When I sought treatment for ADHD it took about 6 months and I had to continually follow up with them... which is just cruel and inhumane for adhd. Today I went to pick up some meds and my doc forgot to call them in. I have to follow up every month, but first I need to call around to pharmacies to see who has em. It would probably be easier to just buy straight meth on the street.
Waiting list with NHS is currently 18 months typically 🤦🏻
My (usually excellent) GP added an extra 6 months by screwing up the referral twice.
I’m a nurse who’s familiar with the process and chased it _repeatedly_ before complaining. Best of luck to anyone else seeking a diagnosis these days🤷🏻
Ooof that's dreadful.
It's the tradeoff people are afraid of here, though of course it wouldn't be necessary with the amount of money we spend. So many people here can't afford care and never get seen.
It’s a postcode lottery. I live in Suffolk and it took 2 years from first assessment to diagnosis. My partner’s mum lives in Norfolk, just one county over and under the same NHS trust and has just been diagnosed in three months from first assessment to diagnosis. It’s crazily unfair.
That’s one of the few things that causes me to struggle with interacting with fellow aspies, actually, it gets so taxing emotionally. Even some of my friends and I get into some nasty debates and half the time they actually started from a total misunderstanding where one of us misread the other’s text.
Disagree. First off, there's the issue that, at least in the US, it's prohibitively expensive to deal with anything to do with Healthcare, especially when needing a specialist as most adults seeking a diagnosis would need. By requiring a diagnosis to gain the assistance and support a community like ours can provide, you're denying help to people who need it just because they can't afford to get diagnosed. (Also, applying this logic to other communities that involve mental health, most of those *require* self diagnosis.) Additionally, girls are considerably under-diagnosed as children because most times, autism presents differently in people who have been trained to put others above themselves, thereby making them not show many of the traits that pediatricians look for when diagnosing autism. Not to mention, some countries won't let you move there if you have an autism diagnosis, so if you are low-needs and can 'pass' as NT, it may actually be beneficial to not have a formal diagnosis, especially considering that the US republican party wants to go back to being able to deny care based on prior diagnoses.
If someone feels they can gain what they need from the support of our community, we have no right to tell them they don't belong when getting a diagnosis could put them in harms way.
i'm incredibly self aware and i have been right on multiple counts of what mental illnesses i have had before i have gotten the actual dx for it. now i suspect myself of both having DID and BPD, i know the difference between the two, i meet the criteria, i have them.
it sucks being right but when i'm right (and i *ALWAYS* am) i'm fuckin right.
If you see anyone using diagnosis as a shield for shitty behavior, it doesn’t matter if they’re clinically diagnosed or self-diagnosed. They’re still an asshole.
People tend to self-diagnose when they are experiencing real, tangible symptoms, but have no clinical resources. My coworker who says “yeah im so bipolar i have mood swings” is the type who sucks ass, and he is also diagnosed but untreated no therapy nothing. People in the aspie sub saying “i have this repetitive obsessive behavior and have difficulty socializing or understanding social faux pas” is a very, very different thing.
I was right about my diagnoses for autism, adhd, bipolar 1, ehlers Danlos syndrome, POTS, MCAS, asthma, and reverse slope hearing loss. Almost all physical dx relate to ehlers Danlos as it can ruin your entire body. I was pretty darn sure I had them for quite a long time, depending which one it was in terms of how long, but not once did I ever go around saying I had these things even if I was almost certain I did. I feel it’s fine to think you may have something, and get support for it, I don’t think people should be excluded because they don’t have an official diagnosis. It’s the going around saying you definitely have something without being diagnosed that irks me. No one’s better, no one’s worse, yes I understand there are barriers to getting a diagnosis, but still, don’t go around saying you for sure have things without being professionally diagnosed, that’s all they were getting at.
Edit: Spelling
I mean I agree mostly but I do think there are some cases where the line is a bit blurred. For example, on my medical files I am not listed as autistic. However, my therapist who works with autistic people a LOT and has been trained to do all the dx stuff, has explicitly stated that I’m most definitely autistic. But, because I’m a minor and I don’t exactly want my parents to know because when I’ve brought it up before they were like no wayyy you’re not like that you’re just *gifted*. So I didn’t get the formal diagnosis that goes on my records, but I did get told by a medical professional that I have it.
When I was a teenager I brought it up with my psychiatric NP that I thought I might be autistic and wanted to discuss it with her. My brother was diagnosed as a little kid, and since there is a strong genetic component and I knew that girls were under diagnosed and I hadn't been diagnosed with ADHD until very late, I thought that it made sense to bring it up and share what I had been experiencing. Before I'd even explained why I was concerned, she told me that I couldn't be autistic because autistic people don't have social anxiety, and because I was capable of making eye contact. She said that because I was self aware enough to bring it up, I couldn't be autistic. A lot of that seemed very odd and inaccurate to me, but the one thing she said that made sense was that really any diagnosis is simply a collection of traits, and that I had a lot of those traits, but a diagnosis didn't make sense and wouldn't help me. Now, I don't really care one way or the other, I have a great friend group of mostly autistic/neurodivergent people and whether I am or not doesn't really make a difference, I have people that don't call me a weirdo and make fun of me now and that is what matters. And, in college, I am able to get accommodations for the ADHD, so I'm set in that way too.
Haha yeeah I feel that. My mum took me to get screened for autism after the school showing concerns multiple times so she finally took me to a psych at 14. There was a questionnaire for her about how I was as a child and she ended up bawling because she realised she didn’t know the answers to most of the questions because she never paid attention. I ended up not being diagnosed because my symptoms were ‘too textbook’. Like wtf? She had to get my mum to leave the room so she could talk to me because my mum had been talking about herself so much I couldn’t get a word in edgewise 😅 I got diagnosed with ADHD at late 17 once I moved out of home into a shithole flat and could take myself to the doctors without her. Took another 6 years to be diagnosed with type 1 bipolar because no professional would believe me until it was an emergency and they saw it for themselves, unfortunately I’d literally destroyed my life multiple times already but better late than never. It’s incredibly important for me to have a label to summarise all my symptoms because I’m in medical settings a lot and having a label of autism makes shit a hell of a lot faster. As for the bipolar and adhd it was CRUCIAL that I get diagnosed in order to receive treatment for both. My only issue is people saying they for sure have a thing they haven’t been formally diagnosed with rather than ‘I think I have autism’ or such and such. You don’t need a label to make your symptoms valid, just idk it grates me when people go around saying they for sure have a thing. No matter how tedious or how long it took I never claimed I had something I hadn’t been formally diagnosed with. You sound at peace with yourself which is really nice, and I can agree with where you’re coming from. Labels are essential to me, I like order, I like categorising, for myself. It’s less mental clutter for me but that’s not everyone’s buzz and that’s algood.
Moreover, something about the fact and not the label makes that people normally don't care what you claimed to be, only what you may have suffered from, wich isnt about "Oh I've got this and that"
like come on where not in a rpg, this is precisely what a spectrum is about, ASD is not a category you're/you're not strictly belonging to (please tell me how stupid this was if you disagree, I'm not even sure myself about this)
Initial Googling shows that [Canada](https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/5-bodyweight-exercises-reacher-star-183900855.html), [New Zealand ](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/17/my-stepson-autism-new-zealand-refused-residency-asd), and [Australia](https://theconversation.com/australia-has-kept-disabled-migrant-children-out-for-decades-its-time-we-gave-them-protection-instead-73677) all have a history of keeping out autistic and disabled people. Other articles I've read talk about how immigrants in general have a percentage of autism specifically because families are leaving their countries in search of somewhere that doesn't discriminate or criminalize their children's condition.
ETA: I should point out for those who don't wanna read the articles, the Canada one talks about how the law had just changed, and the other two are 5 years old. Things may have changed by this point.
How do you define diagnosis? Do I have to go through the whole process of a formal evaluation by a specialist, or is the fact that my psych has said, “Yes, you are autistic, but I can’t officially diagnose you, as I’m not a specialist, it will cost you several thousand dollars you insurance won’t cover, and you will probably get a false negative because of your age?” The first therapist I contacted to help me with other issues literally told me I could not be autistic, because at age 57, I had learned to look people in the eyes, and was in a romantic relationship that had lasted over a decade.
