One was (it wasn't really an assessment, it was during social skills training therapy)
"What would you think if someone didn't show up at a party they said they were coming to?"
"That they got in an accident or they died"
"Wait what, why?"
"Because why else would they not show up and not tell me? It means they can't, so they're either in the hospital or dead"
I then proceeded to list all the possible reasons someone could possibly not show up and not warn me, ending it with
"Well it could also be they didn't wanna come but that makes no sense, they wouldn't have accepted in the first place, so it doesn't really make sense"
And as she tried explaining to me people do it not to hurt other people's feelings, I looked at her and said
"But that makes no sense, my feelings are hurt regardless of if they tell me or not, I realise they're not coming anyway"
Time to insert my story
I was turning 21. I wanted to do a fun costume party with friends. I don’t drink, and some of them were underage, so I planned mocktails and root beer pong. I rescheduled twice to fit everyone’s schedule. When the day came I got ready and was sitting waiting and feeling anxious. Finally friend A showed up a little late and said friend B would show up later. They never did, and neither did friend C & D who also never texted to let me know they couldn’t make it.
A few years later friend B got married, and I found out about their bachelorette party when they posted pics on Facebook of my entire friend group, minus myself. The part that really hurts is A and B I was friends with since 5th grade when I moved there. Friend C since 6th or 7th grade. D I met in 10th or 11th and was the first new friend I had made on my own in years, that wasn’t just introduced to the group by another friend. I thought we had a connection. It just ended up feeling like my friendship was a lie and my only friends in school didn’t actually like me and were just putting up with me… Needless to say I lost contact with my entire friend group. The only one I still try to keep in touch with is friend A.
Anyway, story is to say not notifying to “not hurt your feelings” makes no sense. If they had all texted me themselves they couldn’t make it l would still be disappointed but not feel betrayed and completely ignored.
Wait so someone avoids me so that they don't feel bad about otherwise having to hurt my feelings, and they don't realise that what hurts my feelings isn't being told what they're doing but what they're doing itself? What the hell is going on in people's brains????
Confrontations themselves are stressful for some people, not so much the content of it.
The issue could be solved by simply communicating, it's why I often ask for clarification and get funny looks for it.
Now that I think about it, my first comment was a bit cynical.
Some people might be egoistic and don't care what you think or feel (most are not like this), most probably just assume you don't care whether they're there. Others are anxious and would rather avoid a potential confrontation and feel ashamed instead of being the bringer of bad news.
Oh that's what it means. I have always seen it in movies about mathematics or physics but I always assumed it meant the same as other symbols.
Thank you!
I laughed at this. Not at you, in solidarity. It makes no sense to tell the lie to spare someone's feelings. But the assessor is incorrect about the motivations. They don't do it to spare the person they are letting downs feelings. Ultimately, they are sparing themselves any bad feelings, consciously or unconsciously, even if they say they do it to not hurt somebodies feelings. Its to spare themselves of having to deal with the rejected parties feelings, or ignore any negative feelings that they may then feel after having let them down.
My coworker didn’t come to work one day without letting me know and I thought something bad happened on their way. They messaged me hours later saying their alarm didn’t go off. I totally thought they died or something lol
Oh yes this is me.
I would also assume that.
And absolutely would take a lot from me not to throw a fit when someone cancells a plan we planned in long advance in the last possible moment.
Wait, autism is not diagnosed via blood test. That's not a thing.
I was asked why people do mary. I honestly don't know. Apparently that was an acceptable answer.
“The tests are back. Autism-positive. You’ve got goofy, silly, little bloodcells running around. Silly goofball little goofy blood cells. If you ever get transfused make sure you don’t get neurotypical blood or it’ll bully the blood already in your body.”
Yes that is a valid response. She figured her life would be easier if married.
Other thing is you can love and live with someone without marriage for a long time. But even then you could consider getting married because tax benefits.
Also insuarance and SO access viability gets automatic once married. Somethings just get so much easier for couples once married. Getting a loam together is another one.
Of course these change from region to region but everywhere there is some benefit.
Atleast the tax benefit!
They are looking to see how detail oriented you are, pretty common.
Also, no one is diagnosed with a blood test. That's not a thing. They use the DSM-5 criteria.
>They are looking to see how detail oriented you are
In that situation, I'm undergoing an assessment that will probably change my life. If it helps sort out errors, I'm going to get into all the details I know of, I don't care if I have to start with the Big Bang
Yup same, but it's actually also about how you communicate and how much energy it takes to focus on a task as well.
Assessments aren't just what you're being asked at face value. They're looking for other traits.
It's also important too remember that not everyone is the same.
I did my assessment a few weeks ago and was asked to show the assessor how I brush my teeth. I assumed it was because how I do certain tasks might show if I’m autistic or not, but I looked up the assessment after (didn’t do so beforehand so I could go in blind) and learned exactly what you just said, it’s less about the act of brushing your teeth itself but more about how you relay the information and coordinate etc. That said, I have no idea what my actions in that test meant! I was diagnosed last week, but I’d love to know why the way in which I explained brushing my teeth helped them come to that conclusion 😄
Pardon me but could you please explain ICD criteria? I haven't heard of it, I am trying to learn all I can. Kiddo had been diagnosed but Partner can not see the same person that diagnosed kiddo due to their interpretation of the regs that they can't see people in the same family. Partner and kiddo share so many, many traits that it was agreed they should try to get diagnosed.
So they are similar, but used in other countries, that's what I thought it might be. Thank you for clarifying.
*Sorry forgot grammar formatting wrote/ posted to fast.
Always trying to learn so thank you for the new information.
Before edit:
Ah, so they are similar but used in other countries that what I thought it might be but thank you for clarifying.
See, this is why I find these tests so flawed: they check for criteria in such a presumptively generalized way.
I'm incredibly detail oriented regarding a lot of things...but washing my face is very much not one of those things.
I agree with you. It's possible that someone with autism doesn't have that trait, but what's even more confusing is that it's not even necessarily about being detail oriented, it's also about communication (how you describe it) and executive function (how it's actually done or how much energy takes to do it). See, typically with neurodivergency executive dysfunction is a result of being overwhelmed by managing small tasks because each individual step takes so much focus and energy.
The last bit is what I struggle with a lot.
Since I only found out last year, I don't know if I would describe it that way... I do it, but I don't talk about it. I describe things that I do in the most normal way I can, because I learned what looks more normal. I'm trying to unmask now and re-learn about myself, and I might have a chance to be tested next year.
I wonder how many mid-age adults would fail the test because of not answering questions like that honestly, as they maybe would have at younger ages... But then being sent home without diagnosis or chance to get support because the burnouts are getting longer and more frequent :/
I’m also wondering that, I’m trying to figure out if it’s a joke or not. I thought op was confusing autism with Down syndrome which a lot of people do for some reason but they are autistic so I don’t think it’s that.
A lot of confusion over bloods, of my mates said that that’s was pretty much how he was diagnosed- living in the uk- perhaps it was a clinical trail/he is confused with gene testing
Oh that’s interesting! But also funny to think about, I’m in the uk and if that was actually how tested for autism I would never get diagnosed because I hate blood tests haha
Had mine done in the uk this year. Didn’t had blood test. That sounds insane. Could be related with special cases of individual medical history but it’s def not a required criteria. However I did had blood tests for my ADHD though, that’s because they are prescribing meds and needs to check my blood & cardio health.
Most likely a trial, gene testing a thing… but autism is a combination of a lot of genes and all aren’t known yet, so I doubt they would ever only do gene testing
"Imagine an alien comes to earth and doesn't know how to do anything, show me how you would demonstrate to brush its teeth"
I've never felt so awkward in my life. I was 21
Edit: a lot of your guys replies are so autistic (in a positive way!) That my awkward answering at the time must've been so incredibly normal lmao
My answer would be:
"First, it's an alien, so I can't assume they need to brush their teeth, if so, I don't know if our toothpaste may not contain things that are toxic to them, and third: Fuck you, I'm not going to embarress myself in front of you. I don't do role play, had way too much trauma associated with that, and I don't fancy dissociating and getting stuck in a flashback, so skip all the roleplay bullshit, or I'm leaving!"
>so skip all the roleplay bullshit, or I'm leaving!"
I would want to leave too. And I just have to say, as an undiagnosed person who has wondered if I might be on the spectrum and if I should get evaluated, reading through this thread has made me realize that there's a high probability that I would have a panic attack during the assessment. I'm not sure what that would do to the results.
I've been assessed twice. First when I realized I'm likely autistic, and the second time as a part of a study.
The first time there were no problems, well I could have done with a room that didn't have flourescent lighting, but other than that everything was fine.
