There’s a lot of overlap between the two diagnoses, but the reason I have a symptom (ie staying close to walls and corners) – has nothing to do with ASDs or any social preferences when in crowds, and everything to do with my balance and gait, re cerebral palsy. Social difficulties result from the way CP was perceived from my earliest memories, as an adaptive mechanism on my part (random people can’t startle you if you avoid them).
Many of the questions involve “behaviours” that aren’t exclusive to autism spectrum disorders, and can easily be attributed to my cerebral palsy, scoliosis, exaggerated startle reaction (caused by congenital damage to the brainstem; poor balance, abnormal posture, abnormal gait/proprioception, reflexive extreme rage following being startled – stop me any time..). e.g. In my case, abnormal posture isn’t a behavioural response to social situations, but rather due to muscle spasticity and scoliosis. As such, they are not behaviours at all – they originate physically, not psychiatrically.
Perhaps evaluation by a human professional would be more reassuring in terms of validity for my specific situation.
Note: Test was taken 13 October 2021.
