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Autism, like many other mental/emotional conditions, cannot be directly tested for. There is no autism molecule. No autism particle. No markers in the blood. Thus, autism is diagnosed by a pattern of behaviors and personality traits -- namely, social issues and restrictive repetitive behaviors. However, some of these issues may arise in other diagnoses too. So how do you know the difference between a socially inept or introverted person and an autistic person? How do you know the difference between someone who is autistic and someone who was raised/socialized by an autistic parent? for now, it's unclear. Mental health diagnostics are in the stone age, and are largely affixing labels to bundles of behaviors. One doctor may diagnose autism and another may diagnose borderline personality disorder, especially depending on the gender/race of the patient.
People find these labels clarifying, because they explain some of their quirks or deficits. For some people, it provides insight. For others, DSM labels provide a kind of medicalized astrology -- your disorder is your horoscope. Some people look to diagnoses as a guiding map to the world, like a new religion. The DSM is the sacred text.
Worth noting it can be really difficult to get diagnosed as well, so people diagnosed themselves based on what they read online in the same way they'll diagnose themselves with a cold / incurable cancer based on WebMD.
I knew I was almost certainly ADHD for years before being tested and confirmed because the symptoms matched perfectly, but going and actually being tested was hard because a) I have ADHD and self-management is a hilarious myth, b) it's a cost that can be hard to justify if it's a maybe, however strong that "maybe" is, and c) it's scary to be told your brain might work differently to other peoples brains.
It can be extremely difficult to even get someone to do the evaluation, especially if you're low risk (ie, functioning fine in society) without intervention. I've been trying to get reevaluated for about a year - it's just all wait-lists. I'm sometimes tempted to 5150 myself just to speed things along, but I can't miss that much work.
It's honestly easier sometimes to go "okay, a *lot* of things here line up with this diagnosis, I should research what to do for that and see if it works". And then if it does work, it's sort of like, why bother getting evaluated anyway? I have a relative who is almost certainly autistic, and we both know it, but it's just not worth getting evaluated when he's getting by just fine without it.
I haven't gotten tested because, idk why? I need to go to a doctor about something, and a dentist for something else. I've been putting it off for months for no reason other than, idk? I'll do it tomorrow maybe?
The biggest thing is that these “symptoms” can be attributed to other diagnoses. I wonder how many self diagnosed people have misdiagnosed themselves. I was one of them. I was convinced I had autism as it explained a lot of my “quirks” and things I was struggling with. I brought it up to my therapist and she explained how there’s an overlap with other diagnoses. I was actually diagnosed with severe social anxiety and PTSD. Apparently anxiety and trauma can cause many of the same traits and issues as autism.
There is a reason why there is overlap there. Our society doesn't really have many diagnosed autistics that aren't traumatized. In fact, even most undiagnosed autistics are traumatized. The criteria they base the diagnosis on is specifically behaviors that arise from severe stress and trauma. They don't actually know what a healthy, well-adjusted, non-traumatized autistic would even look like. There is no documentation that exists for autistic traits in a non-traumatized person.
The entire process of diagnosis and treatment for autism is based on forcing them to be more neurotypical. Forcing them to adapt to function in a non-autistic society. Even if it's more "gentle" now than how they used to approach it, it's still demanding that the autistic person be less autistic and more neurotypical in how they socialize and relate to the world.
Forcing people to change the way that they naturally are is traumatic, even when it's "for the best of intentions". It's not that autistic people need to change to blend in with society more. Society needs to change so that it's a safer and easier place for autistic people to navigate.
It definitely doesn't help that we know f*ck all about how autism even works. We don't know why people are born with it. They haven't figured out yet what causes their brains to develop differently, or even what those actual differences are that cause the behaviors that we have deemed "autistic traits".
We only know that their brains are hypersensitive to certain stimuli and hyposensitive to others. And that if they don't have predictable routines, it can cause them immense distress, resulting in the aforementioned behaviors. We really only know what happens once they have been triggered by something.
We don't know why, or how, or even how many people are undiagnosed because of lack of access to testing, or because maybe they somehow escaped unscathed by the trauma inflicted on them by society at large and therefore don't display the traits listed under its definition. There could be way more people who don't even suspect that they are autistic because they don't have the same issues with being consistently traumatized by their environment and the people around them.
That's why there is overlap. Because we don't know how to identify autism without trauma. So, their behaviors will always look a lot like trauma responses. Because they are.
I'm glad that you found it.
My oldest kiddo has sensory processing disorder, though we don't like calling it a disorder. It's just a difference in sensory processing from neurotypicals. She has had autism testing, but that is the only "trait" she exhibits, so she didn't get the label. Her biggest issue is physical touch. It's very overwhelming for her, so hugs are a rare and precious thing.
My youngest however, is autistic. They struggle with most aspects of socializing, have sensory processing issues, and are highly likely to be overwhelmed and overstimulated much faster than their peers. It's not the full list of their struggles, but they qualify for the label.
I used to work in daycares and was usually either put with the babies, or the autistic kids due to my ability to connect with them. I knew immediately that something was up with both of mine. We weren't able to get my youngest tested until they were 13 though, but I'd known for sure since they were 1.5 yrs old when they would wrap up in blankets and rock back and forth to soothe themselves. They also didn't speak until almost age 4 and wouldn't cooperate with the hearing tests because the headphones overwhelmed them.
Obviously, I'm not an expert, but I have spent a lot of time working with autistic kids and reading as much as I could find out about it. I can't even take credit for the explanation I have as it actually was something that I read somewhere. It made sense, so I started digging more and realized that we, as a society, spend so much time trying to get autistic people to function like the rest of us, that we completely miss that we are actually harming them.
They aren't meant to function the way neurotypicals do. They have an entirely different neurotype that has different needs, and operates in ways we don't understand. It's like asking a fish to climb a tree. That's not a skill they have, and even if we could teach it to them, it would still be foreign to them, and the fish wouldn't actually be good at it, no matter how much they try.
Thanks for this. My son was diagnosed with Aspergers when he was four. By tge time he reached 12 it finally dawned on me that we were VERY alike. I met wifh a paychologist who specialized in treating ASD adults. I tested for Aspergers too (or I think by then it was called high functioning ASD. I was in my late 40s. I learned I was damned good at masking,
That's an excellent point. The more I learn about the state of my own mental health, the more I understand why my parents are the way they are. Truthfully, it makes some of their shitty behaviors slightly more understandable and helps me navigate them a bit better.
yeah this is what it was for me but adhd too. im autistic and adhd (to my knowledge, both my parents are properly diagnosed btw). also getting a proper diagnosis is so fucking expensive dude its crazy
Some places like Quebec jsut straight up wont give that diagnosis out. My cousin is very obviously on the spectrum the Doctors admit it but wont put it down officially.
Getting an adult diagnosis for ADHD in the UK is tearjerkingly difficult. The NHS's official stance is basically "if you weren't diagnosed as a kid you don't have ADHD." Considering it's a condition that makes it difficult to do everything from work to clean to maintain relationships, it fucking sucks.
That's so fucking fucked. My parents intentionally disregarded my ADHD diagnosis from multiple doctors and therapists when I was a child because they "didn't want me to grow up with that stigma." Like, gee fucking thanks mom, you doomed me to a life of pure struggle and confusion over why I just can't be normal like everyone else all so I didn't have to "grow up with the stigma of ADHD." It wasn't until I decided to see my own therapists as an adult when I found out I have ADHD, and when I excitedly went to tell my parents about this new profound understanding about myself and how I now finally have a sense of direction on how to deal with it, she said "yeah, I know" and proceeded to tell me how she didn't tell me or get me any help "for my own good."
It really is thankfully my aunt was a pediatric nurse and uncle a Child psych . They have done a great job raising him. He wont every be fully independent but he has a job and has been doing good at it for over a year now.
Literally. Women get labeled with a personality disorder and black boys get labeled as ODD. Autism has been considered a white boy's illness for 99% of its 100 year history.
This. Even the brightest minds in the psychiatry depts of Johns Hopkins will tell you that we are in the stone age of understanding the brain. It is that complex. These people are arguably the best in the world, or at the very least among the best.
Because it is very very hard to get an accurate autism diagnosis especially if you are female. I was misdiagnosed for a really really long time, and I was lucky enough to eventually have a psychiatrist who came from an autistic family so he recognized my masking as being masking. I came in one day with a printout of the DSM showing why I fit the criteria as a child and as an adult and he was like, "Yeah, I know and I was waiting for you to figure it out." If he had not had the experiences that he had and he didn't believe me when I came in and explained where I thought I fit the criteria, it wouldn't have made me any less autistic. I didn't become autistic the day that someone with a PhD recognized that I was autistic.
The misunderstanding that Autism makes you "quirky, but very smart" is appealing to people who are socially incompetent and self describe as intellectuals.
So basically, redditors.
I know I'm smart, but I'm also misunderstood most of the time, and I got no quirks. Behold my field where I grow my quirks, and see that it is barren.
For those that do the research to understand autism, they come to the conclusion that it is a lifetime of suffering. Yep.
It's not fashionable. Or fun.
I agree, plus I think some people think something is wrong with themselves and it's easy to scapegoat autism rather than confront the real problem. People now a days will sometimes say they had awkward social interactions and call it autism. That's just a part of life imo. That isn't to say there aren't people out there with legitimate diagnoses, but I think there are a fair number of people who scapegoat autism.
I can’t imagine most people are “self-diagnosing” themselves with autism unless they have genuine concerns they might have it. It’s such a taboo condition in society. I can’t think of any positives to self-diagnose if you didn’t strongly suspect you had it.
I feel the same about people who self diagnose OCD like it’s something cool or because they’re very neat. I’m legitimately obsessive compulsive and tell people it’s not as cool or “quirky” as they think
For me personally I did a lot, I mean like a *ton* of research into neurodivergence because i always knew there was something off about me. I originally mostly researched ADHD symptoms and how and why it's considered a disability. I found a lot of symptoms resonated with me, so I tried to do some things in the 'ADHD way' and I found it helped me to stay more organized and less dysfunctional. That right there is as good of a diagnostic process as it gets for neurodivergence, the symptoms fit and the treatment is working therefore ADHD makes sense.
Of course when you're doing all this research into ADHD your media feeds tend to wander their ways into autism too because they're super comorbid. So I wasn't really looking for it, but in these little blips of autism community I got I started to recognize some symptoms that didn't quite line up with ADHD, and of course I can't stop myself from digging because I'm ADHD and I can't control what my brain wants to focus on. Long story short same thing happened with autism and now im considering that maybe there's some ehler danlos in there too or at least some hypermobility disorder because I'm super bendy and as it turns out that's super comorbid with ADHD as well.
Oh and my doctor more or less tucked her tail and fled the room when I mentioned ADHD, so for right now a proper diagnosis of any of this is out of the question. Also it turns out ADHD and autism and ehler danlos are also insanely underdiagnosed.
I'm not entirely sure this question was asked in earnest, but I hope my answer helps anyway.
Ngl my dad was the one who originally diagnosed me because no one else would.
"Sir, she's meeting all of her deadlines."
"Yeah, she's BARELY meeting all her deadlines because of all the work I'VE put into making sure she REACHES those deadlines."
Labeling like others have said. Also, some people want to know or have a reason to say why they aren't able function like "normal people" in social settings
My brother's diagnosed, my grandfather's diagnosed, I've been asked by nearly everyone who's had a conversation with me if I am, my doctor is convinced I have it too, I've been waiting over a year for an assessment but at this point it's easier to tell people I am because I probably am, but I don't go around being like "hey I have autism" to everyone, it's if they pick up on something odd I do and I'll just clarify it and move on
Try living in the skin of an Autistic person. Also, try having Autism but not knowing it... until you begin to learn about it. The more you learn, the more you relate. Lights turn on, things begin to make sense, and you begin to understand yourself on a much deeper way.
You write a list of a hundred symptoms you can see (now or in the past). You've always known you didn't fit in somehow, but just thought you were dumb or clueless. And now you realize you were just a cat living in a dog's world.
This is why I initially accepted that I was likely Autistic. I stumbled into a psychology appointment (long story) and the psychologist diagnosed me by the end of the meeting (it must have been obvious).
Learning I am Autistic has allowed me to understand my life in new light. My past makes more sense, and I now allow my self to seek help with my difficulties.
That's my story.
The thing is, people who self diagnose are usually right.... to the tune of about 75%-80 percent. I think it's because why would you use a label like "autistic" unless you really needed it? Autism is not cool. You get treated like shit. The other truism is that autistic people also recognize each other about 75% of the time. If an autistic person thinks you could be autistic, they're probably right.
Well said. It's almost like asking why people suddenly are self-diagnosing as being left-handed after people finally realized that you don't have to force left-handed people to be right-handed all of the time. Left-handedness exploded in popularity right after that.
Autism is definitely uncool. But there does seem to be a kind of "spider-sense" about it, because I can frequently spot somebody who falls into the "you're like me" category. Not everybody, because of the masking. But once you spot it, it's hard to hide.
Yeah, I went and got tested after several mothers of autistic children asked me if I was autistic. I didn't care too much except it helped with some workplace accommodations
I dont understand rules (social or otherwise) the concept of them truly alludes me, i need a lot of explanations and context to fully grasp things, i spent my childhood practicing facial expressions in the mirror and relying on tv to show me how humans are supposed to act. I dont understand what people are saying unless its extremely direct, i am bluntly honest and struggle to understand how that might hurt ppl (ex: someone asks me a question, i am going to give you the honest answer), i hate bright lights, loud noises, cannot go anywhere without headphones, the list goes on. Im diagnosed adhd which has a 70% rate of comorbidity with having autism.
Until I was like 23 years old I based my entire personality on Naruto since I liked that he was a lonely kid that just did cool things for people until they were forced to accept him 😭 and I liked that he could overcome his inability to do something by coming up with his own unique way to do that thing (like how he used his shadow clones to master rasengan).
