Is it possible for an alter to be Autistic?

The definition in this paper confuses me, but here is it in case it makes sense to others of you.

"Autistic and Handicapped Personalities-- Autistic personalities are often sent "out" during periods when no other alter is interested in executive control, or especially during situations of confinement or control."

http://home.actlab.utexas.edu/~vreed/Le ... ation.html

Note the references for this paper are very old, limited and one is even a popular media storybook, so take with a HUGE grain of salt.

Tylas: Thank you for the rather interesting article. Despite being cautious of its outdated information, I enjoyed reading it, and will take its perspectives on "alter roles" into some consideration.

Updates: Shay has taken some online tests provided by a website, WrongPlanet.net, that focuses on Autistic conditions/Asperger's. I was extremely proud of her for not only taking, but finishing these tests, (taken of her own desire, without direction from us). While I do realize that these types of tests do not diagnose a person, and that only a true diagnosis can be given by a true professional, I must admit that these results do increase, (though minimally) my suspicions of Shay being Autistic, (though not necessarily "truly" Autistic). Here are the tests taken by her, as well as her results:

1. The Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire (BAPQ; Hurley et al., 2007).
The broad autism phenotype (BAP) is a set of personality and language characteristics that reflect the phenotypic expression of the genetic liability to autism, in non-autistic relatives of ASD individuals. These characteristics are milder but qualitatively similar to the defining features of autism. Sensitivity and specificity of the BAPQ for detecting the BAP were high (>70%). Parents of children with autism had significantly higher scores on all three subscales: aloof personality, rigid personality, and pragmatic language. Results of a later study in which researchers also had a group of ASD diagnosed individuals take the BAPQ indicated that the BAPQ is a valid and reliable test for measuring BAP traits.
The questionnaire gives your BAP and your scores on aloof personality, rigid personality and pragmatic language and gives you its conclusion whether or not you may be on the broader autistic phenotype or in fact autistic (ASD).

Shay's Results:
Autistic/BAP
You scored 112 aloof, 126 rigid and 113 pragmatic
You scored above the cutoff on all three scales. Clearly, you are either autistic or on the broader autistic phenotype. You probably are not very social, and when you do interact with others, you come off as strange or rude without meaning to. You probably also like things to be familiar and predictable and don't like changes, especially unexpected ones.
Your Analysis (Vertical line = Average)
• You scored 112% on aloof, higher than 63% of your peers.
• You scored 126% on rigid, higher than 95% of your peers.
• You scored 113% on pragmatic, higher than 89% of your peers.
• You scored 7% on diagnosis, higher than 74% of your peers.


2. The Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) test (Baron-Cohen et al., 2001).
In their scientific study, 80% of the adults with AS or HFA scored between 32 and 50 (average score: 35), versus 2% of controls (NTs). Test-retest and interrater reliability of the AQ was good. The AQ is thus a valuable instrument for rapidly quantifying where any given individual is situated on the continuum from autism to normality.
If you score 32 - 50, you might have AS or HFA.

Shay's Results:
Agree: 2,4,5,7,12,13,16,19,20,21,22,23,26,33,35,39,41,42,43,45,46: 1 point
Disagree: 3,8,11,14,15,17,25,27,29,31,32,34,36,37,38,40,44,47,48,49,50: 1 point
Score: 42


3. The Empathizing Quotient and Systemizing Quotient - Revised (EQ SQ-R) tests (Wheelwright et al., 2006).
Note: The score you get on this SQ-R test is different from the original Baron-Cohen (2003) SQ score! The SQ has been revised (SQ-R) in 2006.
The Empathizing–Systemizing (E-S) theory (Baron-Cohen et al., 2003) seeks to classify people on the basis of their skills in the two factors of empathizing and systemizing. Empathizing is the drive to identify mental states and respond to these with an appropriate emotion. Systemizing is the drive to analyze systems or construct systems. The theory attempts to explain the social and communication symptoms in Asperger's Syndrome and High Functioning Autism as deficits and delays in empathizing combined with intact or superior systemizing.
This theory divides people into 5 groups:
Type E (Empathizer), whose empathizing is significantly better than their systemizing.
Type S (Systemizer), whose systemizing is significantly better than their empathizing.
Type B (Balanced), whose empathizing is as good as their systemizing.
Extreme Type E (Extreme Empathizer), whose empathizing is above average but whose systemizing is challenged.
Extreme Type S (Extreme Systemizer), whose systemizing is above average but whose empathizing is challenged.
The important factor to consider is not your absolute scores, but the difference between the two (EQ - SQ-R). This indicates whether you have more natural ability as an Empathizer or a Systemizer. If your scores are about the same for your EQ and SQ-R, then you have well balanced empathizing-systemizing capabilities.
If you are an Extreme Systemizer, you might have AS or HFA.

