I've been trying to explore and learn more about autism. I'm autistic but honestly I've never tried to learn much about it, I just accepted it and moved on. There more better information now, which is great, but there's also tons of pop psychology, woo, and 1 dimensional stereotypes out there too, and social media promotes it. But I have been trying to get a better understanding of autism.

So anyhow, one stereotype is the crazed violent person , whose diagnosis is "autism". From what I understand of the spectrum, that doesn't seem right, but am I missing something? Not doubting there are very aggressive or violent people who are also autistic, but is autism itself driving the aggressive or violent behaviors?

I don't have GAD, but I was researching how different people with it can manifest different symptoms. The problem is that I can't find posts that shows how two people with GAD can have different presentation of the same condition.

So I wanted to ask if it's possible for someone with GAD to not have some symptoms but have the rest, of if someone has to have all symptoms to qualify for GAD.

Does anybody else get so anxious in meetings that they have what amounts to an out of body experience when you have to speak?

It happened to me this week, I was asked a question in a room of my peers, and I went into full panic mode. I was saying things, but I had no real idea what I was saying.

It's almost like my brain split in two, one part frozen and panicking, the other answering the question.

It's been like this since I was a child at school!

I've been questioning if I have ADHD for a while now but the thing that makes me doubt is the whole voices in your head thing. I love to daydream and I feel like I constantly have a song in my head but I don't hear like 30 voices at the same time. When I'm writing stuff I'm saying it in my head at the same time and when someone is talking it seems to be like echoing ? Do other ADHDers experience that ?

Does anyone know how I approach getting on the pathway to assessment for my daughter I think I’m Neurodivergent myself so I struggle with any process like this I’m waiting for right to choose adhd assessment but I don’t think my journey will end there as I’m pretty sure I have more than just adhd, my daughter is approaching senior school and I just don’t want her to slip through the net because she masks well in school daily an meltdowns happen when she’s home etc she doesn’t like being told what to do and her opinion is no one can boss you about but it doesn’t help when it’s things such as getting dressed in the morning etc it ends in bickering or argumentative because I don’t know how to handle the behaviour and get triggered by constant refusal to do simple daily tasks so it’s getting harder as she is getting older and it’s exhausting without correct help and knowledge I just don’t know where to turn really I struggle with words an don’t know what to say the teachers just put it down to shyness in school

I made an account liked some profiles I’ve matched with for friends and even wrote a message when liking on some stating I have similar interest or like this as well. But non have liked back or any response not sure if most just aren’t active or I’ve gotten some likes from guys though for dating but also just trying to make general friends that are female or long term friends. I’m female.

My son will be 13 in a couple of weeks, and disclosed to me he’s been hearing voices. We talked it through a bit, but he told me as he was falling asleep, and he had school this morning so the talks were brief/sleepy as I didn’t want to overwhelm him too much. He said the voices are not mean, at times they argue with each other but nothing mean towards him. He struggled to remember specific things, but said it’s stuff like “Give me my Apple!” He said it’s usually random stuff like them talking about their day. Other than that he said he will hear random songs. He said he heard a song from Moana recently. I told him I’m so glad he shared this with me, and asked him what caused him to do so now, he said because it’s gotten worse-more distracting with school work and sleep. I did a bit of reading and therefore reassured him it’s actually very common, and we will look into things.

I am honestly concerned for my baby and am open to any advice, information or experiences. Is it always schizophrenia? My brother has schizophrenia, but only after a lot of drug use. I am going to call his doctor but I don’t want him to just immediately prescribe my son medication, or frighten my son without truly looking into the cause. He does have a history of migraines… which I’ve read can cause auditory hallucinations?

I’m wondering if it’s a coping mechanism, as I feel my son does bottle up a lot of his feelings. I’m a single mom, we went through a lot with a break up recently, and I try so hard to encourage my son to know it’s alright to not be okay, but have worried he bottles up his feelings not wanting to “add more to my plate” or “stress me out.” I’ve noticed this as he’s gotten older. Which is absolutely not how I feel. I want to support him, I want him to be able to be a kid. Thank you for listening!

The first time I had this idea, I was 10 or 11. But I wasn't sure, I just noticed, that there is something. Then, recently, I searched for the reasons, of my sleep problems and noticed, that there are a few things, about me that don't seem "normal".

1. Noise:

I'm very sensitive about loud noises, I also hear everything and I can't ignore it.