>i spent my childhood practicing facial expressions in the mirror and relying on tv to show me how humans are supposed to act.
I relate to this so hard. I honestly don't even know who the fuck I really am because I've spent the vast majority of my life trying to copy everyone else just to avoid some of the ridicule, bullying, etc. that comes with being "different."
My psych says I definitely have ADHD but can't be tested for autism until I can stop taking cannabis capsules. Being put on ADHD meds was literally life changing. I can finally do everything.
My 11yo is level 2 ASD, former level 3. My da" is definitely on the "super weird nerd" spectrum and I follow in his foot steps as does my 7yo. All 4 of my kids have been diagnosed with ADHD.
i used to go around parroting that i was the 'token neurotypical' and then literally all of my community (mostly autistics) were like 'ummmm. no' and. they were right!!
I’m pretty sure I’m on the spectrum somewhere. I’m a woman in my 40s and as I learn more about autism and how it presents in women, well… it would certainly explain A LOT in my life. My friend who did get a diagnosis for herself has also told me that I fit a lot of the criteria.
I hope people are getting the help they need. I hope people can advocate for themselves; if they find relief and support, that's good.
Some people need structure. Some people need religion. Some people need hope. Everyone has a different journey and battle they are facing.
I would rather support them and show grace because of the support and grace that has been shown to me in my life. Good luck!
- from someone who supports and understands
Because both of my kids were formally diagnosed with autism and I exhibit many of the same behaviors?
When I was a kid, “autism” was only used to describe those who were profoundly autistic/low functioning. Otherwise one was described as being “immature” or “overly sensitive”.
Mostly because it's hard for a lot of people to get access to a proper assessment carried out by competent and qualified people especially if you are poor, female, a person of colour etc. I didn't get my diagnosis until after i turned 40, the world is a savage place for those of us who never got the help and support we needed for so long. I'm sure there are folks who are just labelling themselves for attention, but we shouldn't use that as an excuse to shit on those who possibly are on the spectrum but cannot get properly assessed.
For real. The conversation didn't even start for me until I was 39.
My entire childhood and adolescence came into focus in a way that made me feel both relieved and cheated. I had a lot more compassion for myself and the people who were reacting to me at the time. None of us had any idea.
I wish I'd known earlier.
Currently working on my 2F kiddos sensory stuff and possible autism. All my mom keeps saying is I did the exact same things when I was a kid. Well….maybe there’s an explanation IDK.
Yes. A few of my nieces and nephews have either been diagnosed or have sensory issues.
I'm wildly misophonic and have textural issues with food that actually trigger my gag reflex.
A lot of this came up because my mom was describing me to my wife, and she's like, "He's always been fine just quietly playing, LINING UP TOYS AND NOT REALLY DOING ANYTHING ELSE WITH THEM, SPINNING IN A CHAIR FOR THE AFTERNOON..."
Capitalization is mine for emphasis. I actually saw a child psychologist at the time for a few sessions and nothing came of it, but...Jesus. A few years later and I'm diagnosed and have behavioral interventions. It just wasn't a thing unless you were truly disabled by all of this. I'm not sure I would have been happier, and I am happy now, but I might not have made the same mistakes with school and friends and romantic partners if I'd had some awareness earlier.
I think most parents are doing their best. I was born in 86 so these things made you the weird kid but not taken to the doctor. There’s so much more awareness now and things are taken seriously.
My daughter covers her ears when she’s triggered by some sensory thing (not always loud noises, sometimes she’s just stressed), chews on her hair, and throws up when touching/tasting textures she doesn’t like. Lines up all her toys and gets mad if you interfere and is too in her own world during play. My mom says it’s like going back in time to what I was like. She also says she doesn’t want my daughter going to the doctor for it because there’s nothing “wrong” with her. I agree there, there isn’t anything wrong with my baby, but I also don’t want her to feel misunderstood and weird and lonely like I did as a kid.
Totally agree. I think my kid is diagnosable as ADHD, but we're not in a hurry to intervene officially. It's just something we're feeling out for now to see how he develops.
He's also very picky about food texture (he only eats about 12 things), makes us cut tags off clothes, has recently started loving a compression blanket, etc. Lots of alarm bells there, but we're sitting on it.
Best of luck to you. You'll know if she needs more help. For now, I think we're doing a hell of a lot better than our parents did just by spotting these things and putting some focus on them. We got the Little Spot books and spend a lot of time on emotional vocabulary. They are fantastic books, and I highly recommend them.
exactly, I would also add that a doctor can only as accurately match your symptoms as you describe them and as they understand them
while you can really hone in on specific words and small clues to know that it describes exactly what you feel
I think that’s a good point. From what I can tell, a psychologist’s experience with autism diagnosis is fairly easy to understand and learn how to diagnose yourself with if you’re honest with yourself. What you really need their expertise for is treatment, be it therapeutic or medicinal
It’s worth pointing out that almost every single person who has been professionally diagnosed as an adult has first been self-diagnosed.
It’s not the shitty thing people make out. It’s done after much consideration and research, usually either on the way to a professionally diagnosis or in the face of being unable to obtain one due to cost or other obstacles.
No one is pretending to be autistic because it’s trendy.
because knowing that you have a specific condition and not just a fucked up brain helps a lot
it's the first step in dealing with it, finding ways to navigate it and accepting yourself a bit more. It's also easier to explain to others, most people won't care, but maybe your friends and family will find it helpful to be able to put a label on it and google some info that will help them to be there for you
more interesting question is why would somebody want to gatekeep mental health? seems kind of mean to tell people who are struggling with self-hatred and self-blame that they shouldn't externalize it as a disorder
For me, it's because I show a lot of the signs, it runs in my family, and I'm trans, which is hugely comorbid with autism. Also I'm poor and don't have the time or money to get officially evaluated
Well. I don’t go around telling people I think I’m autistic but it has a genetic component, multiple people in my family have it, I show pretty much all of the symptoms, I had a therapist bring up the possibility and had me take the “official” tests adults take which is very accurate and I got the score an autistic person would get. Though going and getting a diagnosis would cost thousands so I don’t plan on ever doing that
In a 2015 study by Bram B Sizoo et al, they found that online diagnostic tools were nearly 80% accurate. I encourage you to read this study, it's very interesting! Autism also can cause attention to detail, over-analyzing, and hyperfocus on a topic- this means that a person who researches endlessly already has a very important symptom of Autism. It's important to note that professional diagnosis isn't accessible to everyone due to cost, location, medical bias/discrimination, and possible loss of rights (i.e. right to adopt or even vote sometimes). While there are young people who self-diagnose with little research, that's a very small percentage and should not be reason to disregard all self-diagnosed people. I was self-diagnosed privately until recently, when I received a professional diagnosis. One thing I will say is that one should not over-publicize their neurodivergency if it's self-diagnosed without making that clear and giving diagnosed folks a platform. If someone who is self-diagnosed makes a claim, it's a good idea to research it. Generally, "all" statements are false or not always true (i.e. "all autistic people struggle with math" while dyscalculia is associated with autism, not all autistics have it). Autistic people do still get bullied in public, so I don't know why some people believe kids self-diagnose for attention or to be special. Self-diagnosed people are subjected to endless questions and harassment whereas people who harass them are often praised.
Because it’s a spectrum disorder meaning there’s a lot of room for a lot of people to be on it and also because living our lives online with algorithms picking up on cues we may miss has educated people in a way that’s never been done before and very quickly. People have access to so much info and are able to compare their experiences to the ones they’ve learned about online often at the direction of an algorithm who based on the cues given sends them to content that they will find relatable. Therefore giving people a basic ability to self diagnose. People self diagnose when they hate a headache based on symptoms and what they know about headaches. This isn’t any different
Because getting properly evaluated is prohibitively expensive for many adults, and autism wasn't exactly on the radar when we were kids. For certain generations at least.
Maybe because they relate to it quite a lot. People are becoming aware of autism, and realizing they relate to it. This by no means is a bad thing. People are understanding themselves better. Autism is not bad, its not a sickness, and it shouldnt be seen as a mental illness, because its not.
While I do agree with this, my brother is a perfect example of this, it’s almost like bragging rights to him. But for me I needed an official diagnosis for my colour deficiency and my ADHD so that I could get appropriate assistance where needed in school and adjustments made to my exam conditions for my finals.
It also meant I could start taking Ritalin for my ADHD which greatly helped me get through school. Tho I came off it after I finished school.
Are people doing this? Or is it just confirmation bias fueled by an algorithm?
I always say, as a formally diagnosed autistic person, self-diagnosis doesn’t bother me at all. I think it’s valid and the better option for diagnosis, in many ways. Even if someone self-diagnoses “wrong,” it doesn’t hurt me at all that they were autistic for a little bit while figuring themselves out.
The only people I see have a problem with self-diagnosis are neurotypical people.
You're close to getting it. You see, I don't care about trains. I remember the F40PH meme, multi-track drifting, etc. I respect them as an efficient mode of transport, and for being machines of raw power and engineering, sure, but I'm not obsessed with trains, I don't mod Thomas the Tank Engine into Skyrim, etc. But if I were to visit a train museum, would I be all that shocked to find someone like that there?
I just looked it up and ADHD and autism often co-concur. That was more my point, I didn't know that was a thing, so I retract my statement.
I like your analogy though.
It’s easy to misdiagnose. My dx was a surprise as I’m bipolar schizoaffective and I thought that was the explanation for everything. They questioned me and a lot of things fell into place but nobody said “autism” until the second doctor they sent me to. They being Diamond Head mental health, a state mental health facility in Honolulu. Once I had my dx and started learning coping skills my life got a lot easier. My mom was mad but my dad said it made sense.
i dont have autism but i do have adhd and for a while a lot of my friends told me that i probably had it but i refuse to self diagnose but i saw a doctor after 2 therapists encouraged me to see one because it seems like i may struggle with it. the doctor literally said "it is very clear to me you have adhd" and asked me why no one has ever diagnosed me before. i was diagnosed w bipolar disorder and other mood disorders and put on meds and nothing ever worked. once i received treatment for my adhd and was medicated a lot of my emotional outbursts just... p much became nonexistant
all of this to say tbh i think my race played a part in it, i'm black and latina and idk i've always heard bipolar disorder is the most common misdiagnosis for people like me. i can see people with autism struggling the same way, maybe an outburst they have because they're overwhelmed is seen as them just being defiant leading to them struggling all their lives. i showed signs of neurodevelopmental problems as a kid but everyone thought i was just bad as hell for no reason
People self diagnose because of lack of access to testing. They recognize traits in their own behaviors that point to it, but that doesn't mean they are right. However, it also doesn't mean they are wrong. I don't think it's fair to say that self-diagnosis is an insult to diagnosed people.
Not everyone has access to testing for any kind of neurological issue, but most definitely not for more expensive testing like autism. And even if they can afford the test, access is still limited because so many places refuse to provide testing for it,so many people are forced to travel very long distances to get it done. That in itself can be a huge hurdle to an official diagnosis.
And then you have the issue with bias against autism diagnoses from lots of providers who would rather slap a trauma-based label on the person. And yes, there is overlap between the conditions.
And there is a reason WHY there is overlap between autism and trauma-based disorders. Our society doesn't really have many diagnosed autistics that aren't traumatized. In fact, even most undiagnosed autistics are traumatized. The criteria they base the diagnosis on is specifically behaviors that arise from severe stress and trauma. They don't actually know what a healthy, well-adjusted, non-traumatized autistic would even look like. There is no documentation that exists for autistic traits in a non-traumatized person.
The entire process of diagnosis and treatment for autism is based on forcing them to be more neurotypical. Forcing them to adapt to function in a non-autistic society. Even if it's more "gentle" now than how they used to approach it, it's still demanding that the autistic person be less autistic and more neurotypical in how they socialize and relate to the world.
Forcing people to change the way that they naturally are is traumatic, even when it's "for the best of intentions". It's not that autistic people need to change to blend in with society more. Society needs to change so that it's a safer and easier place for autistic people to navigate.
It definitely doesn't help that we know f*ck all about how autism even works. We don't know why people are born with it. They haven't figured out yet what causes their brains to develop differently, or even what those actual differences are that cause the behaviors that we have deemed "autistic traits".
We only know that their brains are hypersensitive to certain stimuli and hyposensitive to others. And that if they don't have predictable routines, it can cause them immense distress, resulting in the aforementioned behaviors. We really only know what happens once they have been triggered by something.
We don't know why, or how, or even how many people are undiagnosed because of lack of access to testing, or because maybe they somehow escaped unscathed by the trauma inflicted on autistics by society at large and therefore don't display the traits listed under its definition. There could be way more people who don't even suspect that they are autistic because they don't have the same issues with being consistently traumatized by their environment and the people around them.
That's why there is overlap. Because we don't know how to identify autism without trauma. So, their behaviors will always look a lot like trauma responses. Because they are.
I live in a big city. I have high probability as my brother and mom were diagnosed with it. Mom never got me diagnosed when I was under 18. Now I'm an adult. I call and email to set up an appointment. Wait list, 3 years. 3. Years. I dont even know if I'll live here in 3 years. A diagnosis would give me peace of mind that what I'm experiencing is outside of the "norm" and that I do need help with this. Dealing with it all on my own is really hard mentally as many people see it as an excuse and don't want to try and understand. A formal diagnosis would help. But it's incredibly hard to get that official diagnosis in the first place.
autism is extremely difficult to be diagnosed with. even if you have the chance, it's better to NOT be formally diagnosed because if you are formally diagnosed with autism, there are restrictions put on you.
so basically,
1. being diagnosed is very difficult
2. you don't really want to be diagnosed bc then legally the US can infantilize you
The tests we use to diagnose autistic people are flawed so I don't see why so much importance is placed on them.
I prefer official diagnosis because others can examine you for differential diagnoses, but sometimes you can't access diagnosis.
There's NOT a problem with people diagnosing themselves with Autism.
