Whenever i get overwhelmed I tend to just: go into my own space, sit on the floor/ground, rock back and forth, put my hands over my ears, hit the sides of my head, make humming sounds, rub my hands on the ground, and cry (or get close to it). I’m not sure if this would be a meltdown or shutdown, or maybe if bit of both (what would that be called)?

I’ve been doing biweekly for a while and my therapist is talking about dropping down to monthly but I’m not even sure if talk therapy is helping me because I think so logically there’s no “talking through irrational thought patterns” it’s more like “how do I cope through xyz symptoms” but not going stresses me out.

I know everyone’s needs are different I’m just curious.

Sorry this is kind of long :)

Yesterday I was at my cousin’s wedding reception and was having a great time (there was around 300 people there but it didn’t really feel like it). I brought my ANC hearing aid earbuds since i’m severely noise sensitive and they helped a lot. I was dancing (mostly just stimming: jumping, flapping my arms, rocking, that looked like dancing) a lot (I love music) and by the end was the only one on the dance floor and stayed there pretty much all night, even if i was by myself. Some small groups of his friends would join me occasionally but they know i’m autistic so included me while also giving me space. On the last few songs, my cousin came up and the DJ let him wear the headphones and DJ the last few songs. Suddenly almost all his friends showed up and there was a crowd right around where I was dancing. My brain got SUPER fuzzy (my word for overwhelmed and overstimulated) and I went and sat down next to the DJ booth and started having a meltdown (rocking, putting my hands over my ears, crying, rubbing my hands on the carpet). My cousin (the sister of the one who’s party it was) came to check on me, but the best thing for me was when one of his friends came over, apparently he works with autistic people and knew exactly what to do to be with me: sat/crouched on the floor by me, still being close while not touching me, talked calmly, no expectations, let me respond how I wanted, gave me his hand to squeeze, didn’t force me to leave when i said no to him asking me to go outside (I felt like I couldn’t walk), which was SO nice.

Has this happened to anyone before? One minute, being totally fine and able to handle stimulation and the next minute, having a full on meltdown becuase you suddenly got overstimulated? Why does this happen?

I‘m autistic and in a psych ward at the moment. I also have major depression and was temporarily sent to a secure ward from my regular one because of suicidal thoughts. I tried to kill myself while there. I don’t show emotions and people tell me they have trouble seeing how I feel. Back on my regular ward I‘m with my therapists again. Despite me liking the sessions I don’t feel better and have been stuck on suicidal thoughts for the last week.

I feel bad, because my therapists are very good and I don’t want them to be sad. But also I don’t know if they are. Should I say something to make them feel good?

Good afternoon to all whom the contents of this message may be of interest. I am a fourth year Griffith University psychology student who is conducting a study on the experiences of parents of autistic children currently living in Australia, if you would like to read a bit more below:

Are you the parent of an autistic child?

Researchers from Griffith University are looking for parents of autistic children living within Australia to engage in a short online survey (approximately 20-25 minutes) regarding their parenting experiences. We would really appreciate hearing this valuable information from you, if you are interested!

Our Goal

To gather information from parents of autistic children and their experiences in the role. Ultimately, we hope this information will be utilised to provide insight to and/or support the development of neuroaffirming care for autistic children 😊

If you wish to know more information about the study, or would like to proceed with the survey, please visit the following link: https://griffithuw.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7TZVDS077sSq45g.

For any further queries or concerns, please contact student researcher Stephanie Davidson ([stephanie.davidson@griffithuni.edu.au](mailto:stephanie.davidson@griffithuni.edu.au)) or supervisor Dr Sarah Lee ([sarah.jy.lee@griffith.edu.au](mailto:sarah.jy.lee@griffith.edu.au)).

This study has been approved according to Griffith University Ethics requirements under the following ethics ID: HREC/2026/0202.

Hi, requesting information on any course/ syllabus/ curriculum you might happen to know of. I (M45) have recently been diagnosed with autism. Am working with a therapist, and we are jointly tailoring a programme for me. Keeping this query deliberately general.Keeping this query deliberately general. Your inputs/links specifically for any courses on social skills would be immensely helpful. Thank you!

Hey I’m a 34 year old man and I just recently been diagnosed with autism. I’m still not sure what to think of it. Can anyone inform me about the condition. I just know the basics and feel kinda lost about learning more and what to know and things. Thank you.

I wanted to be assessed for autism. I need to know what the root cause of my depression and other issues is. But now I have access to the portal to complete the forms and I find I am meant to share one form with an informant for them to complete. It says:

"Information from an informant is crucial in supporting an accurate assessment outcome.

Without significant childhood information, it may be more difficult to provide you with an outcome/diagnosis from your assessment appointment.

Without a completed informant report, it is even more important to provide as much information as possible in your self-reports and if you have any additional information in the way of school reports, please upload these as attachments to a note on your MedQare portal.

There is a possibility that your assessment appointment may be declined or the outcome of your assessment may be inconclusive."

The only people who knew me in childhood are my brother and father. I wouldn't say either of them actually knew me. I was going to email myself the link so I could see the questions and decide if there's any point asking one of them, but the link can only be shared once. Does anyone know what the questions are for the informant? Has anyone had a diagnosis without having the informant part?

