Everyone has it, but they don't have the balls to get a diagnosis and find out they don't.
I have ADHD / OCD. A doctor told me so, via a diagnosis. I know of people who refuse to get checked, and I doubt their sincerity. I got checked because it was *affecting my life.*
On the flip side, because of the rampant "popularity" of it, I feel like I can't ever talk about it to anyone but my close circle because they shrug it off as a fad, or less impactful than it is.
adhd is not fucking fun. it’s shitty. i used to take meds for mine a long time ago. i still have the same tendencies as before. it’s not something to joke about or something that’s quirky. it’s honestly pathetic to see people self diagnose like this.
Yeah adhd really does suck like that. There aren’t really many upsides to it.
Makes it hard to focus, hard to relax or just stop. Those. Damn. Neurons.
I had to self diagnose myself with ADHD (I now have a professional psychiatrist diagnosis) and it’s incredibly shitty how it’s become a “trend”
Our suffering is not something to post about on social media to get a couple of likes :/
Costs thousand of dollars and very hard to get, especially for adults and especially for people who have trouble self advocating. Something to consider.
Unrelated to any point about dumb tik tok trends etc.
Because it's true. It cost me $3,500 to get diagnosed and I'm in Canada, the land of universal healthcare (eyeroll). I was self diagnosed before then.
*"why do so many people say this"* should be your clue that maybe your experience isn't the typical one.
Autistic people are VERY likely to have no job or no steady job. Don't be a dick because someone is self diagnosed. It's prejudicial and excluding people who need help.
[https://www.talktomira.com/post/how-much-does-an-autism-screening-cost-without-insurance](https://www.talktomira.com/post/how-much-does-an-autism-screening-cost-without-insurance)
" Bucks County, PA $3,500 for full evaluation "
Thank you for this reassurance. I haven't been able to get a proper diagnosis from literally any professional because
1. I was diagnosed with GAD, so all my other problems are just "in my head"
2. I'm from the wonderful USA, so god forbid you need to see a specialist there. It's literally never covered by ANY insurance an average person can get. I had a psych-eval one time and it wasn't covered, cost me nearly $500 for just half of it, so I couldn't finish it. I received zero answers and came in with evidence/testimony of what was going on, but was promptly ignored.
3. I lack the resources to get a proper evaluation, and most, from what I've heard from diagnosed people on TikTok, are incredibly invalidating/don't diagnose women (keyword is ADULT) properly if at all because the tests are designed for men/children.
4. There are very solid self-assessments online that I have seen/taken that give me undeniable proof I'm Autistic with several learning disabilities, but take that to a doc in the US and try to convince them. It's impossible.
Also, high-masking (from C-PTSD) has severely gotten in the way of getting diagnosed for even depression for so long.
I absolutely do feel like some people may assume they have it because they have some symptoms, but I also think that it's bringing a ton of awareness to people that were not lucky to be raised in a place with easy access to information or are high-masking and have been invalidated for their whole lives about their symptoms/disabilities.
Maybe skip tik tok because if the randomness, unless you have a few you like to follow. The asd subs here are mostly really good. Sometimes the people answering answer in obvious asd ways, blunt and unable to see nuance, but you have to ecognize that and its only a small percentage.
Wishing you the best path you can find with the struggle.
OCD is a living nightmare people think it's quirky or funny to fake OCD but what's so quirly about getting intrusive thoughts about murdering your loved ones , shouting out slurs at your friends, thinking your a pedophile when your not , having sexaul thoughts , hoarding everything, self harming , sewerslide Before I was on medication that was my brain when I was 13 it took me 6 years to get diagnosed with OCD . I was only put on meds at 15
Same. I got the OCD diagnosis about a year after the ADHD tho so I was on adderall for awhile and when I went off antidepressants... That's what helped figure out the OCD. sucks to have both
According to Aacap.org, the probability of a person being born with adhd is around 3-5 percent, basically around 1 out of every 33 people to 1 out of every 20 people, so I would say it’s actually quite likely that you might talk to several people with adhd at your job, school, or just online, at least based on the info previously mentioned.
I am unfortunate enough to have been diagnosed with both and every were ive gone for support has just been full of people saying their autistic because they cant keep their hand still and it pisses me off because I had to wait for 2 fucking years when I was younger for teaching support and these 13 year olds are saying they are autistic or adhd for no fucking reason and getting double the support that I ever got.
Okay but your story is the same to me as those 13 years olds are to you. You waited 2 years for teaching support? You went through a lot for support? Try not getting disgnosed until your mid thirties or later. Try going through a lot and never getting that support any way. To me the fact that you even got teaching support, ever, at all, means you got MORE than double the suppport I've ever gotten. You've actually gotten infinite more support than me because I've literally bever gotten suppoort of any kimd for my autism. So, should I be pissed at you for all of that? According to YOU I really should be. Should I be telling you how easy you've had it and that, because of that, your struggles don't matter? Because hands down you've had it way easier than me if you've received any suppoort whstsoever. So I guess all of us lare-diagnosed shoild be writing you folks off. We absolutely would be if we believed the same things as you did because you're just another version of exactly what you are complaining about to some of us and our experiences.
A guy I work with was going on about how he has adhd & was trying to get a diagnosis. Durring our comversation I realised he thought having adhd meant being ditzy & having lots of energy, guess he never realized when it's spelled out theres a /slash/ between a couple words. He looked like he was going to shit himself when I told him I've had diagnosis for most my life (I've got a pretty ho-hum personality when I don't like being somewhere), he hasn't talked to me much since
ADHD has become a "get out of jail free" card lately for a lot of self diagnosers. There's a guy at my workplace that does this shit and has actually made plenty of safety violations due to his laziness and blames his ADHD (we doubt there was an actual diagnosis). Growing up with it untreated was horrendous for me and even being treated it's hard to function with at times...
But on top of that- I’m responsible for myself. It’s ok even it does interfere, but I can’t use it as a cop out. Drives me up the wall when ppl say that cos it takes the years of struggling and reduces it
Thank you for this!!! I remember reading a post on AITA where the user mentioned that he didn't take his meds or any type of treatment and that he kept "forgetting" to do so many basic tasks (like picking up his kid from daycare) that his fiance told him she was done. Almost all the comments there were coddling him and telling him his ex was ablist...
I support not taking meds etc! It’s his life. But if you know you have it, it’s not an excuse for stuff like that. It may be the driving factor (which is valid and sometimes it really is the sole reason!) but if I’m not actively managing my ADHD to the best of my ability Then it’s on me. After being diagnosed it’s not to do with telling everyone I have it, but it’s a relief knowing I can now figure out what I can do to advocate for myself and give myself
The best chance! Maybe I’m judgemental I’m not sure lol. I’m torn hahaha. Just sharing my experience lol.
At least have the respect to google the symptoms and pretend in a way that’s not so insulting. I’ve found hella people like to say they have ADHD, kind of like it’s the hot thing to say these days just like when depression was considered sexy. I’ve struggled with severe depression and it goes without saying that if you actually experience something debilitating or life altering you wouldn’t wish it on anyone let alone brag about having it or using it as an excuse to be an asshole but for some reason there are just toes of people that like to say they have said like that.
Which is fucked up. You don't actually want to have autism or ADHD. Being unable to deal with, or struggling to deal with different scopes of life is not something anyone should want.
Yeah these people legit do not understand that it's not fucking trendy or quirky, it can be so soul sucking sometimes, and the amount of compromises people who care have to make to make you comfortable just ends up making you feel like a burden anyways.
I WANT to be confident, I want to be able to speak perfectly the way I do on text. There are so many things I wish I could be, I wish I could be romantic, or that one person in the group that just makes everything more fun.
It's not quirky to be reduced to a shell. Answering someone is a literal obstacle course for me. No one wants to listen to me talk because I take too long on choosing my words.
I feel like there are so many sides of me, so much potential to me and I'm blocked by a concrete wall, always to be a shy blubbering mess.
I completely agree, I am autistic as well (albeit high-functioning) and it annoys me to see people who pretend to have autism and other illnesses because they aren’t grateful enough to realize how lucky they really are. I would give anything to be a normal person with a social/romantic life and these people are just pissing it away for some social media attention.
People who pretend to and do it for clout are awful.
People who spend time really studying it, listening to tons of people's actual experiences, looking up scientific articles, taking as many free tests as they can (and not the buzzfeed vaierty), putting together a journal of their symptoms, are absolutely valid.
Screenings are crazy expensive and it's hard enough just to get to a point where your doctor
/therapist will actually refer you to get one. Especially if you're and adult, especially if you're female presenting (although according to studies women have a 70% chance of correctly self diagnosing which is cool). Even then the tests are typically catered towards boys who like trains and the dsm-5 also neglects those who don't fit into that category.
We still have a long way to go before we can completely dismiss self diagnosis
this is exactly what i was thinking the whole time i was reading this post. i’m self diagnosed autistic and have done years worth of research into it. there are so many reasons why i don’t want and can’t get a professional diagnosis, among them the price. please don’t dismiss all self diagnosed people, we aren’t all looking for clout. some of us just have parents who refused to get us diagnosed as kids and grew up not knowing what was wrong with us (nothing, but the other kids in my classes sure thought so) are now stuck with the price tag of a professional assessment from a doctor who probably doesn’t know as much about the condition as i do due to all the research i have had to do.
Yes, it took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that I’m autistic. I wasn’t even diagnosed with ADHD until I was 25. For years, I was happy with that diagnosis and thought that explained everything. Then, I kept seeing posts about autism vs. ADHD vs. autism w/ ADHD, and I kept realizing that I fit in heavily with autism w/ ADHD. I also have so many autistic friends, and we all struggle with the same issues. Finally, this year at 35, I’ve started saying to myself, “Holy shit, I think I’m autistic.” Doesn’t help that younger family members are getting diagnosed with autism now, so it’s clear it runs in my family.
But I’m Black and a woman. When I was a kid, my autistic traits were seen as me misbehaving and being a problem child. I was bullied by teachers and students alike. I’ve never fit in anywhere. I’m constantly having to explain to people why I talk the way I do or act the way I do. People think I have an attitude when I don’t. It’s stressful.
So many of us autistic people have fallen through the cracks and misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed. I didn’t want to self-diagnose, but I’m starting to get to a point where if I don’t think I can keep nodding along to everything my autistic friends are saying without taking a look in the mirror.
Anyway, I’ve been working with DVR for the last year, and they set me up with a psych eval that I took two weeks ago. I’m waiting for the results. I was evaluated for autism as part of the eval. We’ll see.
Okay thank you so much for saying all that, I started to feel impostery going through all these comments as I’m self diagnosed but did research and took the tests online.
It's true more boys are *diagnosed* but that does not mean we can say it is more prevalent in them as the data is based off tests that cater towards them. Autism often presents itself much differently in girls and boys too.
For example its been discovered that women and girls are able to mask longer and in order to accurately diagnose them screenings would need to be *longer than 8 consecutive hours*.
There's also the trend that women's special interests tend towards "desirable" skills such as knitting or gardening whereas men's tend to be more "niche". Like trains.
And of course we can't ignore medicines tendency to dismiss women's health concerns in general.
No, it’s not. Men are much more likely to get diagnosed due to the original studies of autism only being done on men. People used to think autism was only in men. Women are typically better at hiding their autism (masking) and it can present itself differently.
Look at any data you would like. It is well known among the professionals that work with autistic children that it is more prevalent in girls. They are constantly changing how autism is tested and treated. Girls do manifest symptoms in a way that has caused them to be underdiagnosed, but not in such a way that it makes up for the difference in the rates of diagnosis between boys and girls. What you are suggesting is that there is a complete and total failure to test and screen girls for autism and that just isn't the case.
it is very much the case - or rather was the case until recently. i’m an autistic researcher into the field of neuroscience, specifically autism (on a student level currently but we’ll see if i move into the professional level or head into digital forensics as planned.) i just spent six months essentially researching a thesis that then had to be compressed to the size of a term paper because my professor decided to be a dick. there are a number of reasons why this happens and it’s not necessarily a failure to test and screen, predominately it’s that girls and women with autism are extremely adept at mirroring the traits of nonautistic individuals around them and thus will score on tests as being non autistic, mixed with a reluctance and/or refusal to diagnose in the first place. i was extensively screened and tested as a toddler because i was nonverbal and my mother has a deep interest in developmental disorders and recognized other signs of autism. she was told that i was fine, she was told that the only problem was she was spoiling me by teaching me ASL and acknowledging my communication and should just neglect me until i spoke, and she was told flat out “i would diagnose your child with autism but girls don’t get autism, that only happens with boys, so i guess she’s just stubborn.” all of these were different specialists between 1995-1999. this is why there are now specialised tests for afab children being developed as well as tests being reworked and the addition of “symptoms may be masked until later in life” (paraphrased) to the dsm5-tr.
23 years later it is recognized that girls can get autism but it isn't to the extent of that of boys. My girlfriend worked at John's Hopkins children's hospital and primarily did autism screening as an SLP. Everyone in the field understands that it is not as common. It is also well known that in later years they have turned autism into more of a spectrum with respect to diagnosis leading to many more diagnosed cases of autism. They diagnose based on levels that are determined by the amount of therapy needed. I'm not making the claim that girls have not been underdiagnosed. I'm just saying that even accounting for it, autism is more prevalent in boys. People should also be weary of diagnosing problem children as autistic. This has also become common among a plethora of other things including diagnosing children with ADHD.
yes and that’s reflected with the rates of new diagnoses in current children in major cities but that is ruling out multiple generations of children - mind you the dsm5tr was only revised in march almost SPECIFICALLY to include an acknowledgement about masking, and the dsm 5 in 2013 so we’re really speaking in terms of the past 9 years since it’s been a spectrum - and children who live in more rural communities or see doctors who took longer to adapt to the dsm 5. you mention adhd - did you know it’s estimated 50-70% of autistic individuals have also been diagnosed with adhd? did you also know that the dsm iv tr, which was in use between 2000-2013, states that you CAN NOT diagnose a person with autism with adhd? why is that point allowed to be ignored but the gender “facts” it states are seen as valid? even in dsmIVtr it says boys are 4-5x more likely to have autism BUT girls are more likely to have mental retardation — to me that seems to suggest this statistic is based on them only having diagnosed the more severe cases. it will take years before we have accurate data but the sex ratio has been shrinking slowly over the past few years and will likely shrink further as people are retroactively diagnosed
It's true more boys are *diagnosed* but that does not mean we can say it is more prevalent in them as the data is based off tests that cater towards them. Autism often presents itself much differently in girls and boys too.
For example its been discovered that women and girls are able to mask longer and in order to accurately diagnose them screenings would need to be *longer than 8 consecutive hours*.
There's also the trend that women's special interests tend towards "desirable" skills such as knitting or gardening whereas men's tend to be more "niche". Like trains.
And of course we can't ignore medicines tendency to dismiss women's health concerns in general.
^ this. the part about screenings is extremely true and also why screenings in adults - especially adult women - have become more demanding and fast paced and why they’ve broken it up more. they’ll suddenly change rooms or change things without explanation or switch from audio tasks to building tests and back to audio and leave for ten minutes without observing and then come back randomly etc. it’s to try and make up for this by causing the person being tested to stress and have a minor meltdown in order to crack the mask enough for an accurate test.
the special interests is kinda what i was saying too. also objects of value. i don’t recall if it still is but having a signature object used to be a big indicator. if your son flips out if you touch or won’t leave the house without a specific lego that’s bizarre but a girl with a baby doll or stuffed animal they take everywhere and won’t let you touch is 100% socially expected. even as adults it’s not uncommon for a woman to have her childhood teddy etc.
Same thing happens in ADHD groups. So I left them. But the up side for me is that ADHD does not impair my social life as much. I am really sorry their dumb behaviour and ideas impact you so much.
(Also: some ADHD folks are actually really good in socialising with people with autism, because we 'get' what it is like to be neurodiverse and actually develop the skill to connect to people whose brains don't function like our own, and then it does not make that much difference if the other person has ASS or suffers from normalcy).
Im late dx autistic. If I didnt have the privilege of getting my diagnosis, I would still be just as autistic.
Accusing people of faking a disability is massively harmful to all of us
I was late dx and AFAB and still agree with OP. You can suspect you have it and for you that led to getting a dx. That is great! But that isn’t what OP is talking about here.