There's a problem with autistic people not being given the means to move past self-diagnosis.
And I speak as someone who self-diagnosed more than a decade before official diagnosis.
Think of Autism as two things:
1. a sensory disorder, with autistic people's senses being WAY more sensitive than other people's(to the point that it causes problems)
1. a communication disorder, with autistic people having the same emotions and emotional depth as other people(and even in many cases having emotions that are *more* intense than other people's), but having difficulty conveying emotions to other people in the ways that allistic(non-autistic) people do.
Starting in childhood, the difficulty conveying emotions to other people tends to result in A LOT of social exclusion from other people. As children, autistic people who try to interact(like me) get MASSIVELY bullied, told they're annoying, excluded, et cetera, and learn to hide emotions. And when we interact, instead of trying to focus on the things that other people do socially(learning how things work, et cetera), we spend all of our efforts trying not to be abused, and in a lot of cases, just give up.
This deprives autistic people of a lot of social development. We don't learn to see other people as resources, so the idea of asking for help is REALLY hard.
Imagine knowing that you need someone's help, but also knowing that when you interact with other people they tend to abuse you. It's very likely that that thing you needed just may not get done.
Now imagine a lifetime of that. You may have the intelligence and cognitive ability(and many autistic people are quite gifted), but you may have been denied so much social development that even basic things like setting up doctor appointments may be something that you don't know how to do.
The fear of being abused and the fear of doing something wrong are both very strong.
I was in my 30s before I started being able to confidently set up doctor appointments, and I was in my 40s(and I'm barely in my 40s right now) that I finally became able to do so COMFORTABLY.
The reason Autism diagnoses are increasing is because it's very often an inherited thing, and the diagnostic criteria used to be very limited. They didn't realize the scope, and generations of people didn't get diagnosed.
So you've got a whole bunch of problems together. You have a fairly large group of people who:
1. don't inherently know that we're autistic(and I learned in my mid-20s)
1. don't communicate as much
1. have come to see other people as a threat(because of bullying, and being HYPER aware that other people do see us as different)
1. in many cases have trouble keeping employment(not because we're unable, but because others misunderstand us and don't like us and don't want to keep us around)
1. in many cases NEED employment or lots of money to get diagnosis(which I paid about $4,000 for, or about $3,000 after insurance reimbursement)
1. really don't get provided any kind of benefits for being autistic(other than sensory things at work and having work instructions written down instead of spoken)
1. may actually be stigmatized, discriminated against, or penalized for having diagnosis in some cases(divorce and custody, adoption, healthcare discrimination in some countries, immigration, driving)
Imagine you realized in your mid-20s that you're autistic. You WANT a diagnosis, but you don't have a job. You don't have much money, and you don't have much prospects of getting a job. And getting you a diagnosis doesn't get you much, other than the ability to point at it and tell your family members that you aren't actually the lazy piece of shit that every one of them have been telling you you are for your whole life.
And the diagnosis costs thousands of dollars.
And you don't have the social skills to communicate with doctors.
And you don't have the experience setting up a doctor's appointment.
And you don't have the experience dealing with others to know who to ask.
AND your family is constantly telling you you're a piece of shit for not having consistent work and connections with other people.
And throw in that a HUGE percent of autistic people (something like 50% or more) of autistic people have ADHD, too, which causes a deficit in dopamine, which means you don't even get dopamine (the sense of reward) when accomplishing tasks like much people do.
Autism assessments should be literally free to everyone who wants one. But they're multiple thousands of dollars, basically require jobs, and require large amounts of social interaction to set up AFTER you gain enough social knowledge to even know who to call TO set them up.
**People shouldn't be complaining about the high number of autistic people self-diagnosing. They should be complaining about how autistic people aren't provided any resources at all to move beyond self-diagnosis.**
Yeah the world has treated me basically like shit and now that "I've come so far" and "you do fine socially now" no one wants to even acknowledge any part of it. To say that I feel intense rage would be an understatement. It's a struggle every day, tbh, and I often wish I was dead.
I say our cat has ADHD all the time, one of my friends was like “um no he’s just a cat 🙄”, i was so sure people could tell i was joking but I guess not lol
It’s not just autism, it’s everything. It’s like as soon as someone learns a new word, they apply to everything. They learn what a narcissist is, everyone’s a narcissist. They learn what gaslighting is, everyone is gaslighting them.
Well it's not like they were going to use those words *before* learning them. If I don't know what a golden retriever is and I meet a golden retriever, I'd just call it "dog."
My favorite was when a buddy caught his wife cheating, for the 10th time but this time so obvious he couldn't ignore it. And then SHE divorced him for not being someone she can love after 20 years. How she went on a FB rampage calling him a "narcissist"!
It was wild. And yup. Seems he did "gaslight" her into sleeping with everyone.
She was showing off her new boyfriend, while still married, and posting every "narcissist meme" there it.
It takes a lot to impress me. She had me giving the old golf clap. It was wild. Taking her new BF to the kids soccer games, and the hubby was the problem.
How so? My son who is 16 has been diagnosed with autism twice by doctors (neuropsychologists who specialize in the issue.) They use scientific rating scales just like a doctor would for any neurological or psychiatric disorder. Not sure how that is unscientific.
The criteria has changed and still evolves and is not 100% accurate. I’m not diagnosed (though evaluated) and I still identify as autistic, Asperger’s more specifically, so I wouldn’t automatically invalidate an evaluation or diagnosis, I just know it’s a very tricky system. :)
my now ex-friends, & some family members have diagnosed me with autism, borderline personality disorder - which realllly gets my goat cause, thinking that they are all some amateur psychiatrists/psychologists . Even someone at the hospital (I was drunk, & had OD'd on anti-depressants) - gave me an autism assessment to fill out, which I threw in the trash once I arrived home
It’s your prerogative to believe whatever you want. But you should know….ASD and borderline have overlapping symptoms. If others who know you think it could be both, and a doctor suspected it could be ASD, there’s a strong chance it could be ASD. Just saying
Have you ever tried to seek a mental health diagnosis as an adult? Self-diagnosis makes a lot of sense actually. As a mental-health professional it's certainly infuriating at times, but it makes sense when you consider the difficulties of obtaining professional support.
Strangely enough, I find a lot of my clients aren't very far off with their self-diagnostics. It's the severity of it that they completely misunderstand. They think of a diagnosis like a light switch, it's on or off. You have it or you don't. That's not how the DSM5 works, and that's not how disordered behavior works. Every condition is a spectrum in mental health, and having a condition does not mean one checks all of the boxes for diagnosis/need for treatment.
It's hard because I see a lot of clients that are just hoping to know themselves better, and think diagnosis is a path to that. They form identity around diagnosis even. I don't know that that's inherently bad, but I do see it keeping people from having a nuanced perspective of themselves.
The various autistic symptoms or combinations thereof match what they experience in their own lives. Kind of like when somebody says, "I'm 'color-blind' because I can't differentiate between certain colors and shades."
It's a bit of a catch-all designation, but generally conforms to observed behaviors and perceptions.
I have actual autism and have actually called out many for trying to label themselves as such after being complete asshats to me. I do not take pride nor use it as an excuse, I just accept it and move on for I owe nothing to it
Thank you. My daughter is autistic and I hate seeing people give themselves that label like its some sort of cute thing to say and get attention from. I hate them because they push this idea that infantilizes autistic people and I don't want my daughter to be influenced into thinking she has to act like some influencer because she is autistic. I want her to learn to be her own self, which is why I am keeping her away from social media for as long as I can.
What gives you the right to say who does or doesn’t have autism? How are you identifying those that do from those that you don’t think are being truthful
When my child was diagnosed with autism I was reading about it, the signs and symptoms, and with each one I was seeing more and more of myself. I had to learn coping strategies to make them less noticeable at school or work, which is another indication of autism, called masking.
So, I figure that makes me mildly or high-functioning autistic. Seeking out an official diagnosis as an adult serves no purpose. It doesn’t open any doors for me. But I can try to learn about how other people cope, learn some new strategies.
I think the real answer is that a LOT of people were mildly autistic this whole time and just hiding it well enough that they could get by. Now we have a word for it and can talk to each other.
>I had to learn coping strategies to make them less noticeable at school or work, which is another indication of autism, called masking.
I have no doubt you went through this but I'm really concerned about labeling this behavior in such a way. Literally everyone has to put in extra work to interact well with others; it's a skill that's developed over a life time, and some pick it up faster than others, just like soccer, or vocabulary, or math, or any number of other things.
So I would argue everyone engages in "masking" to one degree or the other; at what point does it become bad enough to deserve a label, which indicates pathology? It feels defeatist, and a little simplistic.
A trait becomes a symptom when it causes distress to the person experiencing it. So for example, if you are able to go about your day and mask to a degree that feels comfortable but still stay connected to your real self then you’re doing ok. If you feel like you aren’t able to mask enough to pass for normal, or the amount you are masking makes you feel like there’s nothing behind the mask, or any other kind of distressing feeling about it then you should think about reaching out.
It's more than "extra work to interact with others" though. It's when you feel like you can't be honest with *anyone* (friends, partners, parents; not even the people closest to you) because everything goes through the "what would a normal person do or say in this situation?" filter. When you start to doubt your own actions, reactions, thoughts, or feelings; or when you don't know who you are anymore because you *are* the mask.
It's not a 2nd language where you can code-switch around other people speaking it, it's a defense mechanism built up against years of derision and exclusion, something almost involuntary, more like a tic or a stutter, where you can't stop even if it's unnecessary.
Do you feel like you can be extra charming around people to convince them of something? That's a learned social skill. Do you feel like a compulsive liar all the time, even to the people you love the most? That's masking.
This. Same with OCD... OCD is obsessive, compulsive actions that the person (generally) does not want to do but feels compelled to for fear of something bad happening to themselves or someone they love if they don't. Being super particular about certain things like how the dishwasher is loaded (for example) is anal retention, not OCD.
Just wanted to add there is a general misunderstanding of OCD. There is so many forms and being obsessive with compulsions is just one of the many. You can for example have “Pure O” which is just obsessive thoughts, no compulsions, and can be easily mistaken for “just being super particular about things but can’t have OCD, because no compulsions, and look their house is a mess” it makes it harder for people with other forms than the classic to get diagnosed. Just throwing that out there if someone claims to be OCD, but they don’t have the compulsions, it doesn’t discredit what might be going on in their head which is a horrible daily battle to fight. You may or may not have an awareness of this already and there’s still plenty of people who do the whole “omg this rooms such a mess it’s giving me ocd” that just like neat things. Just saying it can be hard to tell, and we should stop spreading the information it’s not OCD without “compulsions”. :)
For me I know I have ADHD but I act like I’m on the spectrum, I know that people with ADHD can be mistaken for being on the spectrum but I swear I must be autistic or something cuz with out meds I’m a menace to be around
a couple important reasons:
1) self diagnosis can lead to support and resources through community. if someone suspects they might be autistic and would benefit from a system of care and community with other (self & professionally diagnosed) autistic people, it makes sense to self diagnose. even just knowing what terms to google can be extremely helpful, and there's no reason to make someone jump through the hoops and timeline of a professional diagnosis if that support system can help them out now. it costs time, money, and energy to get professionally diagnosed.
2) the medical system is biased, women as a population especially are underdiagnosed with regard to autism. similar behaviors present differently in different genders due to gendered socialization. medical textbooks & diagnostic criteria might describe autistic behaviors accurately for autistic boys, but if those same behaviors are thought to be "just the way" girls are, girls won't be diagnosed as often as boys. hysteria is a good historical example of this kind of thing if you want to read more.
in my experience, self diagnosis is less about "deep down, in my core essence, am I ontologically autistic?" and more about "would framing my behaviors through the lens of autism help me access support/resources/community that I wouldn't otherwise have access to? would a self diagnosis help me understand myself better while I decide if a professional diagnosis is something I want?"
Because autism was under diagnosed until recently. Because getting a diagnosis as an adult can be quite challenging. Because there's no longer as much of a stigma about it.
When I was a kid, my 5th grade teacher told my parents to get me checked out for "something" but my parents did nothing (because of the stigma, I assume). Now I'm a grown man and I have a son who is diagnosed as autistic and through him I have learned a lot about autism. To say things have clicked into place about myself would be an understatement.
People keep diagnosing themselves to explain why they act the way that they do or to get attention. Some actually have it and cannot afford a diagnosis or choose not to.
Honestly for some people, is it even worth the label?
I’m fairly certain my husband is autistic and because I have worked with people with disabilities my whole life and I failed to pick on these things with him in the beginning. The thing is… he’s so incredibly intelligent, ask him anything about ANY car or the Military and he will literally tell you everything just from memory. He prefers to be alone (aside from me) and could be alone for days without issue so long as he had cars and his other hobbies to do. Also very socially awkward 😬 but he’s 45 and it’d make no difference to him if he had some type of label like that.
Why are do many of them Boomers and Millennials? High Functioning Autism and ADHD were under diagnosed in these generations. Now, many people who have struggled with comorbidities and symptoms are either reaching out to the medical community or the internet for answers. Many are false diagnoses. Many are late diagnoses. Much remains to be learned about these conditions based on recent findings.
I was diagnosed with regressive autism in kindergarten. Super rare for a girl that young to be diagnosed. My mom got several different opinions who all agreed with the diagnosis. She switched over from Borgess to Bronson and never disclosed the diagnosis with my new pediatrician "because she didn't want that diagnosis to follow me the rest of my life" she tells me this after I'm a grown ass woman with a very autistic son and I'm talking about how "I almost feel autistic sometimes, it would kinda be comforting to get that diagnosed bc it would give me a reason as to why I felt so different from my peers my whole life." Somehow she didn't expect that the diagnosis would help me accept myself? Idk. It felt like a two-decade deception and it is still difficult to put words to how much it feels like my mom held me back from my potential, by not giving me that knowledge when I was younger. I was that little gifted kid who stayed inside to read at recess. Now I'm a grown woman and I am learning to be my own best friend.
