Do I have some kind of autism?

Question

All through high school up till now I have had this problem where I can read or look at something but its like I am not taking in what I am reading or watching. And example would be during high school. In about 11th grade since I was failing very badly some of my teachers offered to stay after school to help me catch up on my work. My one biology teacher spent about 40 min trying to explain to me the math and everything involved in algebra. While explaining in to me she even noticed that I couldn't understand or take in anything she was telling me. It was like she was telling me something, but there's a brick wall blocking the information from getting into my brain. The problem has gotten worse.


I noticed last week while driving with my aunt that I had this same problem again. While driving I feel like I am unable to understand the road. I have been driving around with my aunt to the houses where she pet sits for years, but could remember how to get to them. We would leave a house, but I couldn't remember which way we just came to where I constantly have to ask her which way over and over again. I recently almost wrecked into another car because I felt like I couldn't react fast enough or process the information on what I should do not to wreck my vehicle. What could be wrong with me? Is this a sign of autism?

Answer 1

Definitely get out of the car until you know what it is.



Never mind the vehicle, you could write off yourself.

Answer 2

That is not a sign of autism. Autism is really more of an emotional/communication type of issue?



You may have some kind of visual/information processing disorder though? That type of thing isn't always medical, more frequently it is a type of learning disability where your brain takes in and processes the things you see or hear in an unusual way. If these are long term issues or you've had other sort of related problems that could be the cause.

I would talk to your doctor about it. They may want you to see a neurologist to rule out medical causes and if that doesn't show any issues, the neurologist can refer you to someone for an evaluation for the learning disabilities, etc.



I agree with the first answer- it really sounds like you should not drive until you figure out what this is and how to deal with it.

Answer 3

From your description of your symptoms I can assure you it is not

Autism . You did not say how old you were but it sounds more as if you are experiencing some Attention Deficient Disorder which

most people attribute to children, however, it is an adult disorder

also. You may be lacking some vital vitamin or mineral that helps to

make your body / brain function normally or you may need some

medicine that will increase the saratonine to your brain. Consult a

doctor and be sure to tell him/her all your symptoms so they can make an informed diagnosis. A blood panel will most likely be ordered as well as a urine sample needed to get the results of your current blood counts. You may want to stop driving for a while until you know for certain what is going on if you are having trouble with your memory / confusion. I hope this helps...and good luck !

Answer 4

It's not autism.



There could be audio or visual processing problems going on, but that would not explain your not being able to remember the route between your aunt's houses. Executive functioning problems would probably also manifest themselves in other more obvious ways...



It could be AD/HD I suppose, as someone else mentioned.



It sounds like you are having trouble focusing on any given task-at-hand. That's a problem with concentration. All of your symptoms could be explained quite well by depression. It's not uncommon for people who are depressed to not really know that they are so. You should be screened for depression.



ADD: One reason that I'm sort of reluctant to say "AD/HD" is because that condition is usually diagnosed earlier in childhood. It's not something that just comes out your junior year of high school. Also, teachers would have picked up on that and made a recommendation that you be tested for that.

Answer 5

I don't think this would fall under ASD, or autism, But you are right on track with the processing idea. It sounds like you are having visual and auditory processing delays, and maybe some long term memory problems. If you were my daughter, I would want you to be examined by a neurologist to be sure there isn't a medical problem.

Do me a favor though: limit your driving until you find out what's wrong. I wouldn't want you to get hurt.

Answer 6

Autism is a very complex social problem which you don't seem to be suffering from. People with autism not only process information in a different way, their brains are wired so differently that they cannot think and communicate like others.