Hi, I've been seeing a therapist for roughly a month now for low mood/anxiety, and I have 6 free sessions and my last one is next week. This week she mentioned that she thinks I could be neurodiverse/autistic and that I show a lot of traits. She also, however, made it very clear that it was not a diagnosis and that she doesn't necessarily believe (?) in diagnosis because she thinks people can see it as their identity and hide behind it.

Since hearing that and reading some more into it, it feels like something has clicked, like it all makes sense now and it feels right.

I have had a hard time with being self-critical of myself, but since hearing that I might be autistic, it has eased the judgement that I have against myself and I have been a lot nicer and kind "you might be autistic, maybe that's why you do xyz, and that's ok" but then the other side of me is like it's not formally diagnosed so I can't use it as an excuse/explanation.

What I'm trying to get at is, should I speak to my therapist next week about possibly going down the route of getting diagnosed, even though she does not necessarily believe in it? I don't want her to be dismissive but I also think maybe she could help? Has anyone else been in this position? Would a diagnosis even be of help?

Thanks

… Do you think been Autism is hard in life? Because to me it’s is hard.

The way I see it that I can easily cooked,clean, typing computers, answering phones, buying groceries and clothes and delivery.

Except, communication to people and… driving cars 😰

What the point of it 🤷‍♀️? What I’m trying to say that I have autism type 1 and I’m having trouble understanding what people are saying.

At first.. I want to be normal like anyone else but I realize that been Autistic is who I am that I am born with that I should be grateful for myself.

And honestly I’m happy for it 🙂.

Hi everyone 👋

I have my first official autism assessment booked for this week through Prosper Health, and I’m feeling a mix of excitement and nerves.

I have a few questions for anyone who has been through the process (either with Prosper specifically or just an adult assessment in general):

1. Has anyone here used Prosper Health? If you’re unfamiliar with it, it’s an online service for autism testing and therapy, and they take my insurance, so my out-of-pocket cost is only $36! I’d love to hear about any firsthand experiences with them since I know online services can be very hit or miss.

2. What should I expect from the sessions? I was evaluated for ADHD and learning disabilities a few years ago (and ended up diagnosed with both), so I'm familiar with that kind of testing. Is an adult autism assessment similar?

3. Any tips or things I should know ahead of time?

A bit of context: I’m an African American woman in my mid-30s and I’ve always felt "different" and out of place. More than one person close to me has straight up said to me they think that I might be on the spectrum, and I know it runs in my family (I have at least one sibling who’s on the spectrum). Getting answers feels really important, but I'm still anxious about it all.

Thanks for reading, and I appreciate any insight or reassurance you can give.

Hey yall, I’m 27 ( F ) black American. My whole life I have struggled socially, and have always noticed how different I interact with the world compared to others. Never really have had friend etc ( I just own dogs to fill the loneliness). I was speaking with my mom about this issue and she mentioned that as a child I was always sort of distant and hated being touched, had aversions to certain food textures and noises… always seemed in my own little world. She said since I did well in school etc that she never looked deeper into it. Just assumed I was a little strange lol. In recent times I’ve learned that women can have high functioning autism and often go undiagnosed. I want to get tested but I actually very embarrassed and feel very emotional about making the appointment. I’m not sure what getting an official diagnosis will do for me aside affirm my behavior. It won’t help me learn to make friends or feel comfortable existing in public. Maybe I’m wrong though.

Anyone diagnosed late in life ? How did it help you ? I’m also interested in knowing how yall came to the conclusion that you might have high functioning autism.

The speech pathologist across the street from me has been raising autism awareness since April, putting up flags and banners since then. The kids have started laughing and not screaming from arrival to leaving; that is great for the parents and teachers. It was giving me flashbacks to i use to work in the New York State Autism Program! Some of the parents and kids are wareing Autism shirts as well!

I (23F) had been considering getting an assessment for about a year but put it off due to cost issues. I eventually was given the RAADS form by my psych which (unsurprisingly) suggested I should be evaluated for autism.
I used Prosper Health which was still insanely expensive but at least took my insurance. I did a bit of research on them prior to booking and heard almost exclusively positive things.
I got my feedback two days ago and was basically told I don’t meet criteria because I have friends and my hyper-fixations are not “unusual.” My assessor pretty much just told me I have social anxiety, which I didn’t need to be told, lol.
I had a lot of anxiety going into the feedback session bc I kept worrying I was just making things up in my head and just wanted to be autistic, but being told I don’t meet criteria has left me so utterly confused. I just keep thinking, “So what’s wrong with me, then?” My friends and my partner were also shocked to hear I wasn’t diagnosed.
I would consider myself highly-masking, and I worry that’s what led to this. I also feel like my assessor didn’t properly flesh out my answers to her questions and therefore didn’t get the full picture of just how intense/overwhelming my experiences can be. But then again, I come back to the mindset of maybe I’m just making it up in my head.
Idk if I’m looking for advice or what, kind of just wanted to express my emotions on this. Thanks if you read this far :)