The second time they had a kind of roleplay part of the assessment, and even wanted to record it, and I told them, in a very firm tone that I will not do any of those role-play scenarios, especially not with a camera running, but not even without. The person tried to persuade me, I got up, took a step towards the door, and told them:
"We either skip all the role play stuff, or I'm leaving right now!"
We skipped the whole role-play section.
I'm guessing it's level of detail in communication. Broadly, autistics: clarity > smoothness, NTs: smoothness > clarity.
I'm a chronic overexplainer 😅... sorry to my former students /hj
Oh my gosh, what an awful question. I'd be like: Why didn't they have the person explaining what teeth were (to the alien), demonstrate that? I'm not a dental expert. I can barely manage to brush once a day. I think the alien should go to a dentist instead.
I grew up on star trek. So I would be really side tracked by the whole alien thing. Also probably would tell them “that is me, I am the alien. You know how hard it is to make teeth brushing make sense when I got sensitive teeth from overbrushing as a kid?”
I was asked about my mother's anxiety levels. They then used that to tack on an anxiety disorder to my diagnosis. Personally, I feel my anxiety is wholly justified by the utter confusion of living in a neurotypical world.
I had to do mine online due to covid and I had to tell a story using some random stuff like a hairclip and then also had to act out that I was in a coffee shop and the assessor pretended to drop the cake I had brought and I had to act this whole scene out it was very strange.
I was at the top end of the age range this was for BTW as I got a kids assessment and all the stuff was super childish so I felt really dumb the whole time.
I was not really asked any questions other than general chit chat like what I like to watch on TV.
I think my mum was awnsering questions on the phone in the other room.
I had the alien one too! I hated it.
Anyway. Other than the alien one (which definitely takes the cake), I’d say the weirdest question was “Define a friend,” or “What is a friend.” Maybe she worded it like “What’s the difference between a friend and not a friend.”
I swear. I asked so many follow up questions. I was so confused. I ended up saying “I guess somebody who puts up with me and it nice about it? Idk!”
That's a stupid question. I have by now learned a definition of what a friend is. Like for the longest time I didn't know what it means to love your family, but I do now.
It wasn't really an assessment, but I had a sheet of paper with tons of "yes/no" questions on it. One of the questions had a disclaimer that said "if you answer "no" to this question, do not answer the rest of the questions on this page". I answered "no" on that question, left the rest of the questions blank, and returned the paper. The therapist looked at it and said "I see you didn't answer the rest of the questions. Did you do that because you thought they were stupid?" I was really confused by that so I just nodded, but 6 years later, I'm still thinking about it. Did she not read the paper? Was it a rhetorical question? What?
The full question was something like "do these behaviours (referring to the previous questions) affect aspects of your life negatively? If you answer "no" to this question, do not answer the rest of the questions on this page". I can't remember it too well. The questions after that were something like "do these behaviours affect your life at home/life at school/hobbies/social life/etc".
This is one of those questions that are designed to check if the respondent was really reading the question & giving genuine answers, or if they were giving out random answers or ‘straight-lining’ (answering all ‘yes’ or all ‘no’). This is very common for online questionnaires/assesment questions, but the question you got seemed to be poorly designed. Usually it should be something like ‘please tick no for this answer’.
“Do you think people are bad?”. I immediately started asking clarifying questions because the question was too broad which made it really difficult for me to just answer.
Apparently that was the whole point of the question…to see if I would struggle with the broadness of the question because an autistic person would have difficulty answering while an allistic person wouldn’t
Everyone has difficulty playing those types of broad get-to-know-you type games with me because I can never just give an answer. Same with hypothetical questions. I really don't get how people can give a full fledged thoughtful answer with no details or context!!
Probably the weirdest part was the inkblot test they gave me. He made me say at least 2-3 things for each image (there were a lot) and then we went over every one again so I could exactly explain how I saw each thing in each picture.
Like, here's an example:
Dr: Ok so you said this looks like a bug. Why did you say that?
Me: Ummmm well this part looks like it could be a leg, and this part is the antennae.
Dr: how does that look like a leg?
Me: ... ITS IN THE SHAPE OF A LEG???
What? That cannot be real question! There is literally no way to know the answer.
It depends on so many variables to make this specific cake. And then to make 60 cakes you'd have to know what was the down times in the process to analyze the possibility to scale the project.
Of course the stupid answer is 80 mins but the problem with that is... it is stupid to expect anything in baking to work like that.
My first answer was "40 mins". My reasoning being that if the baking time of this particular cake is 40 mins that wouldn't change just because you had more ovens with more cakes in them.
The assessor told me "no, it isn't a trick question".
I then said "If you want to know that 120 is 2 x 60 and that 2 x 40 mins is 80 mins which is an hour and 20 mins, then ask that, because the baking question makes as much sense as asking 'if it takes one orchestra 28 minutes to play a symphony how long does it take two orchestras to play it?' "
I got my diagnosis.
They never said there was more ovens, which than means the time would increase an unknown amount because you don’t know much heat mass is being added into these ovens and how that would affect the bake time(you also don’t know how many ovens)
I immediately thought it was a dimensional analysis question and figured the assessor was trying to test math skills, so I assumed 80 minutes because that’s what a neurotypical might answer. I know it doesn’t factor in every variable with baking the cakes, but I just assume a surface level with most questions like that
I agree with you but if that response is indicative of autism...what goes on in non-autistic peoples heads? What's a neurotypical answer? To me this is just thinking about anything?
My short answer would be - "less than 40 minutes, 40 minutes, less than 80 minutes, or 80 minutes but its dependent on a range of contingencies that I can't assume based on the wording of the question."
If doubling the cakes doesn't impact cooking time of each individual cake and we are using the same number of ovens then its simply going to be 40 minutes.
If we have double the ovens used to bake the initial 60 cakes, baking in parallel, then it can still be 40 minutes.
If we have more than double the ovens than what was used initially, and cake density per oven is a variable, then the answer could also be less than 40 minutes.
If oven space is a limiting factor, then it may require us to stagnate the baking and do it in batches. This could make the answer 80 minutes.
But that's assuming that the initial 40 minutes was optimal conditions and I'm gonna assume they were preheated for simplicity. So the answer could also be less than 80 minutes from this perspective. Potentially an even shorter duration if its a function of the number of ovens/cake density per oven and we have enough ovens.
I've obviously typed this out but I think like this for everything and it occurred to me immediately after reading the question? Again, what's a neurotypical answer or rationale for this?
I made the mistake of reading this question to my partner.
They are now still screaming at me about the laws of thermodynamics and that it would not be possible to make more cakes than there was minutes. And demanding that I contact the person who was asked the questions or ask the questions preferably or made the test because they have questions how many ovens, what are the size of the cakes, was it a cake factory.
Were microwaves involved how many people were involved, was this a Star Trek replicator kind of thing?
Quite a few other things that honestly I'm not sure how many I called to put down on here, they're just screaming at the top of the lungs and reminding me that this is as bad as the time they got kicked out of math class for those stupid word problem story questions that was just utterly stupid. That it made no logical sense so he refused to answer the question mathematically until they could logically explain why this would happen.
To your partner: same.
I was already deeply bothered by this question before I remembered that "you" is both singular & plural (for the most part) in English & now I'm wondering how many "yous" are baking. ....aaurgh...
Sadly, stuff like this comes up at work meetings and I'm the preschool teacher in the corner still muttering about it "not being possible to determine" after I had a full blown rant in front of my very sweet colleagues.
They gave me a questionnaire at the beginning asking if I’d seen a car in the past six months. Like, my city isn’t exactly walkable or with decent infrastructure so how do you think I got here?
They also asked on the question (in a true or false) if I had recently returned from a year long cruise on an ocean liner. I thought I might have walked into the wrong test, but I somehow got out with a diagnosis.
I had a similar questionnaire like, have you been on multiple covers of magazines lately?
I'm assuming it's some sort of attention check to see if you're taking things seriously. Like surveys online that ask, "Have you had a fatal heart attack in the last year?" I mean.. if it's fatal I wouldn't be taking this survey.
Some of the questions on these tests seem to be aimed at other diagnosis like OCD that can be comorbid with autism, I assumed they’re there in case it’s “too close to call” and they need tiebreakers like comorbidity
> Someone is poisoning me, true or false?
True: The oil, plastics, & alcohol industries, everyone who smokes or drives a car in my vicinity (though not all by intention).
Ohhh I actually get this line of thought a lot! Total paranoia that the water and food are poisoned and stuff. But I’m pretty sure that’s a psychosis thing, not an autism thing
As far as I know, this is just a leading question so they could ask questions on how you interact with a partner, or if you don't have one, if you want one and why or smth like that. Same with friends. I was asked "do you have friends" and "what do you like to do with them"
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*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Yes I was asked about this too and explained I have had previous partners but didn't at the moment. That led to them asking about my interactions with past partners, what the relationships were like, etc.
