this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2024
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I'm on the same camp as you and also undiagnosed. I've suspected some form of autism but didn't think ADHD could be my thing
Hey there I replied to the person that replied to you but I think that comment may be of value to you. https://reddthat.com/comment/12415216
And FWIW, there is only one kind of autism. ;)
Thanks!
I hadn't taken those tests before. The raads-r gave me 98 the first time and 105 the second. I found the questions even more infuriating than other tests as there is no frame of reference for most questions, or questions are too ambiguous. Results were the same though- "you sit on the threshold".
The cat-q was interesting. I scored 115 which apparently would be pretty high for a neurotypical female. Not sure what to make of that.
So I'm not a doctor but as I understand it, CAT-Q effectively is a booster for the RAADS-R. A lot of the RAADS-R is either understanding or recognizing the symptoms of autism, but people who are high masking (aka "camouflaged") have often learned to hide/not notice their autistic traits. Reminder of course, the "A" in CAT-Q means "autistic".
That said, I think 100+ on RAADS-R before a fairly high CAT-Q is something worth considering alone.
I have a special interest in psychology and if this was something related to a mental health condition I would be the first to tell you that the best way to learn is peer-reviewed studies, published references like the DSM-5 (imperfect as it may be) and so on. However, autism is not a psychological issue, it's a neurological difference. This means that the best way to learn is to talk to autistic people (which you currently are!) and see if the little things that make you/them "weird" resonate with each other. If you're feeling more introverted than that, you could maybe find an autistic YouTuber that "clicks" with you and see how their experience compares to yours.
I'm currently on an autism diagnosis waiting list cuz there's just not that many adult autism services in my area so maybe it might be that too ยฏโ \โ _โ (โ ใโ )โ _โ /โ ยฏ
FWIW if you're 18+ there is less reason to get formally diagnosed. University of Washington did a study some time ago which found self diagnosis is rarely wrong. Link to that PDF here: https://depts.washington.edu/uwautism/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Self-Diagnosed-Adult-Autism-Resources-handout-9-22-22.pdf
A good way to find out is a combination of a couple tests. The RAADS-R is the most accurate known autism test, is is over 80% accurate. Here is a free one that doesn't require registration: https://embrace-autism.com/raads-r/
And if you doubt you're autistic in any way (guessing based on wanting to be diagnosed), the CAT-Q is a good test to identify camouflaged autistic traits that you've learned to hide. This one is also free from the same place: https://embrace-autism.com/cat-q/
Feel free to ask if you have questions. I'm late diagnosed myself (was over 30) and it's a big world to navigate blindly!
Thanks!