Autism Wheel

How autistic are you?

You might have asked yourself that before. Or someone else has. Or you hear about people saying that they have a “touch of the ‘tism” and you may have wondered to yourself: How much autism do I have?

From the start, this question is incorrect. 

When we think of spectrums, we usually think of a line with two polar opposite ends. Most people will fall in between the ends, a gray area that is a combination of both.

The spectrum of autism is much more complex than just two ends. It’s not a matter of how autistic you are–you either are or aren’t autistic. 

But I know someone who has a crazy interest in history that’s unlike anyone else I’ve seen. Even if they don’t have meltdowns, that’s a little autistic, isn’t it?

Sure. They seem to fall into one category of autism. However, if they don’t rank high in other aspects as well, they simply aren’t autistic. 

The autism spectrum is a bunch of categories and lines, along which how severe a symptom is will fall. If you are autistic, the spectrum is a way to better understand how your autism manifests for you. 

There are several categories, and these differ from practice to practice. For our purposes, we’ll list the categories as: 

• Depression

• Anxiety

• Tics/fidgets

• Aggression

• Fixations

• Sensory sensitivity

• Social ability

These make up spokes on an autism wheel. The farther out a person may score in a category, the more severely it affects them. Once it’s all put together, you have your individual autism spectrum wheel! 

Your wheel gives you a visual aid in seeing what your autism is like. The disorder can seem intangible at times, just a mixture of symptoms and struggles. Being able to point things out specifically can help you understand yourself and set concrete goals for yourself as well. Just remember that like all tools, it’s meant to support you!

If you would like to fill out your wheel with a therapist, we have a great team of therapists on our website. There’s also a pdf template of a wheel on our sister site that you can fill out as well. If you just want some support in general but not sure of what next steps to take, email clientcare@newpathfamily.com to talk with our Client Care Coordinator! We’re all here for you–we want to help ♥️