2. Walking and stuff:

I always walk while I'll talk, l don't even know why, I just do it and l can't stop it. Nobody else does this. I also find it very hard in general not to move.

3. Thinking:

I always think, sometimes it's just so excosting. I don't really think in a specific order, my thoughts kind of jump, I'm also really bad, at concentrating, at things that bore me.

Of cozrse that are only a few things, but like, the main things I noticed. I thought, that I maybe have ADHD, but I'm clueless. Thanks, for every help!
Edit: I live in Germany.
2. Edit: Sorry, I didn't mention that: I kniw nobody can diagnose me, but I just wanted to ask for your opinions.

I'm not trying to self diagnose, I never have done that. So about a month ago me, my mom, and my stepdad went to see their marriage counselor, and she noticed how I act (she has high functioning autism), and said that she wants my mom to look into autism to see if I have that, my mom had to get me diagnosed 3 times when I was in kindergarten for autism, dyslexia, and something else but idk those r the only 2 she mentioned. Nothing came out, it all said I had nothing. So I don't know any actual signs I have it because I've googled it, but googles not always right and I'm skeptical. But here's some things I do that might count as autistic behavior:

Rocking back in forth Tip-toe walking Trouble with eye contact I have a hard time with regulating emotions Restricted interests Loves routine Unusual sleeping and eating habits I hate loud noises

I've been masking my behavior for years because half of it would get me in trouble (ex: rocking back in forth bcoz it drives my mom insane), but I've stopped masking, and my mom thinks I'm faking it now. Even yesterday at dinner with my grandma, great aunt, stepdad, mom, and uncle and I start rocking back and forth and also bouncing my leg how I always do. And my mom told me to stop it, and my mom gets this from her mom but she's kinda anti diagnose. I plan on talking abt autism with my teacher after class to see how I can get diagnosed. Reddit, pls help

Hi, my parents are both just blatantly most clearly on the spectrum. My mom ADHD and dad ASD.

Growing up with these two undiagnosed and traumatized cluster bombs, was just, well, traumatizing.

Now I am realizing how much I have suffered, after moving on my own. Chronic illness, physiological and psychiatric, misdiagnosis etc. all popping up. I'm 21M

So I decide to just tell it straight to my parents that what is so obvious. I try to be nice about it, tell them that they would get help if they got diagnosed and that it isnt anything to be ashamed of. Not only that it would help them in the long run, it would help me.

Instead of being compassionate they go on and on blaming each other for things happened in the past and also start to question my diagnosis.

Full denial, maybe some acceptance that there are traits present but nothing to get diagnosed or worried about.

At the end of the conversation both always present a clear fear of losing their job if they get diagnosed. Can't even imagine the shame they both hold within (and what chunck of that I have gotten, bc they refuse to accept the reality)

We all know that the world is not easy and made for the people on the spectrum. So I truly get the fear. At the same time I wonder is it truly that great of a threat (the judgement from society/jobs etc.) that you never go accepting yourself and who you truly are?

Especially as both of my parents have always had good and stable jobs + we live in nordic countries that still have some sort of welfare states and support systems for people on the spectrum. So they basically could get the help, they just wont accept it.

I am saying this because I encountered someone so adamant about autism being linked to vaccines that it made me worried about the person who is seriously obstinate against any suggestions to encourage her to do her research first before spreading claims online about this stuff that has been studied again and again and again and found no links.

But this also makes me so fed up with people trying to point fingers and look at every nook and cranny to find a link between the two.

I mean, why are they so eager to worry about us when all we want is legitimate recognition and sometimes even be left alone??

I mean I understand why parents would be worried but the worry about links and concepts that are so barebones and not supported by adequate science but calling everyone else as stupid and brainwashed (yes, that was what I was called by this person who communicated with) when they are the ones who are being brainwashed ... it seriously makes me worried about them

I know I’m not good in communication, but I don’t know where to ask. Have you ever feeling cornered or on edge or like in danger, but you can’t communicate how you feel. So you mirror what they did and maybe increased the intensity? I can acknowledge that I was hurting, but what came out was anger. I know i have tried to communicate, but I felt so frustrated because i got so misunderstood, it’s almost like I have to lose myself to send the message. Sorry if i’m not making any sense

hiii just wondering if anyone else experiences this:

Often times when i have a negative sensory experience, especially those that elicit full body cringe, the memory of it will play in my head on a loop for a period of time afterwards. And then if i randomly think of that same experience, even months to years later, it starts to loop again and i can’t stop thinking about it (sometimes for a few minutes sometimes for hours at a time or on and off for days).