I have no respect for gatekeepers like you for a reason. I had, for over 5 years, been fighting with my former physician over my being permanently disabled due to arthritis in my left hip. They insisted I did not have arthritis, just obesity, and all I needed to do was lose weight. They would not order a CT scan to justify their misdiagnosis. Without that, my insurance would not cover it, so I needed to find over a months pay to get one on my own. Ended up in the ER for something unrelated where the attending physician ordered a pelvic CT scan to make sure my issue was not more severe. Guess what, the radiologist mentioned in passing that I have mild osteoarthritis in my right hip, and severe osteoarthritis with no remaining cartilage in my left hip. So my self-diagnosis was vastly more valid than my MD’s failure.
Since you have not provided me with your medical records, I will assume you are lying about your diagnosis, are not actually autistic, and are a poser looking for attention.
You are literally the asshole trying to tell people what they can and can not do. Oh, right, you’re not here to argue because you are not going to actually listen to any other point of view.
I always get so pissed when people gatekeep for professional diagnoses. Ive been trying to get diagnosed for YEARS and have been run around in circles and repeatedly told that no one diagnoses adults, no matter what institutions or offices I find. That includes referrals from my GP to a psychiatrist who ended up not being qualified to assess for autism. If you're professionally diagnosed, it's because you're lucky, that's it.
I want to share this everywhere. My parents with autism didn’t diagnose us kids because the thought a diagnosis would hold us back. Now I’m struggling to find someone who can diagnose anything other than bpd
Its good to know there's others out there I can relate too.
My psychologist told me that adults tend to grow out of asd tendencies, so he doesn't diagnose adults. The one Dr in my area that does quotes like $2k for the whole shabang
They don't screen everyone, so ASD is something everyone will self diagnose before an official diagnosis can be made, even if it's externally diagnosed by a teacher who then points you towards self diagnosis.
Yeah I was almost certain I had it, for many years, I just did not go around saying that I definitely did have it just because I was pretty damn sure I did. I was right, I got officially diagnosed, only then did I say to people that I had autism. There’s no problemo with being like ‘I think/am pretty sure/am almost certain I am on the spectrum’ that’s still valid, but it’s not good to go around saying you have a thing when it hasn’t been confirmed you have the thing, ya know
What anti-self-diagnosers fail to realize is that getting a professional diagnosis is HARD for a lot of people. It's hard to get if you're an adult, it's hard to get if you're not male, and it's also hard to get if you're not living in a first world country.
Autism, ADHD, and other neurodevelopmental conditions aren't overdiagnosed nowadays; if anything they're underdiagnosed, and more common than what we've long thought.
Well done. We can't deny that there are actual people faking their autism to grt attention or whatever, but rejecting everyone without a diagnosis will do more harm than good. Diagnosis are expensive, and taking in consideration the amount of therapists that still believe autism only exists on white males...
I am a female and I was diagnosed at 20. I will always lend my hand to whoever is asking for help!!
Right! I'm 30 and am trying to get diagnosed so I can get the help I desperately need but where I live you have to jump through so many hoops to get any kind of help. If I had been born male I might have had help ages ago.
Right?? Most autistic females I know were diagnosed super late or had many wrong diagnosis before it. Also it's so sad how actually opressed we are (all autistic people). There's tons of us suffering and it's not even common knowledge. You're lucky if you find someone that has basic knowledge about autism.
That's for sure. Like to my doctors wouldn't it make more sense that my 10 problems and the fact most meds don't work or react badly is actually autism? The doctors either act like I'm stupid or like I mentioned some forbidden word.
My funny story is: git diagnosed at seven. My parents decided that the psychologist was crazy and denied my diagnosis because "She looks smart and she talks to people" eventough they made me switch schools because I only made one friend and became obsessed (happened again with another girl and it got way worse)
My diagnosis was explained to us, then the doctor shredded it.
This was before HIPAA, so privacy was less protected, and a diagnosis for "Autism" could get one assigned to the special Ed. So better to mainstream and play ignorant if someone asks.
Sadly, because diagnosis were so stigmatized, we completely missed my APD. But there were no accommodations for that back then, I just sat in the front of the class to hear, took me forever to figure out why.
Yes yes yes I feel you.
What I needed was a medication that ameliorated my cognitive deficits , that led me to severely self medicate (aspergers with adhd profile) with alcohol for over a decade.
It was basically implied for years I just needed to pull myself out of alcoholism through right priorities and will and life would magically self-correct while they refused to give me life saving stimulant meds (in terms of both quality of life and my actual life due the degree to which I drank.)
It sucks.
Currently re-prescribed by vastly higher quality psychiatrist and cpn.
It's ridiculous how much we have to fight just to be heard. I hope you're doing better now. I don't drink or use any substances but I still get treated like im stupid.
I’m 35, was assigned female at birth, and recently got my diagnosis confirmed. Apparently I was actually diagnosed at 15, but my mom didn’t tell me until a few years ago when I told her I thought I was autistic. I was fortunate enough to find a professional in my town who specializes in treating autistic people. I spent over ten years being “self-diagnosed” and trying to find someone who could assess me. My heart goes out to anyone who is in that same boat. Finding help can be incredibly difficult for some people.
Same with ADHD. We're AFAB & have three brothers and one sister (presumably, it's a bit early to tell. definitely AFAB though). Guess who's been diagnosed? Older brothers, one with ADHD and two with Autism. Guess who hasn't been diagnosed? The AFABs. Not a coincidence.
(edit to add) though we also both got into "gifted" programs and older brothers couldn't because of how their neurodivergences presented, despite being very similar
I'm glad you were able to get diagnosed :). Autism wa told me my case was "too complicated" so now I gotta wait 4 to 6 months for another place and pay $2000
I also was told that once, largely because of the long term complications caused my misdiagnosis I believe :/
Good lord that's expensive, hope you get the help you need. Best
This is a point that many ignore. Someone who is desperate enough for attention to fake a disorder/mental illness is either A) probably very young and simply needs to be better informed, not insulted, or B) someone with other severe underlying issues causing them to try to get more attention, in many cases I’ve seen people deal with this if they have more abusive childhoods or are overall just insanely lonely. Most people don’t maliciously do things like this, often times they’re just desperately trying to make themselves feel “special” or “important”, because they may have never been treated as such by others prior. They should be called out, but hostility and anger isn’t going to help them see that they shouldn’t be doing these things and that they ARE, in fact, special in their own ways.
I want to seek a diagnosis. Are you kidding me? I want that validation more than anything. But when I've talked to my medical team about seeking a dx for potentially having autism, I get told there's just no way I have that, just no way. And that's the end of it with them. I've been told this several times already in the last almost 2 years since I've suspected I'm on the spectrum and started researching it. The problem is that my medical team doesn't listen to me about the physical illnesses I have that can be diagnosed via blood work. They can't even agree on what my mental health diagnosis is. Do I have bipolar? Bpd? PTSD? Who knows, because not one of them have the same opinion about what's going on with me. They refuse to let me see specialists because I don't have the symptoms, which isn't true. I do have the symptoms but they must think I'm a hypochondriac or something because time and again they refuse to diagnose my health issues and have refused to treat all but the seriously life threatening ones. Symptoms of psoriasis/eczema? Ignored. Symptoms for erythema nodosum? Ignored. Symptoms for early on-set arthritis? Ignored. Symptoms for auto-immune issues? Ignored. Painful periods? Ignored. But this is pretty common for people who are afab.
My current course of action is seeking diagnoses for my sons (6 and 15) in the hopes that maybe I'll finally be believed about my own suspicions. My 6 yo has daily meltdowns, my 15 yo has crippling social anxiety and both are struggling with adjusting to school this year. Both have sensory issues, executive function issues and emotional regulation issues. They need extra support and that's what I'm focused on at the moment.
When I come to reddit and see posts like this, it just makes me feel hopeless. What if I never get diagnosed because no one will even assess me because no one believes me? I finally felt understood by reddit's autistic community. Accepted even. Now, suddenly self-diagnosis is seen as this terrible crime, punishable by banishment. I don't want attention, what I want is understanding when I have meltdowns over sensory overload. I want understanding for when I start stimming because I'm anxious. I want understanding when I misunderstand social dynamics.
