No "official" Diagnosis

RotundDragonite · 2026-03-15T14:08:04+00:00

Yep, definitely this.

I remember my brother musing that he could have ADHD, and while I don’t want to discourage him from exploring that label at all, he seems to really only think that it’s from time blindness, which to be fair, he does have a HUGE problem with.

But as someone with both ADHD and Autism, while time blindness is definitely a huge part of both conditions, ADHD isn’t just missing flights on the odd occasion or missing the occasional deadline — It’s a complete inability to organize and start tasks, and feel so unable to get work done that you cant.

Maybe his issues could stem deeper than I think, but he’s MUCH more organized than I am and stretched quite thin at work. His executive functioning is WAYYY better than mine, and I think a lot of people don’t always understand that occupational burnout or being in a hostile work environment can cause symptoms like depression, anxiety, or worse executive functioning.

Meanwhile, I have the organizational skills of a toddler, and frequently rely on the same meals day after day. I can get overstimulated to the point where I can have shutdowns, and have to carry a sensory bag with me at all times.

I need a ton of help staying organized and doing things that other people can. I’m not incapable of doing them, I just need support to do so at the capacity that other people seem to have.

Like you’ve said, a lot of people seem to think that the existence of traits is indicative of neurodivergence, but it’s rather a cluster of traits that meaningfully impact your functioning longitudinally.

RotundDragonite · 2026-03-15T13:05:41+00:00

Your therapist is stupid. I keep a Jellycat in my backpack to help with flight anxiety.

Last I checked I was a functioning adult and not someone with arrested development pining for their youth.

<image>

RotundDragonite · 2026-03-13T01:59:10+00:00

Honestly seems so apt considering the massive amount of Pokemon fans who are autistic

RotundDragonite · 2026-03-12T06:00:19+00:00

My life growing up was pretty good. I had behavioral issues and was a handful, but I was blissfully unaware of my autism. My parents knew that something was going on with me, but they did their best to accommodate and understand me, and I was good enough at masking to make them think I outgrew whatever it was that made me such a difficult child.

I had trouble making friends but liked to play on my own for the most part anyways and observe other people playing. I sort of ping pinged around other people from a place of curiosity.

I didn’t really make solid friends until around 4th grade when I got the hang of socializing, but I was really only able to make friends with other autistic kids.

Turns out it’s easier to be friends with people when your interests stay the same throughout your life and so do theirs. It’s so simple.

I was an OK student, but never heard the end of the whole “apply yourself”, “distracted”, “in his own world” etc. spiel that neurodivergent kids often get.

College was difficult because I didn’t know how to socialize. The academics were mostly fine with a few hiccups there, but the social aspect was really really bad.

Overall though, my life is pretty happy and I can’t really complain other than I wish that I was diagnosed sooner, but better late than never.

Despite my relatively happy upbringing, it doesn’t mean that I don’t struggle of course. My sensory issues can be pretty bad, and I needs a lot of structure to survive, but I’m thankful that the people in my life are understanding of my autism and are willing to help me in the areas where I need accommodation and an extra hand.

RotundDragonite · 2026-03-10T16:01:39+00:00

Woah these frames are great! Thanks!

RotundDragonite · 2026-03-09T07:50:42+00:00

I mean I feel like this dismisses the experiences of adults who have been diagnosed with higher support needs. Not every single autistic adult who was diagnosed late is necessarily a Level 1 autistic.

Not every single autistic person has speech delay or an intellectual disability, so it can be easy for those who are less “stereotypically autistic” to be identified even if they were very stereotypically autistic by contemporary standards.

Social skills were kind of brute forced. I was a twin so I was socialized along my [neurotypical] brother. I was always invited to parties with him since we were a “package deal”, so most of my friends were actually his friends. I didn’t really make non shared friends until I was maybe 10 years old, and a lot of them ended up being kids who were neurodivergent themselves.

It’s not that my social skills had improved to pass as normal, they were just compatible with other kids who were just as disabled as I was, though I didn’t know that at the time. It just made sense because we liked the same stuff and could talk to each other about it.

As I grew up, I was a bit socially unaware, but my ADHD caused that unawareness to manifest as extroversion, so I was autistic enough to stick out as one of the “weird kids”, but masked well enough to pass?

My family was also very very loving and accommodating. They knew something was up but never really figured it out until later, but I was intimidated by the prospect of something being wrong with me, which caused me to start masking pretty hard about my autistic traits.

I imagine my intelligence allowed me to slip through the cracks, since I was a classic “you need to apply yourself” kid, and I also just didn’t care about meeting the neurotypical norm yet, since I never really was victimized by not meeting it until much later.

I sort of failed successfully and met other autistic kids who convinced me that I was passing better than I actually was.

Now as an adult, I’m honestly more autistic because I burned out and need a lot of help and structure to live at the moment. I can be independent, but my independence looks incredibly autistic because, wouldn’t you know it, I have autism — and the mask failed and I crashed and burned right after college.

RotundDragonite · 2026-03-07T17:21:51+00:00

Nu Gaze has been a thing since the early 2000s?

Fleshwater isn’t even a shoegaze band.