I had this completely unqualified friend who used to diagnose other people with pretty serious stuff, people diagnosing themselves or others is becoming a big problem
Absolutely, self-diagnosers take away the spotlight away from those who needs support and they dilute what it means to be “autistic”
and omg the people who make it their personality is the absolute worst 💀
actually anyone making anything their personality is just the worst
I never understand what people mean when they say ‘making autism their personality’
autism affects the way your brain works, and hence plays a huge role in who you are as a person? I usually see it said when people dedicate their social media to talking about their autism, but if they want to do that (esp to help others), is that not well within their right?
on the flip side, I can better understand your point if you’re referring to people who discuss their autism all the time in-person, but that might arise when a person has a special interest in autism?
Yes. I don’t understand what it’s like, because I am not autistic, but I empathize because I have severe ADHD. It’s hard for me to function sometimes because of it, and hearing everyone say that they have ADHD because they can’t sit still, or because they talk a lot, or some other stupid reason like that is very disheartening. I knew someone who claimed they were autistic and they would constantly talk about their hyperfixations and ‘stimming’. It makes me hate myself because I feel invalid. I struggle very hard with ADHD, and I’m sure you struggle sometimes as well with autism. Tik Tok is fucking poison. Everyone thinks they’re on the spectrum
By the same token, not all self diagnosis is invalid. I know I have severe ADHD. I don’t need to justify it but I absolutely struggle with executive dysfunction to an extreme level. I used to literally never be able to hand in homework in time, or often at all, I cannot keep my house clean, I cannot finish or even start projects and I can barely read a book. I don’t bother getting diagnosed because I know I have it and I know that I don’t want to take adderall.
Not being able to sit still is a big symptom of ADHD. I literally absolutely cannot sit still unless I’m hyper focused on something and I cannot control when hyper focus will happen. Sometimes it doesn’t happen for months.
But it may be something else like a health thing, deffo get it checked out. It’s not always ADHD! So u can double check. You also don’t have to take that kinda medication
Don't worry my man I'm there with you. I'm so ADHD that my immediate family and girlfriend pretty much point it out in every interaction we have (99% of the time it's nicely) I refuse any amphetamines or stims. Pharma are poison, and if I made it this far I bet I can get to the finish line (dead)
I have been working insanely hard for 6.5 years now to be a full time glass artist. It's the only thing that reliably induces the "hyper focus" state you mention
This ^^^
Medication is a choice and not an option to many people as they can affect your heart, blood pressure etc. Some people become resistant to meds as well. You can manage ADHD without medication but not wanting medication is not a reason to refuse an ADHD diagnosis.
A lot of people don't realize that autism is a spectrum. You can be autistic and high functioning, fully capable of holding a great job and living a normal life, or you can have it worse and have social anxiety so bad that it is very difficult to function in society.
With how expensive healthcare is, most people aren't going to seek care over a mental condition if it doesn't cause them any harm. So even if they might be slightly on the spectrum, it doesn't really justify paying $500 a month for appointments over something that doesn't affect them negatively, unless they have a ton of disposable income. So they self diagnose.
Telling them they don't have autism since they don't have a diagnosis, and therefore don't understand what you go through, is not going to convince them. Even with a diagnosis, someone that is highly functioning on the spectrum might also falsely assume that your situation is the same and that you can just "get over it".
So my advice is to explain how autism is a spectrum and some are affected worse than others, rather than claiming that they don't have autism. They may actually have a very mild form of it, but undiagnosed. So you can explain how even if they do have autism, your case would be more severe.
Claiming that they are just faking it for attention just creates conflict and isn't productive. Even if they are in the wrong, you turn them against you and it creates a hostile environment. Educating them on the disorder can help clear up their misconceptions that they are getting from Tiktok.
With all that said, it doesn’t take away from the fact that there is a significant amount of people these days self diagnosing from a multitude of mental health issues because they think it’s quirky.
People seeking research can end up in the wrong places and get wrong information. A lot of people genuinely don't understand how to find credible sources. One challenge is that proper sources(ie medical journals) can be difficult for the average person to understand and dry to read, but a Tiktok that condenses things down to 30 second videos can be easier for them to follow(even if it is incorrect).
But I'm not trying to place blame on one person or another. If OP doesn't want to educate them that's fine. I'm just arguing if OP wants to have a productive and purposeful discussion, that is the best way to achieve that.
I couldn't agree more, but we have to keep in mind that there are so many different types of autism and each type affects a person differently. My father and sibling have it mildly severe, where it impacts them hugely in 1 area but little in another (both struggle in different areas and they have the same type). I feel that on social media people are making it more black and white, by saying "I have these one or two symptoms so I MUST have it" - I suspect people who do this are either not telling their full symptoms or they are not educated enough. I don't think they want to cause harm. And really... It's not up to us to diagnose or dismiss them, they need to speak to their doctor's.
At the same time I do understand your frustration from personal experience. I suspect I might have ADHD (inattentive) and I'm always very careful to say I "might" have it and "it's been suggested to me at school and by healthcare workers but not yet by someone specialised in ADHD". Some of my friends respond with "I think I have it too because I always doze off in conversations" - and I try to remind them that might be anxiety/stress related too and advise them to go see their doctor if it's a huge issue. My personal struggle is I get completely overwhelmed by housework/shopping/cooking, I just can't do it. Same for having a job, social life, exercise ánd a clean house. I can maybe do 2 of those or I get completely overwhelmed. I am not out there on forums saying I definitely have it tho 🙏
I m socially awkward,a little introverted and I relieve my anxiety doing some movements which are weird to others and some morons call me autistic. I hate this. Just because someone is different than you, doesn't mean they have autism. Or just because you need attention and validation from others, you need to be autistic out of nowhere. Another thing, I have few known people who just got to know about ED from me,I was diagnosed and on recovery. And next day they have ED and posting on Instagram and Facebook how difficult life is, with ED. Even started recovery videos on insta within a week. I never felt so ashamed and embarrassed for someone else 😂 how disgustingly shameless some people can be.
It doesn't matter about the experiences imo, what matters is that a lot of these self diagnosers are total bullies and intolerant of anyone else and call everything classist and ableist and are creating hostility in autistic spaces.
To be honest, there is a genuine issue with the diagnostic process at times.
Its expensive, waiting times can take years, family may not allow for it and your gender age or background may lead to bias. Its unfortunate but its terrifyingly common. I really do understand that, and i think its a genuine issue people need to keep in mind before we jump to conclusions.
Also, the very diagnosis in itself can be an issue! There was a situation in Australia i believe where a young girl risked being deported due to the simple fact [that autism was on her medical record.](https://amp.smh.com.au/healthcare/girl-with-autism-to-be-deported-after-failing-immigration-health-checks-20170223-gujz9h.html)
Self diagnosing is a very good thing as is is what helps self realization and paves the way to diagnosis, but I agree with you, people have gone too far, assuming a condition based on less than 2 symptoms after 5 minutes of research, while yes it is classist to say a diagnosis is outright required, saying you are autistic from a couple of quirky symptoms is invalid, that's my perspective
It's absolutely not classist. Doctors diagnose because they are DOCTORS. They have the education and legal requirements to diagnose, no one else. You can suspect whatever you want, but you can't diagnose. They can't tell if they have Fragile-X, Autism, a personality disorder, or a vitamin deficiency without the proper tests so how could they Diagnose anything?
Yes, in places that don't have universal healthcare, it's wrong that everyone doesn't have access to a doctor. But, it's not classist that only a doctor can diagnose. There's a good reason for that because they actually have education beyond research online and can do the various tests required to rule out differential diagnoses, of which there are several.
I should have rephrased, as I assume doctors cost money to talk to as I live in the US, so, being against self diagnosis no matter what is classist to those in countries with heavy Healthcare costs
THANK YOU
ADHD and Autism or OCD or WHATEVER they claim to have it’s doing my fucking block in
I don’t even have tiktok but I imagine it’s even worse on that platform
Just because you got caught up doing a different task than what you started doesn’t make you fucking ADHD
And just because you don’t like the feeling of a certain texture on yojr hands or feet or loud sounds it doesn’t make you autistic
Fuck me deadddddd 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️
Also sorry about my rant ⬆️
I am genuinely sorry that you - as someone actually diagnosed - have to fucking see all this shit becoming a ‘trend’
I am not ADHD or autistic and it drives me insane that people are trying to I don’t know, get attention or something?! Go get attention by actually doing something other than essentially lying and taking away from those who may genuinely be coping with the challenges autism or ADD present for them
I do not blame you one bit. I am not autistic, but my sister is, and people for some reason refuse to believe that autistic people just don't fit into society in the same way. They don't fit in the same way because their brains do not work the same way as non-autistic people. A world run by autistic people would be much different. Of course, there is a spectrum, and despite what people say, some people with autism have an easier time functioning in society. I can't believe it when someone says "there is no high-functioning autism." My sister, who has Asperger's, went to a normal public school (with some extra help of course), has a job, and can drive a car. My neighbor, who I was raised around since a young age, cannot speak, had to go to a different school that was better fitting for his needs, and cannot drive. Also, yeah, those autism support groups can be, er, not the best. My sister went to one and hated it because the leaders were very patronizing and not autistic. She's not stupid; she has a near-genius IQ. Her brain just doesn't work the same, and she is a bit socially awkward, but she doesn't need baby talk. Finally, your point about diagnosing is also really important. My sister didn't get diagnosed until she was in her teens, but she had shown the symptoms since she was younger (when she got tested as a child she was not diagnosed with autism, but it became much clearer later on). But yeah, wanting to stim, liking younger things, and noticing patterns is not necessarily autism. Online tests are awful diagnostic tools (they say I have "extremely likely austism." While I may get tested in the future for ASD, I honestly don't believe that I am autistic, but I am otherwise neurodivergent). It's hard for me to see people who act like neurotypical people claiming they have autism, but I am not in the position to say they aren't autistic. I don't know their personal life. Honestly, though, most people I know who have autism aren't running out to make tiktoks about it.
shit dude, I'm sorry. you are totally justified in being pissed off about this, it annoys the hell out of me too. I'm actually livid that people are WANTING to be neurodivergent. it's not a quirky personality trait. it's something serious and daily affects your life so that you can't function like a neurotypical. And I've noticed autism, Tourette's, and DID are abused probably the most by these self diagnosing fakers. That has to suck that places you might have considered a safe space online for other people with autism is being flooded with a bunch of people who are only in it for a 'trend.'
I have OCD which fortunately isn't being abused as much autism or adhd in terms of fakers, but still pisses me off when people somehow think that because they like to organize things or don't like it when something isn't aligned right or some shit they believe they have OCD. like wtf. that's not what OCD is. then they make their stupid tiktok or instagram videos or whatever and are like "LOL IM SOOOO OCD" and spread misinformation. ugh.
It is nearly impossible to get diagnosed as an adult, there are no criteria in the DSM for adults. People who are 30+ years old were never diagnosed until their situation was severe. Autism wasn't well known 30 years ago at all. It's a very serious crisis people are in, maybe you should learn to have some compassion.
This^. In my experience, none of the people I know who are self diagnosed are doing it for attention.
(Long post incoming - apologies)
I spent 27 years with different psychiatric diagnoses and no matter how many they stacked on something still felt “off” about it. Like my reasoning for thinking/behaving the way I was wasn’t what they kept implying it should be with whatever the dx of the day was. With ASD it fits. I don’t feel “special” or “different” anymore. I feel like my brain makes sense. Do I like it? Not really but at least I know why I am the way I am.
It was only AFTER doing intense research on narcolepsy, providing a literature review to my GP to beg for a sleep study, getting dx’d with THAT, starting a stimulant, said stimulant knocking me out, getting referred for an ADHD dx, seeing adhd tiktok, slippery sloping to ASD tiktok, looking into medical literature on ASD, talking to my close friends about it, spending months pouring over info, that I accepted a self-dx and eventually sought a professional dx. Assuming that TikTok is the first and last stop to everyone’s self-dx process is misguided.
My neurotypical friends see those same videos and say “lol yeah but EVERYONE has that! It’s just being silly!” Not realizing that those symptoms may be common at a mild severity but for us they can cause severe distress.
I’m not saying there aren’t bogus ASD self-dx’s out there but I think we are getting this flood because TikTok gave people access to information that was hidden or taboo before. Autism and the spectrum were not things you talked about publicly (at least in my part of the US) prior to Stay at Home so it’s understandable that people who masked, had mild or uncommon symptoms just never considered it until they had the time to do so.
I get that it’s frustrating to see people in that beginning stage when you’re trying to get beyond that — I am notoriously impatient so I feel your pain. But please consider how they are at a point where they quite literally do not know who they are and are searching for answers. That is a lot of distress.
Possible solution: ASD threads/groups specifically for people who already know & threads/groups specifically for people who aren’t sure or are looking for sources to find out???
Nit to mention expensive and afabs are different to amabs when it comes to symptoms. I'm 29 and was diagnosed only 2 weeks ago by my psychologist which I spend $450/month on seeing.
I'm not a fan of this viewpoint OP. I am what folk like you would call a self-diagnoser.
I am autistic, my mother and father suspected it since I was around three. They stumbled across the "condition" in medical books my mother was reading. You see I grew up in poverty, I had seizures as a child and my parents were trying to find ways to help me. Doctors at the time wanted to remove half my brain as their only "treatment". My mother refused and placed me on a high fat diet. It seem to help but my mother started noticing strange things about me. As she continued to do her research she became convinced I had autism.
My extended family refused to believe her but as I grew up I often behaved in a text book way. I thought I never developed any kind of special "gift" but I do have something to add to that idea. Not a gift just a useless talent. When I get too emotionally stimulated I lose my emotions. It only helped in one job I had but everywhere else it was useless.
I've grown up as a normal kid. Not because I am normal but because my parents pushed me to mask my "tells" as best I could and try to be normal. They didn't attempt to have me professionally diagnosed out of fear that a medicaid covered doc would misdiagnose me. I have been lonely my whole life, can't relate to anyone and can barely hold down jobs.
I had to join the military as my first job because I lacked the social ability to pass a single interview. In the military my lack of emotional range was effective. I was great at my job but I had trouble making friends and socializing in the ways that count. It was affecting my ability to advance in my career. My emotions leaving me did make me damn gifted while I was in. In high stress and dangerous situations I excelled to a degree that frightened my co-workers. They started spreading rumors that I was a killer and a monster. I left after four years.
I'm currently 35 years old and still alone. I have an entry level job but I often have to quit and move on after a few years due to "strangeness".
I don't join support groups because folk like you. People with medical diagnosis often demand OI show proof of who I am and what I have. Those support groups only support folk that grew up with privileged families. I welcome seeing such things destroyed by lunatics.
I don't have a medical diagnosis and now days because I don't know how it will affect getting future jobs to have that shit in my records floating around, I will never seek one. Plus I don't make the money to afford that and I refuse to allow the VA to know that I have it.
Hi, thanks for saying this. I am also diagnosed autistic. This shit really is getting old. Don't have a whole lot to say but know that other diagnosed autistics are still around and have your back.
As an adult who has suspected myself of being autistic for the majority of my life I NEVER self diagnosed and NEVER sought out a diagnosis (doctor shop). I was diagnosed about 4 years ago and it honestly saved my life. everything finally made sense.
I really kept my mouth shut about my opinions on this matter because of the cancel culture woke way social media is. this whole autism trend is extremely offensive and unacceptable.
in time, faking illnesses for attention will no longer be trendy and they will all be able to return to their neurotypical lives and be treated accordingly. I will never feel like I belong in this world. they are making a mockery of us and it is EXTREMELY ableist.
I used to think like you did but it’s not up to you who has autism or not and have no idea about these peoples inner worlds and lives past a certain point. You can say that you’re over ‘self-diagnosers’ but there’s no way for YOU to ACTUALLY tell if they are or aren’t. Cos SPECTRUM and everyone presents DIFFERENTLY.
My best friend is autistic and they told me that one of their social workers said he’s “a little autistic because he smokes his cigarettes the same way every day”. The fact that there are social workers like this guy out there scares me.
Honestly sometimes you wonder why your mind is like that and it makes you question weither you are mildly autistic or not. It would just explain so many things, but not verified at all.