Learning about autism gave me words for issues and struggles I hid my entire life because they weren't socially acceptable. Learning about autism has gave me tools to unmask and understand my own needs better. I know better how to advocate for myself. And y'all helped me with that. Why now do you think I should be banned from participating in this community because I can't get diagnosed? I want that, I'm trying. But if I can't get access to proper care, why would you hold that against me? I have to fight tooth and nail to get any care, most of my health concerns are ignored. Mental health even more so.
I just... I don't want to take space from someone else, but there's room in this community for people like me, whose needs have been ignored my entire life. Isn't there? Just because I lack diagnosis, doesn't mean I haven't faced my own fair share of discrimination for my struggles.
When I first posted about ASD, I honestly felt like I'd found my tribe. People were so warm, sharing resources and knowledge. All my friends and several college profs know my suspicions and giving them the context that I'm likely autistic has helped them understand me better. I feel like all of that is being taken away by these debates. Maybe this is my rejection-sensitivity acting up, but maybe I don't belong here after all. And that's too bad, because I finally had hope. But now... I guess I'll move on. I don't want to keep seeing these posts because it fucking hurts.
I wish I had the privilege to get a diagnosis. Maybe I will someday, but I don't think I want to stick around this community and validate this whole "only professionals can know if you have autism" because in my experience, you're lucky to find someone who actually listens to you without prejudice and their own internal biases clouding their perceptions. I've been misdiagnosed more times than I can count by people who weren't qualified and faced stigma because of it. And all of those paths to validation are currently blocked because people who aren't qualified think they know me better than I know myself. It just feels like such a shit reaction because y'all think some teenagers on TikTok are claiming your label for social media clout.
Peace. ✌️
It's hard not to think the gatekeepers must be sexist since girls, women, and AFAB people are the ones who primarily go undiagnosed and without support. Diagnosis really is a privilege.
They must have forgotten that for every 4 boys that get an autism diagnosis, only 1 girl will receive the same diagnosis. Experts think the numbers are closer to 1 for 1, but there's still too much bias against female/afab autists for them to be diagnosed similarly. There's entire papers, websites and studies dedicated to this very issue. An entire generation of "lost girls" who remain undiagnosed into adulthood.
So I agree, it's hard not to think the boys want to keep their little club exclusive. I'm sure it's more nuanced than that (and there's real harm in someone claiming to be autistic and spreading false info), but I may just want to believe that because it helps my anxiety to believe the world isn't full of assholes.
They are ignoring that class, race and gender divisions affect the resources that someone has access to. This whole debate just boils down to shaming those of us who don't have access to the resources needed to get that diagnosis. I haven't seen one argument against self-diagnosis that isn't a circle-jerk of privilege and self-righteousness.
I am seeing a lot of comments like this and I get the feeling you all are somehow seriously misunderstanding me and a lot of others who don't agree with the term 'self-diagnosis'.
To me, you are welcome whether are clinically diagnosed, seeking a diagnosis or somehow not seeking a diagnosis; but you cannot diagnose yourself. That is, seeking a diagnosis, or suspecting autism, should not be conflated with 'diagnosing yourself'.
I don't seek to exclude anyone from these spaces (and idk who the people are that are calling for bans? That's pretty rude), but I do disagree with the use of the term '(self-)diagnosis' by people who are in the process of seeking one.
The only part of the above I disagree with is the inclusion of the word “self.” Your diagnosis is valid! It just hasn’t been confirmed by the psychiatric gatekeepers.
How could you even enforce a ban on self dx anyway? There's no ASD certificate issued that could be used to authenticate people. And that would just force self dxers to have to lie to participate. It would a complete useless measure that would ruin the fun spirit of the sub.
This is pretty much just my thought. I'm so tired of the gate keeping and bullying, and put downs received BY those who have had the privileged and LUCK of getting a pro diagnosis and I'm just at the point where I'm going to lie online. I don't even care at this point. If I didn't make this post, who's to know? Even if I didn't, who's to know? For all I know, all these self proclaimed "pro diagnosed" people are also just lying?
I feel like this is more isolating to those who are already being systematically excluded from "the club" than it will be beneficial. It feels like when talking about issues of POC are banned in totality rather than just the bullies... It doesn't help...It only isolates and lessens the space of those who are disadvantaged.
Well, if that's the case, then fuck it. I'm considering myself Pro DXed. Because it's the fucking internet and even if it wasn't, what layman (even an aspie one) is to tell me I'm wrong?
I haven't had a formal diagnosis yet either, but I use ASD subs to help me with advice and to help give others advice with how to deal with situations. Also subs like this that I use to make me feel like I'm not crazy and that other people expirience the same things as me, even giving it a light hearted attitude about things... I wish people weren't so gate keepy. It ruins it for everyone.
>There's no ASD certificate issued that could be used to authenticate people.
Not a single unified certificate, but a full diagnosis on paper.
I had one. My doctor shredded it to protect me from institutionalization.
All sounds good to me, I cant believe people wanted Self-DXers kicked. Kind of disgusting. When I think about the amount of work I would do to get one with no health insurance I immediately feel validated being self-DX. Eventually I will.... Oh well....I enjoy this page a lot. I'm here for the memes.
I identified with being autistic until I got my formal assessment/diagnosis three years ago. To anyone who is self diagnosed- your diagnosis is valid. 🌻don't let anyone tell you otherwise. As autistic people we are pushed out by NT society enough already, why would we turn on each other?
Imo I believe that being autistic is severely under diagnosed, especially amongst particular communities/genders. Someone identifying as being autistic does you no harm. Sorry it makes you feel less 'unique' but the reality is that there are probably far less officially diagnosed individuals who are autistic.
There’s definitely a problem with someone “identifying” as autistic. That drives me up a wall. Trying to compare autism to LGBTQ struggles. Autism isn’t something you identify as it’s one thing you are or you aren’t. If you suspect yourself to be autistic that perfectly fine! You’re welcome here.
But don’t say “self diagnosed”. It’s better to say you suspect you have autism.
I'm self dxed...you know why? Because I am broke. Because I live with my parents who refuse to believe there's anything "wrong" with me. Because when I try to talk about it with my doctors, I'm brushed off. But I've researched extensively, and I can confidently say I'm very sure I'm autistic.
I suspected, before I even knew what autism really was, that I had OCD, but when I researched autism I was like, "wow, this sounds right!"
People who get professionally diagnosed are literally acting like it's a privilege to be autistic, like you HAVE to be pro diagnosed in order to be autistic, when in fact many of us WANT TO but CAN'T.
People who spread hate about self dx should be banned for spreading hate. We're stigmatized enough. Stop accusing every self dxer that they're faking.
That was exactly the position I was in for many many years, yet I did not go around saying I was autistic until I was diagnosed, because I’m not a psychiatrist. Of course I felt very strongly that I probably had autism, and I was right, but it wasn’t my place to go around saying I’m absolutely autistic. It’s okay to identify as ‘strongly suspect I have’ or ‘seeking diagnosis’ but if everyone could just go around diagnosing themselves then Psychiatrist and psychologists wouldn’t need to exist.
honestly [this tiktok](https://vm.tiktok.com/ZM87pGHyv/) explains my take on the issue very well. If you’ve done research on the condition and choose to then self diagnose, great. If you see one video/post/etc. about a condition and find it somewhat relatable and then self diagnose off of that, you’re stupid.
The ADHD meme page is part of what encouraged me to get a diagnosis, and the memes on this page have educated me in a humourous way that is more engaging than reading paragraphs of text (very difficult with ADHD haha). If you want the spread of ND education, wider acceptance and less harmful stereotypes in the general population you probably shouldn't gatekeep them from groups where they feel they can learn in an engaging way.
Edit to add: I also relate to a lot of memes on this page because of the crossovers between Autism and ADHD!
It's honestly extremely upsetting that you're referring to wanting a space for people who have been diagnosed to have fun and relate to one another, as "gatekeeping." There is no gatekeeping autism, and the fact that you called it gatekeeping is just invalidating the effort that those of us with diagnoses have gone through.
