possibly autism

Hey;


I was told by a psychiatrist that I am learning disabled rather than autistic, and was wondering if it is possible that I am both. After all, tests can be in error.
I do not communicate 99% of the time, even with those I am very close to. I have been combative at times, when I was younger I hung out with people much younger than myself, (I was a teen hanging out with kids under 11), I find it impossible to care about others problems, I can listen to someone tell of woes and they might as well be telling me the weather, I have often been accused of being in my own little world, I find myself fixating on certain objects, signs, etc, as if they have a greater significance than they actually do, I have my certain routines which can not be varied, for example, when I was younger I would watch a certain show at the same time every day, and I had to have a certain meal with it, prepared a certain way, and no one was allowed to speak while my show was on.
I have trouble living independently, and rely on others a great deal to deal with the world around me.

Hi Dan

I'm sure it's possible to be learning disabled and autistic. I'm a dad of two autistic teens and they do some of the things that you describe.

BUT - and this is really important - autism is just a label that describes certain behaviours. This label can sometimes be useful - it might help you to access special support if you need it - but it's not who you are.

In fact everyone is a bit autistic! Autism is a "spectrum" that varies from very mild to very extreme and every human being sits on that spectrum somewhere.

So you don't have to worry too much about whether you're autistic or not. But if you would like to be assessed, then that assessment should be done by an autism expert. Your psychiatrist may not have the specialist knowledge to assess you accurately.

There's lots of information about autism here:

http://www.autism.org.uk/
http://www.autism-society.org/

I hope that helps.

All the best

Mike