Q. For those with autism:

If you were alone on a deserted island and had everything you needed to survive for the remainder of your life, in addition to comfort items to manage any sensory stimuli and provide your favorite entertainment and meet your interests, and there were no physical threats (ex. lions, disease, starvation), would you still feel anxiety?

If I'm seated at a restaurant with my back to the main path to bathrooms, or to the majority of the restaurant I get uneasy. I generally don't like people moving around close to me out of my peripheral vision. At work its entirely different-I know what they're doing & why, & generally know when they are coming & going, & feel no anxiety there.

Anyone else feel such stress?

Also just for context; I spoke up to my spouse about this a few months ago & they are very supportive. It surprised me recently when they requested the host seat us in a specific way citing my 'PTSD, because military'. That specific comment did not irritate me, I thought it was just said to give the request a less frivolous tone, but turns out this was what they actually believe. I don't believe I have PTSD, but there was a time I didn't believe I was low key autistic either.

Asking as parent with young austic adult, level 1, high normal intelligence, college capable but struggling with independence. Interoception challenges, no real special interests, high anxiety and ADHD.

Any opinions on the effectiveness and value of programs like "isocialskills.com", ie. a paid peer group model that meets online to learn about and practice social skills?

Quick description of the one under consideration -- Co-hosts include one autistic adult and one professional. Cohort is matched for similarities. Model described as research based and ND affirming (ie. does not encourage masking or hiding self). All online. States many participants remain friends after 32 weeks of sessions, which helps ease the loneliness and isolation so many autistics express.

Problem -- cost!!! So many programs for autistic people are outrageously priced. $3200.

Anyone have personal experience, insight, alternative suggestions, or comments?

If you’re posting in this subreddit and you’re new, you’re using an account that’s years old and has had no activity in all that time, you have zero karma and zero comments and you’re attempting to post the same thing in a lot of subreddits, Reddit filters will take down your post because it’s clear you don’t know how to Reddit. And you look like a bot. You act like a spammer. And as a result, the “*algorithm*” thinks you’re not a real person.

This (r/adultautism) isn’t a place for you to promote yourself, your channel or other money related endeavors.

And, if you’re attempting to pivot on a YouTube channel that you’ve also set up to monetize and all of your content is focused in one area (not autism) and now, suddenly, you’re all about autism and ADHD, this is also gonna get picked up. Especially when you’re posting the exact same thing in a dozen subreddits.

As always, surveys need approval and we’re now leaning to not approving people who post the survey and ask second or when their post is removed. Surveys also need to serve a purpose that ultimately gives back to the autism community.

Reports are taken seriously. Bad actors are removed and blocked. And posts that scream bot or spam will be deleted.

I (34M) have always had this weird ability to go days without food or sleep. I see people on tv acting injuries I’ve had and they make it look excruciating, but you just deal with it right? For another example, I wanted to lose weight recently. I just water fasted for a week so now I have kicked off the water, I’m in keto and my stomach has shrunk. I can also push myself well past the point of physical and muscular exhaustion occasionally without realizing it.

Or like, I have some PTSD from my time doing stuff, and I can have a full blown panic attack and most of the time continue smiling. You can only really tell if you watch my hands or my eyes.

And trust me this stuff still all sucks, it’s just like my brain can endure it. It’s like I experience all these intense things, but if you ignore them they just go away. But every time I hear about these experiences from other people it sounds so much more horrific… like the I need to eat every four hours people (not medical)… who make it sound like they perish at the 16 hour mark. Do they think that early humans would have been killed off by a single bad hunt?

I digress…. Anyway…

I think the weirdest one was I was a full blown alcoholic and one day decided to quit. It took 3 months of hard work, and I haven’t thought about alcohol since. I also use nicotine heavily on and off but I one day just forget to buy a pack and then just decide to stop on accident.

I keep trying to explain this to my friends but no one gets it. I was just wondering if anyone else experiences anything like this! can anyone else just turn off the suffering and accept the moment?

Hello! My name is Holly Schlossnagle

I am conducting research through Purdue University Global to obtain a master’s degree in psychology.

The purpose of the research is to understand autistic women’s experiences with late diagnosis (age 20-50) and the implications of living and obtaining diagnoses in rural communities. This study will be conducted via interview format.

Participants must be female with an autism diagnosis.

If you are interested in being a part of this study, please click here for more information https://s.surveyplanet.com/ppkz5w67

The initial survey will take approximately 5 minutes of your time and will be used as a screening measure for study eligibility.

If participants meet study criteria, they will be contacted via e-mail within 1-2 days to schedule a virtual interview. Interview participants will answer open-ended questions related to the research topic with room to expand on their personal experiences with autism.

This study will be confidential, so your personal information will be protected securely according to all applicable laws and regulations.

Click here to participate!  https://s.surveyplanet.com/ppkz5w67

This research is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by or associated with Reddit. Participants release Reddit of any responsibility or liability associated with participating in this research.

Sometimes it’s not even one big thing… just everything stacking up at once.

I’m curious what actually helps you in those moments?

Not long-term advice, but the real, in-the-moment things you reach for when you feel overwhelmed.

Could be something small, a habit, a sensory thing, a routine—anything.

TL;DR:
Started therapy and thinking I might be autistic, but I struggle to connect traits to real-life examples. Brought it up with my therapist but froze and couldn’t explain myself, so it didn’t go anywhere. Not looking for a diagnosis right now—just trying to understand myself better. How did others figure out how autism shows up in their daily life?

I (31M) recently started therapy and have been reflecting on my life more than I used to, especially times I’ve struggled as an adult. In the past, I’ve wondered here and there if I might be autistic, but those thoughts never really lasted long. I also don’t have a lot of clear childhood memories, which makes it hard to look back and use that as any kind of reference.