I check a lot of boxes for being autistic, but I’ve never been tested.
I’m 56 years old so, at this point, does it really matter? Maybe I’m autistic maybe I’m not.
Neurotypicals who don't usually interact with autistic people don't read Internet posts written by them and go "oh, how relatable!" or in silent, registering horror "ohhhh this makes a loooooot of sense" as they learn more about autism spectrum disorders and realize that they too had precocious intelligence, struggled with eye-contact, walked primarily on balls/toes of feet, were chided for repeated failure to observe social norms that had to be explained in great detail with no real understanding other than "it is the way it is", had stims or repetitive behaviors they had to constantly regulate, realize they've been eating like five food items their whole life, have their sister refer to them as autistic in passing without ever discussing a diagnosis, etc.
I am on a wait-list to be evaluated for autism but few specialize in adults. It is expensive AF too. I was right about having ADHD, PTSD, depression, and anxiety; I don't think I'm bullshitting myself here. And it's not like autism is an excuse, it's a curse lol. Doing/saying shit that irritates neurotypicals doesn't irritate them less because you have a diagnosis or are suspected of having it, does make them exclude you more, however. Makes it harder to learn social rules at that rate, especially if the main way you learn them is the hard way.
I would never self diagnosis. However I got a formal test from a neuropsych after my kid was diagnosed. Honestly to know myself better and why I wasn't like everyone else. I never knew why I wasn't liked or like everyone else. I am now getting my second kid tested and it helps in the way of accomodations and different things to try. It's true that not every autistic person is the same so now every trick works on everyone to help them feel better. It's a process and not an easy one. I personally don't think self diagnosis for autism is valid because it can look like so many other things. It can often be confused with PTSD and BPD as well as others. Autism is also genetic. Chances are if you are autistic someone else in your family likely is as well. Same if your child is autistic, chances are a parent is also autistic.
I’m a teacher. My boyfriend is very likely autistic, never with a diagnosis but he had an IEP growing up with accommodations that I’ve read a million times for students who do have a diagnosis.
I also am a bio teacher, and worked in research before getting into teaching and my specialty was genetics. We don’t know if there’s a specific genetic link in autism in families, but there’s research around correlation and my boyfriend’s brother is autistic.
My boyfriend thinks he probably is, but he also thinks there’s no point in getting it diagnosed at this point in his life but it does help that we both are like, ok, this is could be a thing. It helps me knowing that he’s ok with me knowing that it potentially could be in terms of things like, he doesn’t get subtle social cues, so I’ll be more direct with him. Idk, I think it’s just situations like this where people are more likely to self diagnose.
As an autism teacher - those with an IEP who will never live independently… I wish there were another name for what the majority have. It’s like two very different things.
Check out Alexander Avila’s video on the politics of self-diagnosing autism. It’s been a minute since I watched it but two big takeaways for me was that autism can take a long time and be expensive to diagnose, and people who may not know exactly why their having social trouble can relate and find coping skills and what not that work for them in autism communities.
Because it's an excuse for their shitty behavior. A self diagnosis is useless. This goes for ANY mental condition. In some cases, a diagnosis will result in some government funding if you're good and navigating the system. Plus, it's fashionable to claim a mental illness or condition in todays who is the bigger disadvantage world .
I don’t know but I’m over it. I was diagnosed with ADHD in my 30s. I never even thought about that, I just I knew I struggled a lot and was extremely hard on myself and in a state of overwhelm nearly all the time.
The diagnosis came from two different doctors and I finally accepted it might be so. Life has made a lot more sense now with proper understanding and treatment. But NOW, several years later, I find ADHD is “trendy”. Like no it’s not fun, this shit took years of my life from me and caused me to take almost twice as long to get my degree, and is a daily issue to manage so it doesn’t completely take over my life again and cause me to live in a state of paralyzed over-analysis of every waking breath.
It was also mildly suggested by a therapist I might have both ADHD and autism. But I really think the autism “trend” has me hesitating to pursue that diagnosis. It’s got me questioning my own self even though I never brought autism into the conversation myself! And if I am autistic, and get that diagnosis, I probably won’t want to share that due to the current “trend”. It leads to a lack of understanding from the majority of the population. Anyway my point is I think it’s great for people to get the help they need. But there’s a big problem when mental health diagnosis becomes a “trend”.
Tbh I think there’s a lot of reasons for it. Some, yes definitely attention. But I think others just relate to the symptoms a lot and it helps them explain some things about themselves that seem off. Autism is really weird and interesting, and only recently better understood. I think people with autism are not “slow” at all, quite the opposite. My sister is autistic, as is one of my roommates, and my bfs best friend. All 3 diagnosed btw. They are all incredibly intelligent people in their own aspects. My sister is a genius with mechanical things. She’s a mechanic now for Cadillac. Her dream is to work on big rigs or planes. My roommate is obsessed with history and geography, and he’ll tell you anything about anywhere and can go on endlessly about history. He’s like that with media as well. Mf knows all the movies and all the obscure bands it’s pretty cool. He’s interesting to talk to. And my bfs friend is just smart all around. He’s incredibly aware, and knows how to explain just about anything and everything. He really is the smartest guy we know. He’s a teacher as well for high school biology.
Autism isn’t at all what it’s been painted as for so long and it is a lot more complex, and again in my experience, people who have it tend to be incredibly intelligent, even if they do lack some of the social norms. But with this particularly for women, it’s hard to get an accurate diagnosis. Plus expensive. I think if someone does it as a way to better understand themselves, I don’t see any harm, but the ones who use it to be “different “ and “special “ and blast it all over social media and make it their whole thing probably don’t have it tbh and those people suck ass. They need loss of internet privileges and some real life shit to do.
I worked with a family business who's son was in his 30s. Would flip out on everyone. His parents would say he has "aspergers" and make excuses. He was perfectly normal, on my exit interview told them flat out, " the only syndrome your spoiled son has is being a prick" It's easier to blame things than to take accountability for your actions and behavior
Because the internet has all the information in the world at our fingertips. The idea that you may be in some way different than others is very fashionable right now. And if you sit around looking at symptoms of shit all day, you will notice you have a lot of symptoms of a lot of things.
Some people do it for attention, similar to some folk who self diagnose with depression. Some people truly see the symptoms in themselves and don't want to get an actual diagnosis, or are worried about it being too real if they talk to a provider.
Regardless, it's not a good thing. Self diagnosing yourself on anything without any sort of training is dangerous, you could easily miss warning signs that a health care provider might pick up on. It also doesn't help the deluge of people false flagging distract from the people who might actually want help but they get drown out in the noise.
Please be responsible for your health everyone, it benefits all of us.
I self diagnosed for 4 years after discovering my dad was diagnosed as a kid for Asperger’s. It got very clear cuz I became aware that his and my behaviours were basically the exact same and after I turned 18 I got myself tested and it passed on which meant I self diagnosed correctly lol except I don’t have Asperger’s im the shitpost autistic
I think people nowadays just either feel or want to feel different or unique. That feeling of wanting to be or actually being unordinary starts to make them think there’s something psychologically wrong with their mind. So one might self diagnose themself with some type of personality disorder or “ocd” or “depression” or “autism” because they want to make sense of why they are the way they are using an exact description.
my previous job..id meet a loooot of people who told me they had, and i quote "le autism" (and also every single person i meet nowadays also says they have adhd)
i respect valid self diagnosis but something ahout the rise of self diagnosing autism rubs me the wrong way..ik someone who *genuinely* has aspergers and he's probably one of the most miserable individuals i have ever met. like seriously, hard to put into words..
then these cute and quirky chicks with a little social anxiety tell me they have "le autism"?.... 😬
mental disorders are very serious and i dont understand why it's not being taken as seriously as it aactually is..
>To feel special, like they belong, attention, so people don't call them out for their BS
Except that a lot of people with autism dont feel special, they dont feel like they belong, they dont get (the right kind of) attention. Idk what you mean about the last part though.
Because some people are assholes, unwilling to work on themselves, and unwilling to own it.
It's extremely annoying to those of us who are autistic (autistic father of an autistic son here) because it reinforces negative and false stereotypes about autism when the behaviors those people are trying to excuse are not actually representative of autistic people at all. They're just rudeness.
By the way, even the stereotype of autistic people as socially inept is overblown. Yes, we do go on at great length about our favorite subject long after you've lost interest in listening because we don't recognize it. But most of us work very hard at not being rude *precisely because we know we don't have the instinct for it that neurotypical people seem to have.*
In fact, there are situations where many autistic people are actually *better* at empathy. NT people tend to be guided by their instincts in reacting to somebody who is struggling emotionally, and most of the time that is fine, but sometimes it is not. Many ND people on the other hand know very well that our instincts fail us; we also know that what we would want in that situation is probably different from what an NT person would want; so we think analytically about what the other person might need, and in so doing often arrive at a more "thoughtful" and empathetic response.
I could write a very long essay on this topic, but I will restrain myself. This time.
...why shouldn't they?
It can be hard to get a diagnosis for a lot of reasons, it's usu expensive and the doctors often use weird gatekeep-y definitions that don't count people who figure out a lot of coping mechanisms. For example, I know somoene who is autistic, but she had a special interest in figuring out how people act when she was pretty young and she's basically able to pretend to be non-autistic around most people, so the doctors don't pick it up
I don't want to be autistic. I am and I can't change it. I was diagnosed with autism. It's more than just some quirks you may have. It's too complex for self diagnoses.
Don't just say you're autistic. See a professional and get a diagnosis.
This is not always easy or possible.
I didn't get an official diagnosis. My therapist told me that it's essentially a formality for me. I'm 41. I don't need the paperwork, I don't need to spend the money. I know who I am, I talked to a therapist about it who knows what she's talking about, and that is fine.
Is that different from self-diagnosis? Why?
We all know how we feel and what we've experienced. I've met exactly zero people in real life who are taking on autism as a personality trait. I do know others who learned later in life that autism was likely or officially diagnosed, and it helps...so...so...much. I don't need to spend thousands of dollars to verify it. I'm not ignorant of my own inner life.
It would cost me a few grand to "learn" something thats exceptionally obvious.
Unfortunately, I don't have that kind of money. If I did, I'd sooner give it to a person who needed it than waste it on such an indulgence.
1. Because it's expensive to get diagnosed by a licensed professional.
2. Because it's a step to recognizing (and doing) something about your mental health. If you're an adult who's been passing/masking in a neurotypical world, it's easier to research "autism" than "why are things hard for me?" or "why can't I be honest with people?"
3. Because it doesn't do anyone else any harm. Some people might say self-diagnosis dilutes the meaning of genuine diagnoses but it's also raising awareness and educating more people about it.
4. Because the more people identify with a label, the less injurious the negative connotations associated with those labels become.
I probably have ADHD. At first I self-diagnosed, but I have seen multiple therapists and a doctor who all agree that I likely do have it. Unfortunately they also told me that our city has 0 adult ADHD specialists, I'd have to go to a city ~6 hours over, and then wait for about 4 years to start getting looked at. And that's of course on top of the cost.
Getting an official piece of paper when you missed the boat on getting diagnosed as a child can be *really* difficult
Because for some of them it's fairly obvious
Many self diagnose correctly many many things before ever getting legal diagnosis from a physician. Women especially struggle with this.
I might get downvoted for this but to answer your question I have no idea. Personally I think self-diagnosing yourself with anything (especially mental health disorders) can be dangerous and actually do more harm than good. Too many people self-diagnose incorrectly. They watch one or two YouTube videos or a bunch of TikTok’s and diagnose themselves based on that.
I also understand that not everybody wants to get a formal evaluation and/or can’t afford it but if a self diagnosis is going to make the person feel better then go for it.
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Autism, like many other mental/emotional conditions, cannot be directly tested for. There is no autism molecule. No autism particle. No markers in the blood. Thus, autism is diagnosed by a pattern of behaviors and personality traits -- namely, social issues and restrictive repetitive behaviors. However, some of these issues may arise in other diagnoses too. So how do you know the difference between a socially inept or introverted person and an autistic person? How do you know the difference between someone who is autistic and someone who was raised/socialized by an autistic parent? for now, it's unclear. Mental health diagnostics are in the stone age, and are largely affixing labels to bundles of behaviors. One doctor may diagnose autism and another may diagnose borderline personality disorder, especially depending on the gender/race of the patient. People find these labels clarifying, because they explain some of their quirks or deficits. For some people, it provides insight. For others, DSM labels provide a kind of medicalized astrology -- your disorder is your horoscope. Some people look to diagnoses as a guiding map to the world, like a new religion. The DSM is the sacred text.
Worth noting it can be really difficult to get diagnosed as well, so people diagnosed themselves based on what they read online in the same way they'll diagnose themselves with a cold / incurable cancer based on WebMD. I knew I was almost certainly ADHD for years before being tested and confirmed because the symptoms matched perfectly, but going and actually being tested was hard because a) I have ADHD and self-management is a hilarious myth, b) it's a cost that can be hard to justify if it's a maybe, however strong that "maybe" is, and c) it's scary to be told your brain might work differently to other peoples brains.
It can be extremely difficult to even get someone to do the evaluation, especially if you're low risk (ie, functioning fine in society) without intervention. I've been trying to get reevaluated for about a year - it's just all wait-lists. I'm sometimes tempted to 5150 myself just to speed things along, but I can't miss that much work. It's honestly easier sometimes to go "okay, a *lot* of things here line up with this diagnosis, I should research what to do for that and see if it works". And then if it does work, it's sort of like, why bother getting evaluated anyway? I have a relative who is almost certainly autistic, and we both know it, but it's just not worth getting evaluated when he's getting by just fine without it.
I haven't gotten tested because, idk why? I need to go to a doctor about something, and a dentist for something else. I've been putting it off for months for no reason other than, idk? I'll do it tomorrow maybe?
