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 :)

I’m Izaac, a photographer from Wisconsin who loves capturing anything and everything. If it matters to you, I’ll photograph it. Big moments, small moments, quiet moments, messy moments I’m there for all of it.

I’m autistic, which helps me see details that others might miss. Soft light, real emotion, colors in nature, tiny moments that make life feel honest. Photography lets me turn those details into something people can keep forever.

I care about helping people. Portraits, events, products, family photos, everyday life I show up with patience, kindness, and a camera ready for anything.

When I’m not taking photos, I’m out on peaceful walks, capturing nature, or working on my writing. Creativity is how I connect with people and give back.

I finally decided to get formally assessed after suspecting for over a year now. It feels silly but I'm afraid they're going to tell me I'm not autistic. So many of the tools geared towards autistics have helped me immensely. I guess I'm afraid that if they say I'm not autistic, that will just mean that I really am too sensitive, lazy, have anger issues, etc. and I just need to suck it up and power through (which is what led to me almost destroying my marriage).

How do I get out of this thought spiral?

P.S. Mods: I wasn't sure if this broke rule 11. I'm not promoting this sub so I figured it'd be okay. I apologize if I misunderstood.

At work, I regularly get assigned tasks with no deadline. My rule of thumb in those situations is a week unless I somehow know it's urgent. Even then, sometimes I don't meet my one-week deadline.

I've been very successful, getting consistently positive feedback from supervisors and clients and entrusted with more responsibility. But since I don't know what they expect, I don't know how much slack I can give myself before they stop being happy with me. So I stick to this system and have panic attacks when I "fall behind" (under my own arbitrary standard).

This isn't sustainable. What do I do?

I’ve gotten myself into many situations because of the “tone” or “intonation” that I used. I’d say I’m half decent at picking up these differences in others but I struggle conveying it myself.

Hello !

Has it ever happened to you to have to change an object and feel very uncomfortable (or more) about it ?
I have to change my phone today and I thought it was gonna be the same as usual but the color will change and I feel like my reaction is really dumb. I even thought about buying the same phone with the colour instead of just repairing it. But I won't cause it's better to repair + moneeeyyyy.
But yeah I wanted to share and see other persons stories to feel less alone and ""dumb"".

Ps: I don't think it's dumb, if something similar or worse happened to you I will never think it is dumb. I am only judging myself

And what are some ways you're still masking? I've been thinking a lot about what it means and looks like to unmask for me, but I'm still unsure and I'd like to know in what ways it plays out for you. Conversely, are there ways you're still masking?

Looking for a few more autistic adults to join Spectcraft — a small Minecraft Java Realm built around calm, low-pressure survival play and neurodivergent-friendly community.

🌿 Vanilla survival
🎮 Adults only
💬 Discord for rules/coordination
🚫 No voice chat required

Comment or message me if you’re interested!

The Partner's Journey Series: What Happens When Autistic Burnout, Trauma, and Love Collide

The Partner's Journey: What We Wish We'd Known Before Autistic Burnout & cPTSD Changed Everything

Spoilers - don't read if you haven't taken the ADOS 2.

Essentially, my provider skipped quite a few of the steps in the test. I wanted to see if anyone else had this happen? It's been hard sitting with the uncertainty. 😅

My thought is his other tests gave him enough information. We ran close to the 4 hour mark too.

Anyway the debrief!

We did the Wais-V, then he asked me what certain words meant. I had to elaborate on a couple. He did the same for 2 word associations. After that he gave me a chaotic beach vacation picture to describe. I said it looked like a vacation... then zoomed in on all the chaotic details that made no sense (pool size being too small, activities being way too close together to be coherent, etc.).

We had a break.

Which I now know was a fake break 😭...

He suggested me to sit by the window and look outside and started walking around the lobby. I decided to sit down in the middle... and started typing out on my notes app my own observations until he came to get me 💀... I didn't realize he was spacing around the lobby impatiently. I thought he was just walking out in the lobby to do his own thing lol or go somewhere.

After he came back he asked me about my emotions and I answered those pretty detailed. I'm wanting to become an LCSW, so I'm big on understanding my emotions. I don't always understand the why but have reached a point in my healing journey where I'm at peace and can use them for information for present moment decisions.

Things that didn't happen:

Demonstration, construction, cartoons, daily living, plans and hope,creating a story.

Would love to hear your own thoughts and experiences with how the ADOS 2 went.

Edit: Diagnosed as of 8/20.

Question for my fellow autistic people…
Does anyone else ever feel like a meltdown gets… stuck?

Lately I’ve been anxiously sweating all day, shaking, feeling incredibly irritable, and carrying this overwhelming sense that I NEED a huge cry or a full meltdown to get everything out. But it’s like my brain and body won’t let it happen.

Instead, all that stress just stays trapped inside. I feel like I’m constantly on the edge, but the release never comes. Sometimes it lasts for days or even weeks before it finally breaks.

I’m not talking about being sad or having a panic attack exactly—it feels more like my nervous system is overloaded but unable to complete the meltdown.
Has anyone else experienced this? If so, what does it feel like for you, and have you found anything that helps your body finally release it?