It’s like i hate the memory of it so much that i cringe/twitch so hard every time i think about it and then my brain just hyperfixates on it. (examples: dry skin getting caught on a fleece fabric, chipping my tooth, getting a pap smear😵‍💫). The first time in my adult life that i remember noticing this was when i had to sit inside a building that had an alarm going off for a long period of time and it was really overstimulating and then the alarm played on a loop in my head for almost three days.

Sometimes the continuous flashbacks even feel worse in memory than i remember them happening in real life. It’s like every time it replays in my head, it gets slightly worse, like a dramatized retelling. Idk if i’m doing a good job at explaining this but im just wondering if this is something i could attribute to audhd sensory issues or if it is possibly some type of obsessive compulsion… ?

I know one description that has been put forward by an Autistic person for what makes Autistic and non Autistic people different is Monotropism. Some examples of Monotripism I’ve seen put forward are things like repetitive behaviors, intense interests, and resistance to change.

One objection I can see to Monotropism is that even though it was put forward by an Autistic person it might in some sense be more of a neurotypical perspective on Autism that’s been presented in a more positive light rather than something any of us would have come up with independently. I mean most of us have probably heard all our lives about how we have intense interests or other Monotropic qualities, and I know in general when people are told that they have certain qualities they tend to look for ways that they have those qualities. If for instance some of us have been told that we have intense interests all our lives then if we relate to having special interests how can we be certain that we would still conclude that we have intense interests if we had no outside input on how we’re different.

I know one thing that could be used as an argument in favor of Monotropism is that late diagnosed adults would tend to describe themselves using Monotropic qualities even if they haven’t heard of Monotropism. An objection I’d have to that though is that often adult diagnoses often involve self assessments that may implicitly assume that Autistic people would describe themselves using Monotropic qualities so that there’s a kind of selection bias in which Autistic adults who would describe themselves using more Polytropic qualities would be more likely to go under the radar from not giving the expected description of their Autism. I mean to get diagnosed as a child someone generally needs more obvious outward signs than they do to get diagnosed as an adult but an Autistic child doesn’t need to describe themselves as fitting the diagnostic criteria to get diagnosed. An Autistic child could describe themselves as fitting non of the criteria for Autism related to repetitive behaviors or restricted interests and still receive a diagnosis so long as the one who’s evaluating them and their caretakers would describe them as fitting some of the criteria related to repetitive behaviors or restricted interests, while an Autistic adult would likely need to be more able to describe themselves using certain criteria to get a diagnosis.

I think if Monotropism really does describe the difference between Autistic people and non Autistic people then a reasonable expectation would be that Autistic children who don’t know that they’re Autistic and don’t know what makes them different would be more likely to give Monotropic descriptions of themselves than Neurotypical children who are similarly naive about whether or not they’re Autistic. For instance I might expect that if Monotropism is correct and a mix of Non Autistic and Neurotypical children are asked if they like change, with no information of the type of change, and with both being unaware of their Autism status or how others would describe their differences or similarities, then the Autistic children would be more likely to say that they don’t like change, while if Monotropism is something we only relate to because we heard about it then I might expect the Autistic children to be as likely to claim to like change as the non Autistic children. I could have a similar expectation when asked about interests, or engaging in repetitive tasks.

So my question is whether it’s known whether Autistic children are actually more likely to describe their differences in terms of Monotropism even when they don’t know they have an Autism diagnosis and have no outside input on what makes them different than non Autistic children?

I was wondering if anyone here who experiences sensitivity and overwhlem to sounds has experienced noticeable 'side effects' during periods they haven't had access to noise-cancelling devices? I have been using noise cancelling earphones daily for 3 years - until around 8 weeks ago I broke them when I dropped them so sent them off to a repair place. The mail (of course!) lost the parcel and am currently waiting for an update so initially was going to wait for the definite outcome of where the package is / receive compensation before getting a new pair but I feel like not having n/c device is taking a toll.

