Hi,
I am officially diagnosed ADHD (did all the testing), but I have had a few people say they think I might be more “on the spectrum”. I realize I would have to be tested by a professional to know if I had autism, but I am just curious what other people have experienced. Here are some of my things that make me wonder. Maybe they are just me? Or maybe just my ADHD? I would love anyone’s input. Thank you!
*I have some sensory issues, which were much worse when I was a child. My mom says she couldn’t take me into grocery stores because the loud sounds and bright lights would overwhelm me. I don’t mind grocery stores now, but I do not like bright overhead lights at all. Lots of fabrics bother me— I mostly wear cotton. I also cut tags out of everything or buy tagless when possible.
*I have hyperfixations that last years. Often it’s with a certain band. I have been obsessed with the same band now for 8 years, and listen to almost nothing else. I do like other music. But I will listen to my favorite band more often than not. I have seen them in concert 10 times, even traveling to other states to do so. I have every song of theirs memorized.
*I have an aversion to repetitive tasks— if I have to do something over and over too many times, I start to feel like I’m going to jump out of my skin. For instance, as a child, I played piano, and was often made to practice a chord or a portion of a song repeatedly until I mastered it (often times for an hour at a time) and it was unbearable.
*I never think outside the box. I am always surprised when someone thinks of doing something a different way than how I do it. It doesn’t occur to me to do things in a different way than I have always done them. It’s not that I don’t want to try a new way, it just literally does not occur to me that there is a different way.