Unfortunately, the "server could not be found" for this test.


4. The EIQ (Emotional Intelligence Quotient) Test (Full Version; queendom.com).
This is the most comprehensive and most accurate online emotional intelligence test.

Shay's Results:
Emotional Identification, Perception, and Expression
29

You seem to be lacking in most, if not all of the skills that can help you identify, perceive and express emotions in yourself and others. This can, if it hasn't already, hinder your ability to read others, to understand how they feel, and to effectively identify your own emotions. Lacking these skills could mean that you are unable to relate to others and may sometimes even question why you yourself behave the way you do. Review the results below for further information on the areas that will require improvement.


5. The Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) test (Aron, 1996).
In her national bestseller, 'The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You', author Elaine Aron defines a distinct personality trait that affects as many as one out of every five people. According to Dr. Aron's definition, the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) has a sensitive nervous system, is aware of subtleties in his/her surroundings, and is more easily overwhelmed when in a highly stimulating environment.
After numerous in-depth interviews, as well as surveys of over one thousand people, Dr. Aron's findings have been published in Counseling Today, Counseling and Human Development, and the prestigious Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Scientific research is still being done on this personality trait, also called Sensory-Processing Sensitivity (SPS). Findings by Minshew & Hobson (2008), from a study in which HFA / AS people and controls (NTs) administered Aron's HSP questionnaire, support the common occurrence of sensory symptoms in HFA / AS based on first person report.
Scoring:
If you answered more than fourteen of the questions as true of yourself, you are probably highly sensitive. Note: no psychological test is so accurate that an individual should base his or her life on it. Psychologists try to develop good questions, then decide on the cut off based on the average response.
If fewer questions are true of you, but extremely true, that might also justify calling you highly sensitive.
If you're a Highly Sensitive Person, you might have AS or HFA.

Shay's Results:
Answered 19 of the questions as true. "If you answered more than fourteen of the questions as true of yourself, you are probably highly sensitive".


6. Understanding facial expression test: The 'Reading the mind in the eyes' test (Baron-Cohen et al.).
Average score is between 22 and 30.
If you have ASD, you might have difficulties understanding facial expression.
And did you know you can actually train understanding facial expression? See: Training mind reading.

Shay's Results:
Your score: 9
A typical score is in the range 22-30. If you scored over 30,
you are very accurate at decoding a person's facial expressions
around their eyes. A score under 22 indicates you find this quite difficult

(Cassandra also took this test, while co-hosting with Kat, I believe. Their score was a 32).


7. Face blindness / Prosopagnosia test: The Cambridge Face Memory test (faceblind.org).
Prosopagnosia, also called face blindness, is an impairment in the recognition of faces. Everyone sometimes has trouble recognizing faces. Prosopagnosia is much more severe than these everyday problems that everyone experiences. Prosopagnosics often have difficulty recognizing people that they have encountered many times. In extreme cases, prosopagnosics have trouble recognizing even those people that they spend the most time with such as their spouses and their children.
The average score on this test is 80% correct, you're face blind if you score 65% correct or lower.

Unfortunately, the "server could not be found" for this test.


9. The Aspie Quiz (Ekblad, rdos.net).
The Aspie Quiz, an online questionnaire, covers Aspie traits versus NT (neurotypical, non-autistic) traits. For more information, see: http://www.rdos.net/eng
The test gives you an Aspie score, a NT score and the conclusion whether you might be an Aspie or not.

Shay's Results:
Your Aspie score: 163 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 27 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie




There will be other updates/realizations posted under the "Realizations" thread here: http://www.psychforums.com/dissociative-identity/topic98709.html
However, they may take a while to be posted, so it may not happen today or tomorrow.

~Rain

Lately, I have been researching Asperger's, focusing on how it appears in females and the differences in symptoms between males/females. We have found there to be much identification with Asperger symptoms and experiences, and are now considering the possibility of having Asperger's. (We are not self-diagnosing ourselves, as we leave official diagnoses to professionals. We are simply looking for strong possibilities that might help us understand more about ourselves as well as possibly helping us "get on the right track", as one could say).

If we did indeed have a form of Asperger's, then it would certainly help to explain how/why Shay "is" Autistic. (It would also help much of our childhood, and life in general actually, to make more sense).