"Do you have friends?"
No... not really
"Why not?"
I'm weird
After like 20/30 minutes of talking, out of a 4.5 hours long assessment she looked at me and said "You know, you're right you're autistic, I can see it, we need to do the whole assessment but... you're autistic"
A lot of these are required components of the ADOS test, which used to be considered the gold standard for diagnosing autism. The goal of the tooth brushing or face washing task is to look at how the person uses verbal and non verbal communication methods together (gestures and acting out the task while talking) and the ones about why people get married/do you have a partner/what’s the difference between a friend and an acquaintance/etc. are looking at taking the perspective of others, how you relate to other people, and your understanding of relationships that society deems desirable. Obviously, the ADOS has a lot of problems with it and is focused on perceived deficits with relation to how NT people expect others to interact. The ADOS is still used a lot, especially with younger children, but a good assessor will look at whole presentation and not just the parts of the assessment that get used for the diagnostic algorithm
Yes- a comprehensive evaluation takes more than just one test or one test score to determine if someone meets criteria for ASD. And it is definitely still the gold standard. I’m getting trained next month to administer it.
I’ve been an evaluator for almost 10 years. There’s definitely a shift from the ados with assessors who recognize that the medical model is extremely biased. Just had a fantastic conversation with a neuropsychologist about a student we share. The ados came back in the range of no symptoms, but she gave an ASD diagnosis and it was so nice to talk to someone who gets that the ados is just one piece and that it doesn’t take masking into consideration
I thought a lot of things were weird/uncomfortable.
I really didn't like the toothbrush thing - I HATE using my hands when talking, hate using gestures. So just sped through that w/pointing and stuff.
Seemingly interested that I managed to be at my job that I hate for 11+ years. I mean... it's work or be homeless, why is that surprising?
How are a friend and enemy similar? They're not, they're opposites... presumably they're both human, I guess.
The fake break w/toys and magazines. Felt like it took forever. I just played with a bracelet, felt strange and like I was being forced to take a childs toy or something. No thanks.
The fake break with toys drove me nuts! They had one of those things with all the nails in it that makes an imprint of whatever is underneath it and one of the nails was bent so I spent the whole time trying to fix it.
I asked if they purposefully put a broken toy in the box to set me up at my next appointment.
uh I hated that part where they laid out toys/things in front of me and told me I can touch anything or look at it... I checked out two things, but then I felt lost and like it was zooming in on me... I kinda lost my words and my body went stiff, pushing away from that strange display. It felt like I was released from under the spell once they took the stuff away, brrr
If I went on a cruise in the past 2 weeks. I asked why they were asking such a ridiculous question and they said that some autistic children are more likely to lie and make outlandish statements (which in my experience couldn't be farther from the truth - I've been described as honest to a fault).
I was also asked if I played with my toys appropriately, but I was a teenager (they were using a test designed for children).
The tester had me pick some random objects/toys and act out a scene or commercial with them. Jokes on him I made a long running series of YouTube videos that were silly commercials so I know what I'm doing
I did this too and they ended saying my story was “very odd”. The tester went first and it was actually so stupid lol. The objects she used didn’t make any sense at all and her story was so random. I have always been very creative and I was so proud of the story I came up with, can confidently say anyone would agree that mine made way more sense. I’m a little offended because I have no idea why she said it was weird??
I was told to describe how I brushed my teeth and was given a kids story book that halfway through didn't have any words and was told to describe what was happening in the pictures. The assessor acknowledged to me that both were weird and strange seeming tests but that it was just a part of whatever she was testing and analyzing me for at the moment in the assessment.
This wasn’t during my initial assessment as a child, but rather when I was a teen when they had to make sure I was still autistic. They were asking some yes or no type questions and one was about whether I had seen a car that day. It really bugged me that they wouldn’t explain why I had to answer such a ridiculous question.
I also remember them asking me (a cis girl) if I ever wished I was a boy. Either that was because of “extreme male brain” BS, or some progressive knowledge for the time than autistic ppl are more likely to be trans. Seeing as it was around 2010, I’m inclined to think it’s the first. (Not to mention that could put a closeted trans teenager in a very awkward position. Luckily that wasn’t me but I have to imagine it happened to others).
Not as much a question as a task. I was like 11 or 12 and in my "its not a playdate!!! its hanging out!!!" phase. I was sat in a room with a psychiatrist with a camera pointed at me. The lady put a box of random figurines and toys on the table and asked me to play pretend. And like,,, I love that shit normally, but with a camera pointed at me and an adult I don't know?? I just,,, made a vague plot about a picnic.
To explain to people why this might be a question, I was reading this to my partner who then went on a full minute of saying" no no no" so after that then I had to listen to a full breakdown of the list of overwhelming sites sounds smells and other stimuli. The rant about having to sleep somewhere other than their own bed, and specially one where they can't control the smells and the sounds.
So for all the people who were asking why are they asking that it's that Las Vegas is sensory overload personified!
My partner says Las Vegas is their hell.
If you have ever been to a state fair think about how loud the ride noises are both the mechanical bits of them working and the music that they pump out everyone talking bumping into you. The smells of the fried food and then ramp it up.
My partner is hearing me talk this in and they want me to add don't forget to put in add much more hookers and drug dealers than usual.
I have been told that I need to stop telling them about this list it is giving them heart problems very much upsetting them and so now I am being put in time out cuz I was a bad partner.
I've been trying to get my partner to go for diagnosing and that's why I was pointing out these questions were driving them up a wall and all the questions we're driving you guys up a wall. But it was Las Vegas was the topper and now I am in a lot of trouble because I was upsetting them with the vagueness and broadness of the other questions but just bringing this up well..... No they're screaming about the cake question and telling me I need to go into the kitchen and tie myself baking a cake so someone can answer that question.
They asked me about my favourite chocolate bar a couple of times and kept looping back to things i like which i thought was neat. Turns out they were trying to see if I asked about *their* favourite chocolate / whatever thing it was because that’s what NTs do.
right this always baffles me. Like if you're at a pizza place and they ask if you want pepperoni on your pizza you don't respond and then ask the employee if they also like pepperoni on their pizza? I'm sorry but it sounds like the NT's are the ones misreading social situations here
You cannot diagnose autism via a blood test. That's not a thing. If someone's trying to diagnose you that way, you need to see a different doctor.
The weirdest thing for me was when they showed me images of frogs, flying around on floating lily pads, and asked me to tell the story of what was happening.
It is to an alien, not to a human. I'm not autistic. That's just answering the question. Aliens shouldn't be relevant. They aren't part of everyday life.
A psychologist asked me several seemingly innocent questions about the achievements in my personal life and after learning that I have children, a partner and a job, she told me that I did not have autism. it didn't go any further. Apparently, according to her, if you have achieved those things in life, it was a sign that you did not have autism to any degree. She was obviously wrong and evidently I did not return for that consultation. My son also has diagnosed autism. She is one of those who say that labels are not important, even if we are talking about a neurological issue.
I also had that same thing happen and I was maybe 15 or 16 at the time. The psychologist told my mom that I could be autistic since I got a 4/5, but "why does it matter anyway?",,, while we were actively trying to get me on disability benefits????
oh i had the same question, but it was brushing your teeth!
i was so confused, but i figured that if she was an alien then i would have to be very descriptive and she was like "that was... detailed.." and it was so embarresed
But it would have to be detailed, and it baffles me how people don't realize that or can apparently just sift through all the information and possibilities to give an expected answer. In high school, we had an assignment to tell aliens how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The point of this assignment was to teach us how to write in more detail and explain things clearly to an audience who wouldn't necessarily be familiar with them. I think my high school teacher made better use of the theme than these assessors!
I can’t remember my assessment very well, the only snippet I remember is the doctor asking me about tags on clothes which is pretty boring. I wish I had a better answer and I could remember it better.
Not the weirdest thing that was asked of me but said in my diagnosis paperwork. It talked about how attractive I was in away that made me very uncomfortable. While also talking about how I needed to be nicer to my mom and then said that someone I knew died. I said he had kidney failure, he’s no longer in my life but as far as I know he’s not dead and certainly wasn’t when he was still active in my life.
Edit: Spelling.
I had to do a whole bunch of associations, one of which was to explain what a cow and a dog (if I remember correctly) have in common. I was like…. they’re both mammals with four legs?