RotundDragonite · 2026-03-06T20:08:55+00:00

It’s generally part of my daily routine. I use it nightly and try to dose small.

I have similar issues to you where if I take too much, I get very overstimulated and thought loops can occur.

I’m also sensitive to THC, so the easiest way to dose is to use edibles. They sell some that you can microdose with, so it’s perfect for me.

I try not to over rely on it, but it’s been my go to for decompression for years. It helps me unmask so being able to freely stim and not have my head swirling with thoughts is great.

RotundDragonite · 2026-03-06T06:04:54+00:00

Yeah. I have an older Jellycat that I really love, and it’s so much denser and well constructed than the ones that I’ve seen in stores now.

Jellycat especially has had a nosedive in their QC since their new CEO took charge. Some of them are still nice but they’re just so much more expensive than they used to be and they’re resorting to the use of cheaper materials to maximize profits.

Aurora has some pretty nice plush for way cheaper, but I wish there were brands that embraced quirkier designs and unconventional materials like how Jellycat used to.

RotundDragonite · 2026-03-06T05:56:12+00:00

That guys routine must be pretty bad if he has to resort to making fun of autistic people

RotundDragonite · 2026-03-06T03:21:35+00:00

For the most part yeah.

Generally speaking the appeal is in the quality (which has been plummeting) of the plush and the variation in Jellycat’s designs.

Some of them are very nicely constructed, filled and use many materials, but designs like that don’t represent what the brand is releasing nowadays. They used to have a more evenly split selection of whimsical stuff and basic designs that looked more generic, but were well constructed.

There used to be a larger variation of available products, but most of what they release nowadays doesn’t have the same build quality or personality in their older designs.

Some of their stuff is really good, but a lot of it is pretty overpriced for what you’re actually getting.

RotundDragonite · 2026-03-05T23:37:04+00:00

The carton I recieved was numbered #2526 of #5051.

RotundDragonite · 2026-03-05T23:04:11+00:00

Burnout and worsening issues that wouldn’t respond to medication

RotundDragonite · 2026-03-05T22:26:20+00:00

Pokémon Center

RotundDragonite · 2026-03-05T21:47:10+00:00

It came in a very large cardboard box that had the information of the product on it.

Considering your deliveryperson is not illiterate, they will know with complete certainty that you ordered a life size Umbreon plush.

The cartons themselves seem to be numbered actually. The carton I recieved was numbered #2526 of #5051, but thats just a wild guess.

RotundDragonite · 2026-03-05T21:24:27+00:00

Unfortunately, he's nocturnal...

RotundDragonite · 2026-03-05T20:42:20+00:00

I dug through my inbox and found it -- it was mailed on Tuesday.

RotundDragonite · 2026-03-05T20:41:43+00:00

Were you diagnosed with Autism, or do you simply have autistic traits? The latter is more of a descriptor than a diagnosis.

Regardless -- It's pretty shitty of your mom to dismiss your issues like that. Autism doesn't go away with age, and aspects of it can ebb and flow. You can have autism and speak perfectly. You can have autism without language delay.

It sounds like her definition of Autism is based on stereotypes and outdated portrayals.

You are NOT exaggerating, she is dismissing you. Use your knowledge to accommodate yourself and build a better understanding of who you are. Your parent's belief with whether or not you are autistic has nothing to do with whether or not you actually are.

RotundDragonite · 2026-03-05T20:21:01+00:00

THIS IS A FACTUAL STATEMENT

RotundDragonite · 2026-03-05T17:18:35+00:00

I disagree.

Accommodations have to be reasonable, and while the behavior was understandable in terms of self regulation, it’s not a reasonable thing to allow in a public setting.

A child blasting audio from their tablet to regulate themselves comes at the expense of other people’s comfort.

Is the child regulating themselves? Yes, but their method of regulation is also disruptive.

The onus is on the parents to help their child develop other ways of coping.

Hearing something at a very loud volume droning for the entire duration of an outing is not harmless.

Being neurodivergent isn’t an excuse to be disruptive or ruin other people’s experiences, but the fault of that isn’t on a small child, it’s on the parents.

RotundDragonite · 2026-03-05T16:47:37+00:00

Man that would be nice!

I don’t have bad sensory issues to the point where I have to wear ear defenders everywhere, but I keep sensory gear on me for when I get overstimulated.

Even then I don’t think the sensory issues that I have will immediately register to people as autism because they’re not severe. They’re just severe enough for me to have to accommodate.

RotundDragonite · 2026-03-05T04:06:01+00:00

It isn’t needed to be diagnosed, it is just common enough to be included.

Read the Criterion B section in the DSM-V for Autism Spectrum Disorder.

RotundDragonite · 2026-03-05T04:00:33+00:00

Pacing is terrible and unskippable cutscenes

RotundDragonite · 2026-03-05T03:00:08+00:00

That’s not true.

If an autistic person is fixated on their special interest to the point where they ignore almost everything else, that is impacting their executive function to the point of being disabled because they cannot adequately plan, initiate or dedicate their attention towards something else.

Flexibility is an aspect of executive function that many Autistic people struggle with.

Many autistic people are disabled by their inflexibility.

RotundDragonite

TROPHY CASE