PROFESSIONALLY LICENSED THERAPISTS ONLY - HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE AUTISM. ASKING FOR A FRIEND.
While I may not 8e licensed, I actually have personal and scholarly experience on this matter! Autism is somewhat of a nuanced su8ject given how symptoms can range from increased sensitivity to light and loud noises to 8eing una8le to read people's emotions. It can 8e severe or mild, with some individuals not finding out that they are on the autism spectrum for many sweeps! I think what can 8est help your friend is for them to write a list of activities they do that are common autistic 8ehaviors and evaluate how often they do it and how much it impacts their life. Sometimes it can 8e su8tle, sometimes it can majorly impact a majority of their interactions. Like...difficulty with volume control, 8eing a random hypothetical example. I myself am on the autism spectrum and experience pro8a8ly a wholly different kind of mindset than what you're friend could 8e going through. I wish this friend a gr8 deal of luck in finding this out for themself.
:33 < seconding what aranea said! pawtism is a broad and complicated subject, and its not always easy to define what EXACTLY qualifies someone
ONCE I GOT OVER THE SHEER AMMOUNT OF INFORMATION IN THIS POST, ITS ACTUALLY INCREDIBLY HELPFUL. THANK YOU. THAT BEING SAID THE FATE THAT YOU GET ALONG WITH MY DANCESTOR MAKES A PAINFUL AMOUNT OF SENSE NOW.