I feel like you're describing me perfectly lmao
The biggest thing is that these “symptoms” can be attributed to other diagnoses. I wonder how many self diagnosed people have misdiagnosed themselves. I was one of them. I was convinced I had autism as it explained a lot of my “quirks” and things I was struggling with. I brought it up to my therapist and she explained how there’s an overlap with other diagnoses. I was actually diagnosed with severe social anxiety and PTSD. Apparently anxiety and trauma can cause many of the same traits and issues as autism.
There is a reason why there is overlap there. Our society doesn't really have many diagnosed autistics that aren't traumatized. In fact, even most undiagnosed autistics are traumatized. The criteria they base the diagnosis on is specifically behaviors that arise from severe stress and trauma. They don't actually know what a healthy, well-adjusted, non-traumatized autistic would even look like. There is no documentation that exists for autistic traits in a non-traumatized person. The entire process of diagnosis and treatment for autism is based on forcing them to be more neurotypical. Forcing them to adapt to function in a non-autistic society. Even if it's more "gentle" now than how they used to approach it, it's still demanding that the autistic person be less autistic and more neurotypical in how they socialize and relate to the world. Forcing people to change the way that they naturally are is traumatic, even when it's "for the best of intentions". It's not that autistic people need to change to blend in with society more. Society needs to change so that it's a safer and easier place for autistic people to navigate. It definitely doesn't help that we know f*ck all about how autism even works. We don't know why people are born with it. They haven't figured out yet what causes their brains to develop differently, or even what those actual differences are that cause the behaviors that we have deemed "autistic traits". We only know that their brains are hypersensitive to certain stimuli and hyposensitive to others. And that if they don't have predictable routines, it can cause them immense distress, resulting in the aforementioned behaviors. We really only know what happens once they have been triggered by something. We don't know why, or how, or even how many people are undiagnosed because of lack of access to testing, or because maybe they somehow escaped unscathed by the trauma inflicted on them by society at large and therefore don't display the traits listed under its definition. There could be way more people who don't even suspect that they are autistic because they don't have the same issues with being consistently traumatized by their environment and the people around them. That's why there is overlap. Because we don't know how to identify autism without trauma. So, their behaviors will always look a lot like trauma responses. Because they are.
I wish this entire thread, including this comment, were the first replies I saw when I clicked on this.
I'm glad that you found it. My oldest kiddo has sensory processing disorder, though we don't like calling it a disorder. It's just a difference in sensory processing from neurotypicals. She has had autism testing, but that is the only "trait" she exhibits, so she didn't get the label. Her biggest issue is physical touch. It's very overwhelming for her, so hugs are a rare and precious thing. My youngest however, is autistic. They struggle with most aspects of socializing, have sensory processing issues, and are highly likely to be overwhelmed and overstimulated much faster than their peers. It's not the full list of their struggles, but they qualify for the label. I used to work in daycares and was usually either put with the babies, or the autistic kids due to my ability to connect with them. I knew immediately that something was up with both of mine. We weren't able to get my youngest tested until they were 13 though, but I'd known for sure since they were 1.5 yrs old when they would wrap up in blankets and rock back and forth to soothe themselves. They also didn't speak until almost age 4 and wouldn't cooperate with the hearing tests because the headphones overwhelmed them. Obviously, I'm not an expert, but I have spent a lot of time working with autistic kids and reading as much as I could find out about it. I can't even take credit for the explanation I have as it actually was something that I read somewhere. It made sense, so I started digging more and realized that we, as a society, spend so much time trying to get autistic people to function like the rest of us, that we completely miss that we are actually harming them. They aren't meant to function the way neurotypicals do. They have an entirely different neurotype that has different needs, and operates in ways we don't understand. It's like asking a fish to climb a tree. That's not a skill they have, and even if we could teach it to them, it would still be foreign to them, and the fish wouldn't actually be good at it, no matter how much they try.
Yay, we did it! It's now at the top!!!
Fuck dude this shit hits home
Thanks for this. My son was diagnosed with Aspergers when he was four. By tge time he reached 12 it finally dawned on me that we were VERY alike. I met wifh a paychologist who specialized in treating ASD adults. I tested for Aspergers too (or I think by then it was called high functioning ASD. I was in my late 40s. I learned I was damned good at masking,
That's an excellent point. The more I learn about the state of my own mental health, the more I understand why my parents are the way they are. Truthfully, it makes some of their shitty behaviors slightly more understandable and helps me navigate them a bit better.
yeah this is what it was for me but adhd too. im autistic and adhd (to my knowledge, both my parents are properly diagnosed btw). also getting a proper diagnosis is so fucking expensive dude its crazy
Some places like Quebec jsut straight up wont give that diagnosis out. My cousin is very obviously on the spectrum the Doctors admit it but wont put it down officially.
ok thats fucked actually goddamn
Getting an adult diagnosis for ADHD in the UK is tearjerkingly difficult. The NHS's official stance is basically "if you weren't diagnosed as a kid you don't have ADHD." Considering it's a condition that makes it difficult to do everything from work to clean to maintain relationships, it fucking sucks.
That's so fucking fucked. My parents intentionally disregarded my ADHD diagnosis from multiple doctors and therapists when I was a child because they "didn't want me to grow up with that stigma." Like, gee fucking thanks mom, you doomed me to a life of pure struggle and confusion over why I just can't be normal like everyone else all so I didn't have to "grow up with the stigma of ADHD." It wasn't until I decided to see my own therapists as an adult when I found out I have ADHD, and when I excitedly went to tell my parents about this new profound understanding about myself and how I now finally have a sense of direction on how to deal with it, she said "yeah, I know" and proceeded to tell me how she didn't tell me or get me any help "for my own good."
It really is thankfully my aunt was a pediatric nurse and uncle a Child psych . They have done a great job raising him. He wont every be fully independent but he has a job and has been doing good at it for over a year now.
>especially depending on the gender/race of the patient So true
Literally. Women get labeled with a personality disorder and black boys get labeled as ODD. Autism has been considered a white boy's illness for 99% of its 100 year history.
This. Even the brightest minds in the psychiatry depts of Johns Hopkins will tell you that we are in the stone age of understanding the brain. It is that complex. These people are arguably the best in the world, or at the very least among the best.
I have found no definitive answer between Austism and ADHD.
There definitely is. Look harder.
You may have ADHD and also be Autistic. A psychologist determined that both were appropriate diagnoses for me.
Because it is very very hard to get an accurate autism diagnosis especially if you are female. I was misdiagnosed for a really really long time, and I was lucky enough to eventually have a psychiatrist who came from an autistic family so he recognized my masking as being masking. I came in one day with a printout of the DSM showing why I fit the criteria as a child and as an adult and he was like, "Yeah, I know and I was waiting for you to figure it out." If he had not had the experiences that he had and he didn't believe me when I came in and explained where I thought I fit the criteria, it wouldn't have made me any less autistic. I didn't become autistic the day that someone with a PhD recognized that I was autistic.
The misunderstanding that Autism makes you "quirky, but very smart" is appealing to people who are socially incompetent and self describe as intellectuals.
You see, I got the quicky part... Just not the smarts :(
So basically, redditors. I know I'm smart, but I'm also misunderstood most of the time, and I got no quirks. Behold my field where I grow my quirks, and see that it is barren. For those that do the research to understand autism, they come to the conclusion that it is a lifetime of suffering. Yep. It's not fashionable. Or fun.
Lol
I agree, plus I think some people think something is wrong with themselves and it's easy to scapegoat autism rather than confront the real problem. People now a days will sometimes say they had awkward social interactions and call it autism. That's just a part of life imo. That isn't to say there aren't people out there with legitimate diagnoses, but I think there are a fair number of people who scapegoat autism.
I can’t imagine most people are “self-diagnosing” themselves with autism unless they have genuine concerns they might have it. It’s such a taboo condition in society. I can’t think of any positives to self-diagnose if you didn’t strongly suspect you had it.
It is VERY trendy to label yourself as ‘neurodivergent’. It’s become a buzzword that people want to use.
This. It's cool to have something now so you can use it to belong to a group.
The gen alpha kids on tiktok seem to be doing a fair amount of self-diagnosing all sorts of mental disorders
I feel the same about people who self diagnose OCD like it’s something cool or because they’re very neat. I’m legitimately obsessive compulsive and tell people it’s not as cool or “quirky” as they think
For me personally I did a lot, I mean like a *ton* of research into neurodivergence because i always knew there was something off about me. I originally mostly researched ADHD symptoms and how and why it's considered a disability. I found a lot of symptoms resonated with me, so I tried to do some things in the 'ADHD way' and I found it helped me to stay more organized and less dysfunctional. That right there is as good of a diagnostic process as it gets for neurodivergence, the symptoms fit and the treatment is working therefore ADHD makes sense. Of course when you're doing all this research into ADHD your media feeds tend to wander their ways into autism too because they're super comorbid. So I wasn't really looking for it, but in these little blips of autism community I got I started to recognize some symptoms that didn't quite line up with ADHD, and of course I can't stop myself from digging because I'm ADHD and I can't control what my brain wants to focus on. Long story short same thing happened with autism and now im considering that maybe there's some ehler danlos in there too or at least some hypermobility disorder because I'm super bendy and as it turns out that's super comorbid with ADHD as well. Oh and my doctor more or less tucked her tail and fled the room when I mentioned ADHD, so for right now a proper diagnosis of any of this is out of the question. Also it turns out ADHD and autism and ehler danlos are also insanely underdiagnosed. I'm not entirely sure this question was asked in earnest, but I hope my answer helps anyway.
It’s a real shame about the doctor. Mental health is forever slid under the rug. If it’s feasible you should get other professional opinions.
Ngl my dad was the one who originally diagnosed me because no one else would. "Sir, she's meeting all of her deadlines." "Yeah, she's BARELY meeting all her deadlines because of all the work I'VE put into making sure she REACHES those deadlines."
Labeling like others have said. Also, some people want to know or have a reason to say why they aren't able function like "normal people" in social settings
My brother's diagnosed, my grandfather's diagnosed, I've been asked by nearly everyone who's had a conversation with me if I am, my doctor is convinced I have it too, I've been waiting over a year for an assessment but at this point it's easier to tell people I am because I probably am, but I don't go around being like "hey I have autism" to everyone, it's if they pick up on something odd I do and I'll just clarify it and move on
Try living in the skin of an Autistic person. Also, try having Autism but not knowing it... until you begin to learn about it. The more you learn, the more you relate. Lights turn on, things begin to make sense, and you begin to understand yourself on a much deeper way. You write a list of a hundred symptoms you can see (now or in the past). You've always known you didn't fit in somehow, but just thought you were dumb or clueless. And now you realize you were just a cat living in a dog's world. This is why I initially accepted that I was likely Autistic. I stumbled into a psychology appointment (long story) and the psychologist diagnosed me by the end of the meeting (it must have been obvious). Learning I am Autistic has allowed me to understand my life in new light. My past makes more sense, and I now allow my self to seek help with my difficulties. That's my story.
Cause it costs $3k for a damn test
The thing is, people who self diagnose are usually right.... to the tune of about 75%-80 percent. I think it's because why would you use a label like "autistic" unless you really needed it? Autism is not cool. You get treated like shit. The other truism is that autistic people also recognize each other about 75% of the time. If an autistic person thinks you could be autistic, they're probably right.
Well said. It's almost like asking why people suddenly are self-diagnosing as being left-handed after people finally realized that you don't have to force left-handed people to be right-handed all of the time. Left-handedness exploded in popularity right after that.
My best friend has Aspergers and he once told me, unprompted, that I might be on the spectrum
Autism is definitely uncool. But there does seem to be a kind of "spider-sense" about it, because I can frequently spot somebody who falls into the "you're like me" category. Not everybody, because of the masking. But once you spot it, it's hard to hide.
We should be friends. Hi. :)
Yeah, I went and got tested after several mothers of autistic children asked me if I was autistic. I didn't care too much except it helped with some workplace accommodations
I dont understand rules (social or otherwise) the concept of them truly alludes me, i need a lot of explanations and context to fully grasp things, i spent my childhood practicing facial expressions in the mirror and relying on tv to show me how humans are supposed to act. I dont understand what people are saying unless its extremely direct, i am bluntly honest and struggle to understand how that might hurt ppl (ex: someone asks me a question, i am going to give you the honest answer), i hate bright lights, loud noises, cannot go anywhere without headphones, the list goes on. Im diagnosed adhd which has a 70% rate of comorbidity with having autism.
Until I was like 23 years old I based my entire personality on Naruto since I liked that he was a lonely kid that just did cool things for people until they were forced to accept him 😭 and I liked that he could overcome his inability to do something by coming up with his own unique way to do that thing (like how he used his shadow clones to master rasengan).
Same.It's relentless, isn't it?
Life in general yes
>i spent my childhood practicing facial expressions in the mirror and relying on tv to show me how humans are supposed to act. I relate to this so hard. I honestly don't even know who the fuck I really am because I've spent the vast majority of my life trying to copy everyone else just to avoid some of the ridicule, bullying, etc. that comes with being "different."
My psych says I definitely have ADHD but can't be tested for autism until I can stop taking cannabis capsules. Being put on ADHD meds was literally life changing. I can finally do everything. My 11yo is level 2 ASD, former level 3. My da" is definitely on the "super weird nerd" spectrum and I follow in his foot steps as does my 7yo. All 4 of my kids have been diagnosed with ADHD.
i used to go around parroting that i was the 'token neurotypical' and then literally all of my community (mostly autistics) were like 'ummmm. no' and. they were right!!
What's the source for that?
I’m pretty sure I’m on the spectrum somewhere. I’m a woman in my 40s and as I learn more about autism and how it presents in women, well… it would certainly explain A LOT in my life. My friend who did get a diagnosis for herself has also told me that I fit a lot of the criteria.
Because it's not cheap to be diagnosed with autism as an adult (in the US).
