mine

Questions to ask yourself if you think you might be autistic

Social

• do you feel like you have to monitor everything you say/do? do people seem to be on a different wavelength than you in social situations? like they’re getting answers you’re not?
• are all of your friends autistic/adhd or neurodivergent? you probably are too, we attract each other
• do you know what you are saying when you speak and is it being understood, or are you mimicking others based on patterns you recognised in conversation?
• Have you felt you hadn’t had your own personality since childhood? Do you feel as if you’re an accumulation of traits from people you admire or notice do well / better than you in social situations?
• Since isolation started, have you noticed your symptoms are more intense since you don’t have to mask in public as often as you did for work, school, or social events?
• Do people constantly misread my tone and intentions?
• Have I spent hours analyzing how people talk/move?
• Do i practice what to say in preparation before phone calls & other social situations?
• Have i spent my whole life feeling out of place?
• Do I blame a lifetime of social difficulties on introversion even though that isn't what introversion means?
• Do you consistently feel like everyone else was born with a guide to life and interacting with others and that somehow you didn't get your copy?
• do people constantly think i am mean or rude when i think im not doing anything wrong?
• did someone ever ask you if youre a foreigner when you talked to them in your shared first language
• how do I feel about “linear” conversations? do I get confused/frustrated when people move on from a topic and refuse to return to it? how do I feel about small talk? do I find it easier to talk to autistic people than I do with allistics?
• do people accuse you of being a arrogant, aggressive, of speaking emotionlessly or being a know-it-all, even though you know you’re not? do they ask you to ‘change that tone’ or ‘stop being so pedantic’?
• Do you not get jokes/sarcasm sometimes?
• Do I show sympathy for people going through difficult times by talking about something similar that I experienced?
• Do you ask a question and get an answer that has nothing to do with what you asked? Do people infer things you haven't said bc you expect them to take your words at face value? — Related, after having done this for years, do you rewrite that email 27 times to ensure its clarity?
• Does objectively clear verbiage sound like gibberish to you?
• Have I ever felt like I speak a completely different language from the people around me, that people often don’t believe what I say or seem to have their own secret code only I don’t know? Does it often feel like I’m the only one who says what they really mean?
• Do you actually enjoy solitary activity more or have you out of self-preservation just given up trying not to?

Sensory

• are you highly sensitive in a way that others don’t understand?
• Write down allll the weird habits you have. Not just the autistic-seeming ones, ALL of them. Now look at the list and think “How many of these are just ways of dealing with sensory issues?”
• are you more tired or in pain after experiencing certain sensations?
• Are you hyper sensitive to the emotions around you and feel other’s feelings intensely + subconsciously yet have a hard time identifying your own emotions?
• When you touch a certain fabric/ surface do you cringe and then spend 10 minutes wiping your hands to get the feeling of it off?
• As a child was lunch your least favorite part of the day because the noise in the cafeteria was painful?
• Have your parents ever commented about how “sensitive” you were as a child? do people keep telling you you're overreacting?
• does the thought or experience of certain sounds or textures give me physical pain?
• do i often find i need to repress the urge to move or make noise?
• do I hear the air moving when no one else does? Do I hear the lights, the wires in the walls, or any electrical appliances humming that other people don't?
• Do you cut all the tags out of your clothing bc you can't stop noticing them and they make you feel itchy as fuck?
• do people think you're overly sensitive to foods or picky? do you/did you hate when foods touched each other on the plate or got mixed together?
• Do you need to sit down and dont do anything for a while to ground yourself?
• Are some movements/words soothing?
• Do you echo noises/voice tones/words without noticing?
• Is there a part of you that hates wearing these respiratory masks bc of how it feels on your face and a part of you that loves not having to act with the lower half of your face when interacting with people while you're wearing a mask?
• Is your fashion sense more about tagless, seamless clothes than it is about looking “good?” * Do you find yourself wearing things that make you feel almost naked (soft fabrics) and prefer to go barefoot?
• Are you /actually/ doing that because you think it’s funny? Is there a possibility it could be stimming, physically or otherwise?

Emotion Regulation

• Do you space out a lot, to the point it interferes with stuff and is noted in your records?
• Do you have mood swings that are tied to things happening around you or to you? do you have breakdowns over seemingly insignificant things?
• When you get into something and it makes you happy, is it all you can think about, all you dedicate your time and money to, and is it difficult to consume content that isn’t related to that interest?
• Do you often get so lost in your disassociations that you run to places so you can get rid of all emotional overload?
• Does plans change make me anxious?
• Do you have specific things that you use that you get extremely upset if you run out or they break? Especially if you can’t find more?
• have people ever told you that you “overreact” when something changes/“doesn't go your way”?
• as a child, do you remember being very upset when you had to move desks or the layout of the classroom changed??
• do you have a hard time explaining your emotions? do you feel like you have different emotions from everyone else, or wonder if you have no emotions at all?
• When you're tired, frustrated, or overwhelmed, are you less able to perform emotions the way others expect you to? Do they accuse you of being passive aggressive, cold, uncaring, or not listening based on your face, body, and voice instead of what you actually feel, do, or say?
• Are you watching the same few shows repeatedly because the thought of breaking out of that routine and trying a new show scares you?

Body/posture/etc.

• did you walk with raptor hands since you were born
• Do I walk on my toes a lot just cuz (or because I don't like the feeling of the ground under my feet? (could be either)
• are you constantly being told to work on your posture?
• were you told to use a pencil grip when you were younger because you held pencils “weird”
• Do you misinterpret every cue your body gives you for pain, hunger, or bathroom needs?
• Do I have trouble running?
• Does the burn go away?
• Do i shut down or lose control or become unable to speak when i get overwhelmed?
• In elementary did you have a hard time on balance beams? were you very clumsy and constantly tripping over yourself? do you tie your shoes very slowly?
• do you forget when you're hungry/thirsty, and only realize you need to eat/drink when you feel like you're going to collapse?
• do you spend way too much effort analysing others walks and pace and trying to mimic them?
• do you feel alien in your body when youre suddenly hyper aware of your movement and no matter how much you change it up it feels like everyone is looking at you weird?

Misc.

• Do you feel non-human and don’t know why?
• Do you find yourself never being able to meet the workload standard of a NT Person? “do you often miss the trees because of the forest?” “feel like small details don't matter but broad systems are intuitively obvious?” “do you often jump to conclusions or see patterns that aren't there, and then have to backtrack?”
• Do you have trouble perceiving someone as 'having authority', such as a manager at work, a doctor, or even a police officer, unless you know them personally and at least somewhat care about them?
• Is it a useful label for you? That is, do you feel like it helps you better understand your life, or that it helps you make sense of things you do that others don't seem to do?
• do you find it easy to understand animals and feel as if this comes naturally to you compared to being able to do the same with other humans? * do you ever find yourself imitating the body language of an animal such as your pet when you arent with them?
• Is it common for everyone always being so nervous or near a panic attack when they have to do something involving strangers – like simply talking to them? Keeping eye contact nearly impossible.
• Do I need at least 24 hours' advance notice to make plans, especially social plans?
• Do you have no trouble following rules (as long as your physical/mental state permits) as long as they serve a useful purpose for society/the group (NOT only for YOURSELF), but also have no trouble ignoring them if they make no sense/inflict harm (again to society, not yourself)?