I've been having symptoms like:

headaches

feeling very detached from the world - this is by far the most noticeable change -i experience dissociation already but this is like being in a total haze. almost like being in a thick glass bubble separated from reality

more irritable

I experience so many mental health symptoms , so I don't know if these symptoms and not having my headphones are a coincidence , or if this can be a response to not having any noise-cancelling anything. I bought some ear defenders a couple of days ago and even though they are way too tight , I have been wearing them to fall asleep cause i feel i can notice a positive change

In case it is this, which i am more and more certain of, I will hopefully be able to buy a replacement pair tomorrow .

thanks

how do you regulate emotions? i have diagnosed adhd unmedicated and suspected autism but not confirmed. even when one little thing goes wrong and i don’t get my way i get extremely angry to the point of hitting myself or lashing out on people and even tho in my head i’m reasonable amd know i shouldn’t be acting that way i can’t help it. then after that people will try to do whatever it is i was wanting in the first place and that makes me EVEN MORE angry/upset and then they get upset and my whole day is ruined. i genuinely feel like i cannot stop myself when this happens and even after the pure rage is gone i’m very depressed for the rest of the day. this is ruining my life and i can’t keep doing this as an adult.

tips please :(

I was just wondering if I'm the only person that feels like my high masking has made me a very good liar. I've paid enough attention to neurotypical people to know what I need to say to avoid what I don't want to say. When I don't want to talk to somebody I'm very good at making up a lie for why I can't stay and talk. I just wondered if I'm alone in my craziness.

Hey! I'm newly diagnosed with autism and ADHD and I would like to know if this happens with you guys.

Sometimes it's like my brain shuts down. I can hear/see things around me but it's like I can't process it or everything becomes strange/foggy/disconnected from reality. In these moments, I usually get so immersed in my thoughts that I don't even know/realize that I'm overthinking. Sometimes when I'm sensory overloaded I feel disconnected from the world too, but I seem to feel the things around me much more.

Edit: hoping this doesn’t come off as a pure “ am I autistic post” since I know that isn’t allowed. I will not lie I am a bit curious on everybody’s opinion but in the end I truly am just trying to figure out is it worth the test or should I just not do a test due to a possibly unlikely-hood.

Context: So for some context I am a 19m in the U.S. To be even more specific I am in the Deep South and grew up in a black household. In the last year or so I have started to think of the possible conclusion that I may be autistic to some degree. I will not lie I have not done an absolute ton of research due to being busy with college. Which is one of the reasons I hope to get some opinions on my current scenario. I am not eager to be diagnosed and but just would like to know if there is a “possibility” and if it is worth getting tested considering the prices in America.

Reasons: -tippy toes—- I walk on my tippy toes while going up the stairs. I am almost certain I do it while going down the stairs but to be brutally honest I cannot fully confirm if I always do it while going down the stairs, can confirm I always do it while going up the stairs though. I do wear a size 12 in men’s and I wouldn’t say the reasoning is due to sensory issues but I feel the most comfortable with it and “cannot” walk upstairs without naturally going up on my tippy toes. And as for going downstairs I would say the same.

-driving— I drive barefoot. I know this isn’t common with autism( from my basic little to no knowledge). My reasoning is mostly a sensory issue and because it is most logical way to drive. Ever since I have started driving I always drive barefoot and everybody in my family has been against it. Have met 2 other people like me though. I do not understand how people can drive and fully feel the pedals and understand exactly how far they are pushing down without being compelled barefoot. I have driven with shoes maybe under 5 times since I first started and it’s not impossible but I highly prefer not to. Even if it’s cold.

-sensory issues— I cannot use metal utensils. This one I have always sort of been heavy on but recently it is has gotten much worse ( no clue as to why). I legitimalty start to have “pain” in my teeth just thinking about eating with metal utensils. Ofc I don’t have actual pain but it’s like a very uncomfortable and overstimulating feeling I get and it messes with my teeth. I have noticed I can sometimes go through with it if it is ice cream but even then I usually don’t let my teeth touch the spoon and just “cup” my lips over the spoon and push my lips inwards if that somehow makes sense. As for forks it’s borderline impossible. I can power through ofc but it is very uncomfortable for me. Regardless of whether I am autistic in any way or have any regular sensory issue or anything at all. Does anybody have advice for this specifically? As I said it’s became a lot more common in last year but even when I was younger I rarely used metal utensils due to this issue.

