# How many furries have Autism/ADHD?



## Jakinator178 (Jan 10, 2017)

Just a quick rolecall. I'm on the high end of the spectrum myself, and I have a feeling that the two type of "outcasts" that prevail in here are Autism and LGBT. (I am not insinuating that furries only consist of outcasts.)


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## Lexiand (Jan 10, 2017)

I have ADHD but I don't really think it is that bad of a disorder.


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## reptile logic (Jan 10, 2017)

Hello. These questions have been brought up several times since I signed on. It's safe to say that there are a lot of us who have gravitated toward this site and others. Asperger's; diagnosed later in life. It took a long time, but I've learned enough and trained myself well enough to be considered 'normal' in social situations, more or less.


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## Lexiand (Jan 10, 2017)

reptile logic said:


> I've learned enough and trained myself well enough to be considered 'normal' in social situations, more or less.



Same here.


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## Leoni Zheitk (Jan 10, 2017)

I have ADHD and the only problem with me is I can get HELLA BORED when it comes to simple schoolwork.


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## Leoni Zheitk (Jan 10, 2017)

I have no problems with making friends (unless it requires being a jocky dingus)
I have no problem doing physical work
I _do_ have a problem being told to sit down and write something I'll legitimately forget in not even a day... School is a pain...


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## real time strategist (Jan 11, 2017)

ADHD is not that all bad for me it's just when I forget to take my pills it is always a bad day at school, and if I accidentally take them during the weekend then I usually spend the entire day playing civ 4 (or some other addicting/strategic game) without realizing I have been playing it for 6 hours straight.


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## Sergei Sóhomo (Jan 11, 2017)

Jakinator178 said:


> Just a quick rolecall. I'm on the high end of the spectrum myself, and I have a feeling that the two type of "outcasts" that prevail in here are Autism and LGBT. (I am not insinuating that furries only consist of outcasts.)


Whoa whoa whoooooooooooooooa my dude

That's a bit of an awkward stance to take towards LGBT as a mental illness my friend.


But to answer your question: numerous studies found that around 68 - 74% of furries were gay. 
35% - 42% being gay
33% - 32% being bi
31% - 25% being straight
1% being some made up bullshit

Another survey done here found around 70% or so of users had some form of illness whether it be autism, ADHD, depression or schizophrenia


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## quoting_mungo (Jan 11, 2017)

Sergei Sóhomo said:


> That's a bit of an awkward stance to take towards LGBT as a mental illness my friend.


Not at all how it read to me; more "these are the two most common ways in which furries deviate from the heterosexual, neurotypical norm". Which may or may not be accurate; I don't really care one way or the other personally.


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## Sergei Sóhomo (Jan 11, 2017)

quoting_mungo said:


> Not at all how it read to me; more "these are the two most common ways in which furries deviate from the heterosexual, neurotypical norm". Which may or may not be accurate; I don't really care one way or the other personally.


Just seemed a bit odd since he had mental problems mixed in with LGBT


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## funky3000 (Jan 11, 2017)

I used to have ADHD, dunno how active it is anymore but I haven't taken my meds since early high school. Wouldn't be surprised if it's resurfacing tbh.


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## Badger94 (Jan 11, 2017)

I appreciate my fellow furries openess and honesty about their illnesses. Ive got depression, social anxiety, addiction. I now take meds for all three. All through high school and up until I was 21 I was in and out of rehabs, jail, or  I was strung out on multiple drugs. I couldnt cope with life, or even feelings. Ive just recently over the last year been able to learn how to be "normal", or at least a functioning member of society. I like sharing my testimony to those that have or are in similiar situations. Thanks everyfur.


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## Timber-Dawg (Jan 11, 2017)

ADHD here. Never been a setback for me. In fact it maybe the thing that set forth my career. I turned "hey look, a squirrel!" , into a career.


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## Yakamaru (Jan 11, 2017)

Frankly I find the definition "disorder" kinda insulting. Makes it sound like having Asperger's is a negative thing or something.