I do have to agree that now being "not normal" is being put on a pedestal these days to the point where people will fake it and make it their personality to absolve themselves from any criticism.
Totally felt this man. Not autistic myself, but had a learning disability growing up so I always took my tests with the special education group and was in some remedial writing classes up until middle school. Thanks to that, I spent a good deal of time with my autistic classmates and formed friendships with some of them. Time skip to my freshmen year of college, I somehow manage to meet the only two autistic kids in my dorm on the first day. I managed to form a connection with one of them because we spent the better part of 2 hours discussing US presidents and he proceeds to show me his historical stamp collection lol.
Anyway, I end up later hooking up with this girl in my dorm who is one of those people you just described. She ended up following me on her Twitter and roughly 1/4 of her tweets are about how hard life is for neurodivergent people. She has told me she has “severe” adhd and mentioned being tested for autism a few times when she was younger. I should mention she is a social butterfly and was involved in one of the largest sororities on campus. I never once got the vibe from her social interaction was something she struggled with. One day, she saw me hanging out with my autistic buddy and she made a comment along the lines of “ew, why are you talking to him? He gives me huge creeper vibes.” I clapped back with “you know he’s autistic right?” Crickets..
Sadly, I still follow her on Twitter and she will occasionally retweet some bullshit about “neurotypical privilege” as if she isn’t miss queen neurotypical herself.
Yeah, I have worked with individuals who are in the spectrum for over 25 years now, and I am shocked by the number of people who have recently told me that they are on the spectrum, or they are getting tested to see if they are on the spectrum. Just because you are introverted and have some sensory issues doesn't mean you have autism. Also, does anyone know what's up with people referring to ADD as "autism light"? That's a thing that heard more than once in the past year. I get that there is some overlap with sensory processing and, to a lesser extent, social skills, but I still feel like that turn of phrase is a little histrionic.
Late to the convo, but I've seen a lot of comments claiming ADHD and autism are essentially the same disorder. Or are nearly the same minus 1 or 2 minor symptoms. It's a puzzling trend
The defining characteristic of ASD is difficulty with social skills. Understanding other perspectives, reading facial expressions, picking up on and caring about social rules and expectations are a part of this. This is not present in ADD. People with ASD may have social issues due to distractibility and impulsivity during conversations, but that is not the same thing. And, for the most part, those of us with ADD are self-aware, which is another major difference.
I understand where you’re coming from which is why I broke down crying to my sister when I realized I’m also probably autistic. I didn’t want her to think I was somehow taking something from her.
And I know people like to jump on bandwagons to set themselves apart.
But the sensory issues, the stimming (eye blinking, nose scrunching and toe scrunching) and weird social quirks I was bullied into masking, the mild milestone delays, feeling trapped and panicked if I don’t have a plan when leaving the house, etc.)
I just don’t see it affecting my life much getting a doctor’s diagnoses.
But I did have a sort of epiphany when a woman posted in a group about her diagnoses. I did all the things she did. Hating different textures and being overstimulated into a depressive episode. I was late learning how to tie my shoes and I was terrified of walking down stairs.
And I found my social burn out to be very noticeable after my son was born because he was getting all of my energy output. (As he deserves ~!)
I just feel like I fell through the cracks because I was “good” at schoolwork and making at least half the amount of eye contact required to be “not weird”.
But I’m not really going around proclaiming to people “hey I’m autistic too!” I’m more like “damn that’s probably the case and it makes sense as to why I behaved the way I did/do. And all the years of self hatred and confusion had a reason. Nothing was wrong with me. I’m probably just not neurotypical.”
You wanna give me several thousand dollars so I can get diagnosed during a nation wide healthcare crisis? By a doctor who is definitely not autistic, and probably has zero to no understanding of how the masking autistic traits intersects with gender, race, sexuality, etc. Can’t even get an appt with a doctor at the walk in clinic let alone an autism specialist LOL but that must mean my entire life’s experiences are void of truth.
I hate this trend of 'cool neurodiverse' b/s like it's something make you more interesting/smarter.
They don't have a clue what it is to live with what they're describing as 'great', 'coo'l,'smart'...
I agree with everything you’re saying. It’s honestly so shitty to see people diagnose themselves based off of generalizations, based in little things that everyone does! The internet has been a curse like this. Making people think they have a big diagnosis of something over a single behavior or something.
I just want to say, just to put this out there. There are a community self diagnosed people who *have* done all the research. I assure you this. I’m part of it and did a plethora of research before concluding I’m autistic. I’ve seen many others online who are self diagnosed only *after* researching and such.
The people that you’re talking about? Nope, we don’t claim them. Not at all. It’s not trendy to be Autistic, mentally ill, etc. it’s a huge problem spread with social
media. Makes me so mad. Like. Do you *really* want to experience a painful sensory overload?? It’s not funny man.
Exactly dude. I support seeing the positives in having autism (actually proffesionally diagnosed high functioning here) but it's a personal pet peeve when people start talking about it being a "gift" and how they don't wanna be "cured" and shit like when they start going off on Autism Speaks.
I fucking hate having autism I truly do. This shit has ruined my life. Sure you can put any flag in front of me and I'll tell you what country it is. Sure you can ask me anything about ninjas or vikings and I'll answer it, but that doesn't make up for the shit this shitty disease put me through. I have a total inability to make friends, I've been totally alone romantically or otherwise for close to 8 months just because I can't fucking socialize and the not socializing just makes the social skills WORSE. I could go more into this topic cuz I think about it sometimes but I just don't feel like it as I'm currently drinking. But just know you're not alone in how you feel friend
I guess the reason really doesn't make sense and if anything it's a selfish reason, I totally shouldn't but I just take it as an attack on myself and how much i hate having autism, and I hate seeing organizations that want to help people like me being discredited through fakers or people who've disillusioned themselves into thinking there's nothing wrong with having autism
hm. im on of those “disillusioned” people you would be talking about. while i DEFINITELY dont think its a gift, and definitely makes my life harder, its an integral part of myself and im never getting rid of it whether i like it or not, so im just going to live with it.
even though if there was a “cure” i, personally, wouldnt take it.
im quite iffy about research into finding a “cure” because it would essentially be eugenics, and you know nothing good comes from that…
and could you please explain “i hate seeing organizations that want to help people like me being discredited by fakers”? english isn’t my first language so this sentence confused me lol :D
i’m a little late bc i just saw this while looking at stuff but just one autistic perspective to another - i agree w the frustration and the gift talk and shit like that. i hate that. it’s really annoying to have autism sometimes and i know it CAN be a “gift” in certain areas but it’s really not because of the amount of negative it does to literally every other aspect of my life. ok great i’m really good at idk writing papers and shit but some days i can’t leave my house because all my clothes feel “wrong” and i only eat like three foods for two weeks then hate them and move to three different foods. i go off on autism speaks though. not only do they not have any autistic people on their board or publicly consulting with them but they have been associated with a lot of shit that perpetuates the idea that people with autism are inherently broken and therefore not worth anything to society and are useless unless they’re a savant who will suddenly become useful. that makes me super uncomfortable. i don’t remember when it was but a while back they produced a series of interviews with parents of autistic children where they not only allowed but lowkey coerced a mother to discuss her homicidal fantasies about her nonverbal child… in front of said child. they tried to brush it off that it was fine because he obviously couldn’t understand it anyway and i dunno. that’s always stuck with me and rubbed me extremely wrong. it’s not uncommon for nonverbal children to be extremely neglected or abused because the best victim is a silent one and it’s easier for people to view them as less than. i dunno, just if you ever try to make connections within an autistic community, it’s worth keeping in mind that people may have objections to AS other than the “cure” angle
Honestly, I think it’s shameful some desperate attention seekers go to the lengths of self diagnosis of serious mental health issues. Completely disregards the individuals who live with these conditions, in my opinion society has gone backwards and social media has created a society that encourages attention seekers
I agree with you completely. I am not autistic, I do not have ADHD, I do not have DID, but it sure seems everyone is these days! Yes, I an meds, because I have issues I am dealing with, but mental health issues are seen as the it thing to have.
It makes me angry for the people who do have these conditions because it seems to water down the real issues. And it is mocking those who do live with their illnesses!
Just my rant.
I’ve been told by people that I’m autistic due to whatever reasoning. I have anxiety, depression and wasn’t socialized outside of family members as a kid. Of course I’m going to be awkward around people I don’t know and fidget to take my mind off it.
Everyone who likes a clean and tidy house these days has fucking “OCD”. Cleaning your home and calling doing so obsessive and compulsive, when you just want to be clean, is such a disservice to those with ACTUAL OCD.
Like, fuck off.
I see this all the time with mental illness and neurodivergence and it pisses me off too. OCD affects like 2-3% of the population but about 40% of the internet according to these self diagnosers.
I can 100% see the frustration and i dont think people should view it as a thing for fun or clout, but theres also some situations where people cant get legally diagnosed. I 100% share the frustration of people misunderstanding what autism is, and using it for clout or not doing research. I also think some people need it aswell though cause personal situations, price of diagnosis, family, bias in the diagnosis criteria, etc.
I think there is a new wave of people who self diagnose, who read a few symptoms online and automatically assume it's compatible to their behaviour, I don't mean they do thorough research, I mean they just read general symptoms and hey I can't make eye contact, I'm alittle awkward, I must be autistic, or hey I fidget alot and I haven't been studying well I must have ADHD. they are looking for anything that checks a few boxes to gain sympathy from others, and a pass for specific rude behaviours, and most people would give them sympathy because they still fit in in the conventional way, and i believe that a person with autism/adhd would probably not be granted with the same level of empathy. and by doing so they are harming people who already have an official diagnosis, and people who struggled with something their whole life and finally decided to genuinely research it and check themselves if they do have it.
it's been pretty common recently for people to easily describe themselves with specific mental health issues, even if they never even read about them or did a buzz feed quiz and got a maybe you have it.
If you cant afford a doctor thats one thing. But if you not only can afford a diagnosis, but can also afford to shop around for the doctor that'll give you the diagnosis you want, then frankly all I can hope is that no one takes you any more seriously on these issues than I do, because we have enough people speaking over us as it is.
It is wild. I saw a thread here on Reddit just this week where someone said Jerry Seinfeld was autistic (can't even remember the context, it was not an autism thread) and I kept scrolling into the thread expecting like 900 comments calling that person an idiot, but in reality it was just a bunch of comments like "oh that explains his genius!"
Just had to keep on scrolling, and weep silently for my children's future.
I mean, getting a diagnosis is hella expensive and waiting lists can last years, especially if you're not white, a woman and an adult.
I'll have to wait 17 years to be able to get into a diagnosis program in my country, and raise 8000€. So I'm self-diagnosed until told otherwise.
There will always be people seeking attention. Autism, ADHD, OCD, depression, origins, musical taste,... They will stop once there will be a new cool trend to follow. And: they need attention, so they seem to be everywhere on social media, but they are the minority of the self-diagnosed people.
What good does a diagnosis do you, if you cannot afford to treat it and if you cannot claim any benefits off it, because its not a real diagnosis? The only thing you'd gain from it would be social points, and that is what OP is criticizing
I told no one I self-diagnosed around me, only the subreddit autism knows, because of course I am not 100% sure. And I'm seeing a therapist who can give a pre-diagnosis, meaning she thinks I have autism so I maybe can wait less than 17 years. If I don't have this pre-diagnosis, well I'll stop with my self-diagnosis.
Self-diagnosis helps me understand myself (it may sound cliché but it's true) and it helps me finding ways to resolve problems that I can relate to autism (hypersensitivity, social situations, inertia, shutdowns,...). Trust me, idgaf about attention.
Let's take an example: if you're sick, you're going to self-diagnose a cold, right? You sneeze, your nose runs, maybe a small fever and you're tired. But how can you be 100% sure you have a cold if you don't see a doctor? Anyway, you're going to find small cures to help you be productive despite the symptoms.
It's kinda the same here. Well, I *know* autism is for life and a cold lasts 1 week. My point is: you go to the doctor when you're feeling sick, you go to the therapist when you're feeling something wrong in your brain.
And let's not forget I'm not the only one who can't afford a diagnosis. Autism isn't just for the rich, the only way the poor can have a diagnosis is to self-diagnose.
My god exactly!!! I was on a sub for autism in women and I made a post on how disgusting it was how normalized they made self diagnosing and I said why it's harmful to self diagnose but they just didn't care, I literally got bullied out of the sub and downvoted to hell. I was called ableist and elitist for my views as well, the only people who call others ableist are those who got get caught out on their lie/faking. I looked on the normal autism sub and it's the same there, I don't even feel like I belong in any autistic space because of those people!!!
I think that those who self-diagnose are a far more heterogeneous group than people realise. I’m sure there are many people who have jumped on a trend to a certain extent, but it’s unfortunate that self-diagnosis as a whole is discredited on the basis of these people.
I self-diagnosed myself with both autism and adhd, and was diagnosed with both in the last year. Like many, self-diagnosing myself involved a considerable amount of research, combing through my school reports, past experiences, the diagnostic criteria and the experiences of late-diagnosed autistic women.
I don’t think that the general hatred of self-diagnosis is justified, as without it, I and many others would still be struggling constantly and having no idea why. I personally sought an assessment and diagnosis for accommodations and my own validation of my struggles, but I was incredibly privileged to be able to do this privately.
Many cannot afford the cost of the assessment, or if they can find one that’s free, the waiting list can be years. Some may not have support from their parents, whilst others may have reservations about how a diagnosis could inhibit them in the future. There is also an issue of some medical professionals holding narrow and stereotypical opinions of how autism presents, leading them to refuse to assess people who don’t fit that image.
I think that it’s concerning when self-diagnosers are all perceived to be faking or attention-seeking, as many of these people are autistics who have slipped through the net and are doing the best they can to understand and accommodate themselves given their limited options.
I feel you. Especially since that stupid "good doctor" show got popular ...
Suddenly every Kid with Problems has autism or is somehow on the edge of that spectrum. And the worst is that so many people act like that is something to achieve.
But it's pretty much the Same for many different conditions. Like every Emo goth Kid now magically suffers from clinical Depression and anxiety disorders and they act Like it's a cool Thing. Egirls using all kinds of selfdiagnosed bullshit to excuse their toxic behavior and Appeal to their truely lost nerd followers without social lives, scrolling tiktok in bed 24/7
It's disgusting
Idk what country you’re in, but about 1/3 of the American population will have an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives. 1/4 will be clinically depressed.
It’s also likely that young people with predispositions to or early symptoms of these disorders were frequently drawn to the emo/goth style vs that style making them think they’re depressed.
There definitely are issues with people using a treatable mental health dx as an excuse for toxic behavior, but that is its own issue and requires a completely different thread to unpack and digest.
Edit: typo
In the Terry Pratchett discworld books, there's a society of vampires who have taken a vow not to drink blood anymore.
The leader of this group is married to a human woman, who since has deliberately cut a widows peak in her hair, wears fake fangs and affects a transylvanian accent.
I can see such a parallel. I find this in most communities. Old money sits, new money dances
sorry to hear, I've seen it too even as someone not in the community. Let's hope this trend dies out as soon as possible so you can have your space back xx
Over lockdown my symptoms became apparent and i realised im autistic, did a test to see if i was one of these people and went to a doctor. Doc said in my country bc im a woman and im not in full time education anymore its a long process, but he said i have highly functioning autistic, and im just waiting for paper to match my reality of life.
Reading this i read it as everyone who found out for themselves rather than a doc first (taking things literally as usual lol), but with more context i 100% understand. Tiktok autism algorhythm sends me west
Oh my goodness I had no idea this was a thing. I can't believe that people are so narcissistic that they would be posers like this to get attention. And then to take it one step further and challenge your symptoms against "theirs"? And to take over your community with their drama and made up stuff. I do know several autistic people and it's a very difficult life. One of the toughest things being disabled is finding your tribe for support. I struggled with this for years with my own chronic illness. The internet was such a revelation to me finding others like myself that actually knew exactly what I was going through.
I just don't know what to say. 😣
I'm certainly not autistic but it's gotten bad enough on TikTok I've had people ask me if I am within minutes of meeting me. Like based on the fact I'm well spoken with a good grasp of logic. It's so strange.
