Autism

Food texture, temperature, taste, and presentation sensitivities are often symptoms of autism, yes. But any of those things, whether alone or in any combination, are not enough to diagnose yourself. I diagnosed myself after looking up the symptoms of ASD Level 1 on a reputable website (don't remember which atm) and seeing that a greatamy of them fit me to a tee: food sensitivities, walking on my tiptoes, echolalia (TV and Movie Talk big time), difficulty understanding nuance, difficulty reading sarcasm in people, and a lot of other. Then I took the RAADS-R test on AspieTests.org and found that I had very high numbers, well into the range of scores of people who had been diagnosed.

I got diagnosed last summer with ASD Level 1. I asked, "Are you sure?" and the diagnostician giggled a tiny bit and went "Uh...yah." 😂

Fun side note: I took the WAIS (Wexler Adult Intleligence Test) as part of the seven and a half hour testing. One of the parts of that test checked my Speeded Processing, which is essentially how fast a person thinks and processes information. My score was a 148 which is well into the 99.9th percentile.

This was incredibly validating and eye-opening for me; as long as I've been alive, I've been a ball of frustration with regards to how I interact with the rest of the world. And now I understand that I am just an incredibly fast thinker, and that knowledge was the impetus for me forcing myself to slow down and not expect more of people than they are able to give. My dad always told me that "everyone is doing the best they know how to do in this world", I understand now what he meant.

Another reason for me needing to slow myself down is that I have queered more than one relationship in my life due to thinking, speaking, and acting too fast. My relationships are immensely important to me, and I need to address my shortcomings if I wish to maintain them in the future.