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## Alex K (Jan 25, 2017)

Doc says I have ADD which is additive detrimentally disorder.
But I don't wanna necessarily relate that to animals


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## Leoni Zheitk (Jan 25, 2017)

Alex K said:


> But I don't wanna necessarily relate that to animals


We were relating our disorders to animals?
Well what do I know...


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## modfox (Jan 25, 2017)

i have autisim and ADHD. its not nice having it but i do wonder what my life would be like with out it


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## Alex K (Jan 25, 2017)

Leoni Zheitk said:


> We were relating our disorders to animals?
> Well what do I know...



Well I just like puttin things together cause of ADDing


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## RileyTheOtter (Jan 25, 2017)

as you can tell from the title under my avatar picture, I do indeed. I'm an Aspie with ADHD and Tourrette's


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## Leoni Zheitk (Jan 25, 2017)

Alex K said:


> Well I just like puttin things together cause of ADDing


The puns, plz stiop them...


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## Alex K (Jan 25, 2017)

Leoni Zheitk said:


> The puns, plz stiop them...



Well I mean lately I've been learning to organize my stuff by putting them in their own little categories so maybe I should go see if I'm suffering from DIVISIONing


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## Mobius (Jan 26, 2017)

Dunno, the only thing I really suffer from is chronic insomnia.


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## Maximus B. Panda (Jan 26, 2017)

Better question, "How many furries can actually manage it?"


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## Lashzara (Jan 26, 2017)

I was diagnosed officially with nonthreat dissociative identity disorder in 2013, with spastic alexithymia as a symptom. It comes from missing chromatid 22q.


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## Rant (Jan 26, 2017)

Somehow at 3 years old I was diagnosed ADD. To this day no one can tell me HOW?!! 3 years are always hyper and shit, not even stupid tv shows can keep their attention. So it resulted in my entire childhood and early teen years of being a medical guinea pig to try all the fun new pills! 

I... I don't remember much of life life, even after stopping I suffer from severe memory loss, some days it's overwhelming to realize I can't remember what I even did that morning. I hope I provided good test data on all those stupid fucking pills.


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## RileyTheOtter (Jan 26, 2017)

Rant said:


> Somehow at 3 years old I was diagnosed ADD. To this day no one can tell me HOW?!! 3 years are always hyper and shit, not even stupid tv shows can keep their attention. So it resulted in my entire childhood and early teen years of being a medical guinea pig to try all the fun new pills!
> 
> I... I don't remember much of life life, even after stopping I suffer from severe memory loss, some days it's overwhelming to realize I can't remember what I even did that morning. I hope I provided good test data on all those stupid fucking pills.


I can relate to this as far as pills go.


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## ariamis (Jan 26, 2017)

i have adhd, but i learned to control it years ago.


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## Casey Fluffbat (Jan 26, 2017)

I'm an ordinary dude really. Used to have memory issues and an IEP up until 7th grade, coincidentally the same date I grew out of asthma.

Other than that, I fell into this fandom just by being lonely, and my preoccupation with this and other online groups lend a hand in two directions; a perspective on adulthood, and self interests that still don't make me relatable.


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## Khazius (Jan 26, 2017)

I have not been diagnosed with any form of autism, but I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was like 7, but when I switched doctors he said "Nah bruh" basically. Other than that im pretty normal except my pancreas is a jerk (Type 1 diabetic).


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## Sarachaga (Jan 27, 2017)

No autism or ADHD here. I've just got a panic disorder x.x



Rykhoteth said:


> Get out of your damn bed. Insomnia can be accidentally trained by trying to fall asleep. If you know laying isn't working in 10 minutes, do pushups, a stairmaster, or laundry, then try to sleep on a different position or different surface. I used to think this was bullshit advice until I realized the best sleep I had was always single night hotel stays, housesitting, couch surfing, etc. Unfamiliar territory. Sleep on the floor on occasion, or a hammock or something to keep your bed from being familiar. Don't do things while laying in bed, even your phone or reading.


That's actually great advice. I had a tendency to insomnia, but adopting this kind of behavior helped me overcome it


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## nerdbat (Jan 27, 2017)

Badger94 said:


> Ive got depression, social anxiety, addiction. I now take meds for all three.