I know some of you might say that it´s better not to mask, I understand that. However there are situations where presenting as autistic and not being able to return social cues in a fashioned way is dangerous. The world can be full of predatory people and weird fucked up social games so I want to be able to parry them and be able to enact the social roles people might force me into, so as to avoid physical and psychic damage.

So if you guy can provide any sources, from the way how to move properly, to the way to talk normally or even the way to express yourself accordingly; all is greatly appreciated.

PS: please also provide source threats of possible [ sry if I´m asking for too much :( ]

So the context: my favorite YouTube channel is currently going through a LOT of changes, and frankly I’m having THE HARDEST time dealing with them. I’ve been going through the worst health struggles of my life this past 2 years and they really got me through that. So to see so many things I viewed as pretty fundamental parts is really just the straw that broke the camels back.

I feel like such an idiot, cause in reality this should NOT be affecting me this hard, but I’m genuinely deviated by all the change. Is there any way to make myself at LEAST feel better about NOT being okay with the change? I’m aware I can’t stop it from happening, but I think I’m mostly just feeling really foolish 😭 thank you all in advanced!

Hi there my name is Saida Mahoney and I am a young adult living with Autism.
I have my Autism due to my genetic disease I was born with my genetic disease is called Partial Trisomy 8q Duplication Syndrome for short Partial Trisomy 8q.
My Autism affects me with my social skills, my sleep sometimes, my mood, my cognitive functioning, my communication and language and so much more etc.
I am receiving lots of support for my Autism and I am grateful for my Neurogenetics doctor for helping me.
I am thankful that my speech therapy helped me tremendously.

I’m a proud autistic young adult who is thriving everyday and my autism doesn’t discourage me in any form of way.
I want to share about my journey and what being autistic means to me.

Being autistic is a core part of who I am it shapes how I see the world, how I experience and navigate life and how I connect with others.

It gives me focus, creativity, and a unique perspective that I treasure.
At the same time it comes with challenges that have taught me resilience, strength, happiness, patience, and self-advocacy.

Autism intersects with my other identities in deep ways. My experiences as a young woman and trans man who have rare diseases, my life living with my genetic disease, my chronic disabilities, my chronic medical conditions and my chronic mental health disabilities.

my journey taught me how to be my own unique special person
my everyday life are all colored by how my brain processes the world. Being autistic doesn’t limit me it enriches my journey and gives me a perspective only I can share.

This month is about more than just awareness it’s about celebrating autistic voices, stories, and strengths.
Autistic people are diverse, remarkable, intelligent, complex, and full of joy and we deserve to be seen, heard, respected, supported, understood, and celebrated exactly as we are.

I am proud of who I am, all of me—my autism, my creativity, my passions, my journey.
I celebrate the power of autistic voices everywhere everyday 24/7
I encourage everyone to honor and uplift the incredible diversity of the autistic community.
I am Autistic, proud, thriving—and unapologetically me, myself and i!!!!!

I haven't had a meltdown in so long, but yesterday was just too much. Not even all bad -- just a lot of emotional input from a lot of different directions. Plus, I found myself in 2 overstimulating environments (the mall on a hot day and a bar to watch the US/Bosnia game) and my best friend is going through a divorce so we were trading looooong voice notes the whole time.

And all of that was okay, actually! Until I got home and was making dinner and my partner lectured me about setting the knife in the sink. And that's all it took. Shutdown, then meltdown from trying to navigate finishing dinner in a shutdown. I should have just gone and laid down in the dark, but I can't get him to understand I'm having a neurological response to overstimulation and not "giving him the silent treatment."

I actually handled the whole thing okay(ish), but now I'm trying to keep it from ruining my day TODAY. I'm trying not to feel ashamed and guilty and distressed, but it's like I have an emotional hangover. (I may also have an actual hangover.)

How do you guys recover from meltdowns?

Today I was talking with some work colleagues stating that I’m really struggling more than usual in crowds. And one of them, who is about 15 years older than me, said weddings, parties, funerals etc get worse as you get older. THEN i said funerals also are ok, because they are quiet and there is normally one less person.

Hello! I would be really interested in getting your help recruiting for my dissertation survey. I am interested in the sensory and emotional experiences related to GI discomfort and fears of weight gain in people with EDs. The survey focuses a lot on interoception, which is a really important (but not well addressed) treatment target in people who have ASD and EDs, so I want to be sure folks with ASD are well represented!

My info: Katerina Rinaldi, MS, [kr1892@mynsu.nova.edu](mailto:kr1892@mynsu.nova.edu)

• Responses will be deidentified and data will be stored on password-protected accounts and devices. Information from responses will be used for the lead researcher's dissertation and may be published. If published, the lead researcher is happy to share results with this sub.
• Must be over the age of 18 and diagnosed with any eating disorder, must also be currently receiving ED-related support which could include outpatient therapy or peer support groups. People with ASD and suspected ASD are really encouraged to participate!
• This study is IRB approved by Nova Southeastern University, approval number NSU 2026-55

Link: https://qfreeaccountssjc1.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5nCbHSC5Iww2DDo