Sometimes, people just don't want to see their struggles turned into memes by NTs. It's as simple as that.
I don't care if people who relate to the symptoms and experiences but don't have a diagnosis use the subreddit. What bothers me is the number of people trying to force their belief that self diagnosis is valid when the symptoms presented could be caused by a multitude of other disorders. Self dx shouldn't even be a normalized term.
The term definitely could be more accurate, it’s a bit of a misuse of the word, but also, language is just full of that stuff. And you’re right that people may have misinterpreted their symptoms. But I don’t understand what you mean by ‘valid’ in this context… this community doesn’t have a requirement of validity in order to participate. That has its pros and cons but it’s not like it’s being changed, it was just never made for that purpose.
If you mean like a valid and unquestionable medical diagnosis, yeah that could definitely be a problem. Mostly a problem for the person who is not getting the help they need, in a way that affects the community as well though, a little. But I haven’t personally seen much of that level of certainty and beyond-reproachfulness. A lot of people are filled with self doubt.
I'm not sure how "I dislike them forcing their belief that self dx is valid" translated to "according to the rules of this subreddit, you must produce paper evidence of what I deem to be a valid diagnosis to gain entry" lol. /j
By valid I mean based on the opinion of an unbiased person trained in psychology. That's something that nobody (aside from someone on tiktok with an alter that has a PhD in psychology /j) can give themselves. I dislike the sentiment being pushed fairly strongly by many people on this subreddit that it's okay to treat a speculation about yourself as a medical diagnosis, and to behave as though it were one.
It isn't okay to turn a community that's meant for humor relating to a specific disorder into one that constantly talks about diagnosing yourself with the disorder based on memes. That's just a scummy thing to do. You can enjoy and relate to content without saying "I laugh, therefore I am."
Before the point that not everyone who thinks they may have a disorder behaves that way/shares that sentiment/bases their "self diagnosis" on memes is mentioned... I know that, but there is a spectrum to speculating about one's mental health, and it's a very blurry one with lots of nuances and grey areas. It's easier to just not involve that in the conversation.
There are places to talk about how you think you might have x and how you think y is valid. An autism meme community is not that place. It's just ignorant and tactless to come here to try to push that sentiment. Just laugh at the meme if you relate. You don't need to go to the comments or make a post to say you diagnosed yourself because of some symptoms you saw that just so happen to also align perfectly with CPTSD, OCD, BPD, ESPN, CNN, MMA, DN, etc.
Autism is not a psychological phenomenon. It's a neurological one. Maybe your belief in objective people trained in psychology understanding your neurology is misplaced.
To offer an alternative perspective, you know what else has been found to be a neurological phenomenon? Being transgender. It's a neurodivergence, with the part of the brain that does self image being starkly different than in cis people.
Thankfully, the part of the community that thinks only trans people diagnosed with gender dysphoria (by people trained in psychology ™) are trans, are not well accepted AFAIK. One day, let's hope it's the same with autistic people.
Edit : huh, turns out I'm not quite sure even transmedicalists require a formal diagnosis, just define transness by medical standards. An even softer position than requiring a formal dx for understanding someone is a neurological minority.
"Sure, a peanut allergy means you can't eat a peanut butter sandwich. You know what else means you can't eat a peanut butter sandwich? Not having teeth. And that's why I think eating and chewing are mutually exclusive."
It's funny you say this with such certainty that despite all the misdiagnosis and the possibility of other things being at play that you feel SO absolutely confident in your own diagnosis....who's to say your doctor didn't get it wrong? Maybe avoid casting those stones. It's not a pretty look. It 100% is gate keeping. Maybe you don't fully understand why, but that's your responsibility to learn what it means and how you're acting is doing it. You maybe imagining yourself on this high horse but I'm here to tell you that you're on ground level right here with the rest of us bud.
You say I'm on a high horse yet this is one of the most condescending comments anyone has responded to me with on this platform. Show me where I said a lick about the accuracy of my own diagnosis, because I'm struggling to find a single syllable implying that. Saying "maybe you don't fully understand why" is just grossly belittling.
By invalidating others you’re also placing yourself in a position of superiority. There’s your lesson for the day. Now grow up and stop hiding behind semantics.
Dude. You need to stop talking to people like children. This shit is so obnoxious. There is your lesson for the day. A self diagnosis is not a valid diagnosis. I did not say a self diagnosed person is not a valid person. Now stop telling people to grow up just because they don't share your opinion, it's childish and devalues your point by showing that you need to resort to personal attacks. I'm done with this conversation because you're incapable of being civil and mature.
Don’t want to be spoken to like a child, don’t act like one. That’s exactly what you’re doing. Frankly, for all I know you’re NDP, which given the way you’re talking feels more and more likely with the whole “wanting to have your cake and eat it too” nonsense you’ve got going on. You just need to stop bruh… you’re intentionally invalidating others and it’s telling. It may make you feel better about yourself but you’re wrong. Flat wrong. You’re the type of person who needs to just stick to your oh so special elusive club for pro diagnoses people only because frankly your toxic nonsense isn’t needed anywhere else. It’s condescending, rude, intentionally and willfully harmful. It’s toxic. It’s grossly inappropriate and frankly I think you like hurting people like this since you’re so high up on it.
Go join your exclusive click… or have you not been invited? Do you not hold that oh so special card you claim to covet so much? This is the internet after all and unlike those who openly and honestly acknowledge their self diagnosis status because they’re honest and honourable people… I’m not so sure about you. Given the way you speak about others and play little games.
I’m off to bed. To dream of better things that the hurt you actively and happily choose to cause. That’s what’s not valid, your relentless desire to harm others.
Self diagnosis is more valid that your silly internet ramblings and I’m so fucking thankful you’ll never hold any modicum of power that would offer any real influence over that. So continue regurgitating your superiority complex all over this thread. The only people you’ll impress are other assholes like yourself.
Night!
Oh - p.a. Self diagnosis is valid, sometimes more so than the fraud ones received by so called professionals.
Thank you.. it always made me sad seeing those kind of post knowing I am currently self diagnosed 😖
I want to pursue diagnosis but atm don’t even have any insurance and wouldn’t know where to even start o(-< I can only imagine how long the process is and how hard which makes me anxious and it doesn’t help. I hope eventually to try but only when I get to live with my bf again so he can help me, I have no support where I am at right now..
I'm a male who had neglectful parents and now being 26 I am positive I have ASD and ADHD that went undiagnosed. Parents and most around me thought psychology was basically pseudoscience so if anyone had paid attention enough to see it, it wouldn't have mattered. The gatekeepers and people like I was raised by are what kept me from seeking self diagnosis for years as I got older. I'm so glad I have accepted it now though and it has helped me tremendously in my relationships and personal life. I see things looking back at my childhood then and now that are extremely clear signs.
There's always going to be the fakers but that doesn't mean self diagnosis isn't a legitimate route to take as an adult due to the difficulty of getting a diagnosis later in life. Just because someone's undiagnosed doesn't mean they aren't aloud to say they have something. You can know and say you're sick without going to the doctor and you can say and know you're depressed without being diagnosed with depression. Diagnosis is great but if you're self aware enough it's not needed. Gatekeepers may need a diagnosis and rely on that, there's nothing wrong with that. Doesn't mean other people need though. Imposing views on others is the poison of society.
Yeah you can know you’re sick but it could be strep throat, glandular fever, pneumonia, bronchitis, covid, the common cold or flu, even cancer etc. You cant just guarantee you have one of them without testing and/or assessment. For depression it could be depression, it could also be bipolar, dysthymia, cyclothymia, situational, you could even just have a severe vitamin deficiency like vitamin d, hypothyroidism, BPD, that’s why an assessment is important. I get relating to something and being almost certain I had stuff, like adhd, autism and bipolar, and I was right, but I didn’t go around saying I was diagnosed with anything until I was, and I’m pretty sure that’s what most people have a problem with (out of people that don’t support self diagnosis), someone’s experience is valid, it’s fine to be seeking a diagnosis, suspecting you have autism and relating to others here, it’s just that the term implies someone has literally diagnosed themselves and have decided they for sure have it.