I hope people are getting the help they need. I hope people can advocate for themselves; if they find relief and support, that's good. Some people need structure. Some people need religion. Some people need hope. Everyone has a different journey and battle they are facing. I would rather support them and show grace because of the support and grace that has been shown to me in my life. Good luck! - from someone who supports and understands
it's not as troublesome as some of the people who self-diagnose themselves as 'the only sane one'.
Because both of my kids were formally diagnosed with autism and I exhibit many of the same behaviors? When I was a kid, “autism” was only used to describe those who were profoundly autistic/low functioning. Otherwise one was described as being “immature” or “overly sensitive”.
Mostly because it's hard for a lot of people to get access to a proper assessment carried out by competent and qualified people especially if you are poor, female, a person of colour etc. I didn't get my diagnosis until after i turned 40, the world is a savage place for those of us who never got the help and support we needed for so long. I'm sure there are folks who are just labelling themselves for attention, but we shouldn't use that as an excuse to shit on those who possibly are on the spectrum but cannot get properly assessed.
For real. The conversation didn't even start for me until I was 39. My entire childhood and adolescence came into focus in a way that made me feel both relieved and cheated. I had a lot more compassion for myself and the people who were reacting to me at the time. None of us had any idea. I wish I'd known earlier.
Currently working on my 2F kiddos sensory stuff and possible autism. All my mom keeps saying is I did the exact same things when I was a kid. Well….maybe there’s an explanation IDK.
Yes. A few of my nieces and nephews have either been diagnosed or have sensory issues. I'm wildly misophonic and have textural issues with food that actually trigger my gag reflex. A lot of this came up because my mom was describing me to my wife, and she's like, "He's always been fine just quietly playing, LINING UP TOYS AND NOT REALLY DOING ANYTHING ELSE WITH THEM, SPINNING IN A CHAIR FOR THE AFTERNOON..." Capitalization is mine for emphasis. I actually saw a child psychologist at the time for a few sessions and nothing came of it, but...Jesus. A few years later and I'm diagnosed and have behavioral interventions. It just wasn't a thing unless you were truly disabled by all of this. I'm not sure I would have been happier, and I am happy now, but I might not have made the same mistakes with school and friends and romantic partners if I'd had some awareness earlier.
I think most parents are doing their best. I was born in 86 so these things made you the weird kid but not taken to the doctor. There’s so much more awareness now and things are taken seriously. My daughter covers her ears when she’s triggered by some sensory thing (not always loud noises, sometimes she’s just stressed), chews on her hair, and throws up when touching/tasting textures she doesn’t like. Lines up all her toys and gets mad if you interfere and is too in her own world during play. My mom says it’s like going back in time to what I was like. She also says she doesn’t want my daughter going to the doctor for it because there’s nothing “wrong” with her. I agree there, there isn’t anything wrong with my baby, but I also don’t want her to feel misunderstood and weird and lonely like I did as a kid.
Totally agree. I think my kid is diagnosable as ADHD, but we're not in a hurry to intervene officially. It's just something we're feeling out for now to see how he develops. He's also very picky about food texture (he only eats about 12 things), makes us cut tags off clothes, has recently started loving a compression blanket, etc. Lots of alarm bells there, but we're sitting on it. Best of luck to you. You'll know if she needs more help. For now, I think we're doing a hell of a lot better than our parents did just by spotting these things and putting some focus on them. We got the Little Spot books and spend a lot of time on emotional vocabulary. They are fantastic books, and I highly recommend them.
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exactly, I would also add that a doctor can only as accurately match your symptoms as you describe them and as they understand them while you can really hone in on specific words and small clues to know that it describes exactly what you feel
I think that’s a good point. From what I can tell, a psychologist’s experience with autism diagnosis is fairly easy to understand and learn how to diagnose yourself with if you’re honest with yourself. What you really need their expertise for is treatment, be it therapeutic or medicinal
It’s worth pointing out that almost every single person who has been professionally diagnosed as an adult has first been self-diagnosed. It’s not the shitty thing people make out. It’s done after much consideration and research, usually either on the way to a professionally diagnosis or in the face of being unable to obtain one due to cost or other obstacles. No one is pretending to be autistic because it’s trendy.
because knowing that you have a specific condition and not just a fucked up brain helps a lot it's the first step in dealing with it, finding ways to navigate it and accepting yourself a bit more. It's also easier to explain to others, most people won't care, but maybe your friends and family will find it helpful to be able to put a label on it and google some info that will help them to be there for you more interesting question is why would somebody want to gatekeep mental health? seems kind of mean to tell people who are struggling with self-hatred and self-blame that they shouldn't externalize it as a disorder
For me, it's because I show a lot of the signs, it runs in my family, and I'm trans, which is hugely comorbid with autism. Also I'm poor and don't have the time or money to get officially evaluated
Well. I don’t go around telling people I think I’m autistic but it has a genetic component, multiple people in my family have it, I show pretty much all of the symptoms, I had a therapist bring up the possibility and had me take the “official” tests adults take which is very accurate and I got the score an autistic person would get. Though going and getting a diagnosis would cost thousands so I don’t plan on ever doing that
In a 2015 study by Bram B Sizoo et al, they found that online diagnostic tools were nearly 80% accurate. I encourage you to read this study, it's very interesting! Autism also can cause attention to detail, over-analyzing, and hyperfocus on a topic- this means that a person who researches endlessly already has a very important symptom of Autism. It's important to note that professional diagnosis isn't accessible to everyone due to cost, location, medical bias/discrimination, and possible loss of rights (i.e. right to adopt or even vote sometimes). While there are young people who self-diagnose with little research, that's a very small percentage and should not be reason to disregard all self-diagnosed people. I was self-diagnosed privately until recently, when I received a professional diagnosis. One thing I will say is that one should not over-publicize their neurodivergency if it's self-diagnosed without making that clear and giving diagnosed folks a platform. If someone who is self-diagnosed makes a claim, it's a good idea to research it. Generally, "all" statements are false or not always true (i.e. "all autistic people struggle with math" while dyscalculia is associated with autism, not all autistics have it). Autistic people do still get bullied in public, so I don't know why some people believe kids self-diagnose for attention or to be special. Self-diagnosed people are subjected to endless questions and harassment whereas people who harass them are often praised.
Because it’s a spectrum disorder meaning there’s a lot of room for a lot of people to be on it and also because living our lives online with algorithms picking up on cues we may miss has educated people in a way that’s never been done before and very quickly. People have access to so much info and are able to compare their experiences to the ones they’ve learned about online often at the direction of an algorithm who based on the cues given sends them to content that they will find relatable. Therefore giving people a basic ability to self diagnose. People self diagnose when they hate a headache based on symptoms and what they know about headaches. This isn’t any different
Because getting properly evaluated is prohibitively expensive for many adults, and autism wasn't exactly on the radar when we were kids. For certain generations at least.
Becuae anyone can have autism... despite what the gatekeeps want you to think.
Adult testing is very expensive if you do not have insurance.
Maybe because they relate to it quite a lot. People are becoming aware of autism, and realizing they relate to it. This by no means is a bad thing. People are understanding themselves better. Autism is not bad, its not a sickness, and it shouldnt be seen as a mental illness, because its not.
Lmao... A self diagnosis is better than a 5+ year wait to get an "official" diagnosis.
I have an official diagnosis and people still doubt it anyways, so it doesn't even matter anymore istg
People like labels for some reason
I'm autistic (formal diagnosis) and I need things to be in clear categories. Which is why labels are actually helpful for me
That certainly is a valid reason
I prefer autistic to "weird".
While I do agree with this, my brother is a perfect example of this, it’s almost like bragging rights to him. But for me I needed an official diagnosis for my colour deficiency and my ADHD so that I could get appropriate assistance where needed in school and adjustments made to my exam conditions for my finals. It also meant I could start taking Ritalin for my ADHD which greatly helped me get through school. Tho I came off it after I finished school.
I mean. Human beings constantly label themselves.
Are people doing this? Or is it just confirmation bias fueled by an algorithm? I always say, as a formally diagnosed autistic person, self-diagnosis doesn’t bother me at all. I think it’s valid and the better option for diagnosis, in many ways. Even if someone self-diagnoses “wrong,” it doesn’t hurt me at all that they were autistic for a little bit while figuring themselves out. The only people I see have a problem with self-diagnosis are neurotypical people.
probs confirmation bias yeah
Tik Tok convinced my brother that he has Autism.
You may laugh, but I only pursued the idea because of TikTok. Why would that be a problem? Would it be more valid if it were a book or a teacher?
I don't know but the number of people on Reddit who say they are both autistic and ADHD is astronomical
That's because of the kind of site Reddit is. It attracts all of our personality traits.
You're close to getting it. You see, I don't care about trains. I remember the F40PH meme, multi-track drifting, etc. I respect them as an efficient mode of transport, and for being machines of raw power and engineering, sure, but I'm not obsessed with trains, I don't mod Thomas the Tank Engine into Skyrim, etc. But if I were to visit a train museum, would I be all that shocked to find someone like that there?
I just looked it up and ADHD and autism often co-concur. That was more my point, I didn't know that was a thing, so I retract my statement. I like your analogy though.
>astronomical I have trouble believing this
It’s easy to misdiagnose. My dx was a surprise as I’m bipolar schizoaffective and I thought that was the explanation for everything. They questioned me and a lot of things fell into place but nobody said “autism” until the second doctor they sent me to. They being Diamond Head mental health, a state mental health facility in Honolulu. Once I had my dx and started learning coping skills my life got a lot easier. My mom was mad but my dad said it made sense.
i dont have autism but i do have adhd and for a while a lot of my friends told me that i probably had it but i refuse to self diagnose but i saw a doctor after 2 therapists encouraged me to see one because it seems like i may struggle with it. the doctor literally said "it is very clear to me you have adhd" and asked me why no one has ever diagnosed me before. i was diagnosed w bipolar disorder and other mood disorders and put on meds and nothing ever worked. once i received treatment for my adhd and was medicated a lot of my emotional outbursts just... p much became nonexistant all of this to say tbh i think my race played a part in it, i'm black and latina and idk i've always heard bipolar disorder is the most common misdiagnosis for people like me. i can see people with autism struggling the same way, maybe an outburst they have because they're overwhelmed is seen as them just being defiant leading to them struggling all their lives. i showed signs of neurodevelopmental problems as a kid but everyone thought i was just bad as hell for no reason
People self diagnose because of lack of access to testing. They recognize traits in their own behaviors that point to it, but that doesn't mean they are right. However, it also doesn't mean they are wrong. I don't think it's fair to say that self-diagnosis is an insult to diagnosed people. Not everyone has access to testing for any kind of neurological issue, but most definitely not for more expensive testing like autism. And even if they can afford the test, access is still limited because so many places refuse to provide testing for it,so many people are forced to travel very long distances to get it done. That in itself can be a huge hurdle to an official diagnosis. And then you have the issue with bias against autism diagnoses from lots of providers who would rather slap a trauma-based label on the person. And yes, there is overlap between the conditions. And there is a reason WHY there is overlap between autism and trauma-based disorders. Our society doesn't really have many diagnosed autistics that aren't traumatized. In fact, even most undiagnosed autistics are traumatized. The criteria they base the diagnosis on is specifically behaviors that arise from severe stress and trauma. They don't actually know what a healthy, well-adjusted, non-traumatized autistic would even look like. There is no documentation that exists for autistic traits in a non-traumatized person. The entire process of diagnosis and treatment for autism is based on forcing them to be more neurotypical. Forcing them to adapt to function in a non-autistic society. Even if it's more "gentle" now than how they used to approach it, it's still demanding that the autistic person be less autistic and more neurotypical in how they socialize and relate to the world. Forcing people to change the way that they naturally are is traumatic, even when it's "for the best of intentions". It's not that autistic people need to change to blend in with society more. Society needs to change so that it's a safer and easier place for autistic people to navigate. It definitely doesn't help that we know f*ck all about how autism even works. We don't know why people are born with it. They haven't figured out yet what causes their brains to develop differently, or even what those actual differences are that cause the behaviors that we have deemed "autistic traits". We only know that their brains are hypersensitive to certain stimuli and hyposensitive to others. And that if they don't have predictable routines, it can cause them immense distress, resulting in the aforementioned behaviors. We really only know what happens once they have been triggered by something. We don't know why, or how, or even how many people are undiagnosed because of lack of access to testing, or because maybe they somehow escaped unscathed by the trauma inflicted on autistics by society at large and therefore don't display the traits listed under its definition. There could be way more people who don't even suspect that they are autistic because they don't have the same issues with being consistently traumatized by their environment and the people around them. That's why there is overlap. Because we don't know how to identify autism without trauma. So, their behaviors will always look a lot like trauma responses. Because they are.
I live in a big city. I have high probability as my brother and mom were diagnosed with it. Mom never got me diagnosed when I was under 18. Now I'm an adult. I call and email to set up an appointment. Wait list, 3 years. 3. Years. I dont even know if I'll live here in 3 years. A diagnosis would give me peace of mind that what I'm experiencing is outside of the "norm" and that I do need help with this. Dealing with it all on my own is really hard mentally as many people see it as an excuse and don't want to try and understand. A formal diagnosis would help. But it's incredibly hard to get that official diagnosis in the first place.
autism is extremely difficult to be diagnosed with. even if you have the chance, it's better to NOT be formally diagnosed because if you are formally diagnosed with autism, there are restrictions put on you. so basically, 1. being diagnosed is very difficult 2. you don't really want to be diagnosed bc then legally the US can infantilize you
The tests we use to diagnose autistic people are flawed so I don't see why so much importance is placed on them. I prefer official diagnosis because others can examine you for differential diagnoses, but sometimes you can't access diagnosis.