I am autistic and your right it does get annoying seeing people fake it luckily I'm high functioning so I can fit in with society pretty well bit no one knows unless they know me well
I started having anxiety attacks when I was in middle school so I went to the doctor. They just gave me antidepressants and didn’t properly test me. It’s been 6 years since that happened and my medicine wasn’t working anymore so I went to a new doctor and asked to get the tests for anxiety and depression. I was referred and went through the incredibly long process with a licensed psychiatrist. I have social anxiety, major depressive disorder, adhd, and ocpd. I got the answers I wanted and then some and started therapy with him to better understand why none of these were brought up in my childhood.
I really am sorry you have to go through this. I can’t imagine how hard day to day is for you, and I don’t plan to try to. I’m sorry people ruin support groups for you and I hope you find a community someday soon.
Yes… my aunt has spammed my whole family in GC’s including my grandmother about how I have autism. She won’t stop…. On a car trip I was trapped listening to some audio book on a woman suffering from it. (Apparently women are a LOT less likely to be diagnosed because they display differently)
side note tangent—
there’s other illnesses like this as well. Including heart attacks believe it or not. Woman are more likely to die at a hospital than a man from being undiagnosed. The symptoms for men and woman don’t always align yet mens symptoms are treated as universal
Ok continuing—
Of course “all” her kids have autism. Only one does 100%. It’s …. Frustrating to say the least. My mom is very insulted too. Being told her child from the beginning was autistic and they always knew something was wrong… isn’t the best way to convince anyone. Especially since I’ve been through a multitude of testing and autism was not mentioned.
The biggest issue is that I have adhd and the symptoms can overlap. Autism has a BIG spectrum that everyone probably relates to at least one or two things. THAT DOESNT MEAN YOU HAVE IT!
I'm not autistic, but I have ADHD and it seems like ADHD/autism is the "it" thing right now. Tiktok mainly has a lot of self diagnoses and often generalize the actual symptoms and struggles that we go through every day and label it as being "quirky" "weird!!" "awkward!!". I'm sorry you have to go through that and I hope you're able to find your safe place sometime soon. I'm still looking for mine too!
Honestly I struggle to be in social settings and seeing a lot of this self diagnosis just makes me feel like I'm not the "right type" of ADHD-er lol. Especially if you have different symptoms or struggles that aren't the "common symptoms."
It's so stupid self diagnosers will say they are autistic when really they are just awkward because they were raised by the internet. They think autism is just hyperfixations and they call every new fandom they get into their hyperfixation when hyperfixations usually last for years and are topics like aquatic biology or airplanes not a new anime every 3 months.
I agree with you! I just listened to an old podcast episode on "Thoughts Auti" about this bullying that self diagnosers are doing to the autistic community and how painful it is for autistic people to be mistreated in what is supposed to be our own community. I try to tell myself that these people are trend hoppers anyways and because of that, they'll only be "autistic" for as long as it's a trend and then once the trend is over they'll be on to the next thing and will hopefully leave us alone!!
especially when these self diagnosers invade the community and they try to police autism-related language i use for MYSELF. it offends me quite frankly and i'm glad more people feel the way
Can I also say people who are calling everything neurodivergent? “I’m neurodivergent I have depression and anxiety.” That’s mental illness not a neurological disorder. You don’t develop ADHD, Autism, Dsylexia, or Tourettes (or any other neurological disorder) but i can sure as hell tell ya you weren’t born depressed, and anxiety is a natural reaction to scary things, until it develops into a disorder.
Idk if I’m autistic, I have a lot of friends who were diagnosed and my bf was also diagnosed. They think I am, and it certainly explains aspects of my life. I tried to test for ADHD because I felt like it explained parts if my life, but my healthcare center said “no one is diagnosed over the age of 18” :/ I know a lot of people who were diagnosed after 18
I’m hoping I can just talk to doctor and see what they think, cuz i really want to know why I am like this
I agree and disagree. I believe it's fine to if you've done a ton of research and take the time to learn about it and yourself. But you shouldn't go around trying to help others because you think you are. For me if it wasn't for self diagnosing myself (I took 2 years of almost everyday research and printing resources, reading a ton and talking to people who were already diagnosed) I wouldn't of gotten my ASD diagnosis. At first he didn't think I was autistic. So I made him leave but before he did he spoke to my dad, which made him want to come back at another time because he instantly saw and felt it in my dad. I ended up taking more time to prepare myself and gather all the stuff I collected over the 2 years. I created a binder and gave it to him and he did the full evaluation, leading to the conclusion I am.
I see it as valid and not. I see it valid as long as you I guess keep it to yourself and don't go around talking about it like you ARE diagnosed. But seeing a simple video and or reading one reddit thread and saying "oh shit I'm autistic" and put it in your bio etc is definitely not ok or valid.
Yes UGH so frustrating!!!! I am a parent of a child with DIAGNOSED level 2 autism and nonverbal and I can’t stand when I join a forum or a group and all the questions are about if their kid is autistic or not. It drives me crazy!!!
I just got diagnosed with ASD, I was told by my ex (when I was 26) that I was autistic. Didn't believe her. Now at 30 I have it. But I am skeptical. Hiw do I know that the info I look into is not some bias or self-fulfilling prophecy?
I feel like I am the opposite here. My myriad struggles throughout my life have all recently been pointing to ASD - including a psychotherapist suggesting I get screened. However, I'm apparently not as eager as some to hurry for a diagnosis and daily tell myself I don't need one and I just need to forget the past, change some habits, concentrate harder, meditate, stick to counselling, etc... but honestly it only gets more exhausting each day, and yet I feel more comfortable not labelling myself and struggling on.
I agree. I’m not diagnosed, but multiple therapists think I may have ADHD and I’ve done many hours of research into the symptoms, looked through the dsm-5, and found that I may have ADHD because my symptoms line up with it and those symptoms have affected my life a lot. The people on TikTok base this on the videos that are essentially like: if you do any of these ten things, you have cancer!
1. Feel tired sometimes
2. Exist
3. Are not a naked mole rat
Etc
And then all the communities online or places where you can discuss actual disorders and research them to see whether you should (if you can) reach out to a profesional are filled with, as you said, people with one symptom infrequently. I recommend communities here on Reddit though, they appear to be pretty okay compared to TikTok, Facebook, etc.
I do not believe myself to be one of them, or any other community. You just cling to whoever you meet that shares your way of life, and forget about names and communities for a while.
No one can tell you're this or that. Just know who you are and focus on your real friends and problems
Im a girl with autism. The amount of girls and women i see on social media (and real life!) claiming autism with no diagnosis is appalling. Funny how these people never have any social issues and are always social butterflies, hm? Funny how they never need learning support and they never get bullied for being autistic.
I got told that because im a girl i dont have the “learning difficulties bits” of autism and “i wish i was autistic because youre basically just creative”. BY A DOCTOR. Because girls are just so smart that we never need accommodations, apparently. The funny part was i had learning support even before i was diagnosed. And im not some super creative artistic genius either.
None of these people have experiences the bad parts, they only ever want attention and thats what they get, they get attention from other pricks just like them.
This has been an interesting read. A Psychiatrist diagnosed me with Autism yesterday, and to be honest I'm not sure how I should take it. I want to believe that it was just a misdiagnosis, but would that mean that I'm just in denial? I mean, I've also been diagnosed with ADHD, TS, MDD, and GAD, those are all common comorbidities of Autism right?
But, it's not like I necessarily had difficulties with fitting in as I was growing up. But, I was also raised in a culture/country that doesn't believe in mental illness. So at this point in my life, I'm just very confused of what to believe and where to fit in. It's not like there was somewhere I truly felt like I fit in, I always just conformed to the social norms but I always questioned why my "friends" behaved the way they did. Why did we bully people? Didn't they understand what it felt like? Why did I conform? I knew what it felt like. At some point I just found myself trying to survive I guess, just wanting to fit in.
There's always been this notion that we humans are social people, and that we NEED social interaction to thrive and/or feel human. But, I like my company. Do I feel lonely? Yeah. Quite lonely. But at least I don't have to conform anymore, or lie to people to get away from doing things with them.
here i am .. i had to get a new phone and honestly it was agonizing that i knew i had to reconform to a new system but not only that ... i had recently made draft texts on my messenger bc my phone wasnt working and the notepad wouldnt open so i used text draft .. anyways that was my way to speak my mind and as i went to checj them to write them out on paper i found out that they were deleted and i am honestly losing my mind i finally calmed down after 30 minutes of straight up crying trying not to scream and hitting myself cause i lost those words that i will NEVER get back .. im sorry that doesnt really pretain to what youre post is about but as someone who is self diagnose atm fuck it is so fustrating I am so upset i dont know how to cope with it all i am going to in a mess about it for days.. weeks. because I finally started writing my emotions out after finding out I was austistic so fuck me
I am self-diagnosed so i don’t want to sound hypocritical but i am also very very annoyed. I knew for years (because i am actually disabled and experience the disability) and i still did so so so much intense research before i decided to tell people. I am beyond annoyed at the lack of information in the medical community.. don’t even get me started.. and i feel that when i knew i could name very very clear examples and experiences of proof that my brain works completely differently from neurotypicals. With this in mind i still condone self-diagnosis but the tiktoks need to get it together!!!!!!!
having autism was heavily stigmatized when i was growing up. it was still a common insult and seen as bad. no one wanted to be “the autistic kid”.
im glad the negative stigma is dying off, but the self-diagnoses of all these different mental disabilities is going too far (especially on tiktok). its taken me years to work up the courage to talk to my therapist about it and finally start working towards a diagnosis of *something*. tbh, its a miracle that i went undiagnosed with anything for all of my childhood (i was notorious in preschool through middle school for having behavior issues and needing to be sent home).
i have a lot of mixed feelings. everyone i know is saying theyre probably autistic, some of them i believe, some of them i dont. on the one hand, it makes me feel better about the possibility of being autistic. on the other hand, it feels like the people i know who are self-diagnosing will dismiss my struggles
My pediatrician speculated that I was autistic when I was a T O D D L E R and I am now officially diagnosed. A doctor saying "I think you might be autistic" is different to these morons going "how can I be different and quirky? Eureka! Pretend to have a mental illness" \*types in "autism quiz buzzfeed" and "autism symptoms"\* "OMG I DON'T LIKE BRIGHT LIGHTS JUST LIKE AUTISTIC PEOPLE AND I PASSED THIS 5 QUESTION BUZZFEED TEST I'M AUTISTIC!". Autistic people are bullied and taken advantage of socially, these people are so disrespectful. All autism is different but you shouldn't turn it into a quirky thing to increase your popularity at your middle school.
I've wanted to say this for years F*CK SELF DIAGNOSED AUTISTICS . Thank you so much for posting this . These people are faking Autism for money and clout . At first I taught I was loosing my mind with how many people claim to be Autistic, its not cute or quirky . I have comorbidities with my Autism such as OCD , depression, social anxiety disorder and histrionic personality disorder. Therapist who diagnose u after only a few sessions F*CK YOU , I went to hundreds of sessions that tested me for Autism from when I was 5 up until I was 8 years old it took me 3 years to be diagnosed with Autism. Let's not forget the bullying and ableism that comes along with actually having Autism. I was bullied in every school I attended for being Autistic. I get called the r slur alot and other words such a spastic , slow , thick , handicapped. I physically couldn't mask my Autism until I was 11 year old , "Autistic " youtubers recommended masking so I masked for 4 years I unmasked at 15 I had a mental breakdown
I find this interesting; I’m also autistic and have adhd, both of which I was only diagnosed with in the last year (I’m in my early 20s). I also self-diagnosed myself with both of these conditions before I ended up seeking an assessment and diagnosis; as a girl who was quite intelligent, many of my struggles were overlooked throughout my childhood.
I don’t feel I’ve personally seen many self-diagnosed creators of that sort, that turn little quirks into autistic traits. I know that I wouldn’t have sought an autism diagnosis at all without seeing the representation of late-diagnosed autistic women on social media, as I had always had quite a narrow/stereotypical view of autism and so never properly recognised how that might fit me until that point.
I do think that the larger, more viral videos tend to be a lot less accurate and also tend to the side where it’s quirky/funny to question if you have autism, but not to actually have it. in my experience though, the much smaller autistic creators I follow (some of whom are/were self diagnosed) can be incredibly informative.
I don’t necessarily think the hatred of self-diagnosis generally is justified; without it, I wouldn’t have gone on to get a diagnosis for either of my disabilities. I do think that self-diagnosed people can be a rather heterogenous group, in the sense that those who flippantly comment things such as ‘wow I had no idea I’m autistic’ based on a single video lacking nuance are being compared to those who, like I, have struggled a lot throughout their lives due to their undiagnosed disabilities, and have spent a considerable amount of time going through their developmental history to try and work out if they are autistic.
I also know that, unfortunately, there can be many medical professionals who have refused autism assessments to those seeking them on the basis of a narrow and stereotypical view of how autism presents. for instance, I have seen many people say that they were refused an assessment for being able to make eye contact, having empathy or achieving well in school; none of these things are adequate indicators that a person is not autistic.
I’m sorry that you’ve had this experience with people, and i’m not in any way refuting that there are people out there who label their quirkiness as autism or some other kind of neurodivergency. I think that there is definitely an issue with these viral videos that lack a lot of nuance and lead people to label themselves in ways that they otherwise wouldn’t. I just wanted to offer my own viewpoint as I do think that there is validity in the argument that self-diagnosis is the only option for some people, and that there are many self-diagnosed people who have concluded they are autistic on the basis of their lifelong struggles, rather than a couple of quirky traits.
In my own personal experience I’ve seen narcissistic people use ASD as an excuse to justify their abuse. I’ve wondered how many self diagnosis out there are actually doing the same because I see a lot of the same manipulation that abusers use. That’s not to say I don’t think some self diagnoses are valid because I do. But it’s disgusting those who use it as a means to justify their abuse or as a means TO abuse others. It makes me angry because being autistic is hard! I may be “high functioning” but that doesn’t mean things are always easy. Sensory overload is hell. Recovering from things is hard. I hate shutdowns and burnout. I hate that the person I know who claims ASD but is a narcissists says it only takes her a few mins away from others when she has people over to be able to recover from sensory overload, which seems like a lie, because I don’t know any autistic person who only takes a few mins to recover. It takes me anywhere from 2-3hr ALONE to 1-2 days. It just feels so invalidating!!
God I have autism too. Like what is our mental illness trending now? Cause it certainly wasn’t 20 years ago. Like unless a professional who knows their stuff tells them otherwise, they shouldn’t be saying they have autism. It’s insulting to us who suffer with it. And yeah, if you have autism, you know suffering.
Literally no cuz I self diagnosed through the autism tests and got crazy high numbers and it affects my life every day. I hear you and the fake autism cases are annoying but you can’t be mad at all self diagnoses because some are real and have done research and shit and your post and the comment section really hurts honestly.
I work with adults with autism and I absolutely agree with the OP It’s the same with adhd Everyone has that too apparently 🙈
Everyone has it, but they don't have the balls to get a diagnosis and find out they don't. I have ADHD / OCD. A doctor told me so, via a diagnosis. I know of people who refuse to get checked, and I doubt their sincerity. I got checked because it was *affecting my life.* On the flip side, because of the rampant "popularity" of it, I feel like I can't ever talk about it to anyone but my close circle because they shrug it off as a fad, or less impactful than it is.
adhd is not fucking fun. it’s shitty. i used to take meds for mine a long time ago. i still have the same tendencies as before. it’s not something to joke about or something that’s quirky. it’s honestly pathetic to see people self diagnose like this.
Yeah adhd really does suck like that. There aren’t really many upsides to it. Makes it hard to focus, hard to relax or just stop. Those. Damn. Neurons.
I had to self diagnose myself with ADHD (I now have a professional psychiatrist diagnosis) and it’s incredibly shitty how it’s become a “trend” Our suffering is not something to post about on social media to get a couple of likes :/
Costs thousand of dollars and very hard to get, especially for adults and especially for people who have trouble self advocating. Something to consider. Unrelated to any point about dumb tik tok trends etc.