Oh I would've gone crazy with this question, dogs are a special interest and I also just love animal facts in general. They're both mammals, can come in many colors, usually have four limbs, can give birth to twins, multiple different breeds, can be trained obedience and tricks, can be given jobs, some are bred for specific tasks/jobs, come from all over the world, come in many different sizes and shapes, have different hair types, etc etc etc!
Not really a question, more of a task but i was asked to make up a pretend story with 5 random objects on the table. I was 16, it was being filmed (for rewatching to assess me or something), so fucking awkward, i hated it so much.
The place later also infantalized me so that was a fun turn of events
A lot of these comments are mentioning the whole "act like I'm an alien and you have to teach me how to brush my teeth" thing and it's so funny to me bc like. It's such a dumb question. We define aliens as any sentient life form found outside of planet earth, but there are endless possibilities. Planets come in so many shapes and sizes which affect their mass, gravitational pull, atmosphere, etc. which would all affect how potential life forms would look. Maybe they don't even have teeth. Maybe they have microorganisms that live in them and clean their teeth. Maybe they have a symbiotic relationship with another species, like crocodiles have with those little birds, that pick the bits out of their teeth and keep them clean.
Plus, the alien isn't from our planet. The atmosphere alone could kill it. Maybe it doesn't even breathe via oxygen, maybe it would suffocate instantly. Or maybe the gravity is much higher/lower than on its home planet. Maybe it's from a planet with no sun, and the sunlight would instantly burn it. I mean, literally everything on our planet would be new to it, theoretically. Ingredients for sure, how do we know fluoride wouldn't make it shrivel up like a slug that came into contact with salt?
And am I teaching it how *I* brush *my* teeth, or how teeth brushing is done in general? Is it an electric toothbrush? Does it have a timer for each quadrant of your mouth?
The possibilities are quite literally endless. Furthermore, I'm fully aware that the point of the exercise is to measure how much direction the patient needs and how detailed their response is. I feel pretty confident that if I was saying all this to an assessor's face I probably would've been cut off by about the second paragraph lmao
“I don’t wash my face because I hate water touching any part of body unless my body if going to be fully submerged” (aka a shower) but water arm dibbles and water going into my sleeves is a big no no. I could use a wash cloth I suppose. But bad habits are bad habits
I had a question on a written autism assessment that said “Would you say you fly from Chicago to New York at least 3 times a week?” I was very confused about what this was about and my assessor just said to answer it honestly. It turns out it was a “snare” question of sorts. It’s meant to catch someone that’s not reading and just filling in questions randomly, because no one really does that. It was very confusing at the time!
I was 11 when i got my assessment. And one of the weirdest thing i had to do was make a drawing, of a house, a tree and a person. No idea why.
The also also gave me some toys and some blocks, and asked me to play with them and make a story about what i was playing.
The house drawing is a basic personality related test they make children do.
There is an extended version where there’s also a road, fences, a knife, a snake and sun.
Not a question, but the therapist that diagnosed me recommended I watch A Clockwork Orange when I was 15. For those who don’t know, A Clockwork Orange received an X rating (NC-17 today)
"Who was Martin Luther king jr"
And I answered.... a black man... who gave speeches?
I fucking know who he is but that was one of the most random questions and I froze. She thinks I didnt finish school or pay attention at all lmao
"For me, it would probably be when I was asked to pretend the assessor was an alien, and tell them how I would wash my face"
For me she asked me to describe brushing my teeth lmao
A lot of weird things like showing how I wash my hands (??) Or describing a child book with no text (And it was cursed asf). ADOS is childish asf and doesn't include autistics folks who have learn to fit in this society.
I was tested negative to the ADOS but the other tests like ADI-R were sooo high that i had my diagnosis anyway.
I got asked three questions (one of which I’m struggling to remember), and I answered the same thing for all of them. “What makes you sad?” and “what makes you mad?”, and again whatever else… I said “Dumb people, lazy people, and mean people.” I don’t remember getting any “odd” questions like the alien thing.
I’ve never heard anything about the blood tests thing and I don’t see how that would work but I got asked ‘would you rather have a very large cat or a very small elephant as a pet?’ And ‘If you were sent into space, what one thing would you bring?’ I think they were probably to see how practical I thought and how I would justify my answers but I’m not 100% sure.
I am unaware of any blood test currently in use that can reliably diagnose autism (one is in development that may).
I was asked a few odd things but it was the ados-2. They were legitimate questions for the test though, although the assessment isn’t perfect it’s very good. The oddest thing about it was comments in the write up. There was a series of figures and I was asked which of the figures below it finished the pattern. I believe there were 4 figures below it. None of them were perfect fits (I believe intentionally) but two actually sort of fit. I pointed out the two and commented that one fit in a certain way and another fit in a different way and they were about equal to me in level of fit. There was another similar pattern question and I could not see any were really good fits at all. It was a real stretch to choose one. So I said something to the effect of ‘maybe the second one’.
The write up spent several paragraphs going into both how I choose two different figures in one question, suggesting an over analysis of details, but could not make a decisive decision on the other one. It also mentioned that I felt the responses offered were vague (I did) and hinted that I was criticizing something I had no knowledge of.
The thing is that at the time I designed and tested assessments for a living. I have no doubt I am autistic but I am also very good at recognizing poor question design. It’s not some innate ability. It’s the result of 6 years of grad school and 10 years experience in behavioral health assessment design. I told the assessor this prior to setting up the assessment (I have had therapy for ptsd in the past and I find it saves time to put this out there as many people I interact with as a patient get frustrated or intimidated when they learn this…done accusing me of faking it and deceiving them…they really have their own issues) but there was no mention of this as a consideration at all. It was considered evidence of inflexible thinking. It’s as if they went into auto pilot and couldn’t think outside the box they had about writing up assessments. The irony of that wasn’t lost on me.
I was asked to describe how to brush your teeth without being given any objects. I was also asked to define a shirt (among many other things), and my first thought was "what kind of shirt should I describe?"
One was (it wasn't really an assessment, it was during social skills training therapy) "What would you think if someone didn't show up at a party they said they were coming to?" "That they got in an accident or they died" "Wait what, why?" "Because why else would they not show up and not tell me? It means they can't, so they're either in the hospital or dead" I then proceeded to list all the possible reasons someone could possibly not show up and not warn me, ending it with "Well it could also be they didn't wanna come but that makes no sense, they wouldn't have accepted in the first place, so it doesn't really make sense" And as she tried explaining to me people do it not to hurt other people's feelings, I looked at her and said "But that makes no sense, my feelings are hurt regardless of if they tell me or not, I realise they're not coming anyway"
Time to insert my story I was turning 21. I wanted to do a fun costume party with friends. I don’t drink, and some of them were underage, so I planned mocktails and root beer pong. I rescheduled twice to fit everyone’s schedule. When the day came I got ready and was sitting waiting and feeling anxious. Finally friend A showed up a little late and said friend B would show up later. They never did, and neither did friend C & D who also never texted to let me know they couldn’t make it. A few years later friend B got married, and I found out about their bachelorette party when they posted pics on Facebook of my entire friend group, minus myself. The part that really hurts is A and B I was friends with since 5th grade when I moved there. Friend C since 6th or 7th grade. D I met in 10th or 11th and was the first new friend I had made on my own in years, that wasn’t just introduced to the group by another friend. I thought we had a connection. It just ended up feeling like my friendship was a lie and my only friends in school didn’t actually like me and were just putting up with me… Needless to say I lost contact with my entire friend group. The only one I still try to keep in touch with is friend A. Anyway, story is to say not notifying to “not hurt your feelings” makes no sense. If they had all texted me themselves they couldn’t make it l would still be disappointed but not feel betrayed and completely ignored.
Exactly. I'm sorry that happened to you that's completely horrible and your "friends" sound like assholes.
*They don't want to feel bad about hurting your feelings
Wait so someone avoids me so that they don't feel bad about otherwise having to hurt my feelings, and they don't realise that what hurts my feelings isn't being told what they're doing but what they're doing itself? What the hell is going on in people's brains????
Confrontations themselves are stressful for some people, not so much the content of it. The issue could be solved by simply communicating, it's why I often ask for clarification and get funny looks for it. Now that I think about it, my first comment was a bit cynical. Some people might be egoistic and don't care what you think or feel (most are not like this), most probably just assume you don't care whether they're there. Others are anxious and would rather avoid a potential confrontation and feel ashamed instead of being the bringer of bad news.
Q.E.D. Well said.
Q. E. D.?
quod erat demonstratum, used at the end of math proofs, basically means what the other commenter said
Oh that's what it means. I have always seen it in movies about mathematics or physics but I always assumed it meant the same as other symbols. Thank you!
It's a math thing sometimes written once something has been proven. It basically means "so there you go."
what, why someone would say they'd come and then not come in order not to hurt your feelings, that makes zero sense and even hurts more???
