PinksMonkey: Press space/click (tap if on mobile) to switch between the blank bingo card/template and the one with my answers. Please remix this project with your own answers! ☺️ If you think you may be autistic, it's a good idea to talk to a trusted adult if possible. That could be anyone like a parent/caregiver, teacher, school counselor, therapist, or doctor. You may also want to look at the official diagnostic criteria and honestly reflect on if you think you qualify for a diagnosis. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/hcp-dsm.html and https://embrace-autism.com/decoding-autism-in-the-dsm-5/ I hope that helps! If you have any questions please feel free to ask! (Edits by @cutekawaiikitty9): Also, many autistic individuals that are high masking such as myself may not realize they are autistic. Autism is a spectrum and different autistic people need different levels of support. Due to gender bias, price of official diagnosis and little research on autism, individuals such as myself have to self-diagnose and may never receive official diagnosis. This is perfectly valid as long as you are able to support yourself and are not just pretending to have autistic traits. However, it is a good idea to consult your doctor or a specialized psychiatrist before you just tell people you actually have autism. Tests such as the RAADS-R help people consider if they might actually be autistic or not, which is created by Riva Ariella Ritvo and is based on criteria in the DSM-5. It is designed for ages 16+. Please know this is not an official diagnosis and should be used for self-evaluation: https://embrace-autism.com/raads-r/ I suspect I have Autism and ADHD, which makes a lot of my traits of each conflict with each other and my brain is in a constant battle. Autism is 60% concurrent with ADHD (60% of autistic individuals also have ADHD). That is all! Thanks for viewing my project! :)
Autistic trait explanations(credits to PinksMonkey): • Resistance/distress to change - many autistic people feel VERY distressed by small changes (especially with plans and routines). • Mostly hypersensitive/sensory avoidant - some autistic people experience senses to a much greater level than others, causing discomfort, sensory overload/overstimulation, and even physical pain. • OCD - not really an autistic trait, but a very common co-occurring condition with autism. • Non-speaking/non-vocal - some autistic people are unable to speak or unable to speak reliably. Many fully non-speaking autistic people have apraxia (a condition separate from autism that makes them physically unable to talk) or other speech/language disorders. • ADHD - not really an autistic trait, but a very common co-occurring condition with autism. • Obvious/less socially accepted stims - things like hand flapping, jumping, spinning, rocking, vocal stims, etc. • Trouble reading facial expressions/body language - autistic people tend to struggle interpreting non-verbal cues. • Very little/no eye contact - some autistic people find eye contact very uncomfortable, distracting, intimate, or even physically painful. • Doesn't understand unspoken social rules - autistic people tend to not understand "common sense" social rules if we aren't explicitly told about them, and sometimes they seem pointless/strange to us. • Echolalia/palilalia - the repetition of sounds, words, and phrases. Echolalia is repeating what someone else said, palilalia is a type of echolalia but is specifically repeating something you previously said. • Mostly hyposensitive/sensory seeking - some autistic people experience senses at a much lower level than others, causing them not to notice sensory input/stimuli that they need to, they may want lots of sensory input, and experience understimulation. • Overly expressive in tone/body language - some autistic people are very expressive, using lots of gestures and exaggerated/sing-songy tone, but it may not always match what we're feeling/meaning to convey. (For example, we may sound upset/sarcastic even if they aren't intentionally.) • Difficulty making/keeping friends - many autistic people struggle with relationships because of our different communication style and perception of the world. • Alexithymia - some autistic people have an inability to identify and describe their emotions. • Has a special interest currently (or multiple) - many autistic people get fixated on specific topics, are very passionate about them, and are very knowledgeable about them. • Talks a lot - some autistic people are very talkative, and tend to over-explain and go into great detail when speaking (especially about our special interests, or to avoid misunderstandings). • Mix of hypersensitive and hyposensitive - some autistic people are hypersensitive to some senses, and hyposensitive to others. • "Picky eater" - many autistic people have a limited variety of foods that we eat because of sensory sensitivities, many of us have "safe foods''. We are also at a higher risk of developing eating disorders like ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder). • Situational mutism - some autistic people are unable to speak in certain social situations when they have high anxiety. (It's sometimes referred to as selective mutism, but some people don't like calling it that because it's not a choice) • Depression - not exactly an autistic trait, but a very common co-occurring condition. • Anxiety disorder(s) - extremely common co-occurring condition, especially social anxiety. • Subtle/more socially accepted stims - things like leg bouncing, quiet tapping, pen clicking, nail biting, visual stims, etc. • Not very expressive in tone/body language - some autistic people don't use much body language and speak with a flat tone most of the time. • Intense eye contact - some autistic people don't know what's considered a "reasonable" amount of eye contact. This bingo card was made entirely by PinksMonkey (a diagnosed autistic person). Music: Outcast by Glee