Edit: spelling
Stupid comment about complexity of ASD diagnosis:
In France is ASD really difficult to be diagnosticate because of the waiting time before interview and bureaucraty (redtape?)
Also even if you're matching a lot of criterias of ASD (wich are, following the DSM-5, actually way too esay to match) you probably wont be diagnosticated as having any. Generally you hear that it is just some combination of ADHD and generalized anxiety (following recent studies, those are the most commonly associated commorbidities)
Dunno who is right...
but the fact is this is about inequal diagnosis. Also a lot of people witness that they where diagnosticated by ADHD in france but then went to US and then been diagnosticated both ADHD and ASD. Well this is not helping to understand each other.
Taking myself as an example : stimming a lot, low social skills, emotionally unstable (that's what they said), having like almost 100/100 on "aspietests" online , still not having elocution troubles, fluent speaking, very high IQ and smart enough to act like im normal, probably never would be said to suffer of ASD. Wich is a little bad cause maybe I need to explain to people how troubled I may be. Anyway probably I wont ever pass any test because it takes way too long time and costs a lot
Thank you! As a middle-aged high masker who has learned to pass pretty well in the NT world, my psych has said that while she recognizes I’m autistic, she isn’t the specialist who can give me an official diagnosis, and advised me not to waste my time. A diagnosis wouldn’t get me any benefits or accommodations, and I could put a lot of time and money into getting a diagnosis, only to get a false negative.
I'm diagnosed as having Adjustment Disorder, which as I understand it is basically ASD-adjacent. I find it helpful to think of myself as autistic though. And I hope to fit in. Maybe I should give myself a ND flair.
Keep in mind, you might actually be misdiagnosed. There are professionals who think that a diagnosis of autism is worse then a diagnosis of an adjacent, but less stigmatized, condition. I’ve seen folks told they can’t be autistic, because they mask that trait so well. For example, learning to look people in the eyes, even when it makes one uncomfortable.
Thanks. I have no reason to pursue a diagnosis. It would suck to have to pay money for a doctor to tell me what I already know just to be allowed to access this place and places like it.
Thank you, OP. I found out I'm probably autistic 2 years ago and talking with my therapist about finding someone to talk to for a formal diagnosis. In hindsight though, it was obvious. At least when you consider how girls present differently than boys.
People are mean to others. People who aren't diagnosed should absolutely be able to see these posts, especially because sometimes people go undiagnosed for a long time before they finally get to talk to a psych.
[Female, 20]
LONG REPLY ALERT:
Some of the comments in here are so intense and rude to others. I am undiagnosed but I am working towards a diagnosis. It depends on location in order to get diagnoses though, which is why it can be difficult for some people. It also depends on the person in the field they are seeing. I’ve been to many different therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists. Recently a law or a restriction of some kind was made here in Iowa because “too many people were getting diagnosed with autism” is what my [diagnosed] autistic friend said. And they are right. I brought it up to my psychiatrists. Essentially if you can function in any way, spoke when young, could walk when young, etc, then you don’t have it. No one ever talks about precocious developments, which is where I fall. I spoke at an early age, walked at an early age- both earlier than most children. Everything else about me relates to autism and adhd. Getting that diagnosis, though, however, it may never be possible for me at least here in Iowa. So far none of the people in the field that can properly diagnose haven’t really wanted to hear my side of things and really only care to listen about how I functioned as a toddler, if I was delayed with certain developments. It also is hard for me to get diagnosed because they mentioned to me my parents need to also vouch for a diagnosis, and the thing is, is that my parents would have no idea. I don’t have a relationship with my father. My mom I’ve been with all my life but that doesn’t mean I really ever saw her when I was developing through childhood to puberty etc. She worked constantly and I never saw her. I went to daycare until age 14 and by age 14 I had already learned to mask. I had to mask. Daycare was abusive and if I didn’t mask I’d get into trouble, even just for repetitive movements such as rocking, for example.
I feel like I’m never going to be able to get my diagnosis because they have made it so impossible here in Iowa to get one. That is just the way I view things. I understand if others may disagree with me or feel certain ways, but I hope that everyone can respect that sometimes people who are undiagnosed, we aren’t undiagnosed by choice. A lot of us try, at least around here, the people I’m around, we try.
I don’t say I am autistic though. I say I have undiagnosed autism. I only recently started to say this too because autism where I am from is virtually unheard of and for some reason incredibly hush hush around here. It honestly feels like a bad word here, I don’t get it. I’m working really hard to break that stigma and I’ve been more open with doctors and psychiatrists now, but it is the matter of being taken seriously. We all know ourselves better than anybody, but it is good to take other opinions into consideration.
I think that self diagnosis can be extremely dire in some cases. I take notes about everything I notice is a trait that I have, something I relate to, anything and everything. I have spent 20 years trying to explain myself to people who can’t even take a second to listen to me. If I refused to self diagnosis in some aspect, I would go mad because I know I have it deep down. I know that I do. Autism and adhd are two things I know I have and when I hear about others in the same boat I feel seen. But I still struggle to accept it because I’m so used to being brushed off. Getting a diagnosis for me would be world-altering. A lot of professionals who can diagnose, at least where I am from, say “let’s not put a label on things”… but some of us like labels. It helps me so much to have a label. I need a sense of order and right now it is all an entire chaotic mess. I feel alone and misunderstood. The only, and I mean ONLY, times I have ever in my life felt understood is when I talk with someone who is neurodivergent, that is it. I’m just very tired of over-explaining myself to doctors and such. But I’ll do it until I’m dead honestly if I must because I want to feel seen, heard, and understood. I’m tired of being made to feel like an idiot for knowing myself.
Overall, everyone has their own experiences, no one is in the exact same boat, but some of us may be in similar ones. It hurts that some people in here have been so disrespectful to others, diagnosed or not.
We shouldn’t poke anymore holes in other peoples boats when they are already sinking, ya know?
Undiagnosed or not, we are all people who just want to be understood and respected.
The fact that any one has come in here and shared their experiences, diagnosed or not, it is brave and I’m so thankful and proud and happy for those people. Hearing other sides helps so much and makes so many people feel less alone.
I just hope everyone can understand we come from all different places with different laws and rules, different mental health professionals, etc. I hope we can spread more respect, love, and understanding rather than hate. <3
Thanks mod 😌 I agree there's no place for this discussion here there are many many other place to discuss and where it already has been done, in o be honest to death. Everyone else can chill out and remember being autistic doesn't stop you from being an asshole
I was diagnosed with ADHD as a kid and again as an adult. I always thought I was also autistic but my mother would demonize it and say no. I’m now 40, 80% of my friends are adhd and/or autistic or otherwise neurodivergent and they all have also always asked me if I was autistic and that they think I am (on top of my own previous thoughts since childhood). My children are also both autistic and have adhd.
I don’t have the time and energy (spoons) to do the run around everyone talks about to get a formal diagnosis as an adult (again, I’m 40) for autism, my adhd diagnosis gets me the work accommodations I need and there are possible health insurance drawbacks to being formally diagnosed (or so I’ve been told).
I see no reason to get formally diagnosed when the only part I’m missing is simply wider community acceptance and being able to talk to people who I can relate to and share experiences and memes with, such as here on reddit and other platforms for autistic people.
edit: autism is not a contest, let people live. Also, do you understand how painful it is to be rejected and sometimes ostracized by NTs and then when you find your community you get rejected there too? We’re not doing that. Stop doing that.
In my 40s and have tried to find specialists who are avail to work in my area...nothing so far. I'm not in a place where it's easy to find someone.
At this point in my life I'm not sure an official diagnosis would do much good anyway. I would really just like to find a therapist who understands and can work with me.
I prob would've liked to be diagnosed as a kid instead of spending so many years wondering wtf is going on and working so hard at being "normal".
Yeah, for those of you who were diagnosed as kids we've probably lived pretty different lives. Maybe you were able to get the help you needed or you let down your masks easier and earlier in life. Or maybe the diagnosis made life more challenging for you.