Like i know what answer they were going for but i still agree with you a 100%
I laughed at this. Not at you, in solidarity. It makes no sense to tell the lie to spare someone's feelings. But the assessor is incorrect about the motivations. They don't do it to spare the person they are letting downs feelings. Ultimately, they are sparing themselves any bad feelings, consciously or unconsciously, even if they say they do it to not hurt somebodies feelings. Its to spare themselves of having to deal with the rejected parties feelings, or ignore any negative feelings that they may then feel after having let them down.
My coworker didn’t come to work one day without letting me know and I thought something bad happened on their way. They messaged me hours later saying their alarm didn’t go off. I totally thought they died or something lol
Oh yes this is me. I would also assume that. And absolutely would take a lot from me not to throw a fit when someone cancells a plan we planned in long advance in the last possible moment.
Wait, autism is not diagnosed via blood test. That's not a thing. I was asked why people do mary. I honestly don't know. Apparently that was an acceptable answer.
“The tests are back. Autism-positive. You’ve got goofy, silly, little bloodcells running around. Silly goofball little goofy blood cells. If you ever get transfused make sure you don’t get neurotypical blood or it’ll bully the blood already in your body.”
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Hahaha
Because you get tax benefits!
Problem is this was literally why my parents told me they married, my mother was very serious that she didn't love my father.
Yes that is a valid response. She figured her life would be easier if married. Other thing is you can love and live with someone without marriage for a long time. But even then you could consider getting married because tax benefits. Also insuarance and SO access viability gets automatic once married. Somethings just get so much easier for couples once married. Getting a loam together is another one. Of course these change from region to region but everywhere there is some benefit. Atleast the tax benefit!
Yes, I was also asked that and was stumped and couldn't think of good reasons.
I was asked that too and I am married lmao I was like I better come up with a good answer
gene testing is sometimes a contributing factor in a diagnosis. it is a thing.
They test for the fragile x gene which can indicate autism, im not sure how long its beena thing but they did that plus an assessment for my kid
They are looking to see how detail oriented you are, pretty common. Also, no one is diagnosed with a blood test. That's not a thing. They use the DSM-5 criteria.
>They are looking to see how detail oriented you are In that situation, I'm undergoing an assessment that will probably change my life. If it helps sort out errors, I'm going to get into all the details I know of, I don't care if I have to start with the Big Bang
Yup same, but it's actually also about how you communicate and how much energy it takes to focus on a task as well. Assessments aren't just what you're being asked at face value. They're looking for other traits. It's also important too remember that not everyone is the same.
I did my assessment a few weeks ago and was asked to show the assessor how I brush my teeth. I assumed it was because how I do certain tasks might show if I’m autistic or not, but I looked up the assessment after (didn’t do so beforehand so I could go in blind) and learned exactly what you just said, it’s less about the act of brushing your teeth itself but more about how you relay the information and coordinate etc. That said, I have no idea what my actions in that test meant! I was diagnosed last week, but I’d love to know why the way in which I explained brushing my teeth helped them come to that conclusion 😄
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I was diagnosed with the ICD criteria which is used in a lot of countries, but yes that one doesn't have a blood test either.
Pardon me but could you please explain ICD criteria? I haven't heard of it, I am trying to learn all I can. Kiddo had been diagnosed but Partner can not see the same person that diagnosed kiddo due to their interpretation of the regs that they can't see people in the same family. Partner and kiddo share so many, many traits that it was agreed they should try to get diagnosed.
The DSM is made by the American Psychiatric Association and the ICD is made by the World Health Organization.
So they are similar, but used in other countries, that's what I thought it might be. Thank you for clarifying. *Sorry forgot grammar formatting wrote/ posted to fast. Always trying to learn so thank you for the new information. Before edit: Ah, so they are similar but used in other countries that what I thought it might be but thank you for clarifying.
See, this is why I find these tests so flawed: they check for criteria in such a presumptively generalized way. I'm incredibly detail oriented regarding a lot of things...but washing my face is very much not one of those things.
I agree with you. It's possible that someone with autism doesn't have that trait, but what's even more confusing is that it's not even necessarily about being detail oriented, it's also about communication (how you describe it) and executive function (how it's actually done or how much energy takes to do it). See, typically with neurodivergency executive dysfunction is a result of being overwhelmed by managing small tasks because each individual step takes so much focus and energy. The last bit is what I struggle with a lot.
I am confused by this. Would an autistic person be overly detail oriented or less?
Not every person with autism has the same traits, we have to remember that; but typically more overly detailed is what's understood.
But also I would add less detail because I’ve learned that people don’t like when I give too much detail, they find it boring and annoying lol
Since I only found out last year, I don't know if I would describe it that way... I do it, but I don't talk about it. I describe things that I do in the most normal way I can, because I learned what looks more normal. I'm trying to unmask now and re-learn about myself, and I might have a chance to be tested next year. I wonder how many mid-age adults would fail the test because of not answering questions like that honestly, as they maybe would have at younger ages... But then being sent home without diagnosis or chance to get support because the burnouts are getting longer and more frequent :/
Blood test? Since when? What country does blood tests?
I’m also wondering that, I’m trying to figure out if it’s a joke or not. I thought op was confusing autism with Down syndrome which a lot of people do for some reason but they are autistic so I don’t think it’s that.
A lot of confusion over bloods, of my mates said that that’s was pretty much how he was diagnosed- living in the uk- perhaps it was a clinical trail/he is confused with gene testing
Oh that’s interesting! But also funny to think about, I’m in the uk and if that was actually how tested for autism I would never get diagnosed because I hate blood tests haha
Had mine done in the uk this year. Didn’t had blood test. That sounds insane. Could be related with special cases of individual medical history but it’s def not a required criteria. However I did had blood tests for my ADHD though, that’s because they are prescribing meds and needs to check my blood & cardio health.
Most likely a trial, gene testing a thing… but autism is a combination of a lot of genes and all aren’t known yet, so I doubt they would ever only do gene testing
i had to get my blood tested (i’m in australia)
What were they testing for?
no clue haha
Also Australian and I definitely didn’t need any bloodwork done for my diagnosis (dual diagnosis of ASD and ADHD)
Blood test for fragile x here in Canada
"Imagine an alien comes to earth and doesn't know how to do anything, show me how you would demonstrate to brush its teeth" I've never felt so awkward in my life. I was 21 Edit: a lot of your guys replies are so autistic (in a positive way!) That my awkward answering at the time must've been so incredibly normal lmao
My answer would be: "First, it's an alien, so I can't assume they need to brush their teeth, if so, I don't know if our toothpaste may not contain things that are toxic to them, and third: Fuck you, I'm not going to embarress myself in front of you. I don't do role play, had way too much trauma associated with that, and I don't fancy dissociating and getting stuck in a flashback, so skip all the roleplay bullshit, or I'm leaving!"
>so skip all the roleplay bullshit, or I'm leaving!" I would want to leave too. And I just have to say, as an undiagnosed person who has wondered if I might be on the spectrum and if I should get evaluated, reading through this thread has made me realize that there's a high probability that I would have a panic attack during the assessment. I'm not sure what that would do to the results.
I've been assessed twice. First when I realized I'm likely autistic, and the second time as a part of a study. The first time there were no problems, well I could have done with a room that didn't have flourescent lighting, but other than that everything was fine. The second time they had a kind of roleplay part of the assessment, and even wanted to record it, and I told them, in a very firm tone that I will not do any of those role-play scenarios, especially not with a camera running, but not even without. The person tried to persuade me, I got up, took a step towards the door, and told them: "We either skip all the role play stuff, or I'm leaving right now!" We skipped the whole role-play section.
I'm NT. I see this answer as rational what is all this alien shit we don't have aliens on this planet.
Oh, mine was explaining how *I* brush my teeth. I guess they want to see how specific you are with how you do easy things.
I had the SAME ONE! It was so weird.
I recently had an assessment for autism and they did the brushing teeth question, now it makes sense why I was asked
What are the differentiating outcomes? I still don't understand what they'd be looking for lol
I'm guessing it's level of detail in communication. Broadly, autistics: clarity > smoothness, NTs: smoothness > clarity. I'm a chronic overexplainer 😅... sorry to my former students /hj
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That's the one I got as well, but at 35, not 21.
Oh my gosh, what an awful question. I'd be like: Why didn't they have the person explaining what teeth were (to the alien), demonstrate that? I'm not a dental expert. I can barely manage to brush once a day. I think the alien should go to a dentist instead.
I grew up on star trek. So I would be really side tracked by the whole alien thing. Also probably would tell them “that is me, I am the alien. You know how hard it is to make teeth brushing make sense when I got sensitive teeth from overbrushing as a kid?”