I will possibly be posting more about this, but I am not "out" that often, and so either I may not be the one posting such updates, or it may simply be a while before such updates are posted. (Cassandra has already started to post about it in the "Realizations" thread, here: http://www.psychforums.com/dissociative-identity/topic98709.html).


~Rain

tomboy24 wrote:[color=#0000BF]Lately, I have been researching Asperger's,

I hate to be the bearer of bad news to such a sweet person but Asperger’s syndrome is to be dropped from the DSM-5
http://life.nationalpost.com/2012/12/04 ... ual-dsm-v/

I see. From the article, it seems that they are simply changing it to the "Autism" diagnosis with the only changes being in level of impairment. So it seems that when we get evaluated, we might be doing it simply for Autism instead of Asperger's. Considering they're similar aside from slight variations here and there (like many other conditions have), this actually does not really bother me. Thank you for the news and article, though.

~Rain

Over time, with careful research and observation, I have come to discover and realize a great many things, including that I highly suspect ourselves as a whole to be somewhere on the Autistim scale. I have come to realize that all of us actually share many aspects with Shay and all exhibit, varying in amount and degree, of course, Autistic (now including of Asperger's) traits/signs.

It is clear to me that the only difference between us is the vastly varying degrees to which we learned to adapt and to which we learned how to act "normal", copy/mimic "normal" people around us, and to communicate with others. (In other words, the only difference is "how Autistic" we are from part to part).


I hope that we are able to seek an evaluation and diagnosis soon, even if it is only for the suspicion of Autism right now, and not for the DID or anything else.


Of course, I am not looking to self-diagnose, and I am keeping my mind open to other possibilities. But this is like a record on replay- just as there was with the DID, there are far too many things that "add up" and point to a very high possibility of us having some form/degree of Autism. (Which would certainly more than "explain" Shay).



~Rain

I really, really don't want this to come out the wrong way so please take what I say and know it is not meant in any bad way or as an accusation or anything at all like that, just a question/thought:
you have said before that your mother (whom you love dearly) worked with kids with autism. Is it possible that you adapted into autism because those kids got time and caring from your mother while you were still living in an abusive environment?

Of course, I am not looking to self-diagnose, and I am keeping my mind open to other possibilities. But this is like a record on replay- just as there was with the DID, there are far too many things that "add up" and point to a very high possibility of us having some form/degree of Autism. (Which would certainly more than "explain" Shay).

It's always good to keep an open mind. From what I can remember you're not diagnosed DID so you might want to get that diagnosis first (if it is the right one for you, no one here can tell of course -- more self-diagnosis and all), considering it might play a factor in whether or not a specialist is comfortable setting both diagnoses (if both are correct, I try to not agree or disagree with the diagnoses that are set/not set because I can't, over the internet or otherwise, see all sides ). I hope you're able to find a specialist who can help you heal and thrive in time

You did not come off in the wrong way, and is a valid point to consider.

However, I do not believe it to be the case. If Shay was the only alter to exhibit any Autistic characteristics, then yes, I would suspect otherwise. Or if our Autistic traits had ceased to exist after the passing of our mother, then yes, I would suspect otherwise. I would also suspect otherwise if some of us did not exhibit at least one Autistic trait, or if our mother had worked with Autistic kids (she worked with down syndrome children and deaf children mostly, or other mentally retarded children, but rarely, if ever, did she work with Autistic children, and until our much younger cousin was diagnosed with Autism when we were in our teens, we had never known an Autistic person/child before), or if we had not also gotten fairly equal time and caring from our mother, or other such things that might cause me to suspect otherwise. But we all exhibit at least one Autistic trait, nothing has changed with the passing of our mother, Shay is not the only one to exhibit Autistic characteristics, our mother did not work with Autistic children (or worked with them very rarely), and we received fairly equal, if not more, time and caring from our mother.
Thus, I do not believe that our traits, signs, symptoms, characteristics, etc., that we exhibit now were affected by our mother's line of work or by our desire for attention/care (at least, not to the extent of adapting Autism despite possibly actually being somewhere in the Autism spectrum).


Our official diagnosis is "Possible DID", thanks to a skeptic who refused to properly diagnose or even consider the idea further despite having all symptoms told to him and seeing a switch with his own eyes. While I would love to receive a re-evaluation and "fix" that diagnosis first, if the possibility arises for us to be evaluated for other things, such as Autism, and receive a diagnosis, I will not hesitate to take that opportunity.


Thank you, I hope the same may be found for all of you as well.


~Rain

Makes sense to me.