-socially— socially I would say I am fine. I am very introverted but I do prefer headphones. Ofc while going to college you cannot always wear headphones so have tried to adapt but I prefer to sort of block out the noise. This isn’t anything major like the last ones have been ( not major signs of autism but major as in just major thinks I have to or on the daily do). I feel a lot more comfortable with headphones on though and feel like I am being watched less and feels like I am sort of in my own world where I cannot hear a lot of extra noise. Speaking of loud noise I had anything above moderate volume. Especially when it comes to people talking or when people talk a lot. I know this is common with everybody but I will say that I think it overstimulates me a lot more than the average person by a lot. I cannot deal with anything major loud that is consistently near me.

Edit: forgot to mention I am an extremely picky eater and heavy on sensory issues with most foods. no condiments and hate overly saucy or wet foods, picky with the taste of things aswell.not to a insane amount though . I rarely eat new stuff though regardless of if I am cooking or ordering it.

As for test. I recently started looking into test in the last week and some seem to be very expensive atleast from the few I have seen online and the take on it from others in similar autism subreddits. As I said I am not eager to be diagnosed anytime soon just curious and would in general like to know the reasoning behind why I am the way I am. My aunt has brought up the idea of me being possible somewhat autistic around 2 years ago and sort of shrugged it off.

With everything I have stated and ofc a lot of issues that I did not add due to not wanting to make the list too long and dragging it on. Do you think it is worth it to get a test? I know with some things people would say “ why not get a test for this or that” but of course the prices of autism test make me wonder if it is even worth it or if I’m just crazy. I know post like this are brought to this subreddit a lot from what I have seen so apologies if it is not allowed but if it isn’t and you have made it to this point thank you for reading all of it and hopefully commenting to help guide me.❤️

Hi all!

I'm fairly new to reddit so please let me know if this post doesn't fit the guidelines / if there is somewhere better I should be putting this!

I'm hoping to get some advice on testing for ADHD and Autism - it has been recommended that I show signs and would benefit from testing / a confirmed diagnosis to move forward with treatment and therapy, but as I look into it I've found it to be incredibly expensive.

I live in Ontario Canada, as the overreaching testing is over $3K, ADHD testing alone is about $600. I would love to know and think it would help, but I just can justify that kind of price point. How does anyone get diagnosed at that rate?

At this point my main consideration is just doing the ADHD testing, but I don't know if other factors (such as the potential of autism / other neurodivergent traits) might skew the results.

I guess I'm wondering if there are alternate channels to get this done, maybe I'm going about this the wrong way, I don't really know.

I would love any advise you can provide, thank you in advance!

TL;DR: Looking for furniture recommendations for ADHD and ASD needs, including a modular couch under 90" and a coffee table like a Japanese chabudai for floor sitting.

Hey everyone,

My wife (40F) and I (36M) are trying to create a comfortable and supportive space that accommodates both of our needs. I’ve had ADHD since I was 11, but it’s only been in the last couple of years that I’ve truly understood what that means. My wife, on the other hand, has struggled with sleep and eating for years and was recently diagnosed with ASD after years of managing anxiety and CPTSD.

Sleep has always been a challenge for her, and she’s always felt more comfortable on the couch. Growing up, she would experience night terrors in her bed, and after losing her mom at age 10, she spent a lot of time on the couch as a comfort and safe space. She’s also very sensitive to textures when sleeping—she loves knitted blankets and certain soft materials.

On weekends, we spend a lot of time on the couch watching movies and wrestling PPVs, often falling asleep there. So we’re looking for a new modular couch, preferably no longer than 90 inches. We’ve checked out the Ohmu Teddy and the Poufdic Teddy because of the texture, fun colors, and modern style, but the price is a bit much.

We want something with personality and flexibility—a couch that can be rearranged into a deep two-seat chaise for us but can also be expanded into an L-shape or 3-seat couch with an ottoman when we have guests.

We also looked at Lovesac, which has great customization and storage, but we’re hoping for more options. Any recommendations based on your experience would be super helpful!

Another thing we’re looking for is a coffee table, specifically something like a Japanese chabudai.

We barely use our dining room table anymore because my wife has a lot of food anxiety, and eating dinner triggers her stress. Recently, she’s been floor-sitting to eat, and it has helped her experience less choking and chest pain. We found a couple of coffee tables that might work:

• Lift-top coffee table – This one’s similar to what we want, but I’m unsure about the quality.
• Low desk with floor chair – It looks great, but it’s pricier and doesn’t have storage.