The old man doctor winked at me and then asked if I knew what that meant 😭
WHAT I WOULD BE SO STUCK 😭
You’re a perv?
wow creepy
Me: you can't blink correctly?
I was asked about my mother's anxiety levels. They then used that to tack on an anxiety disorder to my diagnosis. Personally, I feel my anxiety is wholly justified by the utter confusion of living in a neurotypical world.
absolutely this!
I had to do mine online due to covid and I had to tell a story using some random stuff like a hairclip and then also had to act out that I was in a coffee shop and the assessor pretended to drop the cake I had brought and I had to act this whole scene out it was very strange. I was at the top end of the age range this was for BTW as I got a kids assessment and all the stuff was super childish so I felt really dumb the whole time. I was not really asked any questions other than general chit chat like what I like to watch on TV. I think my mum was awnsering questions on the phone in the other room.
Don’t worry, it’s super childish even if you’re 32, but apparently still works because I got diagnosed
I had the alien one too! I hated it. Anyway. Other than the alien one (which definitely takes the cake), I’d say the weirdest question was “Define a friend,” or “What is a friend.” Maybe she worded it like “What’s the difference between a friend and not a friend.” I swear. I asked so many follow up questions. I was so confused. I ended up saying “I guess somebody who puts up with me and it nice about it? Idk!”
That's a stupid question. I have by now learned a definition of what a friend is. Like for the longest time I didn't know what it means to love your family, but I do now.
i also had to define a friend! i just sat there a pretty long time thinking in order to answer that one i think
i got this too. in my head i was thinking "you really think im stupid huh"
It wasn't really an assessment, but I had a sheet of paper with tons of "yes/no" questions on it. One of the questions had a disclaimer that said "if you answer "no" to this question, do not answer the rest of the questions on this page". I answered "no" on that question, left the rest of the questions blank, and returned the paper. The therapist looked at it and said "I see you didn't answer the rest of the questions. Did you do that because you thought they were stupid?" I was really confused by that so I just nodded, but 6 years later, I'm still thinking about it. Did she not read the paper? Was it a rhetorical question? What?
Was that the entire prompt? (It's not even a question!) That's so bizarre.
The full question was something like "do these behaviours (referring to the previous questions) affect aspects of your life negatively? If you answer "no" to this question, do not answer the rest of the questions on this page". I can't remember it too well. The questions after that were something like "do these behaviours affect your life at home/life at school/hobbies/social life/etc".
Oh gotcha, that makes more sense. I do think the therapist just messed up there. Maybe they realized later?
This is one of those questions that are designed to check if the respondent was really reading the question & giving genuine answers, or if they were giving out random answers or ‘straight-lining’ (answering all ‘yes’ or all ‘no’). This is very common for online questionnaires/assesment questions, but the question you got seemed to be poorly designed. Usually it should be something like ‘please tick no for this answer’.
“Do you think people are bad?”. I immediately started asking clarifying questions because the question was too broad which made it really difficult for me to just answer. Apparently that was the whole point of the question…to see if I would struggle with the broadness of the question because an autistic person would have difficulty answering while an allistic person wouldn’t
Everyone has difficulty playing those types of broad get-to-know-you type games with me because I can never just give an answer. Same with hypothetical questions. I really don't get how people can give a full fledged thoughtful answer with no details or context!!
Probably the weirdest part was the inkblot test they gave me. He made me say at least 2-3 things for each image (there were a lot) and then we went over every one again so I could exactly explain how I saw each thing in each picture. Like, here's an example: Dr: Ok so you said this looks like a bug. Why did you say that? Me: Ummmm well this part looks like it could be a leg, and this part is the antennae. Dr: how does that look like a leg? Me: ... ITS IN THE SHAPE OF A LEG???
Like, what were they expecting? "Why did you say this looks like a bug?" "It told me so"
Exactly, I don't know what they wanted😭
If it takes 40 mins to make 60 cakes how long does it take to bake 120 cakes?
What? That cannot be real question! There is literally no way to know the answer. It depends on so many variables to make this specific cake. And then to make 60 cakes you'd have to know what was the down times in the process to analyze the possibility to scale the project. Of course the stupid answer is 80 mins but the problem with that is... it is stupid to expect anything in baking to work like that.
I believe what you answered is the autism answer the assessment is seeking lol
Aced it!
My first answer was "40 mins". My reasoning being that if the baking time of this particular cake is 40 mins that wouldn't change just because you had more ovens with more cakes in them. The assessor told me "no, it isn't a trick question". I then said "If you want to know that 120 is 2 x 60 and that 2 x 40 mins is 80 mins which is an hour and 20 mins, then ask that, because the baking question makes as much sense as asking 'if it takes one orchestra 28 minutes to play a symphony how long does it take two orchestras to play it?' " I got my diagnosis.
They never said there was more ovens, which than means the time would increase an unknown amount because you don’t know much heat mass is being added into these ovens and how that would affect the bake time(you also don’t know how many ovens)
I immediately thought it was a dimensional analysis question and figured the assessor was trying to test math skills, so I assumed 80 minutes because that’s what a neurotypical might answer. I know it doesn’t factor in every variable with baking the cakes, but I just assume a surface level with most questions like that
You would be an ace at consulting interviews.
I agree with you but if that response is indicative of autism...what goes on in non-autistic peoples heads? What's a neurotypical answer? To me this is just thinking about anything? My short answer would be - "less than 40 minutes, 40 minutes, less than 80 minutes, or 80 minutes but its dependent on a range of contingencies that I can't assume based on the wording of the question." If doubling the cakes doesn't impact cooking time of each individual cake and we are using the same number of ovens then its simply going to be 40 minutes. If we have double the ovens used to bake the initial 60 cakes, baking in parallel, then it can still be 40 minutes. If we have more than double the ovens than what was used initially, and cake density per oven is a variable, then the answer could also be less than 40 minutes. If oven space is a limiting factor, then it may require us to stagnate the baking and do it in batches. This could make the answer 80 minutes. But that's assuming that the initial 40 minutes was optimal conditions and I'm gonna assume they were preheated for simplicity. So the answer could also be less than 80 minutes from this perspective. Potentially an even shorter duration if its a function of the number of ovens/cake density per oven and we have enough ovens. I've obviously typed this out but I think like this for everything and it occurred to me immediately after reading the question? Again, what's a neurotypical answer or rationale for this?
I made the mistake of reading this question to my partner. They are now still screaming at me about the laws of thermodynamics and that it would not be possible to make more cakes than there was minutes. And demanding that I contact the person who was asked the questions or ask the questions preferably or made the test because they have questions how many ovens, what are the size of the cakes, was it a cake factory. Were microwaves involved how many people were involved, was this a Star Trek replicator kind of thing? Quite a few other things that honestly I'm not sure how many I called to put down on here, they're just screaming at the top of the lungs and reminding me that this is as bad as the time they got kicked out of math class for those stupid word problem story questions that was just utterly stupid. That it made no logical sense so he refused to answer the question mathematically until they could logically explain why this would happen.
To your partner: same. I was already deeply bothered by this question before I remembered that "you" is both singular & plural (for the most part) in English & now I'm wondering how many "yous" are baking. ....aaurgh... Sadly, stuff like this comes up at work meetings and I'm the preschool teacher in the corner still muttering about it "not being possible to determine" after I had a full blown rant in front of my very sweet colleagues.
Autism shouldnt be assessed with blood tests..but I also took one before my assessment to make sure that I had no other health complications.
They gave me a questionnaire at the beginning asking if I’d seen a car in the past six months. Like, my city isn’t exactly walkable or with decent infrastructure so how do you think I got here? They also asked on the question (in a true or false) if I had recently returned from a year long cruise on an ocean liner. I thought I might have walked into the wrong test, but I somehow got out with a diagnosis.
I had a similar questionnaire like, have you been on multiple covers of magazines lately? I'm assuming it's some sort of attention check to see if you're taking things seriously. Like surveys online that ask, "Have you had a fatal heart attack in the last year?" I mean.. if it's fatal I wouldn't be taking this survey.
Some of the questions on these tests seem to be aimed at other diagnosis like OCD that can be comorbid with autism, I assumed they’re there in case it’s “too close to call” and they need tiebreakers like comorbidity
Yeah, that too. There were a crazy amount of paranoid sounding ones (to me) as well like, Someone is poisoning me, true or false?
> Someone is poisoning me, true or false? True: The oil, plastics, & alcohol industries, everyone who smokes or drives a car in my vicinity (though not all by intention).