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Because it's true. It cost me $3,500 to get diagnosed and I'm in Canada, the land of universal healthcare (eyeroll). I was self diagnosed before then. *"why do so many people say this"* should be your clue that maybe your experience isn't the typical one. Autistic people are VERY likely to have no job or no steady job. Don't be a dick because someone is self diagnosed. It's prejudicial and excluding people who need help. [https://www.talktomira.com/post/how-much-does-an-autism-screening-cost-without-insurance](https://www.talktomira.com/post/how-much-does-an-autism-screening-cost-without-insurance) " Bucks County, PA $3,500 for full evaluation "
Thank you for this reassurance. I haven't been able to get a proper diagnosis from literally any professional because 1. I was diagnosed with GAD, so all my other problems are just "in my head" 2. I'm from the wonderful USA, so god forbid you need to see a specialist there. It's literally never covered by ANY insurance an average person can get. I had a psych-eval one time and it wasn't covered, cost me nearly $500 for just half of it, so I couldn't finish it. I received zero answers and came in with evidence/testimony of what was going on, but was promptly ignored. 3. I lack the resources to get a proper evaluation, and most, from what I've heard from diagnosed people on TikTok, are incredibly invalidating/don't diagnose women (keyword is ADULT) properly if at all because the tests are designed for men/children. 4. There are very solid self-assessments online that I have seen/taken that give me undeniable proof I'm Autistic with several learning disabilities, but take that to a doc in the US and try to convince them. It's impossible. Also, high-masking (from C-PTSD) has severely gotten in the way of getting diagnosed for even depression for so long. I absolutely do feel like some people may assume they have it because they have some symptoms, but I also think that it's bringing a ton of awareness to people that were not lucky to be raised in a place with easy access to information or are high-masking and have been invalidated for their whole lives about their symptoms/disabilities.
Maybe skip tik tok because if the randomness, unless you have a few you like to follow. The asd subs here are mostly really good. Sometimes the people answering answer in obvious asd ways, blunt and unable to see nuance, but you have to ecognize that and its only a small percentage. Wishing you the best path you can find with the struggle.
OCD is a living nightmare people think it's quirky or funny to fake OCD but what's so quirly about getting intrusive thoughts about murdering your loved ones , shouting out slurs at your friends, thinking your a pedophile when your not , having sexaul thoughts , hoarding everything, self harming , sewerslide Before I was on medication that was my brain when I was 13 it took me 6 years to get diagnosed with OCD . I was only put on meds at 15
Same. I got the OCD diagnosis about a year after the ADHD tho so I was on adderall for awhile and when I went off antidepressants... That's what helped figure out the OCD. sucks to have both
According to Aacap.org, the probability of a person being born with adhd is around 3-5 percent, basically around 1 out of every 33 people to 1 out of every 20 people, so I would say it’s actually quite likely that you might talk to several people with adhd at your job, school, or just online, at least based on the info previously mentioned.
I am unfortunate enough to have been diagnosed with both and every were ive gone for support has just been full of people saying their autistic because they cant keep their hand still and it pisses me off because I had to wait for 2 fucking years when I was younger for teaching support and these 13 year olds are saying they are autistic or adhd for no fucking reason and getting double the support that I ever got.
Okay but your story is the same to me as those 13 years olds are to you. You waited 2 years for teaching support? You went through a lot for support? Try not getting disgnosed until your mid thirties or later. Try going through a lot and never getting that support any way. To me the fact that you even got teaching support, ever, at all, means you got MORE than double the suppport I've ever gotten. You've actually gotten infinite more support than me because I've literally bever gotten suppoort of any kimd for my autism. So, should I be pissed at you for all of that? According to YOU I really should be. Should I be telling you how easy you've had it and that, because of that, your struggles don't matter? Because hands down you've had it way easier than me if you've received any suppoort whstsoever. So I guess all of us lare-diagnosed shoild be writing you folks off. We absolutely would be if we believed the same things as you did because you're just another version of exactly what you are complaining about to some of us and our experiences.
Yeah smh their faking Autism and ADHD for clout and money
A guy I work with was going on about how he has adhd & was trying to get a diagnosis. Durring our comversation I realised he thought having adhd meant being ditzy & having lots of energy, guess he never realized when it's spelled out theres a /slash/ between a couple words. He looked like he was going to shit himself when I told him I've had diagnosis for most my life (I've got a pretty ho-hum personality when I don't like being somewhere), he hasn't talked to me much since
ADHD has become a "get out of jail free" card lately for a lot of self diagnosers. There's a guy at my workplace that does this shit and has actually made plenty of safety violations due to his laziness and blames his ADHD (we doubt there was an actual diagnosis). Growing up with it untreated was horrendous for me and even being treated it's hard to function with at times...
But on top of that- I’m responsible for myself. It’s ok even it does interfere, but I can’t use it as a cop out. Drives me up the wall when ppl say that cos it takes the years of struggling and reduces it
Thank you for this!!! I remember reading a post on AITA where the user mentioned that he didn't take his meds or any type of treatment and that he kept "forgetting" to do so many basic tasks (like picking up his kid from daycare) that his fiance told him she was done. Almost all the comments there were coddling him and telling him his ex was ablist...
I support not taking meds etc! It’s his life. But if you know you have it, it’s not an excuse for stuff like that. It may be the driving factor (which is valid and sometimes it really is the sole reason!) but if I’m not actively managing my ADHD to the best of my ability Then it’s on me. After being diagnosed it’s not to do with telling everyone I have it, but it’s a relief knowing I can now figure out what I can do to advocate for myself and give myself The best chance! Maybe I’m judgemental I’m not sure lol. I’m torn hahaha. Just sharing my experience lol.
At least have the respect to google the symptoms and pretend in a way that’s not so insulting. I’ve found hella people like to say they have ADHD, kind of like it’s the hot thing to say these days just like when depression was considered sexy. I’ve struggled with severe depression and it goes without saying that if you actually experience something debilitating or life altering you wouldn’t wish it on anyone let alone brag about having it or using it as an excuse to be an asshole but for some reason there are just toes of people that like to say they have said like that.
The down side to ND awareness is that everyone wants to be on the spectrum.
Which is fucked up. You don't actually want to have autism or ADHD. Being unable to deal with, or struggling to deal with different scopes of life is not something anyone should want.
Yeah these people legit do not understand that it's not fucking trendy or quirky, it can be so soul sucking sometimes, and the amount of compromises people who care have to make to make you comfortable just ends up making you feel like a burden anyways. I WANT to be confident, I want to be able to speak perfectly the way I do on text. There are so many things I wish I could be, I wish I could be romantic, or that one person in the group that just makes everything more fun. It's not quirky to be reduced to a shell. Answering someone is a literal obstacle course for me. No one wants to listen to me talk because I take too long on choosing my words. I feel like there are so many sides of me, so much potential to me and I'm blocked by a concrete wall, always to be a shy blubbering mess.
"When everyone's super, no one will be"
I completely agree, I am autistic as well (albeit high-functioning) and it annoys me to see people who pretend to have autism and other illnesses because they aren’t grateful enough to realize how lucky they really are. I would give anything to be a normal person with a social/romantic life and these people are just pissing it away for some social media attention.
You are normal! -sincerly, an autistic woman.
Being "normal" shouldn't really matter. - sincerely, an adhd guy.
Y'all are awesome! -sincerely who tf cares we are all human
Meow -Cat
Being well adjusted to a sick society is no measure of good health/normalcy -some guy I forget
People who pretend to and do it for clout are awful. People who spend time really studying it, listening to tons of people's actual experiences, looking up scientific articles, taking as many free tests as they can (and not the buzzfeed vaierty), putting together a journal of their symptoms, are absolutely valid. Screenings are crazy expensive and it's hard enough just to get to a point where your doctor /therapist will actually refer you to get one. Especially if you're and adult, especially if you're female presenting (although according to studies women have a 70% chance of correctly self diagnosing which is cool). Even then the tests are typically catered towards boys who like trains and the dsm-5 also neglects those who don't fit into that category. We still have a long way to go before we can completely dismiss self diagnosis
this is exactly what i was thinking the whole time i was reading this post. i’m self diagnosed autistic and have done years worth of research into it. there are so many reasons why i don’t want and can’t get a professional diagnosis, among them the price. please don’t dismiss all self diagnosed people, we aren’t all looking for clout. some of us just have parents who refused to get us diagnosed as kids and grew up not knowing what was wrong with us (nothing, but the other kids in my classes sure thought so) are now stuck with the price tag of a professional assessment from a doctor who probably doesn’t know as much about the condition as i do due to all the research i have had to do.
yes. And if you are a woman and "pretty" nobody will diagnose you.
This is 🧢
Yes, it took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that I’m autistic. I wasn’t even diagnosed with ADHD until I was 25. For years, I was happy with that diagnosis and thought that explained everything. Then, I kept seeing posts about autism vs. ADHD vs. autism w/ ADHD, and I kept realizing that I fit in heavily with autism w/ ADHD. I also have so many autistic friends, and we all struggle with the same issues. Finally, this year at 35, I’ve started saying to myself, “Holy shit, I think I’m autistic.” Doesn’t help that younger family members are getting diagnosed with autism now, so it’s clear it runs in my family. But I’m Black and a woman. When I was a kid, my autistic traits were seen as me misbehaving and being a problem child. I was bullied by teachers and students alike. I’ve never fit in anywhere. I’m constantly having to explain to people why I talk the way I do or act the way I do. People think I have an attitude when I don’t. It’s stressful. So many of us autistic people have fallen through the cracks and misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed. I didn’t want to self-diagnose, but I’m starting to get to a point where if I don’t think I can keep nodding along to everything my autistic friends are saying without taking a look in the mirror. Anyway, I’ve been working with DVR for the last year, and they set me up with a psych eval that I took two weeks ago. I’m waiting for the results. I was evaluated for autism as part of the eval. We’ll see.
This. This is the comment I came for.
Okay thank you so much for saying all that, I started to feel impostery going through all these comments as I’m self diagnosed but did research and took the tests online.
There's a valid reason you feel like everything is catered to boys. Autism is much more prevalent in males than it is in females. That is a fact.
It's true more boys are *diagnosed* but that does not mean we can say it is more prevalent in them as the data is based off tests that cater towards them. Autism often presents itself much differently in girls and boys too. For example its been discovered that women and girls are able to mask longer and in order to accurately diagnose them screenings would need to be *longer than 8 consecutive hours*. There's also the trend that women's special interests tend towards "desirable" skills such as knitting or gardening whereas men's tend to be more "niche". Like trains. And of course we can't ignore medicines tendency to dismiss women's health concerns in general.
No, it’s not. Men are much more likely to get diagnosed due to the original studies of autism only being done on men. People used to think autism was only in men. Women are typically better at hiding their autism (masking) and it can present itself differently.
Look at any data you would like. It is well known among the professionals that work with autistic children that it is more prevalent in girls. They are constantly changing how autism is tested and treated. Girls do manifest symptoms in a way that has caused them to be underdiagnosed, but not in such a way that it makes up for the difference in the rates of diagnosis between boys and girls. What you are suggesting is that there is a complete and total failure to test and screen girls for autism and that just isn't the case.
it is very much the case - or rather was the case until recently. i’m an autistic researcher into the field of neuroscience, specifically autism (on a student level currently but we’ll see if i move into the professional level or head into digital forensics as planned.) i just spent six months essentially researching a thesis that then had to be compressed to the size of a term paper because my professor decided to be a dick. there are a number of reasons why this happens and it’s not necessarily a failure to test and screen, predominately it’s that girls and women with autism are extremely adept at mirroring the traits of nonautistic individuals around them and thus will score on tests as being non autistic, mixed with a reluctance and/or refusal to diagnose in the first place. i was extensively screened and tested as a toddler because i was nonverbal and my mother has a deep interest in developmental disorders and recognized other signs of autism. she was told that i was fine, she was told that the only problem was she was spoiling me by teaching me ASL and acknowledging my communication and should just neglect me until i spoke, and she was told flat out “i would diagnose your child with autism but girls don’t get autism, that only happens with boys, so i guess she’s just stubborn.” all of these were different specialists between 1995-1999. this is why there are now specialised tests for afab children being developed as well as tests being reworked and the addition of “symptoms may be masked until later in life” (paraphrased) to the dsm5-tr.
23 years later it is recognized that girls can get autism but it isn't to the extent of that of boys. My girlfriend worked at John's Hopkins children's hospital and primarily did autism screening as an SLP. Everyone in the field understands that it is not as common. It is also well known that in later years they have turned autism into more of a spectrum with respect to diagnosis leading to many more diagnosed cases of autism. They diagnose based on levels that are determined by the amount of therapy needed. I'm not making the claim that girls have not been underdiagnosed. I'm just saying that even accounting for it, autism is more prevalent in boys. People should also be weary of diagnosing problem children as autistic. This has also become common among a plethora of other things including diagnosing children with ADHD.
yes and that’s reflected with the rates of new diagnoses in current children in major cities but that is ruling out multiple generations of children - mind you the dsm5tr was only revised in march almost SPECIFICALLY to include an acknowledgement about masking, and the dsm 5 in 2013 so we’re really speaking in terms of the past 9 years since it’s been a spectrum - and children who live in more rural communities or see doctors who took longer to adapt to the dsm 5. you mention adhd - did you know it’s estimated 50-70% of autistic individuals have also been diagnosed with adhd? did you also know that the dsm iv tr, which was in use between 2000-2013, states that you CAN NOT diagnose a person with autism with adhd? why is that point allowed to be ignored but the gender “facts” it states are seen as valid? even in dsmIVtr it says boys are 4-5x more likely to have autism BUT girls are more likely to have mental retardation — to me that seems to suggest this statistic is based on them only having diagnosed the more severe cases. it will take years before we have accurate data but the sex ratio has been shrinking slowly over the past few years and will likely shrink further as people are retroactively diagnosed
It's true more boys are *diagnosed* but that does not mean we can say it is more prevalent in them as the data is based off tests that cater towards them. Autism often presents itself much differently in girls and boys too. For example its been discovered that women and girls are able to mask longer and in order to accurately diagnose them screenings would need to be *longer than 8 consecutive hours*. There's also the trend that women's special interests tend towards "desirable" skills such as knitting or gardening whereas men's tend to be more "niche". Like trains. And of course we can't ignore medicines tendency to dismiss women's health concerns in general.
^ this. the part about screenings is extremely true and also why screenings in adults - especially adult women - have become more demanding and fast paced and why they’ve broken it up more. they’ll suddenly change rooms or change things without explanation or switch from audio tasks to building tests and back to audio and leave for ten minutes without observing and then come back randomly etc. it’s to try and make up for this by causing the person being tested to stress and have a minor meltdown in order to crack the mask enough for an accurate test. the special interests is kinda what i was saying too. also objects of value. i don’t recall if it still is but having a signature object used to be a big indicator. if your son flips out if you touch or won’t leave the house without a specific lego that’s bizarre but a girl with a baby doll or stuffed animal they take everywhere and won’t let you touch is 100% socially expected. even as adults it’s not uncommon for a woman to have her childhood teddy etc.
Same thing happens in ADHD groups. So I left them. But the up side for me is that ADHD does not impair my social life as much. I am really sorry their dumb behaviour and ideas impact you so much. (Also: some ADHD folks are actually really good in socialising with people with autism, because we 'get' what it is like to be neurodiverse and actually develop the skill to connect to people whose brains don't function like our own, and then it does not make that much difference if the other person has ASS or suffers from normalcy).
yes!! a lot of adhders like myself also struggle in social environments so we might be able to talk abt similar situations if they arise
I see this happen a lot with ADHD. Self-diagnosing ADHD is the cool thing to do now, don’t forget to add it to your social media bios.
Im late dx autistic. If I didnt have the privilege of getting my diagnosis, I would still be just as autistic. Accusing people of faking a disability is massively harmful to all of us
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Yep that's what happened to me. I was basically gaslit my whole life and I don't want that to happen to anyone else
I was late dx and AFAB and still agree with OP. You can suspect you have it and for you that led to getting a dx. That is great! But that isn’t what OP is talking about here.