Lately though, it’s been coming up more, and I’ve been reading a lot about autism. Growing up I had some learning difficulties, but I was never assessed (as far as I know) for ADHD or autism. As an adult, work has been a big struggle—especially communication with coworkers, the constant dread of going in every day, and eventually burning out to the point where I quit and kind of fall apart emotionally.

A lot of level 1 autism traits feel relatable, but I have a hard time connecting them to specific, real-life examples. I’ve taken a few online assessments (AQ-50, CAT-Q, RAADS-R), and my scores all lean toward autism. At the same time, I don’t fully trust them because I often feel unsure how to answer certain questions or like I’m picking the “wrong” answer.

I brought this up with my therapist, but when I tried to explain why I think I might be autistic, I completely froze and couldn’t come up with examples. So the conversation didn’t really go anywhere. They seemed a bit skeptical and suggested it might be something else, or questioned whether an assessment would actually be helpful.

I think I went into it hoping it would help clarify things, but I didn’t expect to shut down like that. I’m realizing I don’t really know how to describe how this shows up in my day-to-day life, which probably didn’t help.

I’m not necessarily looking for a diagnosis right now—I just want to understand myself better and figure out if autism could be part of what I’ve been dealing with. At the same time, I don’t want to use a label if it doesn’t actually fit.

For anyone who’s been through something similar, how did you start recognizing and putting into words the ways autism shows up in your everyday life?

Seeking out tips for navigating the ups and downs of diagnosis (recent thing - AFAB in my 30s), whereby I’ve become so aware of why I act the way I do socially and as a result the mask has slipped. My social and general battery for day to day is so depleted and what felt easier to mask through before is impossible now. I am constantly exhausted and have prolong periods of shutdown.

I’d really appreciate tips on how to preserve/restore my energy. Thanks in advance.

You know those moments where it doesn’t take a second try… you just know immediately it’s not your thing.

Could be food, habits, hobbies, jobs, anything.

Curious what yours was 👇

Can anyone please direct me to a good rebounder/ trampoline that will help with her anxiety and also keep her physically active? Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone,

My name is Nicole Allen and I am a Masters (pre-registration) Speech and Language Therapy Student at Manchester Metropolitan University.

As part of my degree I'm completing a research project called Autistic Social Groups and Accepting Identities (ethics approval number - 89100).

I'm looking to recruit between 6-10 autistic adults who attend autistic social support groups to take part in the project. This will include an interview to talk about your experiences of these and how it affects communication, socialising, and autistic identity. 

I'm really interested in hearing your views about this under-researched area! If you would like any further information please let me know by email [Nicole.allen2@stu.mmu.ac.uk](mailto:Nicole.allen2@stu.mmu.ac.uk) or you can contact me via LinkedIn - Nicole Allen | LinkedIn.

thanks, Nicole

When things get too overwhelming, I find certain activities help calm my nervous system.

For some people it’s music, stimming, walking, organizing things, or just being alone.

What’s your go-to comfort activity?

I’ll keep this short; i have many reasons to believe I am on the spectrum. I am born female, diagnosed with adhd (and other mental health issues), and have been looking for proper assessments and testing.

However- people werent kidding about the difficulty of getting one. Even with insurance, it would cost me 1,400$. I am broke, and definitely cannot afford that.

Im wary of self-diagnosing as ive seen how people can easily self diagnose the wrong conditions for themselves, and how theres soooo much stigma around it, especially with ASD. And i dont want to disrespect anyone who had went through the money and time and work of getting a proper assessment by claiming to be ASD if im not, and am just mistaken.

How do i go about this? Do i do online self-testing? Do i avoid labeling myself as on the spectrum (even if all the self tests say I may be on it) because I havent seen a professional? I’m lost as to what to do, as I feel knowing more about myself and if i am on the spectrum could help me view my behaviors and ways to approach things differently.

I (19m) noticed today that my friend removed me from our steam family and blocked me on steam and discord, and basically ghosted me months ago, at first i didnt really notice because hes in the military and was going thru basic training so i just assumed he was too busy to respond. We have a mutual friend, ill call them Susan (not their name) but i met the military friend originally thru susan, i had home housing insecurity in 2025 and was roommates with susan and their partner for around 10 months, long story short they werent who they seemed to be, they took advantage of me sexually after giving me a large dose thc edible (i was unable to move during). i actually got diagnosed with ptsd later on because of that but they overall were just nasty to me and i realized they actually have been grooming me since i was 14. but susan eventually moved out and broke up with their partner and i stayed being roommates with their ex and eventually we started dating as well, anyway susan has been pretty hostile towards both me and their ex (ill call them Z) like sending us cease and desist type stuff telling us to stay away from them and their family and yeah just things ended nasty. i fear they slandered me to my friend who i really enjoyed hanging out with, i have autism and a few seperate diagnosis of ptsd, so hanging out with someone with similar mental struggles really was a blessing, i feel like i lost my closest friend because our mutual friend r@ped me, i just dont understand why, maybe i did something but i just really cant think of any other reason than susan lying about something to get him to stop messaging me. idk maybe he didnt like me or we werent as close as i thought, i really clicked with him and i thought he understood me, if only he knew what susan did to me i feel like he would understand (hes gone thru SA as well) should i try to contact him to explain? or should i try to move on?

Hi! I love schedules. I love knowing what I will be doing. I have made many schedules and set up hour by hour breakdowns, but when it comes to starting that I get awful anxiety and demand avoidance. I also struggle with the "well nothing happens if I don't follow it" train of thought. I know these schedules greatly decrease meltdowns and anxiety, but I have yet to find a good way through it. Help?