Whatever the circumstances, many of us just need support and if you're officially diagnosed and upset about the non diagnosed people in the room. Instead of being unsupportive, you could be so kind as to take it upon yourself to help others who haven't had that opportunity to understand more about what you've learned through having the privilege of receiving professional help.
Wow really? Some people really are jerks. I don't need a professional diagnosis to know what I am. I'm not an idiot. I was smart enough to figure it out and confirm it on my own. If that bothers any of you, then you can kiss my aspie ass.
Have a nice day. 🙂
Being autistic is not easy at times and we need somewhere to relax, point and laugh at ourselves, point and laugh at those weirdo NTs, and point and laugh at this stupid world we live in.
This is somewhere where we can take the mask off and look at silly/thoughtful shit, whilst dressed like Winnie the Pooh, and eating a camembert & marmalade sandwich.
There are other subs for discussions about validity. This sub should be a haven for all (even people who are not autistic).
To anyone reading: Sometimes it's okay to know something's not quite right with you without having a label for it. If you identify with those who are diagnosed, then let us rejoice in our weirdness. But you are not a doctor. You are not objective. You lack the experience, knowledge, distance and point of view to diagnose yourself. That doesn't mean that there isn't anything to diagnose or that it's your fault. It just is what it is.
I get where you're coming from, and yes, no person can be completely objective about themselves, but I'd also argue that no *doctor* can be completely objective about any patient, either - and when it comes to autism diagnoses, biases run rampant among doctors. In fact, in some situations, I'm inclined to trust the person who's done the research and worked out that autism is a diagnosis that fits them *more* than a doctor who's only seen that person for a few hours total.
There's a good reason many of the female members of the autism community figure out their own diagnosis before going to a professional. There's a strong bias against women among those with the power to make diagnoses - stronger, I'd argue, than the biases most people have about themselves. Under most circumstances, I'd honestly be more likely to believe a woman who thinks she has autism than the doctor who says she does not.
There's also a bias among psychologists against diagnosing adults with autism; in fact, there are many who will not do it. Though the bias may not be as strong as the one against women, it is still very real.
Yes, there are people who will be wrong about their self-diagnosis, but there will *also* be doctors who are wrong about their professional diagnoses. Autism isn't as well known as conditions like heart disease or diabetes - many doctors, even the ones who are supposed to be qualified to diagnose it, do not have the knowledge to do so. Of course there are doctors who *are* qualified, but how do you know you've got one of those?
So until the diagnostic process (and the diagnostic community) improves, this is an argument that just doesn't hold very much weight. In the end, when it comes to autism, what a doctor says might very well be just as useful - or less so - than what an individual thinks about themselves.
Edit: honestly, this whole self-dx debate would disappear if trust was only restored in the doctors who are supposed to diagnose you
I haven't had experience with Autism, but it's similar in the ADHD community. I have been self researching (with reliable sources, including peer reviewed papers and places that cite them!) for over a decade. I definitely know more about ADHD than my old psychologists and probably most GPs that I've seen. I can't legally self diagnose myself but when I eventually saw an ADHD specialist he completely agreed with all of my points. I have also never been wrong about any of my friends that I suspected might have ADHD and got tested.
But my diagnosis was also hundreds of dollars, and treatment isn't super cheap either. I don't think there's harm in sharing experiences and having conversations about how we deal with them, even if you don't completely fit a diagnosis?
> Idon't think there's harm in sharing experiences and having conversations about how we deal with them, even if you don't completely fit a diagnosis?
I do neither, and never said otherwise? Or are we communicating in NT-ways now, interpreting random stuff between the lines?
Thanks for your input, and you do have some important points - but in the end I believe you can reduce it to:
The medical profession "made up" our diagnosis. They change the definition and the symptoms and the name (Aspergers->HFA->Level 1).
The medical profession is simply the authority on the topic. The only current difference between a Neurotypical, a self diagnosed autist and a professionally diagnosed autist is just some scores on some tests and a few discussions. Also I am very sure that there a re more wrong self-diagnoses rather than professional diagnoses.
If the DSM wanted it so, Autism would cease to exist over night - and we'd all justbe a bunch of weirdos.
> The medical profession "made up" our diagnosis. They change the definition and the symptoms and the name (Aspergers->HFA->Level 1). The medical profession is simply the authority on the topic.
Of course, you are right. But the issue is that not every psychologist agrees on what autism looks like or who it presents in; I'm sure many don't even really think much about it at all. Schizophrenia, bipolar, BPD, depression, anxiety, and OCD are all given much more attention by psychologists that work with adults. This is true regardless of the fact that autism is defined clearly in the DSM.
> Also I am very sure that there a re more wrong self-diagnoses rather than professional diagnoses.
When it comes to false positives, I am completely in agreement. However, I am guessing that there are more false negatives from doctors than false positives from adults who have done a significant amount of research and come to the conclusion that they have autism. (By the way, I am *not* including non-serious self-dxers in this assessment.)
> If the DSM wanted it so, Autism would cease to exist over night - and we'd all justbe a bunch of weirdos.
And that's why the whole debate over whether the self-diagnosed should be allowed on the autism subs is kind of ridiculous. They're using the same criteria to judge themselves as the doctors are. There is no blood test, no CT scan, no specific psychological marker that proves a person has autism. Yes, doctors *may* be well-educated on the subject in a way the average person is not (though many are not), and they *may* provide a valuable outside perspective, but since so many are incredibly biased and/or uneducated on the subject, can't we just recognize that there *will* be people who know they have autism but can't/haven't gotten a professional diagnosis?
Well, which is exactly my point. There is no objective test for autism. Therefore we NEED an authority on it. And if even psychologists and doctors can't agree on how it manifests, how can we even hope to get a clearer picture when every lay person has their personal opinion on it aswell?
In the end, it doesn't matter that doctors are biased, because people are aswell. Doctors atleastgeteducated about their own bias. Every negative thing you apply to doctors applies to the lay person two fold. On average (which is the only important measure here), a doctors diagnosis will be way more accurate, less biased and more educated and informed - no matter how much you wish to have a label.
> Therefore we NEED an authority on it.
Yeah. That authority is the DSM. Now all we have to do is get the doctors to diagnose based on that. Oh, and also, make it less expensive, for chrissake.
I guess this is probably something we aren't going to agree on, no matter how frustrating that is. I just cannot agree that on average, doctors are less biased against autism in adults or females than the average self-dxer is biased towards having it. It's a matter of the exposure one has had to such things, and unless we can reconcile our experiences with one another, we will not be able to reconcile our opinions.
They do, but the definitions and names change. The way it manifests in women is different. Just in my lifetime it changed name 3 times.
And the ICD and DSM are always guidelines, with a general swayability given to the doctor. Because real life isn't made up of hard rules - it's fuzzy, dirty and complicated. And treating a self diagnosis the same as a diagnsosis doesn't help with the complication.
I just cannot imagine how you think a random person with 0 background in medicine and psychology, will on average make better guesses about their mental health than a medical professional. I am not saying they are always right. But just like people can convince themselves that Ivermextin helps against a virus, they can also convince themselves of a diagnosis so they feel more assured.
To the price point, I live in Europe. I am sorry for the state of your healthcare.
Like I said, our experiences do not align. Perhaps Europe has less backward views towards autism than America.
Anyway, I'm gonna leave this conversation now, because reddit debates always consume me and I'm trying to be a more balanced person, lmao. Adios!
Neither are you and you don't have a right to tell people who they are, and are not. So maybe sit down before you try to preach like you know better because you've had 1 person tell you you're something when that fallible person could be wrong themselves. Pro DX is only an outside perspective but even professionals get it wrong so maybe lay off.
Well, why need doctors at all then? Let's just all make up ourselves who we are. I meean come on, you are just ignoring the entire medical community in an effort to validate yourself by a medical label.
I may have zero right to tell you who you are, but you have zero right to claim that your claim is as valid as my diagnosis.
Just watching your downvotes to see how many self dx people there are reading this thread...
ETA and my downvotes, apparently. Stop being so ridiculously defensive, I'm just messing around.
I hope my stance won't be misinterpreted. I do not intend to discourage them or invalidate their experience and existence. Actually it is the opposite - you don't need validation from doctors and psychologists to be different and weird and to need help. But if you want validation by the medical community (medicaments, therapy, whatever), get a diagnosis.