Any recommendations from others with similar sensory sensitivities or experiences with creating supportive home environments would be greatly appreciated! We’d love to hear how you’ve adapted your spaces.

I’ve noticed that if I look up whether a lot of Autism related qualities are also associated with Trauma then I find that I get back an answer of “yes.” For instance I tried looking up whether or not trauma can mare it harder to understand social cues and found that the answer is yes. I also tried looking up whether trauma can cause someone to take things more literally and found that the answer is also yes. I also found that when I looked up both whether trauma can cause resistance to change and repetitive behaviors the answer is also yes to both questions. I’ve also read that trauma can cause sleep disturbances, and memory problems. I also found that when I looked up whether hyper-fixations can be a trauma response the answer is also yes. This makes me wonder how we can be sure that most of the qualities of Autism aren’t trauma responses as opposed to things we’re born with.

I know one counter argument to saying that Autistic qualities aren’t trauma responses is that Autism has a biological component, however a counter counter argument I can think of is that most Autistic people have experienced trauma and haven’t really been accommodated throughout life. Well I know one counter point to this might be to bring up Autistic people who haven’t experienced trauma, but I don’t see that on it’s own as convincing for ruling out Autistic qualities being trauma responses. I mean we don’t entirely know if Autism is one condition in terms of what causes Autistic qualities and so I don’t think we can be certain that comparing untraumatized Autistics to traumatized Autistics is making an apples to apples comparison As opposed to comparing apples and oranges in terms of comparing people with different conditions. I know another counter point would be that Autistic qualities are often present from a very young age but a counter counter point I can think of for that is that with different needs maybe we weren’t really accommodated from a very young age.

It’s hard to find qualities about Autism that aren’t also known to sometimes be Trauma responses. When thinking about qualities that are somewhat common in Autistic people that don’t seem like what I would expect as Trauma responses two things that come to mind would be more detailed drawings from a young age and better long term memory but I’m not sure and I know these aren’t universal qualities of all Autistic people.

So are there some qualities of Autism that tend not to be associated with Trauma and how can we be certain that most Autistic qualities aren’t trauma responses?

We are waiting for a diagnosis for my 9 year old & I need advice!

Tips on how to stop a hyper-focus mid flight?

i’m way more stressed out than usual because I’m caring for a parent who has dementia and it’s really kicked off my hyper-fixations 🥹

I am lucky enough to have health insurance as part of my job. Bupa offers four different groups to do a diagnosis for me. Does anyone here know which of these would be the best to choose?

I don't know if any of them have good or bad reputations and would appreciate any advise on who to go to as I only get one shot at this. If it doesn't work I will be stuck on the awful waiting list that will take multiple years to get seen.

https://www.clinical-partners.co.uk/for-adults/autism

https://onebright.com/who-we-help/adults/autism-for-adults/

https://recognitionhealth.com/

https://melios.org.uk/our-services/adhd-and-autism-assessments/

ok weird one

i was diagnosed with add in middle school and have always encountered this strange phenomenon

sometimes, when focusing really hard on something (typically committing something to memory or learning new material), my brain will start to feel really good, almost feels like a flood or a head massage, and it will cause me to space out. it’s really distracting, although almost impossible to resist. it’s like the longer i space out, the longer it feels good and the more i postpone what im trying to focus on.

the feel good sensation is so abrupt and noticeable that i can consciously sustain it if i keep “spacing out”

what the hell is this? haha

So I know it's stereotypical or something, But I think that my special special interest is... Math. I just feel like it some sort of a lie I created to my self...(aka imposter syndrome) Because it's too stereotypical and everyone one at my faculty (I'm a new student for a math major) is, or feels like that, like me. How I so obsessive with that and love to investigate everything about this concept we humans discovered and called it "Matematika".

I guess I just don't really understand exactly what "special interest" means...

Greetings everyone.. How are you all able to find people to do basic things in life for you? Example such as do your grocery shopping, go to the bank for you or anything that consists of having an overwhelming amount of interactions with others

I have recently been diagnosed with ADHD and GAD.

I have been researching neurodiversity for the past three years and i really do think i’m autistic.

I know this doesn’t define whether i am or not, but i’ve done the aspie quiz, and i got 176. I’ve also had a proper screening test done (SRS-2) by my psychologist and she said it showed signs of autism too.

can i consider myself autistic? or should i wait to receive a proper diagnosis?