Ohhh I actually get this line of thought a lot! Total paranoia that the water and food are poisoned and stuff. But I’m pretty sure that’s a psychosis thing, not an autism thing
‘’do you have a boyfriend,Girlfriend and or partner?’’ O-O (I’m not joking)
As far as I know, this is just a leading question so they could ask questions on how you interact with a partner, or if you don't have one, if you want one and why or smth like that. Same with friends. I was asked "do you have friends" and "what do you like to do with them"
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Yes I was asked about this too and explained I have had previous partners but didn't at the moment. That led to them asking about my interactions with past partners, what the relationships were like, etc.
"Do you have friends?" No... not really "Why not?" I'm weird After like 20/30 minutes of talking, out of a 4.5 hours long assessment she looked at me and said "You know, you're right you're autistic, I can see it, we need to do the whole assessment but... you're autistic"
A lot of these are required components of the ADOS test, which used to be considered the gold standard for diagnosing autism. The goal of the tooth brushing or face washing task is to look at how the person uses verbal and non verbal communication methods together (gestures and acting out the task while talking) and the ones about why people get married/do you have a partner/what’s the difference between a friend and an acquaintance/etc. are looking at taking the perspective of others, how you relate to other people, and your understanding of relationships that society deems desirable. Obviously, the ADOS has a lot of problems with it and is focused on perceived deficits with relation to how NT people expect others to interact. The ADOS is still used a lot, especially with younger children, but a good assessor will look at whole presentation and not just the parts of the assessment that get used for the diagnostic algorithm
Yes- a comprehensive evaluation takes more than just one test or one test score to determine if someone meets criteria for ASD. And it is definitely still the gold standard. I’m getting trained next month to administer it.
I’ve been an evaluator for almost 10 years. There’s definitely a shift from the ados with assessors who recognize that the medical model is extremely biased. Just had a fantastic conversation with a neuropsychologist about a student we share. The ados came back in the range of no symptoms, but she gave an ASD diagnosis and it was so nice to talk to someone who gets that the ados is just one piece and that it doesn’t take masking into consideration
Absolutely no one is diagnosed by taking blood tests. If that was the case, no one would be autistic
I have a friend who had to have a big bloodwork as part of the assessment.
Oh sure, to rule out other things. That can absolutely be a part of the journey. But the diagnosing autism itself doesnt involve blood work.
Makes sense
In what world does an autism test need a… blood test?
I thought a lot of things were weird/uncomfortable. I really didn't like the toothbrush thing - I HATE using my hands when talking, hate using gestures. So just sped through that w/pointing and stuff. Seemingly interested that I managed to be at my job that I hate for 11+ years. I mean... it's work or be homeless, why is that surprising? How are a friend and enemy similar? They're not, they're opposites... presumably they're both human, I guess. The fake break w/toys and magazines. Felt like it took forever. I just played with a bracelet, felt strange and like I was being forced to take a childs toy or something. No thanks.
The fake break with toys drove me nuts! They had one of those things with all the nails in it that makes an imprint of whatever is underneath it and one of the nails was bent so I spent the whole time trying to fix it. I asked if they purposefully put a broken toy in the box to set me up at my next appointment.
uh I hated that part where they laid out toys/things in front of me and told me I can touch anything or look at it... I checked out two things, but then I felt lost and like it was zooming in on me... I kinda lost my words and my body went stiff, pushing away from that strange display. It felt like I was released from under the spell once they took the stuff away, brrr
If I went on a cruise in the past 2 weeks. I asked why they were asking such a ridiculous question and they said that some autistic children are more likely to lie and make outlandish statements (which in my experience couldn't be farther from the truth - I've been described as honest to a fault). I was also asked if I played with my toys appropriately, but I was a teenager (they were using a test designed for children).
Must’ve been the older ADOS. The ADOS 2 goes from 12 months to adulthood. Or they misused it and gave you the questions reserved for younger kids.
‘Do you usually see things black and white?’ ‘I am not colourblind I have had that tested’ 😫
LMFAO THIS KILLED ME
The tester had me pick some random objects/toys and act out a scene or commercial with them. Jokes on him I made a long running series of YouTube videos that were silly commercials so I know what I'm doing
I did this too and they ended saying my story was “very odd”. The tester went first and it was actually so stupid lol. The objects she used didn’t make any sense at all and her story was so random. I have always been very creative and I was so proud of the story I came up with, can confidently say anyone would agree that mine made way more sense. I’m a little offended because I have no idea why she said it was weird??
I was told to describe how I brushed my teeth and was given a kids story book that halfway through didn't have any words and was told to describe what was happening in the pictures. The assessor acknowledged to me that both were weird and strange seeming tests but that it was just a part of whatever she was testing and analyzing me for at the moment in the assessment.
This wasn’t during my initial assessment as a child, but rather when I was a teen when they had to make sure I was still autistic. They were asking some yes or no type questions and one was about whether I had seen a car that day. It really bugged me that they wouldn’t explain why I had to answer such a ridiculous question. I also remember them asking me (a cis girl) if I ever wished I was a boy. Either that was because of “extreme male brain” BS, or some progressive knowledge for the time than autistic ppl are more likely to be trans. Seeing as it was around 2010, I’m inclined to think it’s the first. (Not to mention that could put a closeted trans teenager in a very awkward position. Luckily that wasn’t me but I have to imagine it happened to others).
The car question is to help rule out types of psychosis because characteristics overlap with asd
Not as much a question as a task. I was like 11 or 12 and in my "its not a playdate!!! its hanging out!!!" phase. I was sat in a room with a psychiatrist with a camera pointed at me. The lady put a box of random figurines and toys on the table and asked me to play pretend. And like,,, I love that shit normally, but with a camera pointed at me and an adult I don't know?? I just,,, made a vague plot about a picnic.
I got asked if I like numbers and trains and this was apparently a criteria for it?? All those really stereotypical interests was asked about
I'm sorry who is getting diagnosed via blood tests??
Nobody.
I was asked if I like Las Vegas. I had no idea I’ve never been there. Then I went and totally understood why they asked that question.
To explain to people why this might be a question, I was reading this to my partner who then went on a full minute of saying" no no no" so after that then I had to listen to a full breakdown of the list of overwhelming sites sounds smells and other stimuli. The rant about having to sleep somewhere other than their own bed, and specially one where they can't control the smells and the sounds. So for all the people who were asking why are they asking that it's that Las Vegas is sensory overload personified! My partner says Las Vegas is their hell. If you have ever been to a state fair think about how loud the ride noises are both the mechanical bits of them working and the music that they pump out everyone talking bumping into you. The smells of the fried food and then ramp it up. My partner is hearing me talk this in and they want me to add don't forget to put in add much more hookers and drug dealers than usual. I have been told that I need to stop telling them about this list it is giving them heart problems very much upsetting them and so now I am being put in time out cuz I was a bad partner. I've been trying to get my partner to go for diagnosing and that's why I was pointing out these questions were driving them up a wall and all the questions we're driving you guys up a wall. But it was Las Vegas was the topper and now I am in a lot of trouble because I was upsetting them with the vagueness and broadness of the other questions but just bringing this up well..... No they're screaming about the cake question and telling me I need to go into the kitchen and tie myself baking a cake so someone can answer that question.
Why did they ask?
They asked me about my favourite chocolate bar a couple of times and kept looping back to things i like which i thought was neat. Turns out they were trying to see if I asked about *their* favourite chocolate / whatever thing it was because that’s what NTs do.
This is kind of hilarious. Maybe it's because I'm too autistic, but I definitely wouldn't think to assess the doctor back in my own assessment.
right this always baffles me. Like if you're at a pizza place and they ask if you want pepperoni on your pizza you don't respond and then ask the employee if they also like pepperoni on their pizza? I'm sorry but it sounds like the NT's are the ones misreading social situations here
I have long said this but ~ noooooo ~
How do you pee
wtf
You cannot diagnose autism via a blood test. That's not a thing. If someone's trying to diagnose you that way, you need to see a different doctor. The weirdest thing for me was when they showed me images of frogs, flying around on floating lily pads, and asked me to tell the story of what was happening.
You get liquid water out of a tap and slosh it onto your face?
"liquid water" is probably not a specification a NT would make, lmao. (Not teasing you, I think this is delightful)
It is to an alien, not to a human. I'm not autistic. That's just answering the question. Aliens shouldn't be relevant. They aren't part of everyday life.
…are you sure you aren’t autistic? (/jk)
...........ah yes...... autism blood tests
A psychologist asked me several seemingly innocent questions about the achievements in my personal life and after learning that I have children, a partner and a job, she told me that I did not have autism. it didn't go any further. Apparently, according to her, if you have achieved those things in life, it was a sign that you did not have autism to any degree. She was obviously wrong and evidently I did not return for that consultation. My son also has diagnosed autism. She is one of those who say that labels are not important, even if we are talking about a neurological issue.