Taking meds to fight addiction is kind of ironic, thinking about it


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## Badger94 (Jan 27, 2017)

nerdbat said:


> Taking meds to fight addiction is kind of ironic, thinking about it


Im in the same boat. Huzzah!


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## Badger94 (Jan 27, 2017)

nerdbat said:


> Taking meds to fight addiction is kind of ironic, thinking about it


I just realized you were replying to my post, as I had forgotten I posted on this thread. Space cadet. Well anyways, it does seem ironic, but most things in life are. Its helped me and im doing better than I ever have. It isnt just drugs I use to combat my addicition though, its combined with a list of other things Ive done to make positive changes. The end. Thankyou.


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## AsheSkyler (Jan 27, 2017)

Medical personnel and people with psychology degrees have told me I an autistic and OCD, but never in a clinical setting with an official diagnosis. So yay for the official unofficial diagnosis.


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## Brooks Dotson (Jan 30, 2017)

I have Autism and it sucks really, as it really has been the only reason why i don't socialize a whole lot, if at all ):


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## Zipline_Orange (Jan 30, 2017)

ADHD does not exist. Some people can easily concentrate, some are more easily distracted, a lot fall in between, it's just a natural variation.
Autism is very rear, so it does not exist too.



Brooks Dotson said:


> I have Autism and it sucks really, as it really has been the only reason why i don't socialize a whole lot, if at all ):



Someone planted this dumb idea that he's somehow deficient and look what we have now. Being good with people is a skill, you have to learn and you will learn it only by socializing. Again some people are naturally talented, some are hard learners, a lot fall in between.


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## Andromedahl (Jan 30, 2017)

Zipline_Orange said:


> Autism is very rear, so it does not exist too.


????

Might as well say "gold is rare, so it doesn't exist too."


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## Deleted member 82554 (Jan 30, 2017)

Zipline_Orange said:


> ADHD does not exist. Some people can easily concentrate, some are more easily distracted, a lot fall in between, it's just a natural variation.
> Autism is very rear, so it does not exist too.



You might want to get checked out...


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## Zipline_Orange (Jan 30, 2017)

Andromedahl said:


> ????
> 
> Might as well say "gold is rare, so it doesn't exist too."



If you find a pebble which looks like gold chances are it's not.


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## Andromedahl (Jan 30, 2017)

Zipline_Orange said:


> If you find a pebble which looks like gold chances are it's not.


Still doesn't mean gold isn't out there


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## Zipline_Orange (Jan 30, 2017)

Andromedahl said:


> Still doesn't mean gold isn't out there



You don't have to take it literally. What I mean it's very unlikely you will have autism even if you're displaying symptoms, since it's so rear. Confirmation bias is another very important thing to consider which is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses, while giving disproportionately less consideration to alternative possibilities


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## Brooks Dotson (Jan 30, 2017)

yeah well i never really got the the motivation to try and socialize at my leisure


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## Brooks Dotson (Jan 30, 2017)

Things i do have a nasty habit of going from bad to worse, very little self-esteem after all


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## Generic Fox (Jan 30, 2017)

No mental illness, straight, have social life, have job.

No wonder I'm such a misfit among furries.


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## Leoni Zheitk (Jan 30, 2017)

Zipline_Orange said:


> ADHD does not exist. Some people can easily concentrate, some are more easily distracted, a lot fall in between, it's just a natural variation.
> Autism is very rear, so it does not exist too.








Seriously, just ask any psychologist and I'm pretty sure they will disagree with you.



Zipline_Orange said:


> Brooks Dotson said:
> 
> 
> > I have Autism and it sucks really, as it really has been the only reason why i don't socialize a whole lot, if at all ):
> ...


[/QUOTE]
True, but that's what we call disabilities. If a person has certain symptoms such as "a mental condition, present from early childhood, characterized by difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other people and in using language and abstract concepts" then that would be considered autistic; people who have a noticeably harder time at achieving that skill.  It's easier to say I have autism rather than explain _why _you can't socialize as well as others.




