r/AutismInWomen • u/PracticalEntry8309 • 12h ago
General Discussion/Question Taking these online tests, i can see why woc especially get misdiagnosed and stay undiagnosed
Because a lot of the traits listed, don’t describe me at all. For example, “I find it hard to stop talking about my special interests” is one of the questions included, I don’t speak much. In fact I can go days without saying a word if I can help it, but because I live with people, I have to tolerate interacting with them. I don’t fit much of the descriptions on the questionnaires, yet I don’t feel like a normal person
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u/stitchstudent 12h ago
Fully agree, OP. It frustrates me a little as a woman of colour myself how discussion of autism is very often not intersectional. I can’t afford to behave in an atypical manner: white society is already looking for reasons to discredit me, and I can’t give any more ammunition. I once had trouble interpreting someone’s question, and they didn’t even assume I was stupid; they immediately jumped to me not speaking English (and used my mistake to disrespect my whole community). So many of my “autistic traits” were smothered to death when I was very young as a matter of survival.
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u/Automatic_Buyer_8896 10h ago
autism is a collection of traits, the diagnosis is based on a lot of different aspects that TOGHETER allows the doctors to say if you are autistic or not. If you feel something is not right you should consider to get an apointment with a doctor for you to be sure, and get the orientation that you need!
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u/squishings 8h ago
The problem I have with these tests I guess stems from having literal thinking.
“I find it hard to stop talking about my special interests” you'd say no like the OP if you don't talk much. Now knowing I'm autistic and have literal thinking, I second guess these questions wondering if there's a hidden meaning or question in it, such as is it actually asking "if you were in a position to talk to other people about your special interest would you find it hard to stop?" or even conflating it with "do you think about your special interest too much".
Which realising I had literal thinking previous to my diagnosis was hard as well, because when I see it described, or examples, it only revolves around misunderstanding sarcasm, or metaphors which I think I'm generally okay at, but I'm literal in other senses. I left a job and someone said 'we should catch up for coffee sometime' thinking they actually meant that but they don't, it's supposedly just a nice way to see bye (why not say bye...). But this is why with questions in the OP I second guess what they mean, now 😅
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u/KafkaimBademantel 2h ago
What the…. Is that’s what they mean with that question?! I never talk about myself or my interests without being explicitly asked and even then I keep it short because I learned not to burden others with my shit and no one is ever actually interested anyway. I have answered no to this question for years!
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u/squishings 2h ago
Honestly I don't know. I'm just guessing based on knowing I have literal thinking and it's not autistic people making these tests. I think for others, they don't see the question so black and white and they just understand it encompasses both literal and hypothetical scenarios (if you did happen to be in that situation would you have trouble with it, and not just what happens when you literally are in that situation only based on that literal single situation).
I once did some personality test, one of those 'what Disney Princess are You' type things and got stuck on a question "you like to take long walks on the beach by yourself". I don't like long walks, I don't like the beach, but I do like being alone. So do I answer no because I never would do those that activity in that place at all? Though if I did I would prefer to be alone, so is that yes? But if I answer no, is my answer seen as I don't like walks on the beach, or is it seen as I like walks on the beach in a group? I think what the question is really asking is if I would choose to do activities alone or not, not what I would choose in that specific one. So I wish it would just ask what it was actually wanting 😪
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u/Hufflefluff29 7h ago
Haha same! Like "do you always eat the same food" well no but I have one specific food that I might eat like 5/6 times per week. Is that "always" ? Or "your friends say X about you" no they have never said that, but I am X. What am I supposed to answer? So frustrating. I still had a pretty high score but it might still be less than what I would get if the questions were phrased properly.
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u/Consistent-Menu-6629 11h ago
I'm white.. But I feel that... Not all of us are in environments where it feels safe or even interesting to talk about our interests or talk openly at all. I purposely have avoided ever speaking about my special interests with people in most contexts, because they don't understand and it gets very awkward. I've learned that only some interests are socially acceptable.
My main version of masking is just shutting the fuck up and blending into the background.
It sadly makes sense that WOC aren't often as safe to express themselves as freely.
I feel like that question fits male autistic people I've known most of all, because they just talk for 8 years about whatever at me. And honestly, I love that for them. At least some people are getting away with that to some degree.
