(I) Qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following:
(A) marked impairments in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body posture, and gestures to regulate social interaction
Does the person have noticable impairments such as underuse or overuse of body gestures, and/or have trouble looking people in the eyes, and/or have few facial expressions, and/or have an odd posture?
I don't normally look people in the eyes, in fact I don't usually look at them at all while I'm speaking to them, instead I look at any small details in the environment that catch my attention. I tend to sit with my knees up and feel uncomfortable sitting normally in a chair. I'm not aware of my gesturing or facial expressions but I once saw myself on video and I was huddling and looked quite weird.
(B) failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level
Does the person have a hard time forming friendships/relationships similar to the ones people their age do?
I've never had much friends. When I was younger, I tended to bond with one person at a time and I was very possessive of them. I felt jealous if the person spent time with other friends.
Also when I was in elementary school and other girls would come ring the doorbell while I was doing something, I didn't want to stop what I was doing because I want to be with friends when I choose to and otherwise I don't want them to bother me.
Also nowadays I may get stuck on the computer and not pay much attention to a friend that's visiting. Once I went to see a guy I'd found through a dating ad online and I spent like two or three hours playing on his computer while he did some other stuff, then we had tea and I played with his cats. We met like this twice. He said it was fun talking to me and we'd see again in the future. I invited him to my birthday party and he said maybe he would stop by. He never did and never contacted me after that.
Also one time I wanted to invite the bus driver to my birthday party, but I didn't see him until it was over so the card I gave to him had a date that had already passed. Then I was still waiting that he would come for coffee anyway but he never did.
Generally I have liked spending time with adults and never got along with kids of my own age, except for a couple of people. I was also friends with some kids that were younger than me. In kindergarten I was first just following the nannies around when we had to go out, then I befriended a girl who was two years younger than me. When I later saw her in elementary school and learned it was the same girl, I was surprised why she never came to talk to me but it never crossed my mind that I could go talk to her. Generally I don't know how to make friends or to start conversations, it's always the other person making initiative.
Online I might consider a person my friend because I see them in chat several times, but it might turn out that the person does not in fact know me because I haven't talked to them. I may have replied to something they said in public but they might not remember it because it was not significant to them.
(C) a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interest or achievements with other people, (e.g.. by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest to other people
Does the person fail to point out things that might interest the people around them, and/or fail to show interest in things that interest other people, and/or fail to share things that might interest other people?
I'm not sure about point C. I do present my own objects of interest but might talk about things that the listeners don't care about and it takes me a while to realize that they don't understand or care about what I'm talking about. I don't know what to say if a person tells me what they are doing and I don't find the issue particularly interesting.
(D) lack of social or emotional reciprocity
Does the person fail to respond to other peoples emotions or attempts at socializing?
I do mainly respond to emotions but may misread them. As for attempts of socializing, it's partially covered by examples in point B.
(II) Restricted repetitive & stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests and activities, as manifested by at least one of the following:
(A) encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus
Usually when it comes to obsessions, my interest in games is mentioned.
(B) apparently inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or rituals
Is the person inflexable to change in routines or rituals they engage in, which are not technically neccisary to engage in to complete a task, and/or preffer sameness, such as the same type of clothing, foods, etc?
I don't think I have ritual behaviour anymore. I used to have a severe dislike of buttons when I was a kid and also I remember one incident when I was wearing a pink college shirt and a skirt, and I was feeling hot, so my friend said I should take the shirt off, and I said I can't because then I would have to take the skirt off as well because the colors wouldn't match anymore.
Also I don't like eating meat that has the structure of meat (sinew, tiny veins, cartilage) but I'd consider that pretty normal.
I'm alright with wearing the same clothes until they start to stink or have obvious stains on them. On this semester I've worn the same jeans pretty much every day, and my Purdue hoodie.
Also, when I was a kid, I used to suck my thumb until I was 7 or 8 and I was also scratching at this scar on my forearm, which I'd gotten when I was 2. I did this even while asleep, scratching and sucking. If my parents would take my thumb out of my mouth, I would put it right back without waking up.
I have a general intolerance for irregularities on my skin, such as scabs and zits and will continue scratching at them until they're gone.
(C) stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (e.g. hand or finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole-body movements)
Does the person have a habit of doing something like flapping their hands, and/or twisting their hands or any other part of theor body, and/or rocking back and forth, and/or anything of that nature?
I have some when I'm nervous or agitated but I don't remember having that kind of stuff as a child, so I may have developed it due to other reasons.
(D) persistent preoccupation with parts of objects
Does the person have an obsessive interest with a certain part or parts of an object or objects, for example, a spinning part?
I get distracted by movement and some details that stand out, for example if the fringe of a carpet is out of order then I can keep staring at it. If a table is on a checkered floor then the neighboring legs must be on different colored squares. There's something about chairs that are made of bent pieces of wood, I remember having a certain thought pattern several times when I encounter that kind of chairs but I can't remember it now because I'm not seeing that kind of a chair at the moment.
Criteria III, IV, V and VI seem like they won't require further explanation.
) and I unconsiously put fingers in my mouth. Lol, when writing this I noticed I was doing just that.
No wonder that your social skills stay underdeveloped if you have no chance to use them.