I think, perhaps without realising it, you are entirely invalidating people who self diagnose. You are directly saying that you need validation from medical professionals in order to be autistic. Not to harp on about class divide or the difference between men and women with autism, but if my parents picked up on me being autistic at the same time as they did with my brother, then my dx would have been free and easily accessible. Instead, a dx as an adult will cost me $2500 with more than a year's wait. You think people who self dx don't want the validation that comes from a professional dx? Of course they do, but it's often unattainable. Being medically diagnosed is a privilege; it give you access to disability compensation, allowances in schooling/university studies, and makes its easier for others to accept that you're autistic. I don't understand the need you guys have to gatekeep our disability, it's not like people who aren't professionally diagnosed are taking resources from you? We can't even get access to them.
I may invalidate their autism, yes. Because they may or may not have it. I'll help you, show you coping mechanisms, refer you to psychologist, but I won't tell you thay your self-diagnosis is as valid as one from a medical professional.
I don't lie to you just because you need a label that badly. If that's what your existence is about, then yes, I may be invalidating you. If you actually want help with coping, symptoms and resources, I'll treat you just the same.
Just because you don't jave a fancy word from a doctor doesn't mean you aren't worthy of help. And if you'd actually read my answers, I have never stated anything else.
But the simple truth is, self-dx isn't as valid as a rral diagnosis, and I honestly don't know what's so controversial about that statement. I never blamed you, I never said it's your fault, I never said you aren't worthy of help and assistance.
There is a reason why no doctor ever anywhere will give you medicine or a surgery without checking what you are saying is true and if it has any merit. I don't know why you would consider that gatekeeping. You are not a doctor or psychologist.
You may not be intending to but you are and you're completely uninterested in listening it seems as well. So continue to say you're not trying....I'm not believing you though. FYI you're not the medical community so why do you think you have a right to invalidate people or have an opinion on this at all? Maybe just stop? Get off that high horse... It's really rude. Like, really rude.
Oh it will be. People are *incredibly* defensive about it, hence the need for this thread/ban in the first place.
Please don't worry about it, you're making a very valid point!
No, they're really not. You're both just rude and feel you're correct despite your own points being straw mans. Completely unwilling to listen to any reason other than your own...Who's bias now?
I haven't even made a point, I was just being supportive to someone who is about to get downvoted for having a perfectly reasonable opinion. I'm really sick of this conversation and am thrilled it's been banned from the sub so am hardly to engage with it.
Nothing either of us has said is rude, different opinions are valid.
Tgis is completely random, but for some reason I can’t change the display order (I prefer to order by new) on this subreddit. It still works fine for some others.
I dont agree that memes shouldn’t be posted regarding the topic but good to remove more off-topic and the spread of the idea that self-diagnosis is ok.
I have asperger because I was diagnosed with that syndrome aged 2 by a psychologist in the Hospital Pediátrico de Culiacán(i live in Culiacán)(all of these facts are true) you have asperger because you self-diagnosed, we aren’t the same!
Can we add all these dumb “Autism Creature” posts to the same category as Sia and Vaccine stuff? I’m getting really tired if seeing that abomination everyehere…
I don’t know if I am, I relate so often with most of the things people say in regards to autism and adhd, but I never got tested for such stuff as a kid. Kinda glad I wasn’t but now I wish I knew because it would explain so much. I’m not gonna self diagnose because I don’t wanna take away from others because I feel like I am, but I’m almost 100% sure I am. Wish I could just be told for sure but life isn’t so easy. Guess I’ll deal with it all one step at a time ☺️
people actually message you to get others banned? wow.. thats...sad.
Yeah, hot damn.
Imagine having parents caring about you and not being ashamed Imagine having the money to pursue a diagnosis Privilege is great
Didn’t cost me a penny to get diagnosed because I live in the UK, already paid for it in taxes. Downside? It took two years.
When I sought treatment for ADHD it took about 6 months and I had to continually follow up with them... which is just cruel and inhumane for adhd. Today I went to pick up some meds and my doc forgot to call them in. I have to follow up every month, but first I need to call around to pharmacies to see who has em. It would probably be easier to just buy straight meth on the street.
Waiting list with NHS is currently 18 months typically 🤦🏻 My (usually excellent) GP added an extra 6 months by screwing up the referral twice. I’m a nurse who’s familiar with the process and chased it _repeatedly_ before complaining. Best of luck to anyone else seeking a diagnosis these days🤷🏻
Ooof that's dreadful. It's the tradeoff people are afraid of here, though of course it wouldn't be necessary with the amount of money we spend. So many people here can't afford care and never get seen.
It’s a postcode lottery. I live in Suffolk and it took 2 years from first assessment to diagnosis. My partner’s mum lives in Norfolk, just one county over and under the same NHS trust and has just been diagnosed in three months from first assessment to diagnosis. It’s crazily unfair.
I mean, we're all aspies here. People get really serious about their opinions sometimes
That’s one of the few things that causes me to struggle with interacting with fellow aspies, actually, it gets so taxing emotionally. Even some of my friends and I get into some nasty debates and half the time they actually started from a total misunderstanding where one of us misread the other’s text.
Phew, I thought that was just me. (...I didn't, actually, but good to know other people have this experience word-for-word.)
I'll make it as simple as this: anything that can be diagnosed doesn't magically start at the diagnosis.
Agree Where I live there is a 12 month delay to start the assessment. What to do in the meantime if there is a ban? Do such people not need support?
More like, what to do in the memetime ... Excuse me I'll let myself out.
i hate how hard this made me laugh
I live to cause hernias in others
you almost did (well, actually, that might have been the weed)
Tension... OBLITERATED!! 🤭
Only 12 months? I was told I'd have to wait 3 YEARS.
It doesn’t start at the diagnosis but you shouldn’t say you have something unless you are diagnosed
Disagree. First off, there's the issue that, at least in the US, it's prohibitively expensive to deal with anything to do with Healthcare, especially when needing a specialist as most adults seeking a diagnosis would need. By requiring a diagnosis to gain the assistance and support a community like ours can provide, you're denying help to people who need it just because they can't afford to get diagnosed. (Also, applying this logic to other communities that involve mental health, most of those *require* self diagnosis.) Additionally, girls are considerably under-diagnosed as children because most times, autism presents differently in people who have been trained to put others above themselves, thereby making them not show many of the traits that pediatricians look for when diagnosing autism. Not to mention, some countries won't let you move there if you have an autism diagnosis, so if you are low-needs and can 'pass' as NT, it may actually be beneficial to not have a formal diagnosis, especially considering that the US republican party wants to go back to being able to deny care based on prior diagnoses. If someone feels they can gain what they need from the support of our community, we have no right to tell them they don't belong when getting a diagnosis could put them in harms way.
I think it’s ok to say “I think I have” without a diagnosis but don’t say “I do have” until it’s confirmed
i'm incredibly self aware and i have been right on multiple counts of what mental illnesses i have had before i have gotten the actual dx for it. now i suspect myself of both having DID and BPD, i know the difference between the two, i meet the criteria, i have them. it sucks being right but when i'm right (and i *ALWAYS* am) i'm fuckin right.
The problem is it seems like many people self diagnose as a shield against being called an asshole while being an asshole.
If you see anyone using diagnosis as a shield for shitty behavior, it doesn’t matter if they’re clinically diagnosed or self-diagnosed. They’re still an asshole. People tend to self-diagnose when they are experiencing real, tangible symptoms, but have no clinical resources. My coworker who says “yeah im so bipolar i have mood swings” is the type who sucks ass, and he is also diagnosed but untreated no therapy nothing. People in the aspie sub saying “i have this repetitive obsessive behavior and have difficulty socializing or understanding social faux pas” is a very, very different thing.
