all DSM traits, instead of it's categorizing 'drawers'.
The test is best used as a screening in order to rule out ASD as it can't replace a clinical diagnosis which is supposed to offer support when in distress.
docs.autismresearchcentre.com/papers/2005_Woodbury-Smith_etal_ScreeningAdultsForAS.pdf
When I withdrew socially in 2017, I scored at 26 - right on the threshold - around 5 years later, it climbed one, sneaky point - which can also relate to acceptance and letting go of 'masking' (e.g. 'what answers do I have to fake to pass as normal'). [I suspect the withdrawal to be 'burnout', since sleeping is the only 'structured activity', left]
I still don't understand the 'attention to detail' thingy - as I never have caught myself, 'counting beans' like 'Count von Count'... but I'll sacrifice my health in order to gain *a sharper 'big picture' of events and facts* ... so maybe that's some 'co-morbidity'...
When it comes to 'primary care' doctors one needs to step back and look at the 'big picture' of public 'health care' politics and it's funding - because that determines the financial incentive to send a patient to some specialist (who may be overbooked with weeks of appointments).
When my spine herniated years ago, some young _surgeons_ implored me to do surgery for spinal disc implants - while simply sitting out the time it takes to heal the tissue had lead to same level of quality of life, exactly as reflected in respective, comparative studies...
High school sucked, because the state insists that every student becomes a rocket scientist or a novelist on the turn of the dime - instead of allowing pupils to specialize along their preferences and strenghts, inventing entirely novel courses if needs be (instead of merely preaching interdisplinary research in journals)... to the modern state, people are just blank slates that can be written upon, arbitrarily - and if it doesn't go well then the people must be malignant (which sums up 21st century political discourse)...
*I dropped out* and made a *GED* within 3 months, two decades later (it is a different process in Germany, demanding to be tested and interviewed in all subjects) - but after the 'Bologna Reforms' college is nowadays much like high school, so there's little reason to put faith into it, beyond *'muddling through'* (I did drop out after almost completing it)...
Regarding Your diagnosis of 'Social Pragmatic Communication Disorder' - right - watch out that You don't become an 'influencer' on social media with those wanting language skills...
ua-cam.com/video/HCsi9Vqv1jY/v-deo.html
*Not following through* ... what is 'time', but 'a lasting ocean of possibility' from which to rise, _momentarily_ , clasping at a current opportunity ?
Give me opportunities, I'll _make_ 'time'...
Regarding to ADHD, there is also a non-medical concept of 'scanning' (Barbara Sher - who loved to study 'bits of fields' in order to comprehend complex questions).
ua-cam.com/video/o29KOV0jYRM/v-deo.html
24:41
"It feels good to understand why You do things." [insert 'smooth face meme']
ua-cam.com/video/-9xipwq3nrs/v-deo.html
I relate with a lot of this, including the psychiatrist not really knowing much about autism. I got my ADD (inattentive ADHD I guess it's called now), this spring and over the summer I got my aspergers diagnosis, and yeah, even here in 2024 Denmark she called it aspergers. So even though I've gotten those 2 at the ripe age of 41, I still have the imposter syndrome when I'm around other neurodivergent people. As soon as I'm around neurotypicals I feel unsafe and go into shy mode as you mention. And for reference, I'm a white man from primarily white Denmark. And yeah, I never understood how to get friends either, it's not like there's a "script" running in my head telling me "hey it's been a while since you talked to X, give them a call"
PS: I'm a bit late to this video, did you ever get your diagnosis? 2 years is a bit of time, but that's actually how long I had to wait to get my first time at my psychiatrist - after the pandemic psychologists and psychiatrists has been swamped around here.
Thanks for watching! ☺️ I’m in the process right now of getting my diagnosis.
Hearing ur story I feel less alone now I’m rlly sorry that all happend 💕
"I understand myself better and it feels good." Yes.
Rachel, your story sounds so similar to what I have experienced. The main difference is that I'm just now coming to the realization that I may have asd and or ADHD and who knows what else. I'm also in my mid 40's and life has been hard. My goal this year is to look into getting diagnosed.
Its so sad to hear the professionals weren't able to give you the correct diagnosis. Well done for persevering and exploring autism for yourself. Thanks for sharing part 2
Thank you for your videos. You are helping a lot of people. You are beautiful . Please keep posting.
It's so validating to hear from you.
This is great. Thanks for having the courage to make these videos.
White. I have ADHD. 26:41. I can relate to the free flowing way you talk. I understand ADHD. Still extremely confused about autism. There exist symptoms many people have. Apparently not all.
Awesome video Rachel, thank you 😊💓👍
love you channel keep making content we need you.
26:41 The IMPOSTOR spectrum is common for all neurodivergent people, including White ones because the diagnosis is done based on subjective factors that involve communication/miscommunication as opposed to by brain scans or investigation of other objective physical observations. As a Black person, your cultural experience differs from mine but if you have ADHD too, we will absolutely have symptoms in common. If you are autistic, you will have symptoms i don't have. I think, if a person SUSPECTs they are neurodivergent, they probably are, but whether they are a rype of ADHD, ASD, AUDHD (experts debate the idea that one can be both), OCD, Anxiety disorder, Social anxiety or whatever or a combo probably benefits from expert opinion. I am White. I am not a typical White person in multiple ways but certainly my culture impacts me
Thank you.
There are varying degrees of traits on the autistic spectrum, You actually can be "mild", i.e, have less sensory sensitivity, struggle in social situations but can pick up sarcasm to give an example. Not all of us need days or weeks to recover, some of us can get stimulated from social situations, given the right environment, rather than depleted. We can fluctuate throughout the day but that too can happen in degrees. There is no such thing as "just autistic" because that implies that every person with autism presents the same as the next, which is not true, we are all different, hence the word spectrum.
I was diagnosed with autism, but my presentation is milder than other cases, my diagnostician, who was fantastic, said that. It doesn't make any sense to say everyone is different, yet say mild does not exist. It does and its ridiculous to say it doesn't. I'm not targeting you, I'm mainly trying to explain the general mindset of the autistic community, it shouldn't speak for everyone.
Saying "mild" autism is a functioning label. Functioning labels aren't helpful. Support needs are what's in the DSM-5 and that's what most autistics agree on. Some autistics have high support needs others have low support needs. The degree of support needs varies from time to time.
Low support needs are a nicer way of saying mild.
I’ve been going back and forth to like no I’m not to many I am to yes I am to maby I’m not and all over the place
I really hope ur able to get a diagnosis
Maybe Leon Brenner, may help.
👍🏼👍🏼Good for you! 🥲
What's the difference between Autism, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Aspergers? in fact, what's this about Aspergers...not existing anymore, is it?
It’s not that Asperger’s doesn’t exist, it’s a part of the autism spectrum. So, if someone was diagnosed with Asperger’s previously, now the diagnosis would be autism spectrum disorder. Also, Autism Spectrum Disorder is the full name for autism. I hope that helps!
@@therachelisticchannel Well...not exactly. I still really think there's a difference between autism and ASD. They have their own individual wikipedias
@@johnrainsman6650 There isn't a difference between autism and asd. Asd is just the diagnostic term. I don't know why there would be separate Wikipedia pages. But also the pages seem to be very outdated.
@@johnrainsman6650 Asperger's is a type of autism.