What really makes a person Autistic?

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No offense to anymore but I prefer feedback from people who are diagnosed with Autism and know a lot about the subject rather than those who are self diagnosed and think they have it (which I think can be dangerious). What are the traits adults with mild Autism have? I have some suspicions that I COULD be on the Autistic spectrum,I have said before that mother (who works with and has worked with special needs/Autistic people most of her life) says I do have Autistic traits. I have taken a lot of those Autism tests online and while I often score high and within the range that would consider me Autistic I still take these things with a pinch of salt. There are so many miconceptions about Autism and such a lack of good information about it (especially for adults), So if you could help me here I would appreciate it.

Have you read the DSM? The criteria in the DSM define autism. I think you're incorrect in your assumption that people diagnosed with autism will know more about the topic than those without diagnosis. You'll find plenty of family members here (including NTs) who can tell you a lot about autism based on their experiences.

Now if you're looking for someone to diagnose you, you won't find it here. No one can diagnose you over the internet. You're much better off finding a trained medical professional to do that (even if it's not someone on the spectrum).

what makes you autistic is home your brain wrks. I have PDD-NOS autim

I had a speech delay as a child

I have obsessive intrests and a ENED for routines and ritual

I also have some sensory issues as well
I am highly verbal now but I can't read faicail expressions and human body languauge
Another major part of autism is the need to stim alot. I am not sure how to best answer the queston. Have you concidered getting a nueropsych exam?

what defines autsm

need for routine and sameness
trouble comnuticating either verbal or non verbally
sensory issue
lack of expreciveness
failure to shre intrests
trouble relating to people.

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Assorted ideas about the question you posed:

It seems to me that a case could be made that Autism is an invisible/almost invisible form of invisible or almost invisible mild Cerebral Palsy.

http://www.associatedconditionsofcerebralpalsy.com/

In my view the word autism is very often applied to people without really trying to look carefully at what's going on.

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Aspects of autism may include:

Subtle vision challenges
Subtle hearing challenges
Subtle sensory processing challenges
Neurological challenges such as one of the many epilepsies or the four ADHDs
and so on

Venn diagram

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In terms of a person who is held up in the media as a spokesperson/a role model for autism:

HBO: Temple Grandin: Home
The official website for the HBO Film Temple Grandin, featuring videos, images, interviews and schedule information.
http://www.hbo.com/movies/temple-grandin/index.html - Cached - Similar (Google)

People are different.

There are none, because there is no such thing as 'mild' Autism.

Autism is an atypical neurological condition that develops in utero - you have it from the moment you're born. From Day 1, it causes you to experience the world you live in differently than most of the individuals around you. Because your experiences and perceptions are different, you cannot function in the same way as everyone else and as a result you are treated as an outcast and a freak by your peers your entire life.

There is absolutely nothing 'mild' about living your entire life under those circumstances, no matter how many coping mechanisms you develop to try to fit in and at least appear relatively normal on the surface. Trying to pretend to be like everyone else is a constant roleplay - you are forced to ACT all day long, every day of your life. It takes a tremendous psychological toll over the long term in anxiety and depression.

Just because an Autistic has developed a very believable 'neurotypical' mask and seems to be almost normal, at least on the surface, does not mean they aren't suffering tremendous strains internally. That kind of ACTING is hard work. And it does nothing to change the knowledge that no matter how much you pretend, you are not like everybody else. Deficient. Inept. Never quite up to the challenges.

Nothing 'mild' about it.

Willard wrote (in part):...There is absolutely nothing 'mild' about living your entire life under those circumstances, no matter how many coping mechanisms you develop to try to fit in and at least appear relatively normal on the surface. Trying to pretend to be like everyone else is a constant roleplay - you are forced to ACT all day long, every day of your life. It takes a tremendous psychological toll over the long term... Nothing 'mild' about it... --- Willard - Agree with you 100%. There is no such a thing as mild autism. Also have heard there is no such a thing as a mild brain injury/a mild head injury/or a mild concussion - despite the false newpaper/news media reports which falsely suggest complete, automatic recovery from brain injuries or concussions. - pgd

http://www.sportsconcussions.org/
http://www.sportsconcussions.org/concussion-basics.html

Are you asking for generalizations about what autism is, or for people to share their own experience of what's true for them? The question sounds like you are asking for generalizations, not individual experiences, but, then, if that were so, it doesn't really make sense for you to say only diagnosed should answer. That makes sense if you are asking people about their own experiences, but not if you are asking for a generalization about autism.

What really makes a person Autistic? Seeing the word "ACT" in Willard's message above as three separate letters and trying to figure it out for two minutes before finally coming to the realization that it's a word.

I apologize for my post I probably sound pretty ignorant. I welcome anyones views or thougths. By the way I am not looking for a diagnoses actually I think I probably just have Autistic traits but not Autistic as such.I mean I do find it hard to make proper friends and I always did, I was usually friends with "uncool" kids like myself or those with a learning disability. I do find most jokes hard to understand and can take things litterally or misunderstand what people say quite often (although I get sarcasm for the most part) I think I am immature at times because I have and do become obsessed with a certain movie or videogame and it feels like it's so important over everything else.. It doesn't mean I am Autistic though I think I could just be a slow learner and strange.

Thanks for the replies.

There's no single set of features that autistic people can have.

Think of it like a tree. There's the seed (autism) but the branches (the parts people see) can grow in a number of different possible directions. Each tree has a different pattern even if the seed is the same species.

The "seed" part of autism has little to do with the DSM. It's a set of variations from the norm that affect thinking, perception, and responses to the world. Those variations can happen in a number of different ways themselves, given that autism isn't exactly one precise "thing".

Then the branches are all the ways that this shows in the world. This can happen in as many ways as there are autistic people. Not all people with the same "seed" will look the same to other people, even if they have something very similar inside. And the list of possibilities are endless.

Acceptance and Committment Therapy?

http://flowstate.homestead.com/Dact.html

I suppose what REALLY makes a person Autistic is a diagnosis from someone that NO ONE on WP would challenge

Sorry what do you mean exactly?

hehe, i liked that one Blindspot149

Uhm... Well! I would describe it as a neurological disorder that affects significant impairment in socializing and communicating with others, which leads to oversensitivity to impressions and chances and restricted set of behavior/thoughts.

General consensus that someone's autistic. Which is impossible, as there are people out there who will say that anybody who can talk to others is not autistic.

And of course most autistic people can talk to others. Then you get the other "experts" who will insist that anyone who shows any response at all to people is autistic, at which point there are no autistic people except the ones who seem to people with very biased ideas of what "response" means to not respond to people at all in any way. And it goes on and on until there's no autistic people left.