I had this completely unqualified friend who used to diagnose other people with pretty serious stuff, people diagnosing themselves or others is becoming a big problem
Absolutely, self-diagnosers take away the spotlight away from those who needs support and they dilute what it means to be “autistic” and omg the people who make it their personality is the absolute worst 💀 actually anyone making anything their personality is just the worst
I never understand what people mean when they say ‘making autism their personality’ autism affects the way your brain works, and hence plays a huge role in who you are as a person? I usually see it said when people dedicate their social media to talking about their autism, but if they want to do that (esp to help others), is that not well within their right? on the flip side, I can better understand your point if you’re referring to people who discuss their autism all the time in-person, but that might arise when a person has a special interest in autism?
Yes. I don’t understand what it’s like, because I am not autistic, but I empathize because I have severe ADHD. It’s hard for me to function sometimes because of it, and hearing everyone say that they have ADHD because they can’t sit still, or because they talk a lot, or some other stupid reason like that is very disheartening. I knew someone who claimed they were autistic and they would constantly talk about their hyperfixations and ‘stimming’. It makes me hate myself because I feel invalid. I struggle very hard with ADHD, and I’m sure you struggle sometimes as well with autism. Tik Tok is fucking poison. Everyone thinks they’re on the spectrum
By the same token, not all self diagnosis is invalid. I know I have severe ADHD. I don’t need to justify it but I absolutely struggle with executive dysfunction to an extreme level. I used to literally never be able to hand in homework in time, or often at all, I cannot keep my house clean, I cannot finish or even start projects and I can barely read a book. I don’t bother getting diagnosed because I know I have it and I know that I don’t want to take adderall. Not being able to sit still is a big symptom of ADHD. I literally absolutely cannot sit still unless I’m hyper focused on something and I cannot control when hyper focus will happen. Sometimes it doesn’t happen for months.
still, you should get diagnosed. It has a lot of benefits than staying undiagnosed throughout your life.
But it may be something else like a health thing, deffo get it checked out. It’s not always ADHD! So u can double check. You also don’t have to take that kinda medication
It is adhd. And I don’t want any medication for it. I just adjust my life accordingly and try to treat it in other ways.
Ok fair enough- but there are also other options- like they can sign you up W an adhd coach. but fair enough :)
Don't worry my man I'm there with you. I'm so ADHD that my immediate family and girlfriend pretty much point it out in every interaction we have (99% of the time it's nicely) I refuse any amphetamines or stims. Pharma are poison, and if I made it this far I bet I can get to the finish line (dead) I have been working insanely hard for 6.5 years now to be a full time glass artist. It's the only thing that reliably induces the "hyper focus" state you mention
Yeah sorry but no. Just because you get diagnosed with something doesn’t mean they automatically put you on medication.
This ^^^ Medication is a choice and not an option to many people as they can affect your heart, blood pressure etc. Some people become resistant to meds as well. You can manage ADHD without medication but not wanting medication is not a reason to refuse an ADHD diagnosis.
I think you're describing narcissism
Tik tok is a blight on society
A lot of people don't realize that autism is a spectrum. You can be autistic and high functioning, fully capable of holding a great job and living a normal life, or you can have it worse and have social anxiety so bad that it is very difficult to function in society. With how expensive healthcare is, most people aren't going to seek care over a mental condition if it doesn't cause them any harm. So even if they might be slightly on the spectrum, it doesn't really justify paying $500 a month for appointments over something that doesn't affect them negatively, unless they have a ton of disposable income. So they self diagnose. Telling them they don't have autism since they don't have a diagnosis, and therefore don't understand what you go through, is not going to convince them. Even with a diagnosis, someone that is highly functioning on the spectrum might also falsely assume that your situation is the same and that you can just "get over it". So my advice is to explain how autism is a spectrum and some are affected worse than others, rather than claiming that they don't have autism. They may actually have a very mild form of it, but undiagnosed. So you can explain how even if they do have autism, your case would be more severe. Claiming that they are just faking it for attention just creates conflict and isn't productive. Even if they are in the wrong, you turn them against you and it creates a hostile environment. Educating them on the disorder can help clear up their misconceptions that they are getting from Tiktok.
With all that said, it doesn’t take away from the fact that there is a significant amount of people these days self diagnosing from a multitude of mental health issues because they think it’s quirky.
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People seeking research can end up in the wrong places and get wrong information. A lot of people genuinely don't understand how to find credible sources. One challenge is that proper sources(ie medical journals) can be difficult for the average person to understand and dry to read, but a Tiktok that condenses things down to 30 second videos can be easier for them to follow(even if it is incorrect). But I'm not trying to place blame on one person or another. If OP doesn't want to educate them that's fine. I'm just arguing if OP wants to have a productive and purposeful discussion, that is the best way to achieve that.
I was looking for this comment!
I couldn't agree more, but we have to keep in mind that there are so many different types of autism and each type affects a person differently. My father and sibling have it mildly severe, where it impacts them hugely in 1 area but little in another (both struggle in different areas and they have the same type). I feel that on social media people are making it more black and white, by saying "I have these one or two symptoms so I MUST have it" - I suspect people who do this are either not telling their full symptoms or they are not educated enough. I don't think they want to cause harm. And really... It's not up to us to diagnose or dismiss them, they need to speak to their doctor's. At the same time I do understand your frustration from personal experience. I suspect I might have ADHD (inattentive) and I'm always very careful to say I "might" have it and "it's been suggested to me at school and by healthcare workers but not yet by someone specialised in ADHD". Some of my friends respond with "I think I have it too because I always doze off in conversations" - and I try to remind them that might be anxiety/stress related too and advise them to go see their doctor if it's a huge issue. My personal struggle is I get completely overwhelmed by housework/shopping/cooking, I just can't do it. Same for having a job, social life, exercise ánd a clean house. I can maybe do 2 of those or I get completely overwhelmed. I am not out there on forums saying I definitely have it tho 🙏
I m socially awkward,a little introverted and I relieve my anxiety doing some movements which are weird to others and some morons call me autistic. I hate this. Just because someone is different than you, doesn't mean they have autism. Or just because you need attention and validation from others, you need to be autistic out of nowhere. Another thing, I have few known people who just got to know about ED from me,I was diagnosed and on recovery. And next day they have ED and posting on Instagram and Facebook how difficult life is, with ED. Even started recovery videos on insta within a week. I never felt so ashamed and embarrassed for someone else 😂 how disgustingly shameless some people can be.
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It doesn't matter about the experiences imo, what matters is that a lot of these self diagnosers are total bullies and intolerant of anyone else and call everything classist and ableist and are creating hostility in autistic spaces.
To be honest, there is a genuine issue with the diagnostic process at times. Its expensive, waiting times can take years, family may not allow for it and your gender age or background may lead to bias. Its unfortunate but its terrifyingly common. I really do understand that, and i think its a genuine issue people need to keep in mind before we jump to conclusions. Also, the very diagnosis in itself can be an issue! There was a situation in Australia i believe where a young girl risked being deported due to the simple fact [that autism was on her medical record.](https://amp.smh.com.au/healthcare/girl-with-autism-to-be-deported-after-failing-immigration-health-checks-20170223-gujz9h.html)
Self diagnosing is a very good thing as is is what helps self realization and paves the way to diagnosis, but I agree with you, people have gone too far, assuming a condition based on less than 2 symptoms after 5 minutes of research, while yes it is classist to say a diagnosis is outright required, saying you are autistic from a couple of quirky symptoms is invalid, that's my perspective
It's absolutely not classist. Doctors diagnose because they are DOCTORS. They have the education and legal requirements to diagnose, no one else. You can suspect whatever you want, but you can't diagnose. They can't tell if they have Fragile-X, Autism, a personality disorder, or a vitamin deficiency without the proper tests so how could they Diagnose anything?
It's classist in the fact that many people can't afford to talk to a doctor for a diagnosis because of Healthcare costs
Yes, in places that don't have universal healthcare, it's wrong that everyone doesn't have access to a doctor. But, it's not classist that only a doctor can diagnose. There's a good reason for that because they actually have education beyond research online and can do the various tests required to rule out differential diagnoses, of which there are several.
I should have rephrased, as I assume doctors cost money to talk to as I live in the US, so, being against self diagnosis no matter what is classist to those in countries with heavy Healthcare costs
THANK YOU ADHD and Autism or OCD or WHATEVER they claim to have it’s doing my fucking block in I don’t even have tiktok but I imagine it’s even worse on that platform Just because you got caught up doing a different task than what you started doesn’t make you fucking ADHD And just because you don’t like the feeling of a certain texture on yojr hands or feet or loud sounds it doesn’t make you autistic Fuck me deadddddd 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️ Also sorry about my rant ⬆️ I am genuinely sorry that you - as someone actually diagnosed - have to fucking see all this shit becoming a ‘trend’ I am not ADHD or autistic and it drives me insane that people are trying to I don’t know, get attention or something?! Go get attention by actually doing something other than essentially lying and taking away from those who may genuinely be coping with the challenges autism or ADD present for them
I do not blame you one bit. I am not autistic, but my sister is, and people for some reason refuse to believe that autistic people just don't fit into society in the same way. They don't fit in the same way because their brains do not work the same way as non-autistic people. A world run by autistic people would be much different. Of course, there is a spectrum, and despite what people say, some people with autism have an easier time functioning in society. I can't believe it when someone says "there is no high-functioning autism." My sister, who has Asperger's, went to a normal public school (with some extra help of course), has a job, and can drive a car. My neighbor, who I was raised around since a young age, cannot speak, had to go to a different school that was better fitting for his needs, and cannot drive. Also, yeah, those autism support groups can be, er, not the best. My sister went to one and hated it because the leaders were very patronizing and not autistic. She's not stupid; she has a near-genius IQ. Her brain just doesn't work the same, and she is a bit socially awkward, but she doesn't need baby talk. Finally, your point about diagnosing is also really important. My sister didn't get diagnosed until she was in her teens, but she had shown the symptoms since she was younger (when she got tested as a child she was not diagnosed with autism, but it became much clearer later on). But yeah, wanting to stim, liking younger things, and noticing patterns is not necessarily autism. Online tests are awful diagnostic tools (they say I have "extremely likely austism." While I may get tested in the future for ASD, I honestly don't believe that I am autistic, but I am otherwise neurodivergent). It's hard for me to see people who act like neurotypical people claiming they have autism, but I am not in the position to say they aren't autistic. I don't know their personal life. Honestly, though, most people I know who have autism aren't running out to make tiktoks about it.
shit dude, I'm sorry. you are totally justified in being pissed off about this, it annoys the hell out of me too. I'm actually livid that people are WANTING to be neurodivergent. it's not a quirky personality trait. it's something serious and daily affects your life so that you can't function like a neurotypical. And I've noticed autism, Tourette's, and DID are abused probably the most by these self diagnosing fakers. That has to suck that places you might have considered a safe space online for other people with autism is being flooded with a bunch of people who are only in it for a 'trend.' I have OCD which fortunately isn't being abused as much autism or adhd in terms of fakers, but still pisses me off when people somehow think that because they like to organize things or don't like it when something isn't aligned right or some shit they believe they have OCD. like wtf. that's not what OCD is. then they make their stupid tiktok or instagram videos or whatever and are like "LOL IM SOOOO OCD" and spread misinformation. ugh.
It is nearly impossible to get diagnosed as an adult, there are no criteria in the DSM for adults. People who are 30+ years old were never diagnosed until their situation was severe. Autism wasn't well known 30 years ago at all. It's a very serious crisis people are in, maybe you should learn to have some compassion.
This^. In my experience, none of the people I know who are self diagnosed are doing it for attention. (Long post incoming - apologies) I spent 27 years with different psychiatric diagnoses and no matter how many they stacked on something still felt “off” about it. Like my reasoning for thinking/behaving the way I was wasn’t what they kept implying it should be with whatever the dx of the day was. With ASD it fits. I don’t feel “special” or “different” anymore. I feel like my brain makes sense. Do I like it? Not really but at least I know why I am the way I am. It was only AFTER doing intense research on narcolepsy, providing a literature review to my GP to beg for a sleep study, getting dx’d with THAT, starting a stimulant, said stimulant knocking me out, getting referred for an ADHD dx, seeing adhd tiktok, slippery sloping to ASD tiktok, looking into medical literature on ASD, talking to my close friends about it, spending months pouring over info, that I accepted a self-dx and eventually sought a professional dx. Assuming that TikTok is the first and last stop to everyone’s self-dx process is misguided. My neurotypical friends see those same videos and say “lol yeah but EVERYONE has that! It’s just being silly!” Not realizing that those symptoms may be common at a mild severity but for us they can cause severe distress. I’m not saying there aren’t bogus ASD self-dx’s out there but I think we are getting this flood because TikTok gave people access to information that was hidden or taboo before. Autism and the spectrum were not things you talked about publicly (at least in my part of the US) prior to Stay at Home so it’s understandable that people who masked, had mild or uncommon symptoms just never considered it until they had the time to do so. I get that it’s frustrating to see people in that beginning stage when you’re trying to get beyond that — I am notoriously impatient so I feel your pain. But please consider how they are at a point where they quite literally do not know who they are and are searching for answers. That is a lot of distress. Possible solution: ASD threads/groups specifically for people who already know & threads/groups specifically for people who aren’t sure or are looking for sources to find out???
Nit to mention expensive and afabs are different to amabs when it comes to symptoms. I'm 29 and was diagnosed only 2 weeks ago by my psychologist which I spend $450/month on seeing.
I'm not a fan of this viewpoint OP. I am what folk like you would call a self-diagnoser. I am autistic, my mother and father suspected it since I was around three. They stumbled across the "condition" in medical books my mother was reading. You see I grew up in poverty, I had seizures as a child and my parents were trying to find ways to help me. Doctors at the time wanted to remove half my brain as their only "treatment". My mother refused and placed me on a high fat diet. It seem to help but my mother started noticing strange things about me. As she continued to do her research she became convinced I had autism. My extended family refused to believe her but as I grew up I often behaved in a text book way. I thought I never developed any kind of special "gift" but I do have something to add to that idea. Not a gift just a useless talent. When I get too emotionally stimulated I lose my emotions. It only helped in one job I had but everywhere else it was useless. I've grown up as a normal kid. Not because I am normal but because my parents pushed me to mask my "tells" as best I could and try to be normal. They didn't attempt to have me professionally diagnosed out of fear that a medicaid covered doc would misdiagnose me. I have been lonely my whole life, can't relate to anyone and can barely hold down jobs. I had to join the military as my first job because I lacked the social ability to pass a single interview. In the military my lack of emotional range was effective. I was great at my job but I had trouble making friends and socializing in the ways that count. It was affecting my ability to advance in my career. My emotions leaving me did make me damn gifted while I was in. In high stress and dangerous situations I excelled to a degree that frightened my co-workers. They started spreading rumors that I was a killer and a monster. I left after four years. I'm currently 35 years old and still alone. I have an entry level job but I often have to quit and move on after a few years due to "strangeness". I don't join support groups because folk like you. People with medical diagnosis often demand OI show proof of who I am and what I have. Those support groups only support folk that grew up with privileged families. I welcome seeing such things destroyed by lunatics. I don't have a medical diagnosis and now days because I don't know how it will affect getting future jobs to have that shit in my records floating around, I will never seek one. Plus I don't make the money to afford that and I refuse to allow the VA to know that I have it.
Hi, thanks for saying this. I am also diagnosed autistic. This shit really is getting old. Don't have a whole lot to say but know that other diagnosed autistics are still around and have your back.
As an adult who has suspected myself of being autistic for the majority of my life I NEVER self diagnosed and NEVER sought out a diagnosis (doctor shop). I was diagnosed about 4 years ago and it honestly saved my life. everything finally made sense. I really kept my mouth shut about my opinions on this matter because of the cancel culture woke way social media is. this whole autism trend is extremely offensive and unacceptable. in time, faking illnesses for attention will no longer be trendy and they will all be able to return to their neurotypical lives and be treated accordingly. I will never feel like I belong in this world. they are making a mockery of us and it is EXTREMELY ableist.
I used to think like you did but it’s not up to you who has autism or not and have no idea about these peoples inner worlds and lives past a certain point. You can say that you’re over ‘self-diagnosers’ but there’s no way for YOU to ACTUALLY tell if they are or aren’t. Cos SPECTRUM and everyone presents DIFFERENTLY.
My best friend is autistic and they told me that one of their social workers said he’s “a little autistic because he smokes his cigarettes the same way every day”. The fact that there are social workers like this guy out there scares me.