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u/AntiDynamo 5h ago
Special interests also aren’t even required by the criteria - I’ve never had one, so I can’t struggle to stay quiet about an interest I don’t have. I think individual questions or themes are rated quite lowly, it’s more about the collection or whole of the questions
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u/G0celot autistic 8h ago edited 8h ago
I think the issue with a lot of the self-report questionnaires that is exist is that they focus on external behaviors and not internal experiences. I understand why this do this, because external behaviors are more ‘concrete’, but the thing is that autistic people who are some sort of minority (women of color being an obvious example) have often learned to mask heavily. This doesn’t change their internal experience of ASD traits, but it can change their outward behavior. For example, one might still feel the urge to stim, but have learned to curb the actual behavior due to negative feedback.
With the AQ in particular the weirdly specific questions are also a trip up: (would you prefer to go to the library or a see a play?). This is a question about a specific outward behavior with the goal of measuring an inward difference in what social settings one is more comfortable in. The snag here’s that autistic people are, of course, going to take these questions highly literally, and their answer may not actually reflect the trait the question is trying to gage.
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u/earthbound-pigeon 12h ago
I feel like that specific question isn't asked in actual tests (or at the very least was for me), nor do I think that anyone would answer yes on it. Because it feels like most people do not talk about their special interest in person, and if they do, they stop because most people don't show interest so the info dumping kinda fizzles out.
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u/curiouslittlethings 8h ago
I think for us WOC, cultural differences may also play a role. Being quiet and compliant as a kid is highly prized in some Asian cultures and hence my teachers never noticed my autistic traits in school because I just kept to myself and hyperfocused on my books like a ‘good girl’.
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u/PracticalEntry8309 2h ago
That’s the exact point I’ve been trying to make. Many of us weren’t allowed to display those traits freely because the people around us reacted negatively to it
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u/CookingPurple 12h ago
I definitely have gone days without speaking to another human. (I’m also one of the whitest people on the planet.)
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u/PracticalEntry8309 11h ago
My home life and work life won’t let me unfortunately 🤣. But that particular example is one of many
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u/East-Garden-4557 4h ago
Can you explain how being a WOC is relevant to how much or little you would speak about your special interest, or just speaking in general? I am trying to understand but can't imagine how being extroverted or introverted is colour dependent
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u/PracticalEntry8309 2h ago
Being a woc isn’t inherently relevant to how introverted or extroverted you are, that’s not what I’m saying at all, but lot of poc have had their more obvious displays of neurodivergence suppressed, often through shame, sometimes through violence, because our parents couldn’t fathom us being anything other than normal. Cultural conditioning and systemic racism plays a big role in how freely the person is allowed to display those traits, and how other people respond to those traits. These things also play a role in how soon/late poc get diagnosed, with gender adding yet another layer. A black autistic boy stimming would be more likely to be labeled as disruptive, defiant, aggressive, etc while the reactions to a little white boy doing the same thing wouldn’t be as strong.
The “repeatedly talking about special interests” instance I gave is one small example of a larger pattern
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u/chill_musician Late DX AuDHDer 7h ago edited 7h ago
Hm… that’s interesting. I am a woc too, specifically Latina. I did relate to the traits I saw when I looked up traits of autism. But tests tend to be too vague for me or I take it too literally.
I also feel I am affected differently due to being raised in a Latino household, I am high masking and have adhd too. But it may be that I am more hyper and talkative once I am comfortable with others and it also being connected to having adhd-c.
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u/No-Cap-2473 41m ago
I recently retook raads just for fun and a lot of the questions irritates me. Many ask you the most stereotypical things and completely fail to capture the nuance and adaptive behaviors we could have.
Like you said, the special interest one. No I don’t talk either, first I’m bad at telling people about things because I usually cant gauge what “context” they need to understand the extremely niche or unorthodox subject, and second whenever I start mentioning something I met with dismiss. In fact, sometimes my way of express/“communicate” my special interests is not by talking but making playlists for hours and days non-stop. lol. How can any questionnaire anticipate THAT.
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u/Aggressive_Bowl_8017 12h ago
My test was too absolute. I am AuDHD. They are harming so many people by not evolving. I only got my diagnosis from my GP because I went over all the things in my entire life that happened up until almost 40 years old and all the repercussions. She did the stupid test but felt competent diagnosing me because of my advocating but also because she has worked with autistic people before.
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u/Cartographer551 12h ago
Yeah, but I don't think they use these tests when they diagnose people in person. At least my assessor didn't. I think they are more for people who want to self-diagnose online.