Zipline_Orange said:


> You don't have to take it literally. What I mean it's very unlikely you will have autism even if you're displaying symptoms, since it's so rear. Confirmation bias is another very important thing to consider which is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses, while giving disproportionately less consideration to alternative possibilities



So... it's like rounding 0.3 to 0?
Sure I guess you could do that, but that literally just means you're saying the majority of the population don't have mental disabilities, which is true.  It's still there though: say you have a cell that could very potentially make you sick, it's just one cell, that doesn't mean you shouldn't acknowledge it.  (Disclaimer: This comparison is not to be saying that people that have mental issues are like diseased cells, I'm just using the comparison to prove what is noticed as out-of-the-ordinary and what isn't.)
Also it's "_rare_", not "rear".


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## quoting_mungo (Jan 30, 2017)

As long as they're included in the DSM or other equivalent diagnostic manuals (since not all countries use the same ones), arguing against the existence of any given condition is pretty futile. That does not mean any given individual has to agree with or embrace a diagnosis they're given (hey, sometimes doctors can be wrong!), but refusing to acknowledge someone else's diagnosis if they're comfortable with it themselves is pretty rude. So at least for the purposes of this thread, I'm *strongly suggesting* we all agree that the legitimacy of ADHD and autism/autism spectrum disorders is not up for debate. If you want to discuss whether or not they exist or are over-diagnosed (which is a perfectly legitimate topic!), make a thread for that, so this one does not derail further.

I've got a definite diagnosis of depression and some form of anxiety disorder (most likely social anxiety/social phobia), and strongly suspect I've also got chronic fatigue as a result of trying to cope with those on my own for way too long before getting help. (Don't do what I did, kids! If you feel like your anxieties are impacting your quality of life or preventing you from doing things you want or need to do, consult a mental health professional if at all possible!) It sucks, but atidepressants and having wonderful, supportive partners make it livable.


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## BellCat (Jan 31, 2017)

Never diagnosed with Autism, but I wouldn't be surprised to find out I have some mild form of it.

I have severe clinical depression, but meds take it from severe to mild as long as I remember to take them.

I was told by teachers that I had ADD or ADHD as a kid, but according to teachers, everyone who daydreams or gets jittery in class has those and needs Ritalin. I'm super thankful that my parents fought back and told them "it's called being a kid". Not trying to invalidate the condition, but we do throw the term around a bit too much imho.


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## aloveablebunny (Feb 1, 2017)

Yakamaru said:


> Frankly I find the definition "disorder" kinda insulting. Makes it sound like having Asperger's is a negative thing or something.



Don't worry, you're cool @Yakamaru


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## Yakamaru (Feb 1, 2017)

aloveablebunny said:


> Don't worry, you're cool @Yakamaru


Awww you. <3


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## aloveablebunny (Feb 2, 2017)

Yakamaru said:


> Awww you. <3



Iceeeeeeeeee 

Also, I love your avatar! Marill!!


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## Yakamaru (Feb 2, 2017)

aloveablebunny said:


> Iceeeeeeeeee
> 
> Also, I love your avatar! Marill!!


Thanks. Was a commission.


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## SoftDoughyJelly (Feb 15, 2017)

Autism and life impacting severe ADHD here. Sad to see the comments about people not saying it's a bad disorder or anything, because you take one look at my life and see that I've not been able to function well due to ADHD and Autism. (please no questions why, I'm not here for that)


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## MrFranco (Feb 15, 2017)

SoftDoughyJelly said:


> Autism and life impacting severe ADHD here. Sad to see the comments about people not saying it's a bad disorder or anything, because you take one look at my life and see that I've not been able to function well due to ADHD and Autism. (please no questions why, I'm not here for that)


Never been diagnosed as ADHD, but I feel like you... And when I think about, it makes me want to visit a psychologist just to see if I have that condition.


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## Draakc from State Farm (Mar 9, 2019)

I have autism it took about 13 years for my to get diagnosed after seeing SEVERAL doctors


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## SSJ3Mewtwo (Mar 9, 2019)

Closing this due to necro


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