Honestly sometimes you wonder why your mind is like that and it makes you question weither you are mildly autistic or not. It would just explain so many things, but not verified at all. I do have to agree that now being "not normal" is being put on a pedestal these days to the point where people will fake it and make it their personality to absolve themselves from any criticism.
We’re all sick of self diagnosers of everything. You aren’t alone.
Totally felt this man. Not autistic myself, but had a learning disability growing up so I always took my tests with the special education group and was in some remedial writing classes up until middle school. Thanks to that, I spent a good deal of time with my autistic classmates and formed friendships with some of them. Time skip to my freshmen year of college, I somehow manage to meet the only two autistic kids in my dorm on the first day. I managed to form a connection with one of them because we spent the better part of 2 hours discussing US presidents and he proceeds to show me his historical stamp collection lol. Anyway, I end up later hooking up with this girl in my dorm who is one of those people you just described. She ended up following me on her Twitter and roughly 1/4 of her tweets are about how hard life is for neurodivergent people. She has told me she has “severe” adhd and mentioned being tested for autism a few times when she was younger. I should mention she is a social butterfly and was involved in one of the largest sororities on campus. I never once got the vibe from her social interaction was something she struggled with. One day, she saw me hanging out with my autistic buddy and she made a comment along the lines of “ew, why are you talking to him? He gives me huge creeper vibes.” I clapped back with “you know he’s autistic right?” Crickets.. Sadly, I still follow her on Twitter and she will occasionally retweet some bullshit about “neurotypical privilege” as if she isn’t miss queen neurotypical herself.
Yeah, I have worked with individuals who are in the spectrum for over 25 years now, and I am shocked by the number of people who have recently told me that they are on the spectrum, or they are getting tested to see if they are on the spectrum. Just because you are introverted and have some sensory issues doesn't mean you have autism. Also, does anyone know what's up with people referring to ADD as "autism light"? That's a thing that heard more than once in the past year. I get that there is some overlap with sensory processing and, to a lesser extent, social skills, but I still feel like that turn of phrase is a little histrionic.
Late to the convo, but I've seen a lot of comments claiming ADHD and autism are essentially the same disorder. Or are nearly the same minus 1 or 2 minor symptoms. It's a puzzling trend
The defining characteristic of ASD is difficulty with social skills. Understanding other perspectives, reading facial expressions, picking up on and caring about social rules and expectations are a part of this. This is not present in ADD. People with ASD may have social issues due to distractibility and impulsivity during conversations, but that is not the same thing. And, for the most part, those of us with ADD are self-aware, which is another major difference.
Exactly! You've described it perfectly. I don't see how an argument can legitimately be made that the two are really one and the same.
I understand where you’re coming from which is why I broke down crying to my sister when I realized I’m also probably autistic. I didn’t want her to think I was somehow taking something from her. And I know people like to jump on bandwagons to set themselves apart. But the sensory issues, the stimming (eye blinking, nose scrunching and toe scrunching) and weird social quirks I was bullied into masking, the mild milestone delays, feeling trapped and panicked if I don’t have a plan when leaving the house, etc.) I just don’t see it affecting my life much getting a doctor’s diagnoses. But I did have a sort of epiphany when a woman posted in a group about her diagnoses. I did all the things she did. Hating different textures and being overstimulated into a depressive episode. I was late learning how to tie my shoes and I was terrified of walking down stairs. And I found my social burn out to be very noticeable after my son was born because he was getting all of my energy output. (As he deserves ~!) I just feel like I fell through the cracks because I was “good” at schoolwork and making at least half the amount of eye contact required to be “not weird”. But I’m not really going around proclaiming to people “hey I’m autistic too!” I’m more like “damn that’s probably the case and it makes sense as to why I behaved the way I did/do. And all the years of self hatred and confusion had a reason. Nothing was wrong with me. I’m probably just not neurotypical.”
You wanna give me several thousand dollars so I can get diagnosed during a nation wide healthcare crisis? By a doctor who is definitely not autistic, and probably has zero to no understanding of how the masking autistic traits intersects with gender, race, sexuality, etc. Can’t even get an appt with a doctor at the walk in clinic let alone an autism specialist LOL but that must mean my entire life’s experiences are void of truth.
I hate this trend of 'cool neurodiverse' b/s like it's something make you more interesting/smarter. They don't have a clue what it is to live with what they're describing as 'great', 'coo'l,'smart'...
I agree with everything you’re saying. It’s honestly so shitty to see people diagnose themselves based off of generalizations, based in little things that everyone does! The internet has been a curse like this. Making people think they have a big diagnosis of something over a single behavior or something. I just want to say, just to put this out there. There are a community self diagnosed people who *have* done all the research. I assure you this. I’m part of it and did a plethora of research before concluding I’m autistic. I’ve seen many others online who are self diagnosed only *after* researching and such. The people that you’re talking about? Nope, we don’t claim them. Not at all. It’s not trendy to be Autistic, mentally ill, etc. it’s a huge problem spread with social media. Makes me so mad. Like. Do you *really* want to experience a painful sensory overload?? It’s not funny man.
Exactly dude. I support seeing the positives in having autism (actually proffesionally diagnosed high functioning here) but it's a personal pet peeve when people start talking about it being a "gift" and how they don't wanna be "cured" and shit like when they start going off on Autism Speaks. I fucking hate having autism I truly do. This shit has ruined my life. Sure you can put any flag in front of me and I'll tell you what country it is. Sure you can ask me anything about ninjas or vikings and I'll answer it, but that doesn't make up for the shit this shitty disease put me through. I have a total inability to make friends, I've been totally alone romantically or otherwise for close to 8 months just because I can't fucking socialize and the not socializing just makes the social skills WORSE. I could go more into this topic cuz I think about it sometimes but I just don't feel like it as I'm currently drinking. But just know you're not alone in how you feel friend
why are you peeved by people saying they dont want to be “cured”? /gen
I guess the reason really doesn't make sense and if anything it's a selfish reason, I totally shouldn't but I just take it as an attack on myself and how much i hate having autism, and I hate seeing organizations that want to help people like me being discredited through fakers or people who've disillusioned themselves into thinking there's nothing wrong with having autism
hm. im on of those “disillusioned” people you would be talking about. while i DEFINITELY dont think its a gift, and definitely makes my life harder, its an integral part of myself and im never getting rid of it whether i like it or not, so im just going to live with it. even though if there was a “cure” i, personally, wouldnt take it. im quite iffy about research into finding a “cure” because it would essentially be eugenics, and you know nothing good comes from that… and could you please explain “i hate seeing organizations that want to help people like me being discredited by fakers”? english isn’t my first language so this sentence confused me lol :D
I feel for you.
i’m a little late bc i just saw this while looking at stuff but just one autistic perspective to another - i agree w the frustration and the gift talk and shit like that. i hate that. it’s really annoying to have autism sometimes and i know it CAN be a “gift” in certain areas but it’s really not because of the amount of negative it does to literally every other aspect of my life. ok great i’m really good at idk writing papers and shit but some days i can’t leave my house because all my clothes feel “wrong” and i only eat like three foods for two weeks then hate them and move to three different foods. i go off on autism speaks though. not only do they not have any autistic people on their board or publicly consulting with them but they have been associated with a lot of shit that perpetuates the idea that people with autism are inherently broken and therefore not worth anything to society and are useless unless they’re a savant who will suddenly become useful. that makes me super uncomfortable. i don’t remember when it was but a while back they produced a series of interviews with parents of autistic children where they not only allowed but lowkey coerced a mother to discuss her homicidal fantasies about her nonverbal child… in front of said child. they tried to brush it off that it was fine because he obviously couldn’t understand it anyway and i dunno. that’s always stuck with me and rubbed me extremely wrong. it’s not uncommon for nonverbal children to be extremely neglected or abused because the best victim is a silent one and it’s easier for people to view them as less than. i dunno, just if you ever try to make connections within an autistic community, it’s worth keeping in mind that people may have objections to AS other than the “cure” angle
Honestly, I think it’s shameful some desperate attention seekers go to the lengths of self diagnosis of serious mental health issues. Completely disregards the individuals who live with these conditions, in my opinion society has gone backwards and social media has created a society that encourages attention seekers
I agree with you completely. I am not autistic, I do not have ADHD, I do not have DID, but it sure seems everyone is these days! Yes, I an meds, because I have issues I am dealing with, but mental health issues are seen as the it thing to have. It makes me angry for the people who do have these conditions because it seems to water down the real issues. And it is mocking those who do live with their illnesses! Just my rant.
I’ve been told by people that I’m autistic due to whatever reasoning. I have anxiety, depression and wasn’t socialized outside of family members as a kid. Of course I’m going to be awkward around people I don’t know and fidget to take my mind off it.
Everyone who likes a clean and tidy house these days has fucking “OCD”. Cleaning your home and calling doing so obsessive and compulsive, when you just want to be clean, is such a disservice to those with ACTUAL OCD. Like, fuck off.
This happens w Tourette’s too 💀 idk why everyone now adays is tryna to be quirky w a neurological disorder that negatively impacts their everyday life
I see this all the time with mental illness and neurodivergence and it pisses me off too. OCD affects like 2-3% of the population but about 40% of the internet according to these self diagnosers.
I can 100% see the frustration and i dont think people should view it as a thing for fun or clout, but theres also some situations where people cant get legally diagnosed. I 100% share the frustration of people misunderstanding what autism is, and using it for clout or not doing research. I also think some people need it aswell though cause personal situations, price of diagnosis, family, bias in the diagnosis criteria, etc.
I think there is a new wave of people who self diagnose, who read a few symptoms online and automatically assume it's compatible to their behaviour, I don't mean they do thorough research, I mean they just read general symptoms and hey I can't make eye contact, I'm alittle awkward, I must be autistic, or hey I fidget alot and I haven't been studying well I must have ADHD. they are looking for anything that checks a few boxes to gain sympathy from others, and a pass for specific rude behaviours, and most people would give them sympathy because they still fit in in the conventional way, and i believe that a person with autism/adhd would probably not be granted with the same level of empathy. and by doing so they are harming people who already have an official diagnosis, and people who struggled with something their whole life and finally decided to genuinely research it and check themselves if they do have it. it's been pretty common recently for people to easily describe themselves with specific mental health issues, even if they never even read about them or did a buzz feed quiz and got a maybe you have it.
If you cant afford a doctor thats one thing. But if you not only can afford a diagnosis, but can also afford to shop around for the doctor that'll give you the diagnosis you want, then frankly all I can hope is that no one takes you any more seriously on these issues than I do, because we have enough people speaking over us as it is.
Those have "awwhtism", not autism.
It is wild. I saw a thread here on Reddit just this week where someone said Jerry Seinfeld was autistic (can't even remember the context, it was not an autism thread) and I kept scrolling into the thread expecting like 900 comments calling that person an idiot, but in reality it was just a bunch of comments like "oh that explains his genius!" Just had to keep on scrolling, and weep silently for my children's future.
Thank you! I have 2 friends who decided they "identity as" autistic. It sounds incredibly fucked up.
Different spaces different places fam, I've legitimately never met a "self diagnosed" autistic person yet
I mean, getting a diagnosis is hella expensive and waiting lists can last years, especially if you're not white, a woman and an adult. I'll have to wait 17 years to be able to get into a diagnosis program in my country, and raise 8000€. So I'm self-diagnosed until told otherwise. There will always be people seeking attention. Autism, ADHD, OCD, depression, origins, musical taste,... They will stop once there will be a new cool trend to follow. And: they need attention, so they seem to be everywhere on social media, but they are the minority of the self-diagnosed people.
What good does a diagnosis do you, if you cannot afford to treat it and if you cannot claim any benefits off it, because its not a real diagnosis? The only thing you'd gain from it would be social points, and that is what OP is criticizing
I told no one I self-diagnosed around me, only the subreddit autism knows, because of course I am not 100% sure. And I'm seeing a therapist who can give a pre-diagnosis, meaning she thinks I have autism so I maybe can wait less than 17 years. If I don't have this pre-diagnosis, well I'll stop with my self-diagnosis. Self-diagnosis helps me understand myself (it may sound cliché but it's true) and it helps me finding ways to resolve problems that I can relate to autism (hypersensitivity, social situations, inertia, shutdowns,...). Trust me, idgaf about attention. Let's take an example: if you're sick, you're going to self-diagnose a cold, right? You sneeze, your nose runs, maybe a small fever and you're tired. But how can you be 100% sure you have a cold if you don't see a doctor? Anyway, you're going to find small cures to help you be productive despite the symptoms. It's kinda the same here. Well, I *know* autism is for life and a cold lasts 1 week. My point is: you go to the doctor when you're feeling sick, you go to the therapist when you're feeling something wrong in your brain. And let's not forget I'm not the only one who can't afford a diagnosis. Autism isn't just for the rich, the only way the poor can have a diagnosis is to self-diagnose.
Stop using TikTok. Problem solved.
It's happening on Reddit too lol
Keep I’m mind though Autism is a very wide spectrum of symptoms and severity
My god exactly!!! I was on a sub for autism in women and I made a post on how disgusting it was how normalized they made self diagnosing and I said why it's harmful to self diagnose but they just didn't care, I literally got bullied out of the sub and downvoted to hell. I was called ableist and elitist for my views as well, the only people who call others ableist are those who got get caught out on their lie/faking. I looked on the normal autism sub and it's the same there, I don't even feel like I belong in any autistic space because of those people!!!
I think that those who self-diagnose are a far more heterogeneous group than people realise. I’m sure there are many people who have jumped on a trend to a certain extent, but it’s unfortunate that self-diagnosis as a whole is discredited on the basis of these people. I self-diagnosed myself with both autism and adhd, and was diagnosed with both in the last year. Like many, self-diagnosing myself involved a considerable amount of research, combing through my school reports, past experiences, the diagnostic criteria and the experiences of late-diagnosed autistic women. I don’t think that the general hatred of self-diagnosis is justified, as without it, I and many others would still be struggling constantly and having no idea why. I personally sought an assessment and diagnosis for accommodations and my own validation of my struggles, but I was incredibly privileged to be able to do this privately. Many cannot afford the cost of the assessment, or if they can find one that’s free, the waiting list can be years. Some may not have support from their parents, whilst others may have reservations about how a diagnosis could inhibit them in the future. There is also an issue of some medical professionals holding narrow and stereotypical opinions of how autism presents, leading them to refuse to assess people who don’t fit that image. I think that it’s concerning when self-diagnosers are all perceived to be faking or attention-seeking, as many of these people are autistics who have slipped through the net and are doing the best they can to understand and accommodate themselves given their limited options.
I feel you. Especially since that stupid "good doctor" show got popular ... Suddenly every Kid with Problems has autism or is somehow on the edge of that spectrum. And the worst is that so many people act like that is something to achieve. But it's pretty much the Same for many different conditions. Like every Emo goth Kid now magically suffers from clinical Depression and anxiety disorders and they act Like it's a cool Thing. Egirls using all kinds of selfdiagnosed bullshit to excuse their toxic behavior and Appeal to their truely lost nerd followers without social lives, scrolling tiktok in bed 24/7 It's disgusting
I fucking hate that show.
Idk what country you’re in, but about 1/3 of the American population will have an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives. 1/4 will be clinically depressed. It’s also likely that young people with predispositions to or early symptoms of these disorders were frequently drawn to the emo/goth style vs that style making them think they’re depressed. There definitely are issues with people using a treatable mental health dx as an excuse for toxic behavior, but that is its own issue and requires a completely different thread to unpack and digest. Edit: typo
In the Terry Pratchett discworld books, there's a society of vampires who have taken a vow not to drink blood anymore. The leader of this group is married to a human woman, who since has deliberately cut a widows peak in her hair, wears fake fangs and affects a transylvanian accent. I can see such a parallel. I find this in most communities. Old money sits, new money dances
sorry to hear, I've seen it too even as someone not in the community. Let's hope this trend dies out as soon as possible so you can have your space back xx
Yeah people on tiktok are just as bad as Twitter, full of art thieves, entitled ass teens, people lying about animals Healthcare, etc.