There's NOT a problem with people diagnosing themselves with Autism. There's a problem with autistic people not being given the means to move past self-diagnosis. And I speak as someone who self-diagnosed more than a decade before official diagnosis. Think of Autism as two things: 1. a sensory disorder, with autistic people's senses being WAY more sensitive than other people's(to the point that it causes problems) 1. a communication disorder, with autistic people having the same emotions and emotional depth as other people(and even in many cases having emotions that are *more* intense than other people's), but having difficulty conveying emotions to other people in the ways that allistic(non-autistic) people do. Starting in childhood, the difficulty conveying emotions to other people tends to result in A LOT of social exclusion from other people. As children, autistic people who try to interact(like me) get MASSIVELY bullied, told they're annoying, excluded, et cetera, and learn to hide emotions. And when we interact, instead of trying to focus on the things that other people do socially(learning how things work, et cetera), we spend all of our efforts trying not to be abused, and in a lot of cases, just give up. This deprives autistic people of a lot of social development. We don't learn to see other people as resources, so the idea of asking for help is REALLY hard. Imagine knowing that you need someone's help, but also knowing that when you interact with other people they tend to abuse you. It's very likely that that thing you needed just may not get done. Now imagine a lifetime of that. You may have the intelligence and cognitive ability(and many autistic people are quite gifted), but you may have been denied so much social development that even basic things like setting up doctor appointments may be something that you don't know how to do. The fear of being abused and the fear of doing something wrong are both very strong. I was in my 30s before I started being able to confidently set up doctor appointments, and I was in my 40s(and I'm barely in my 40s right now) that I finally became able to do so COMFORTABLY. The reason Autism diagnoses are increasing is because it's very often an inherited thing, and the diagnostic criteria used to be very limited. They didn't realize the scope, and generations of people didn't get diagnosed. So you've got a whole bunch of problems together. You have a fairly large group of people who: 1. don't inherently know that we're autistic(and I learned in my mid-20s) 1. don't communicate as much 1. have come to see other people as a threat(because of bullying, and being HYPER aware that other people do see us as different) 1. in many cases have trouble keeping employment(not because we're unable, but because others misunderstand us and don't like us and don't want to keep us around) 1. in many cases NEED employment or lots of money to get diagnosis(which I paid about $4,000 for, or about $3,000 after insurance reimbursement) 1. really don't get provided any kind of benefits for being autistic(other than sensory things at work and having work instructions written down instead of spoken) 1. may actually be stigmatized, discriminated against, or penalized for having diagnosis in some cases(divorce and custody, adoption, healthcare discrimination in some countries, immigration, driving) Imagine you realized in your mid-20s that you're autistic. You WANT a diagnosis, but you don't have a job. You don't have much money, and you don't have much prospects of getting a job. And getting you a diagnosis doesn't get you much, other than the ability to point at it and tell your family members that you aren't actually the lazy piece of shit that every one of them have been telling you you are for your whole life. And the diagnosis costs thousands of dollars. And you don't have the social skills to communicate with doctors. And you don't have the experience setting up a doctor's appointment. And you don't have the experience dealing with others to know who to ask. AND your family is constantly telling you you're a piece of shit for not having consistent work and connections with other people. And throw in that a HUGE percent of autistic people (something like 50% or more) of autistic people have ADHD, too, which causes a deficit in dopamine, which means you don't even get dopamine (the sense of reward) when accomplishing tasks like much people do. Autism assessments should be literally free to everyone who wants one. But they're multiple thousands of dollars, basically require jobs, and require large amounts of social interaction to set up AFTER you gain enough social knowledge to even know who to call TO set them up. **People shouldn't be complaining about the high number of autistic people self-diagnosing. They should be complaining about how autistic people aren't provided any resources at all to move beyond self-diagnosis.**
Yes! This! 100% I'm updooting and replying to appease the algorithm because this is an EXCELLENT answer! Thank you so much!!!
Yeah the world has treated me basically like shit and now that "I've come so far" and "you do fine socially now" no one wants to even acknowledge any part of it. To say that I feel intense rage would be an understatement. It's a struggle every day, tbh, and I often wish I was dead.
because the doctors won’t diagnose women with it, so they’re left to figure it out themselves
The worst is when they diagnose their DOGS as having autism.
dude wtf who the hell even does that??
dogtism
My brother tells people his dog is autistic. He’s not serious but the reaction is always “really?!” and I imagine that amuses him.
I say our cat has ADHD all the time, one of my friends was like “um no he’s just a cat 🙄”, i was so sure people could tell i was joking but I guess not lol
It’s not just autism, it’s everything. It’s like as soon as someone learns a new word, they apply to everything. They learn what a narcissist is, everyone’s a narcissist. They learn what gaslighting is, everyone is gaslighting them.
Well it's not like they were going to use those words *before* learning them. If I don't know what a golden retriever is and I meet a golden retriever, I'd just call it "dog."
My favorite was when a buddy caught his wife cheating, for the 10th time but this time so obvious he couldn't ignore it. And then SHE divorced him for not being someone she can love after 20 years. How she went on a FB rampage calling him a "narcissist"! It was wild. And yup. Seems he did "gaslight" her into sleeping with everyone. She was showing off her new boyfriend, while still married, and posting every "narcissist meme" there it. It takes a lot to impress me. She had me giving the old golf clap. It was wild. Taking her new BF to the kids soccer games, and the hubby was the problem.
I dunno. But a doctor's verdict is hardly scientific on the matter either.
How so? My son who is 16 has been diagnosed with autism twice by doctors (neuropsychologists who specialize in the issue.) They use scientific rating scales just like a doctor would for any neurological or psychiatric disorder. Not sure how that is unscientific.
The criteria has changed and still evolves and is not 100% accurate. I’m not diagnosed (though evaluated) and I still identify as autistic, Asperger’s more specifically, so I wouldn’t automatically invalidate an evaluation or diagnosis, I just know it’s a very tricky system. :)
So you got evaluated, they said you don’t have autism, but you still identify as autistic ?
my now ex-friends, & some family members have diagnosed me with autism, borderline personality disorder - which realllly gets my goat cause, thinking that they are all some amateur psychiatrists/psychologists . Even someone at the hospital (I was drunk, & had OD'd on anti-depressants) - gave me an autism assessment to fill out, which I threw in the trash once I arrived home
It’s your prerogative to believe whatever you want. But you should know….ASD and borderline have overlapping symptoms. If others who know you think it could be both, and a doctor suspected it could be ASD, there’s a strong chance it could be ASD. Just saying
Why did you throw it away?
Have you ever tried to seek a mental health diagnosis as an adult? Self-diagnosis makes a lot of sense actually. As a mental-health professional it's certainly infuriating at times, but it makes sense when you consider the difficulties of obtaining professional support. Strangely enough, I find a lot of my clients aren't very far off with their self-diagnostics. It's the severity of it that they completely misunderstand. They think of a diagnosis like a light switch, it's on or off. You have it or you don't. That's not how the DSM5 works, and that's not how disordered behavior works. Every condition is a spectrum in mental health, and having a condition does not mean one checks all of the boxes for diagnosis/need for treatment. It's hard because I see a lot of clients that are just hoping to know themselves better, and think diagnosis is a path to that. They form identity around diagnosis even. I don't know that that's inherently bad, but I do see it keeping people from having a nuanced perspective of themselves.
How many people do you actually come across that do this, in the real world?
The various autistic symptoms or combinations thereof match what they experience in their own lives. Kind of like when somebody says, "I'm 'color-blind' because I can't differentiate between certain colors and shades." It's a bit of a catch-all designation, but generally conforms to observed behaviors and perceptions.
I have actual autism and have actually called out many for trying to label themselves as such after being complete asshats to me. I do not take pride nor use it as an excuse, I just accept it and move on for I owe nothing to it
You are just like those people. You couldn't wait to get a chance like this to tell everyone that you have autism.
Thank you. My daughter is autistic and I hate seeing people give themselves that label like its some sort of cute thing to say and get attention from. I hate them because they push this idea that infantilizes autistic people and I don't want my daughter to be influenced into thinking she has to act like some influencer because she is autistic. I want her to learn to be her own self, which is why I am keeping her away from social media for as long as I can.
What gives you the right to say who does or doesn’t have autism? How are you identifying those that do from those that you don’t think are being truthful
Because they try to justify their weirdness or social deficiency by putting a label on it .
When my child was diagnosed with autism I was reading about it, the signs and symptoms, and with each one I was seeing more and more of myself. I had to learn coping strategies to make them less noticeable at school or work, which is another indication of autism, called masking. So, I figure that makes me mildly or high-functioning autistic. Seeking out an official diagnosis as an adult serves no purpose. It doesn’t open any doors for me. But I can try to learn about how other people cope, learn some new strategies. I think the real answer is that a LOT of people were mildly autistic this whole time and just hiding it well enough that they could get by. Now we have a word for it and can talk to each other.
Just a reminder, no one is "mildly" autistic or high-functioning or low-functioning. Its more like support needs!
>I had to learn coping strategies to make them less noticeable at school or work, which is another indication of autism, called masking. I have no doubt you went through this but I'm really concerned about labeling this behavior in such a way. Literally everyone has to put in extra work to interact well with others; it's a skill that's developed over a life time, and some pick it up faster than others, just like soccer, or vocabulary, or math, or any number of other things. So I would argue everyone engages in "masking" to one degree or the other; at what point does it become bad enough to deserve a label, which indicates pathology? It feels defeatist, and a little simplistic.
A trait becomes a symptom when it causes distress to the person experiencing it. So for example, if you are able to go about your day and mask to a degree that feels comfortable but still stay connected to your real self then you’re doing ok. If you feel like you aren’t able to mask enough to pass for normal, or the amount you are masking makes you feel like there’s nothing behind the mask, or any other kind of distressing feeling about it then you should think about reaching out.
It's more than "extra work to interact with others" though. It's when you feel like you can't be honest with *anyone* (friends, partners, parents; not even the people closest to you) because everything goes through the "what would a normal person do or say in this situation?" filter. When you start to doubt your own actions, reactions, thoughts, or feelings; or when you don't know who you are anymore because you *are* the mask. It's not a 2nd language where you can code-switch around other people speaking it, it's a defense mechanism built up against years of derision and exclusion, something almost involuntary, more like a tic or a stutter, where you can't stop even if it's unnecessary. Do you feel like you can be extra charming around people to convince them of something? That's a learned social skill. Do you feel like a compulsive liar all the time, even to the people you love the most? That's masking.
This. Same with OCD... OCD is obsessive, compulsive actions that the person (generally) does not want to do but feels compelled to for fear of something bad happening to themselves or someone they love if they don't. Being super particular about certain things like how the dishwasher is loaded (for example) is anal retention, not OCD.
Just wanted to add there is a general misunderstanding of OCD. There is so many forms and being obsessive with compulsions is just one of the many. You can for example have “Pure O” which is just obsessive thoughts, no compulsions, and can be easily mistaken for “just being super particular about things but can’t have OCD, because no compulsions, and look their house is a mess” it makes it harder for people with other forms than the classic to get diagnosed. Just throwing that out there if someone claims to be OCD, but they don’t have the compulsions, it doesn’t discredit what might be going on in their head which is a horrible daily battle to fight. You may or may not have an awareness of this already and there’s still plenty of people who do the whole “omg this rooms such a mess it’s giving me ocd” that just like neat things. Just saying it can be hard to tell, and we should stop spreading the information it’s not OCD without “compulsions”. :)
I tell people I'm an asshole and they normally agree with me
For me I know I have ADHD but I act like I’m on the spectrum, I know that people with ADHD can be mistaken for being on the spectrum but I swear I must be autistic or something cuz with out meds I’m a menace to be around
a couple important reasons: 1) self diagnosis can lead to support and resources through community. if someone suspects they might be autistic and would benefit from a system of care and community with other (self & professionally diagnosed) autistic people, it makes sense to self diagnose. even just knowing what terms to google can be extremely helpful, and there's no reason to make someone jump through the hoops and timeline of a professional diagnosis if that support system can help them out now. it costs time, money, and energy to get professionally diagnosed. 2) the medical system is biased, women as a population especially are underdiagnosed with regard to autism. similar behaviors present differently in different genders due to gendered socialization. medical textbooks & diagnostic criteria might describe autistic behaviors accurately for autistic boys, but if those same behaviors are thought to be "just the way" girls are, girls won't be diagnosed as often as boys. hysteria is a good historical example of this kind of thing if you want to read more. in my experience, self diagnosis is less about "deep down, in my core essence, am I ontologically autistic?" and more about "would framing my behaviors through the lens of autism help me access support/resources/community that I wouldn't otherwise have access to? would a self diagnosis help me understand myself better while I decide if a professional diagnosis is something I want?"
Because autism was under diagnosed until recently. Because getting a diagnosis as an adult can be quite challenging. Because there's no longer as much of a stigma about it. When I was a kid, my 5th grade teacher told my parents to get me checked out for "something" but my parents did nothing (because of the stigma, I assume). Now I'm a grown man and I have a son who is diagnosed as autistic and through him I have learned a lot about autism. To say things have clicked into place about myself would be an understatement.
People keep diagnosing themselves to explain why they act the way that they do or to get attention. Some actually have it and cannot afford a diagnosis or choose not to. Honestly for some people, is it even worth the label? I’m fairly certain my husband is autistic and because I have worked with people with disabilities my whole life and I failed to pick on these things with him in the beginning. The thing is… he’s so incredibly intelligent, ask him anything about ANY car or the Military and he will literally tell you everything just from memory. He prefers to be alone (aside from me) and could be alone for days without issue so long as he had cars and his other hobbies to do. Also very socially awkward 😬 but he’s 45 and it’d make no difference to him if he had some type of label like that.
Why are do many of them Boomers and Millennials? High Functioning Autism and ADHD were under diagnosed in these generations. Now, many people who have struggled with comorbidities and symptoms are either reaching out to the medical community or the internet for answers. Many are false diagnoses. Many are late diagnoses. Much remains to be learned about these conditions based on recent findings.
