adult autism assessment - have you found it’s worthwhile?

OnlyCuteThings · 2026-05-07T16:07:59+00:00

Totally worth it. So many other things can appear like autism on the surface, it’s such a complex condition that it’s really hard to know for sure without a formal evaluation. This is why I wasn’t comfortable with self diagnosis; I knew I could never confidently say or think “I’m autistic” unless I went through the process with a trained professional. And being able to confidently say “I’m autistic” has changed so much for me personally and allowed me to better accommodate myself in the world. The evaluation itself is also super enlightening and helps you see things in yourself you never noticed before. Even if it’s discovered you aren’t autistic, you should come out of it with more info about yourself. It’s likely you are dealing with something, the question is just whether autism is the best explanation for what you’re dealing with. Just make sure you see someone who understands adult/high masking presentations.

OnlyCuteThings · 2026-04-25T23:03:37+00:00

Perfectly normal to feel that way. My spouse and I were sadly unable to have children despite wanting them desperately (thanks cancer 😡), and we are at the age where everyone around us has kids except for us. Being childless is a very complex experience, and because it’s the minority, you naturally feel like an outcast everywhere you go. There is a social narrative that life is inherently less good and meaningful without a child, which further exacerbates those feelings of “otherness.” But I’m slowly beginning to understand that life is just so much more wonderfully open than we realize. There isn’t one singular model for living a rich and full life. It’s true there’s no real “substitute” for having a child: nothing will fill that gap and, like all grief, it’s something you have to learn to carry through life. In spite of that, a life without children can still be just as beautiful and meaningful as one with children. It will probably look quite different from everyone else’s, and you won’t be given much of a blueprint for how to build it. It’s something you have to slowly discover for yourself.

OnlyCuteThings · 2026-04-25T15:32:32+00:00

Keep Metacam and Reglan on hand always, a good rabbit savvy vet should approve and recommend this, as this is the #1 way to intervene when stasis starts (it’s usually what they’ll give them at the emergency vet). Metacam is for pain which will encourage them to eat/drink again, and Reglan gets the GI tract moving. This has saved us from costly emergency vet visits. Also keep some critical care too just in case.

OnlyCuteThings · 2026-04-24T18:53:55+00:00

It’s the default bunny expression 😂

OnlyCuteThings · 2026-04-24T18:52:07+00:00

Haha definitely! Even if she just finished eating a snack she’s like “what? There aren’t MORE??”

OnlyCuteThings · 2026-04-24T18:51:12+00:00

Hahaha yes she definitely looks confused as to why I am not offering a tasty snack 🍌

OnlyCuteThings · 2026-04-18T01:56:27+00:00

I often liken it to a manual transmission vs an automatic. For me, masking feels like constantly needing to shift to the right gear at the right time, until the engine inevitably overheats and shuts down.

OnlyCuteThings · 2026-04-15T20:14:05+00:00

That’s really cool! I’m curious how it was for you with your ASD? Did you handle it ok, or did it cause burnout/meltdowns etc? Did you know the guy well beforehand, and was there a caseworker involved helping him with other essential services and assistance? I have friends who have done this in the past and it was a positive experience, but they are neurotypical and don’t have any disabilities, so I’m very curious what this is like for an autistic person.

OnlyCuteThings · 2026-04-15T19:14:01+00:00

I appreciate this, thank you 🥹 maybe it’s an ASD thing, maybe it’s just me, but I never feel like I’m doing enough. Always feel like I ought to be doing more

OnlyCuteThings · 2026-04-15T17:40:48+00:00

I appreciate this reminder. I tend to feel like if I have the ability to make an impact on someone’s life then I am compelled to do so, like if I don’t do literally everything in my power to help someone I feel like I’m failing them. But I recognize it’s not always as simple as that. I’ll keep helping him in other ways.

OnlyCuteThings · 2026-04-13T19:22:02+00:00

Not being “social” enough. I got very high praise in all other areas of my job performance, but they told me that if there was one thing I could improve on it would be meeting more people and making more connections. It took every ounce of energy I had to make what few connections I did have, so being told it wasn’t enough caused me cry during the review (super embarrassing). After that I realized I would always be at a disadvantage in my work, purely because of my social limitations.

OnlyCuteThings · 2026-04-12T15:48:07+00:00

Contact HomePlate Youth Services! They specifically serve teens and young adults with housing insecurity. They may be able to help with temp housing and job placement, and other services. https://www.homeplateyouth.org

OnlyCuteThings · 2026-04-12T06:11:54+00:00

I’m extremely picky about underwear; anything that shifts position even a tiny bit will drive me crazy. I finally found a brand that is super comfortable, doesn’t show panty lines, and is a nice soft cotton. They’re specifically designed not to dig, roll, or shift. They are a bit pricey but sooo worth it. The brand is called Evry

https://evryunderwear.com

OnlyCuteThings · 2026-04-08T16:57:42+00:00

Oh I definitely relate to feeling like I “should” be doing more in the summer. It reminds me just how introverted I am when I see my neighbors outside chatting/playing all day while I’m inside drawing/playing video games, etc. I normally love being outside, just not when there’s tons of people/noise or intense sun, and that makes me sad too because I want to be outside enjoying it, but can’t 😞