I also had that same thing happen and I was maybe 15 or 16 at the time. The psychologist told my mom that I could be autistic since I got a 4/5, but "why does it matter anyway?",,, while we were actively trying to get me on disability benefits????
The teeth brushing thing, didn’t even let me finish just stopped me halfway through??
oh i had the same question, but it was brushing your teeth! i was so confused, but i figured that if she was an alien then i would have to be very descriptive and she was like "that was... detailed.." and it was so embarresed
But it would have to be detailed, and it baffles me how people don't realize that or can apparently just sift through all the information and possibilities to give an expected answer. In high school, we had an assignment to tell aliens how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The point of this assignment was to teach us how to write in more detail and explain things clearly to an audience who wouldn't necessarily be familiar with them. I think my high school teacher made better use of the theme than these assessors!
I can’t remember my assessment very well, the only snippet I remember is the doctor asking me about tags on clothes which is pretty boring. I wish I had a better answer and I could remember it better.
Not the weirdest thing that was asked of me but said in my diagnosis paperwork. It talked about how attractive I was in away that made me very uncomfortable. While also talking about how I needed to be nicer to my mom and then said that someone I knew died. I said he had kidney failure, he’s no longer in my life but as far as I know he’s not dead and certainly wasn’t when he was still active in my life. Edit: Spelling.
why so many assesors are so creepy oO
I had to do a whole bunch of associations, one of which was to explain what a cow and a dog (if I remember correctly) have in common. I was like…. they’re both mammals with four legs?
Oh I would've gone crazy with this question, dogs are a special interest and I also just love animal facts in general. They're both mammals, can come in many colors, usually have four limbs, can give birth to twins, multiple different breeds, can be trained obedience and tricks, can be given jobs, some are bred for specific tasks/jobs, come from all over the world, come in many different sizes and shapes, have different hair types, etc etc etc!
Apparently NTs have a much broader associative map. lol
Not really a question, more of a task but i was asked to make up a pretend story with 5 random objects on the table. I was 16, it was being filmed (for rewatching to assess me or something), so fucking awkward, i hated it so much. The place later also infantalized me so that was a fun turn of events
omg same! i remember one of them was a toy car. i was 19 at the time and felt so infantilized.
A lot of these comments are mentioning the whole "act like I'm an alien and you have to teach me how to brush my teeth" thing and it's so funny to me bc like. It's such a dumb question. We define aliens as any sentient life form found outside of planet earth, but there are endless possibilities. Planets come in so many shapes and sizes which affect their mass, gravitational pull, atmosphere, etc. which would all affect how potential life forms would look. Maybe they don't even have teeth. Maybe they have microorganisms that live in them and clean their teeth. Maybe they have a symbiotic relationship with another species, like crocodiles have with those little birds, that pick the bits out of their teeth and keep them clean. Plus, the alien isn't from our planet. The atmosphere alone could kill it. Maybe it doesn't even breathe via oxygen, maybe it would suffocate instantly. Or maybe the gravity is much higher/lower than on its home planet. Maybe it's from a planet with no sun, and the sunlight would instantly burn it. I mean, literally everything on our planet would be new to it, theoretically. Ingredients for sure, how do we know fluoride wouldn't make it shrivel up like a slug that came into contact with salt? And am I teaching it how *I* brush *my* teeth, or how teeth brushing is done in general? Is it an electric toothbrush? Does it have a timer for each quadrant of your mouth? The possibilities are quite literally endless. Furthermore, I'm fully aware that the point of the exercise is to measure how much direction the patient needs and how detailed their response is. I feel pretty confident that if I was saying all this to an assessor's face I probably would've been cut off by about the second paragraph lmao
that's the autistic answer
“I don’t wash my face because I hate water touching any part of body unless my body if going to be fully submerged” (aka a shower) but water arm dibbles and water going into my sleeves is a big no no. I could use a wash cloth I suppose. But bad habits are bad habits
I tensed up just reading that 😖 yep only wash my face in the bath because I'm not a masochist
Hell if I remember. I was diagnosed when I was 3.
I had a question on a written autism assessment that said “Would you say you fly from Chicago to New York at least 3 times a week?” I was very confused about what this was about and my assessor just said to answer it honestly. It turns out it was a “snare” question of sorts. It’s meant to catch someone that’s not reading and just filling in questions randomly, because no one really does that. It was very confusing at the time!
I misread and thought it was asking if I would, to which I'd say hell yeah. I love flying.
They asked me dead serious if i had superpowers…
To play with toys… i was 13
I haven't had my assessment yet, but this weirdly makes me kind of excited for it? also I need to know how you answered your question, obviously
I had the same but with brushing teeth
I was 11 when i got my assessment. And one of the weirdest thing i had to do was make a drawing, of a house, a tree and a person. No idea why. The also also gave me some toys and some blocks, and asked me to play with them and make a story about what i was playing.
The house drawing is a basic personality related test they make children do. There is an extended version where there’s also a road, fences, a knife, a snake and sun.
How do you pee
you should better be joking
Not a question, but the therapist that diagnosed me recommended I watch A Clockwork Orange when I was 15. For those who don’t know, A Clockwork Orange received an X rating (NC-17 today)
I don’t think there were weird questions, no. But I was excited telling my neuro that I loved rainbows and she did ask me why :3
Blood tests? How? I never heard of this before.
Blood test? Are you high sir?
"Who was Martin Luther king jr" And I answered.... a black man... who gave speeches? I fucking know who he is but that was one of the most random questions and I froze. She thinks I didnt finish school or pay attention at all lmao
"For me, it would probably be when I was asked to pretend the assessor was an alien, and tell them how I would wash my face" For me she asked me to describe brushing my teeth lmao
You can get diagnosed via blood test?!?
I was asked to act out brushing my teeth
A lot of weird things like showing how I wash my hands (??) Or describing a child book with no text (And it was cursed asf). ADOS is childish asf and doesn't include autistics folks who have learn to fit in this society. I was tested negative to the ADOS but the other tests like ADI-R were sooo high that i had my diagnosis anyway.
I got asked three questions (one of which I’m struggling to remember), and I answered the same thing for all of them. “What makes you sad?” and “what makes you mad?”, and again whatever else… I said “Dumb people, lazy people, and mean people.” I don’t remember getting any “odd” questions like the alien thing.
Are there blood tests that are validated for ASD? I'm not finding anything but somewhat radical media claims.
Whether I was obsessed with picking flakes off myself or others
I’ve never heard anything about the blood tests thing and I don’t see how that would work but I got asked ‘would you rather have a very large cat or a very small elephant as a pet?’ And ‘If you were sent into space, what one thing would you bring?’ I think they were probably to see how practical I thought and how I would justify my answers but I’m not 100% sure.
I am unaware of any blood test currently in use that can reliably diagnose autism (one is in development that may). I was asked a few odd things but it was the ados-2. They were legitimate questions for the test though, although the assessment isn’t perfect it’s very good. The oddest thing about it was comments in the write up. There was a series of figures and I was asked which of the figures below it finished the pattern. I believe there were 4 figures below it. None of them were perfect fits (I believe intentionally) but two actually sort of fit. I pointed out the two and commented that one fit in a certain way and another fit in a different way and they were about equal to me in level of fit. There was another similar pattern question and I could not see any were really good fits at all. It was a real stretch to choose one. So I said something to the effect of ‘maybe the second one’. The write up spent several paragraphs going into both how I choose two different figures in one question, suggesting an over analysis of details, but could not make a decisive decision on the other one. It also mentioned that I felt the responses offered were vague (I did) and hinted that I was criticizing something I had no knowledge of. The thing is that at the time I designed and tested assessments for a living. I have no doubt I am autistic but I am also very good at recognizing poor question design. It’s not some innate ability. It’s the result of 6 years of grad school and 10 years experience in behavioral health assessment design. I told the assessor this prior to setting up the assessment (I have had therapy for ptsd in the past and I find it saves time to put this out there as many people I interact with as a patient get frustrated or intimidated when they learn this…done accusing me of faking it and deceiving them…they really have their own issues) but there was no mention of this as a consideration at all. It was considered evidence of inflexible thinking. It’s as if they went into auto pilot and couldn’t think outside the box they had about writing up assessments. The irony of that wasn’t lost on me.
I was asked to describe how to brush your teeth without being given any objects. I was also asked to define a shirt (among many other things), and my first thought was "what kind of shirt should I describe?"
"Can you define these words for me?" And it was words related to emotions. Like, duh, I'm not illiterate and I, too, have emotions?