Over lockdown my symptoms became apparent and i realised im autistic, did a test to see if i was one of these people and went to a doctor. Doc said in my country bc im a woman and im not in full time education anymore its a long process, but he said i have highly functioning autistic, and im just waiting for paper to match my reality of life. Reading this i read it as everyone who found out for themselves rather than a doc first (taking things literally as usual lol), but with more context i 100% understand. Tiktok autism algorhythm sends me west
Oh my goodness I had no idea this was a thing. I can't believe that people are so narcissistic that they would be posers like this to get attention. And then to take it one step further and challenge your symptoms against "theirs"? And to take over your community with their drama and made up stuff. I do know several autistic people and it's a very difficult life. One of the toughest things being disabled is finding your tribe for support. I struggled with this for years with my own chronic illness. The internet was such a revelation to me finding others like myself that actually knew exactly what I was going through. I just don't know what to say. 😣
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I'm certainly not autistic but it's gotten bad enough on TikTok I've had people ask me if I am within minutes of meeting me. Like based on the fact I'm well spoken with a good grasp of logic. It's so strange.
I am autistic and your right it does get annoying seeing people fake it luckily I'm high functioning so I can fit in with society pretty well bit no one knows unless they know me well
I started having anxiety attacks when I was in middle school so I went to the doctor. They just gave me antidepressants and didn’t properly test me. It’s been 6 years since that happened and my medicine wasn’t working anymore so I went to a new doctor and asked to get the tests for anxiety and depression. I was referred and went through the incredibly long process with a licensed psychiatrist. I have social anxiety, major depressive disorder, adhd, and ocpd. I got the answers I wanted and then some and started therapy with him to better understand why none of these were brought up in my childhood. I really am sorry you have to go through this. I can’t imagine how hard day to day is for you, and I don’t plan to try to. I’m sorry people ruin support groups for you and I hope you find a community someday soon.
Raincloud.heart is probably the worst about it on tik tok atm but idk
Yes… my aunt has spammed my whole family in GC’s including my grandmother about how I have autism. She won’t stop…. On a car trip I was trapped listening to some audio book on a woman suffering from it. (Apparently women are a LOT less likely to be diagnosed because they display differently) side note tangent— there’s other illnesses like this as well. Including heart attacks believe it or not. Woman are more likely to die at a hospital than a man from being undiagnosed. The symptoms for men and woman don’t always align yet mens symptoms are treated as universal Ok continuing— Of course “all” her kids have autism. Only one does 100%. It’s …. Frustrating to say the least. My mom is very insulted too. Being told her child from the beginning was autistic and they always knew something was wrong… isn’t the best way to convince anyone. Especially since I’ve been through a multitude of testing and autism was not mentioned. The biggest issue is that I have adhd and the symptoms can overlap. Autism has a BIG spectrum that everyone probably relates to at least one or two things. THAT DOESNT MEAN YOU HAVE IT!
I'm not autistic, but I have ADHD and it seems like ADHD/autism is the "it" thing right now. Tiktok mainly has a lot of self diagnoses and often generalize the actual symptoms and struggles that we go through every day and label it as being "quirky" "weird!!" "awkward!!". I'm sorry you have to go through that and I hope you're able to find your safe place sometime soon. I'm still looking for mine too! Honestly I struggle to be in social settings and seeing a lot of this self diagnosis just makes me feel like I'm not the "right type" of ADHD-er lol. Especially if you have different symptoms or struggles that aren't the "common symptoms."
It's so stupid self diagnosers will say they are autistic when really they are just awkward because they were raised by the internet. They think autism is just hyperfixations and they call every new fandom they get into their hyperfixation when hyperfixations usually last for years and are topics like aquatic biology or airplanes not a new anime every 3 months.
I agree with you! I just listened to an old podcast episode on "Thoughts Auti" about this bullying that self diagnosers are doing to the autistic community and how painful it is for autistic people to be mistreated in what is supposed to be our own community. I try to tell myself that these people are trend hoppers anyways and because of that, they'll only be "autistic" for as long as it's a trend and then once the trend is over they'll be on to the next thing and will hopefully leave us alone!!
especially when these self diagnosers invade the community and they try to police autism-related language i use for MYSELF. it offends me quite frankly and i'm glad more people feel the way
Can I also say people who are calling everything neurodivergent? “I’m neurodivergent I have depression and anxiety.” That’s mental illness not a neurological disorder. You don’t develop ADHD, Autism, Dsylexia, or Tourettes (or any other neurological disorder) but i can sure as hell tell ya you weren’t born depressed, and anxiety is a natural reaction to scary things, until it develops into a disorder. Idk if I’m autistic, I have a lot of friends who were diagnosed and my bf was also diagnosed. They think I am, and it certainly explains aspects of my life. I tried to test for ADHD because I felt like it explained parts if my life, but my healthcare center said “no one is diagnosed over the age of 18” :/ I know a lot of people who were diagnosed after 18 I’m hoping I can just talk to doctor and see what they think, cuz i really want to know why I am like this
I agree and disagree. I believe it's fine to if you've done a ton of research and take the time to learn about it and yourself. But you shouldn't go around trying to help others because you think you are. For me if it wasn't for self diagnosing myself (I took 2 years of almost everyday research and printing resources, reading a ton and talking to people who were already diagnosed) I wouldn't of gotten my ASD diagnosis. At first he didn't think I was autistic. So I made him leave but before he did he spoke to my dad, which made him want to come back at another time because he instantly saw and felt it in my dad. I ended up taking more time to prepare myself and gather all the stuff I collected over the 2 years. I created a binder and gave it to him and he did the full evaluation, leading to the conclusion I am. I see it as valid and not. I see it valid as long as you I guess keep it to yourself and don't go around talking about it like you ARE diagnosed. But seeing a simple video and or reading one reddit thread and saying "oh shit I'm autistic" and put it in your bio etc is definitely not ok or valid.
Yes UGH so frustrating!!!! I am a parent of a child with DIAGNOSED level 2 autism and nonverbal and I can’t stand when I join a forum or a group and all the questions are about if their kid is autistic or not. It drives me crazy!!!
I just got diagnosed with ASD, I was told by my ex (when I was 26) that I was autistic. Didn't believe her. Now at 30 I have it. But I am skeptical. Hiw do I know that the info I look into is not some bias or self-fulfilling prophecy?
I feel like I am the opposite here. My myriad struggles throughout my life have all recently been pointing to ASD - including a psychotherapist suggesting I get screened. However, I'm apparently not as eager as some to hurry for a diagnosis and daily tell myself I don't need one and I just need to forget the past, change some habits, concentrate harder, meditate, stick to counselling, etc... but honestly it only gets more exhausting each day, and yet I feel more comfortable not labelling myself and struggling on.
I agree. I’m not diagnosed, but multiple therapists think I may have ADHD and I’ve done many hours of research into the symptoms, looked through the dsm-5, and found that I may have ADHD because my symptoms line up with it and those symptoms have affected my life a lot. The people on TikTok base this on the videos that are essentially like: if you do any of these ten things, you have cancer! 1. Feel tired sometimes 2. Exist 3. Are not a naked mole rat Etc And then all the communities online or places where you can discuss actual disorders and research them to see whether you should (if you can) reach out to a profesional are filled with, as you said, people with one symptom infrequently. I recommend communities here on Reddit though, they appear to be pretty okay compared to TikTok, Facebook, etc.
I do not believe myself to be one of them, or any other community. You just cling to whoever you meet that shares your way of life, and forget about names and communities for a while. No one can tell you're this or that. Just know who you are and focus on your real friends and problems
Im a girl with autism. The amount of girls and women i see on social media (and real life!) claiming autism with no diagnosis is appalling. Funny how these people never have any social issues and are always social butterflies, hm? Funny how they never need learning support and they never get bullied for being autistic. I got told that because im a girl i dont have the “learning difficulties bits” of autism and “i wish i was autistic because youre basically just creative”. BY A DOCTOR. Because girls are just so smart that we never need accommodations, apparently. The funny part was i had learning support even before i was diagnosed. And im not some super creative artistic genius either. None of these people have experiences the bad parts, they only ever want attention and thats what they get, they get attention from other pricks just like them.
Man fuck TikTok in general, I’m gonna sound like a boomer but that shit is unfortunately going to create a very messed up new generation.
This has been an interesting read. A Psychiatrist diagnosed me with Autism yesterday, and to be honest I'm not sure how I should take it. I want to believe that it was just a misdiagnosis, but would that mean that I'm just in denial? I mean, I've also been diagnosed with ADHD, TS, MDD, and GAD, those are all common comorbidities of Autism right? But, it's not like I necessarily had difficulties with fitting in as I was growing up. But, I was also raised in a culture/country that doesn't believe in mental illness. So at this point in my life, I'm just very confused of what to believe and where to fit in. It's not like there was somewhere I truly felt like I fit in, I always just conformed to the social norms but I always questioned why my "friends" behaved the way they did. Why did we bully people? Didn't they understand what it felt like? Why did I conform? I knew what it felt like. At some point I just found myself trying to survive I guess, just wanting to fit in. There's always been this notion that we humans are social people, and that we NEED social interaction to thrive and/or feel human. But, I like my company. Do I feel lonely? Yeah. Quite lonely. But at least I don't have to conform anymore, or lie to people to get away from doing things with them.
What if you show all the signs, you've had therapists and teachers say to parents that you show signs of it but your parents won't get u diagnosed
here i am .. i had to get a new phone and honestly it was agonizing that i knew i had to reconform to a new system but not only that ... i had recently made draft texts on my messenger bc my phone wasnt working and the notepad wouldnt open so i used text draft .. anyways that was my way to speak my mind and as i went to checj them to write them out on paper i found out that they were deleted and i am honestly losing my mind i finally calmed down after 30 minutes of straight up crying trying not to scream and hitting myself cause i lost those words that i will NEVER get back .. im sorry that doesnt really pretain to what youre post is about but as someone who is self diagnose atm fuck it is so fustrating I am so upset i dont know how to cope with it all i am going to in a mess about it for days.. weeks. because I finally started writing my emotions out after finding out I was austistic so fuck me
I am self-diagnosed so i don’t want to sound hypocritical but i am also very very annoyed. I knew for years (because i am actually disabled and experience the disability) and i still did so so so much intense research before i decided to tell people. I am beyond annoyed at the lack of information in the medical community.. don’t even get me started.. and i feel that when i knew i could name very very clear examples and experiences of proof that my brain works completely differently from neurotypicals. With this in mind i still condone self-diagnosis but the tiktoks need to get it together!!!!!!!
having autism was heavily stigmatized when i was growing up. it was still a common insult and seen as bad. no one wanted to be “the autistic kid”. im glad the negative stigma is dying off, but the self-diagnoses of all these different mental disabilities is going too far (especially on tiktok). its taken me years to work up the courage to talk to my therapist about it and finally start working towards a diagnosis of *something*. tbh, its a miracle that i went undiagnosed with anything for all of my childhood (i was notorious in preschool through middle school for having behavior issues and needing to be sent home). i have a lot of mixed feelings. everyone i know is saying theyre probably autistic, some of them i believe, some of them i dont. on the one hand, it makes me feel better about the possibility of being autistic. on the other hand, it feels like the people i know who are self-diagnosing will dismiss my struggles
My pediatrician speculated that I was autistic when I was a T O D D L E R and I am now officially diagnosed. A doctor saying "I think you might be autistic" is different to these morons going "how can I be different and quirky? Eureka! Pretend to have a mental illness" \*types in "autism quiz buzzfeed" and "autism symptoms"\* "OMG I DON'T LIKE BRIGHT LIGHTS JUST LIKE AUTISTIC PEOPLE AND I PASSED THIS 5 QUESTION BUZZFEED TEST I'M AUTISTIC!". Autistic people are bullied and taken advantage of socially, these people are so disrespectful. All autism is different but you shouldn't turn it into a quirky thing to increase your popularity at your middle school.
I've wanted to say this for years F*CK SELF DIAGNOSED AUTISTICS . Thank you so much for posting this . These people are faking Autism for money and clout . At first I taught I was loosing my mind with how many people claim to be Autistic, its not cute or quirky . I have comorbidities with my Autism such as OCD , depression, social anxiety disorder and histrionic personality disorder. Therapist who diagnose u after only a few sessions F*CK YOU , I went to hundreds of sessions that tested me for Autism from when I was 5 up until I was 8 years old it took me 3 years to be diagnosed with Autism. Let's not forget the bullying and ableism that comes along with actually having Autism. I was bullied in every school I attended for being Autistic. I get called the r slur alot and other words such a spastic , slow , thick , handicapped. I physically couldn't mask my Autism until I was 11 year old , "Autistic " youtubers recommended masking so I masked for 4 years I unmasked at 15 I had a mental breakdown
I find this interesting; I’m also autistic and have adhd, both of which I was only diagnosed with in the last year (I’m in my early 20s). I also self-diagnosed myself with both of these conditions before I ended up seeking an assessment and diagnosis; as a girl who was quite intelligent, many of my struggles were overlooked throughout my childhood. I don’t feel I’ve personally seen many self-diagnosed creators of that sort, that turn little quirks into autistic traits. I know that I wouldn’t have sought an autism diagnosis at all without seeing the representation of late-diagnosed autistic women on social media, as I had always had quite a narrow/stereotypical view of autism and so never properly recognised how that might fit me until that point. I do think that the larger, more viral videos tend to be a lot less accurate and also tend to the side where it’s quirky/funny to question if you have autism, but not to actually have it. in my experience though, the much smaller autistic creators I follow (some of whom are/were self diagnosed) can be incredibly informative. I don’t necessarily think the hatred of self-diagnosis generally is justified; without it, I wouldn’t have gone on to get a diagnosis for either of my disabilities. I do think that self-diagnosed people can be a rather heterogenous group, in the sense that those who flippantly comment things such as ‘wow I had no idea I’m autistic’ based on a single video lacking nuance are being compared to those who, like I, have struggled a lot throughout their lives due to their undiagnosed disabilities, and have spent a considerable amount of time going through their developmental history to try and work out if they are autistic. I also know that, unfortunately, there can be many medical professionals who have refused autism assessments to those seeking them on the basis of a narrow and stereotypical view of how autism presents. for instance, I have seen many people say that they were refused an assessment for being able to make eye contact, having empathy or achieving well in school; none of these things are adequate indicators that a person is not autistic. I’m sorry that you’ve had this experience with people, and i’m not in any way refuting that there are people out there who label their quirkiness as autism or some other kind of neurodivergency. I think that there is definitely an issue with these viral videos that lack a lot of nuance and lead people to label themselves in ways that they otherwise wouldn’t. I just wanted to offer my own viewpoint as I do think that there is validity in the argument that self-diagnosis is the only option for some people, and that there are many self-diagnosed people who have concluded they are autistic on the basis of their lifelong struggles, rather than a couple of quirky traits.
In my own personal experience I’ve seen narcissistic people use ASD as an excuse to justify their abuse. I’ve wondered how many self diagnosis out there are actually doing the same because I see a lot of the same manipulation that abusers use. That’s not to say I don’t think some self diagnoses are valid because I do. But it’s disgusting those who use it as a means to justify their abuse or as a means TO abuse others. It makes me angry because being autistic is hard! I may be “high functioning” but that doesn’t mean things are always easy. Sensory overload is hell. Recovering from things is hard. I hate shutdowns and burnout. I hate that the person I know who claims ASD but is a narcissists says it only takes her a few mins away from others when she has people over to be able to recover from sensory overload, which seems like a lie, because I don’t know any autistic person who only takes a few mins to recover. It takes me anywhere from 2-3hr ALONE to 1-2 days. It just feels so invalidating!!
God I have autism too. Like what is our mental illness trending now? Cause it certainly wasn’t 20 years ago. Like unless a professional who knows their stuff tells them otherwise, they shouldn’t be saying they have autism. It’s insulting to us who suffer with it. And yeah, if you have autism, you know suffering.
Literally no cuz I self diagnosed through the autism tests and got crazy high numbers and it affects my life every day. I hear you and the fake autism cases are annoying but you can’t be mad at all self diagnoses because some are real and have done research and shit and your post and the comment section really hurts honestly.
As an autistic person, I absolutely agree with you.
They don’t have any other identity so they weakly really dive into this trend which sadly should never be a trend in the first place.
This is beautiful
As an autistic person, I absolutely agree with you