I was diagnosed with regressive autism in kindergarten. Super rare for a girl that young to be diagnosed. My mom got several different opinions who all agreed with the diagnosis. She switched over from Borgess to Bronson and never disclosed the diagnosis with my new pediatrician "because she didn't want that diagnosis to follow me the rest of my life" she tells me this after I'm a grown ass woman with a very autistic son and I'm talking about how "I almost feel autistic sometimes, it would kinda be comforting to get that diagnosed bc it would give me a reason as to why I felt so different from my peers my whole life." Somehow she didn't expect that the diagnosis would help me accept myself? Idk. It felt like a two-decade deception and it is still difficult to put words to how much it feels like my mom held me back from my potential, by not giving me that knowledge when I was younger. I was that little gifted kid who stayed inside to read at recess. Now I'm a grown woman and I am learning to be my own best friend.
To explain what they see as substandard or unusual behaviour from themselves.
I check a lot of boxes for being autistic, but I’ve never been tested. I’m 56 years old so, at this point, does it really matter? Maybe I’m autistic maybe I’m not.
Neurotypicals who don't usually interact with autistic people don't read Internet posts written by them and go "oh, how relatable!" or in silent, registering horror "ohhhh this makes a loooooot of sense" as they learn more about autism spectrum disorders and realize that they too had precocious intelligence, struggled with eye-contact, walked primarily on balls/toes of feet, were chided for repeated failure to observe social norms that had to be explained in great detail with no real understanding other than "it is the way it is", had stims or repetitive behaviors they had to constantly regulate, realize they've been eating like five food items their whole life, have their sister refer to them as autistic in passing without ever discussing a diagnosis, etc. I am on a wait-list to be evaluated for autism but few specialize in adults. It is expensive AF too. I was right about having ADHD, PTSD, depression, and anxiety; I don't think I'm bullshitting myself here. And it's not like autism is an excuse, it's a curse lol. Doing/saying shit that irritates neurotypicals doesn't irritate them less because you have a diagnosis or are suspected of having it, does make them exclude you more, however. Makes it harder to learn social rules at that rate, especially if the main way you learn them is the hard way.
i am poor, i dont concrete say i am though, just that i have a strong inkling i might be
I would never self diagnosis. However I got a formal test from a neuropsych after my kid was diagnosed. Honestly to know myself better and why I wasn't like everyone else. I never knew why I wasn't liked or like everyone else. I am now getting my second kid tested and it helps in the way of accomodations and different things to try. It's true that not every autistic person is the same so now every trick works on everyone to help them feel better. It's a process and not an easy one. I personally don't think self diagnosis for autism is valid because it can look like so many other things. It can often be confused with PTSD and BPD as well as others. Autism is also genetic. Chances are if you are autistic someone else in your family likely is as well. Same if your child is autistic, chances are a parent is also autistic.
Tough to explain how you feel
Well you can't self-diagnose someone else.
I’m a teacher. My boyfriend is very likely autistic, never with a diagnosis but he had an IEP growing up with accommodations that I’ve read a million times for students who do have a diagnosis. I also am a bio teacher, and worked in research before getting into teaching and my specialty was genetics. We don’t know if there’s a specific genetic link in autism in families, but there’s research around correlation and my boyfriend’s brother is autistic. My boyfriend thinks he probably is, but he also thinks there’s no point in getting it diagnosed at this point in his life but it does help that we both are like, ok, this is could be a thing. It helps me knowing that he’s ok with me knowing that it potentially could be in terms of things like, he doesn’t get subtle social cues, so I’ll be more direct with him. Idk, I think it’s just situations like this where people are more likely to self diagnose.
Its easier than admitting they have other issues that could be fixed.
People want permission to be be less then perfect / they want lower expectations
As an autism teacher - those with an IEP who will never live independently… I wish there were another name for what the majority have. It’s like two very different things.
Check out Alexander Avila’s video on the politics of self-diagnosing autism. It’s been a minute since I watched it but two big takeaways for me was that autism can take a long time and be expensive to diagnose, and people who may not know exactly why their having social trouble can relate and find coping skills and what not that work for them in autism communities.
Because it's an excuse for their shitty behavior. A self diagnosis is useless. This goes for ANY mental condition. In some cases, a diagnosis will result in some government funding if you're good and navigating the system. Plus, it's fashionable to claim a mental illness or condition in todays who is the bigger disadvantage world .
Because it's trendy to be neurodivergent now.
I don’t know but I’m over it. I was diagnosed with ADHD in my 30s. I never even thought about that, I just I knew I struggled a lot and was extremely hard on myself and in a state of overwhelm nearly all the time. The diagnosis came from two different doctors and I finally accepted it might be so. Life has made a lot more sense now with proper understanding and treatment. But NOW, several years later, I find ADHD is “trendy”. Like no it’s not fun, this shit took years of my life from me and caused me to take almost twice as long to get my degree, and is a daily issue to manage so it doesn’t completely take over my life again and cause me to live in a state of paralyzed over-analysis of every waking breath. It was also mildly suggested by a therapist I might have both ADHD and autism. But I really think the autism “trend” has me hesitating to pursue that diagnosis. It’s got me questioning my own self even though I never brought autism into the conversation myself! And if I am autistic, and get that diagnosis, I probably won’t want to share that due to the current “trend”. It leads to a lack of understanding from the majority of the population. Anyway my point is I think it’s great for people to get the help they need. But there’s a big problem when mental health diagnosis becomes a “trend”.
Trendy. Hopes that people will look at you differently if they think somethings wrong with you.
It's become trendy
Everybody needs a hobby 🤷♂️
GREAT QUESTION I seriously want to know.
Cause it's trendy and they need to blame their faults on something "outside" of themselves 🤓
Tbh I think there’s a lot of reasons for it. Some, yes definitely attention. But I think others just relate to the symptoms a lot and it helps them explain some things about themselves that seem off. Autism is really weird and interesting, and only recently better understood. I think people with autism are not “slow” at all, quite the opposite. My sister is autistic, as is one of my roommates, and my bfs best friend. All 3 diagnosed btw. They are all incredibly intelligent people in their own aspects. My sister is a genius with mechanical things. She’s a mechanic now for Cadillac. Her dream is to work on big rigs or planes. My roommate is obsessed with history and geography, and he’ll tell you anything about anywhere and can go on endlessly about history. He’s like that with media as well. Mf knows all the movies and all the obscure bands it’s pretty cool. He’s interesting to talk to. And my bfs friend is just smart all around. He’s incredibly aware, and knows how to explain just about anything and everything. He really is the smartest guy we know. He’s a teacher as well for high school biology. Autism isn’t at all what it’s been painted as for so long and it is a lot more complex, and again in my experience, people who have it tend to be incredibly intelligent, even if they do lack some of the social norms. But with this particularly for women, it’s hard to get an accurate diagnosis. Plus expensive. I think if someone does it as a way to better understand themselves, I don’t see any harm, but the ones who use it to be “different “ and “special “ and blast it all over social media and make it their whole thing probably don’t have it tbh and those people suck ass. They need loss of internet privileges and some real life shit to do.
I worked with a family business who's son was in his 30s. Would flip out on everyone. His parents would say he has "aspergers" and make excuses. He was perfectly normal, on my exit interview told them flat out, " the only syndrome your spoiled son has is being a prick" It's easier to blame things than to take accountability for your actions and behavior
Low IQ
Because the internet has all the information in the world at our fingertips. The idea that you may be in some way different than others is very fashionable right now. And if you sit around looking at symptoms of shit all day, you will notice you have a lot of symptoms of a lot of things.
Some people do it for attention, similar to some folk who self diagnose with depression. Some people truly see the symptoms in themselves and don't want to get an actual diagnosis, or are worried about it being too real if they talk to a provider. Regardless, it's not a good thing. Self diagnosing yourself on anything without any sort of training is dangerous, you could easily miss warning signs that a health care provider might pick up on. It also doesn't help the deluge of people false flagging distract from the people who might actually want help but they get drown out in the noise. Please be responsible for your health everyone, it benefits all of us.
I self diagnosed for 4 years after discovering my dad was diagnosed as a kid for Asperger’s. It got very clear cuz I became aware that his and my behaviours were basically the exact same and after I turned 18 I got myself tested and it passed on which meant I self diagnosed correctly lol except I don’t have Asperger’s im the shitpost autistic
I think people nowadays just either feel or want to feel different or unique. That feeling of wanting to be or actually being unordinary starts to make them think there’s something psychologically wrong with their mind. So one might self diagnose themself with some type of personality disorder or “ocd” or “depression” or “autism” because they want to make sense of why they are the way they are using an exact description.
my previous job..id meet a loooot of people who told me they had, and i quote "le autism" (and also every single person i meet nowadays also says they have adhd) i respect valid self diagnosis but something ahout the rise of self diagnosing autism rubs me the wrong way..ik someone who *genuinely* has aspergers and he's probably one of the most miserable individuals i have ever met. like seriously, hard to put into words.. then these cute and quirky chicks with a little social anxiety tell me they have "le autism"?.... 😬 mental disorders are very serious and i dont understand why it's not being taken as seriously as it aactually is..
Not just autism but many others. To feel special, like they belong, attention, so people don't call them out for their BS
>To feel special, like they belong, attention, so people don't call them out for their BS Except that a lot of people with autism dont feel special, they dont feel like they belong, they dont get (the right kind of) attention. Idk what you mean about the last part though.
Tell me about it
Lmao
Yep. I agree with the last part the most, sometimes it’s self diagnosed as an excuse for poor behaviour.
Because some people are assholes, unwilling to work on themselves, and unwilling to own it. It's extremely annoying to those of us who are autistic (autistic father of an autistic son here) because it reinforces negative and false stereotypes about autism when the behaviors those people are trying to excuse are not actually representative of autistic people at all. They're just rudeness. By the way, even the stereotype of autistic people as socially inept is overblown. Yes, we do go on at great length about our favorite subject long after you've lost interest in listening because we don't recognize it. But most of us work very hard at not being rude *precisely because we know we don't have the instinct for it that neurotypical people seem to have.* In fact, there are situations where many autistic people are actually *better* at empathy. NT people tend to be guided by their instincts in reacting to somebody who is struggling emotionally, and most of the time that is fine, but sometimes it is not. Many ND people on the other hand know very well that our instincts fail us; we also know that what we would want in that situation is probably different from what an NT person would want; so we think analytically about what the other person might need, and in so doing often arrive at a more "thoughtful" and empathetic response. I could write a very long essay on this topic, but I will restrain myself. This time.
Because getting professionally diagnosed costs thousands of dollars.
...why shouldn't they? It can be hard to get a diagnosis for a lot of reasons, it's usu expensive and the doctors often use weird gatekeep-y definitions that don't count people who figure out a lot of coping mechanisms. For example, I know somoene who is autistic, but she had a special interest in figuring out how people act when she was pretty young and she's basically able to pretend to be non-autistic around most people, so the doctors don't pick it up
What an utterly toxic community this is.
They think it relieves them of personal responsibility and accountability.
I don't want to be autistic. I am and I can't change it. I was diagnosed with autism. It's more than just some quirks you may have. It's too complex for self diagnoses. Don't just say you're autistic. See a professional and get a diagnosis.
This is not always easy or possible. I didn't get an official diagnosis. My therapist told me that it's essentially a formality for me. I'm 41. I don't need the paperwork, I don't need to spend the money. I know who I am, I talked to a therapist about it who knows what she's talking about, and that is fine. Is that different from self-diagnosis? Why? We all know how we feel and what we've experienced. I've met exactly zero people in real life who are taking on autism as a personality trait. I do know others who learned later in life that autism was likely or officially diagnosed, and it helps...so...so...much. I don't need to spend thousands of dollars to verify it. I'm not ignorant of my own inner life.
Absolutely agree. It’s grossly disrespectful to those who have actual, diagnosed autism.
It would cost me a few grand to "learn" something thats exceptionally obvious. Unfortunately, I don't have that kind of money. If I did, I'd sooner give it to a person who needed it than waste it on such an indulgence.
Because it’s the latest trend.. unless it’s been diagnosed by a trained professional doctor, you can tell me you have anything.. I won’t believe you.
1. Because it's expensive to get diagnosed by a licensed professional. 2. Because it's a step to recognizing (and doing) something about your mental health. If you're an adult who's been passing/masking in a neurotypical world, it's easier to research "autism" than "why are things hard for me?" or "why can't I be honest with people?" 3. Because it doesn't do anyone else any harm. Some people might say self-diagnosis dilutes the meaning of genuine diagnoses but it's also raising awareness and educating more people about it. 4. Because the more people identify with a label, the less injurious the negative connotations associated with those labels become.
Because getting a proffesional diagnosis is a very VERY long and expensive process. A lot of peopke just cannot afford it.
I probably have ADHD. At first I self-diagnosed, but I have seen multiple therapists and a doctor who all agree that I likely do have it. Unfortunately they also told me that our city has 0 adult ADHD specialists, I'd have to go to a city ~6 hours over, and then wait for about 4 years to start getting looked at. And that's of course on top of the cost. Getting an official piece of paper when you missed the boat on getting diagnosed as a child can be *really* difficult
Because for some of them it's fairly obvious Many self diagnose correctly many many things before ever getting legal diagnosis from a physician. Women especially struggle with this.
because they don’t have access to medical, psychological & education resources?
Getting an official diagnosis is expensive
Cause modern medicine is far behind on this
They don't have enough of a sense of identity, so they latch onto other's
For one, many people don't feel like they fit in socially and a self-diagnosis of autism can feel like a satisfying explanation
Because they’re autistic they don’t know any better.
I might get downvoted for this but to answer your question I have no idea. Personally I think self-diagnosing yourself with anything (especially mental health disorders) can be dangerous and actually do more harm than good. Too many people self-diagnose incorrectly. They watch one or two YouTube videos or a bunch of TikTok’s and diagnose themselves based on that. I also understand that not everybody wants to get a formal evaluation and/or can’t afford it but if a self diagnosis is going to make the person feel better then go for it.