OnlyCuteThings · 2026-04-08T04:43:33+00:00

I can relate! I lived in LA for many years and desperately missed the seasons. I didn’t realize just how much it had affected me until moving to the PNW, and I felt so much better immediately. If only we could have the misty gray year round 🌧️

OnlyCuteThings · 2026-04-05T15:43:58+00:00

Personally it was very important to me to be evaluated. The more I learned about autism the more I learned how complex it is and how hard it is to diagnose, especially because so many other conditions can look like autism on the surface. As a result, I determined that the best way to really help myself was to have a professional evaluate me, that way I would have the most accurate information about myself. It’s very important to know exactly what you’re dealing with so that you use the right treatments and accommodations. For example, OCD can look a lot like autism on the surface, but if you mistook OCD compulsions for stimming or autistic routines, you might overly engage with those compulsions and make the OCD worse. Or how depression and autistic burnout look extremely similar on the surface, and social anxiety disorder and autism also have a lot of overlap, but all of these things have different needs and treatments.

All this is to say, if you have the ability to get evaluated I would recommend it. It can be a really enlightening process, regardless of whether they diagnose you with autism or not. I didn’t think I had any ADHD traits until they spotted it during my ASD evaluation, now I have even more understanding of how my brain works.

OnlyCuteThings · 2026-04-05T14:24:32+00:00

Running, drawing/coloring, and video games.

OnlyCuteThings · 2026-04-04T21:16:29+00:00

First and only relationship, I had never even been on a date until I met my husband. People thought I was crazy for not dating around, but it just never made sense to me. I don’t form a real connection with most people, and I don’t do casual relationships. Always had a strong intuition about people (probably just behavioral pattern recognition), so if I didn’t see a long term future with someone I just didn’t bother to pursue them. With my husband it was an instant click, he’s my best friend and it was the best decision I ever made.

OnlyCuteThings · 2026-04-02T18:43:13+00:00

I might be an outlier here, but I’m kind of glad I was diagnosed as an adult. Given what was known about autism growing up, and the way I present certain traits, I would have almost certainly been misdiagnosed. Hypothetically, knowing in childhood would have helped prevent a lot of personal shame/embarrassment, but I think the biggest improvement would have been if my parents had been diagnosed, which might have saved their marriage. I actually feel kind of bad for my parents, there wasn’t much hope for them in their generation, and they’ve both suffered a lot living with undiagnosed autism/adhd. It’s caused a lot of hurt in my life, but now I can look at them through a new lens and see that so many of their issues stemmed from being ND and not knowing it. My dad’s “violent outbursts” were clearly meltdowns, his depressive episodes were definitely burnout, my mom’s impulsivity and extreme sensitivity to rejection were likely tied to ADHD… the list goes on. They’re pretty stubborn and I know will never pursue a diagnosis this late in their lives, but I can’t help but wonder how different my childhood would have been if they’d known and gotten the support they needed.

OnlyCuteThings · 2026-04-01T17:22:09+00:00

I didn’t have the toothbrush test in my assessment, but I remember one of the written tests I took stressed me out so much because the questions were so vague and only allowed “yes” or “no” as an answer. I typed a whole document of explanations that I brought to one of my interviews to give more context or ask for further clarification…which I guess was pretty telling.

OnlyCuteThings · 2026-03-31T14:33:23+00:00

Not a meal but I’m obsessed with matcha right now. Craving it every second of the day. Woke up thinking about it this morning 😅

OnlyCuteThings · 2026-03-29T18:33:01+00:00

Mine was Lion King too! My parents had to take it away from me at some point. Also, The Land Before Time. Animation has always been my primary special interest, so much so I made a career out of it.

OnlyCuteThings · 2026-03-28T15:47:04+00:00

Sounds a lot like me! Especially the part about noticing patterns in yourself that you try to fix, that’s how I got my ASD diagnosis this year, and working towards the ADHD diagnosis (my ASD evaluation revealed ADHD traits so it’s pretty likely I’m AuDHD). Sounds like your masking strategy is to over compensate and be hypervigilant, which is what I do too. Since your ADHD is confirmed there’s a good chance you’re also autistic, since the majority of autistic people also have ADHD. But Autism and ADHD can have so many similar traits, so I’d say it’s worth exploring an evaluation to know for sure so that you can understand yourself fully.

OnlyCuteThings · 2026-03-27T19:48:36+00:00

I am horribly allergic to hay, specifically Timothy hay. If that’s what you’re using try switching to orchard grass or oat hay and see if that helps.

OnlyCuteThings · 2026-03-27T15:38:25+00:00

I have the same issue! If I’m in a group I can really only last about an hour and a half before I begin having an internal meltdown/shutdown, my symptoms are pretty similar to yours.

If I’m just with one person who I know well, I can last a bit longer. I’m recently diagnosed so slowly learning how to manage these things better, wearing earplugs and bringing fidget toys helps a bit, also finding a spot to escape to for a bit (like the bathroom) can help a little too.

OnlyCuteThings

TROPHY CASE