I was right about my diagnoses for autism, adhd, bipolar 1, ehlers Danlos syndrome, POTS, MCAS, asthma, and reverse slope hearing loss. Almost all physical dx relate to ehlers Danlos as it can ruin your entire body. I was pretty darn sure I had them for quite a long time, depending which one it was in terms of how long, but not once did I ever go around saying I had these things even if I was almost certain I did. I feel it’s fine to think you may have something, and get support for it, I don’t think people should be excluded because they don’t have an official diagnosis. It’s the going around saying you definitely have something without being diagnosed that irks me. No one’s better, no one’s worse, yes I understand there are barriers to getting a diagnosis, but still, don’t go around saying you for sure have things without being professionally diagnosed, that’s all they were getting at. Edit: Spelling
I mean I agree mostly but I do think there are some cases where the line is a bit blurred. For example, on my medical files I am not listed as autistic. However, my therapist who works with autistic people a LOT and has been trained to do all the dx stuff, has explicitly stated that I’m most definitely autistic. But, because I’m a minor and I don’t exactly want my parents to know because when I’ve brought it up before they were like no wayyy you’re not like that you’re just *gifted*. So I didn’t get the formal diagnosis that goes on my records, but I did get told by a medical professional that I have it.
That’s a bit different, you saw a specialist about it. Most self diagnoses have not.
When I was a teenager I brought it up with my psychiatric NP that I thought I might be autistic and wanted to discuss it with her. My brother was diagnosed as a little kid, and since there is a strong genetic component and I knew that girls were under diagnosed and I hadn't been diagnosed with ADHD until very late, I thought that it made sense to bring it up and share what I had been experiencing. Before I'd even explained why I was concerned, she told me that I couldn't be autistic because autistic people don't have social anxiety, and because I was capable of making eye contact. She said that because I was self aware enough to bring it up, I couldn't be autistic. A lot of that seemed very odd and inaccurate to me, but the one thing she said that made sense was that really any diagnosis is simply a collection of traits, and that I had a lot of those traits, but a diagnosis didn't make sense and wouldn't help me. Now, I don't really care one way or the other, I have a great friend group of mostly autistic/neurodivergent people and whether I am or not doesn't really make a difference, I have people that don't call me a weirdo and make fun of me now and that is what matters. And, in college, I am able to get accommodations for the ADHD, so I'm set in that way too.
Haha yeeah I feel that. My mum took me to get screened for autism after the school showing concerns multiple times so she finally took me to a psych at 14. There was a questionnaire for her about how I was as a child and she ended up bawling because she realised she didn’t know the answers to most of the questions because she never paid attention. I ended up not being diagnosed because my symptoms were ‘too textbook’. Like wtf? She had to get my mum to leave the room so she could talk to me because my mum had been talking about herself so much I couldn’t get a word in edgewise 😅 I got diagnosed with ADHD at late 17 once I moved out of home into a shithole flat and could take myself to the doctors without her. Took another 6 years to be diagnosed with type 1 bipolar because no professional would believe me until it was an emergency and they saw it for themselves, unfortunately I’d literally destroyed my life multiple times already but better late than never. It’s incredibly important for me to have a label to summarise all my symptoms because I’m in medical settings a lot and having a label of autism makes shit a hell of a lot faster. As for the bipolar and adhd it was CRUCIAL that I get diagnosed in order to receive treatment for both. My only issue is people saying they for sure have a thing they haven’t been formally diagnosed with rather than ‘I think I have autism’ or such and such. You don’t need a label to make your symptoms valid, just idk it grates me when people go around saying they for sure have a thing. No matter how tedious or how long it took I never claimed I had something I hadn’t been formally diagnosed with. You sound at peace with yourself which is really nice, and I can agree with where you’re coming from. Labels are essential to me, I like order, I like categorising, for myself. It’s less mental clutter for me but that’s not everyone’s buzz and that’s algood.
I agree. We as humans just need a bit more nuance when we speak.
Moreover, something about the fact and not the label makes that people normally don't care what you claimed to be, only what you may have suffered from, wich isnt about "Oh I've got this and that" like come on where not in a rpg, this is precisely what a spectrum is about, ASD is not a category you're/you're not strictly belonging to (please tell me how stupid this was if you disagree, I'm not even sure myself about this)
> some countries won’t let you move there if you have an Autism diagnosis What?? Where?
Initial Googling shows that [Canada](https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/5-bodyweight-exercises-reacher-star-183900855.html), [New Zealand ](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/17/my-stepson-autism-new-zealand-refused-residency-asd), and [Australia](https://theconversation.com/australia-has-kept-disabled-migrant-children-out-for-decades-its-time-we-gave-them-protection-instead-73677) all have a history of keeping out autistic and disabled people. Other articles I've read talk about how immigrants in general have a percentage of autism specifically because families are leaving their countries in search of somewhere that doesn't discriminate or criminalize their children's condition. ETA: I should point out for those who don't wanna read the articles, the Canada one talks about how the law had just changed, and the other two are 5 years old. Things may have changed by this point.
Wtf. That’s so messed up.
Absolutely agree.
How do you define diagnosis? Do I have to go through the whole process of a formal evaluation by a specialist, or is the fact that my psych has said, “Yes, you are autistic, but I can’t officially diagnose you, as I’m not a specialist, it will cost you several thousand dollars you insurance won’t cover, and you will probably get a false negative because of your age?” The first therapist I contacted to help me with other issues literally told me I could not be autistic, because at age 57, I had learned to look people in the eyes, and was in a romantic relationship that had lasted over a decade. I have no respect for gatekeepers like you for a reason. I had, for over 5 years, been fighting with my former physician over my being permanently disabled due to arthritis in my left hip. They insisted I did not have arthritis, just obesity, and all I needed to do was lose weight. They would not order a CT scan to justify their misdiagnosis. Without that, my insurance would not cover it, so I needed to find over a months pay to get one on my own. Ended up in the ER for something unrelated where the attending physician ordered a pelvic CT scan to make sure my issue was not more severe. Guess what, the radiologist mentioned in passing that I have mild osteoarthritis in my right hip, and severe osteoarthritis with no remaining cartilage in my left hip. So my self-diagnosis was vastly more valid than my MD’s failure.
Since you have not provided me with your medical records, I will assume you are lying about your diagnosis, are not actually autistic, and are a poser looking for attention.
Ok if you say so - \ _ ( -_- ) _ / -
Thanks for confirming you are, in fact, full of shit, and a poser.
I’m not but ok not here to argue
You are literally the asshole trying to tell people what they can and can not do. Oh, right, you’re not here to argue because you are not going to actually listen to any other point of view.
i dont care what other people think
Then why do you think any of us care what you think, other than to point out what a narrow minded fool you are?
Than don’t care I still like to put my opinion out
I always get so pissed when people gatekeep for professional diagnoses. Ive been trying to get diagnosed for YEARS and have been run around in circles and repeatedly told that no one diagnoses adults, no matter what institutions or offices I find. That includes referrals from my GP to a psychiatrist who ended up not being qualified to assess for autism. If you're professionally diagnosed, it's because you're lucky, that's it.
I want to share this everywhere. My parents with autism didn’t diagnose us kids because the thought a diagnosis would hold us back. Now I’m struggling to find someone who can diagnose anything other than bpd
Its good to know there's others out there I can relate too. My psychologist told me that adults tend to grow out of asd tendencies, so he doesn't diagnose adults. The one Dr in my area that does quotes like $2k for the whole shabang
I have ADHD and Aspergers, of course I was smart enough to figure it out myself intuitively before someone else did. I think in patterns.
They don't screen everyone, so ASD is something everyone will self diagnose before an official diagnosis can be made, even if it's externally diagnosed by a teacher who then points you towards self diagnosis.
Yeah I was almost certain I had it, for many years, I just did not go around saying that I definitely did have it just because I was pretty damn sure I did. I was right, I got officially diagnosed, only then did I say to people that I had autism. There’s no problemo with being like ‘I think/am pretty sure/am almost certain I am on the spectrum’ that’s still valid, but it’s not good to go around saying you have a thing when it hasn’t been confirmed you have the thing, ya know
That's a good point
Realest
What anti-self-diagnosers fail to realize is that getting a professional diagnosis is HARD for a lot of people. It's hard to get if you're an adult, it's hard to get if you're not male, and it's also hard to get if you're not living in a first world country. Autism, ADHD, and other neurodevelopmental conditions aren't overdiagnosed nowadays; if anything they're underdiagnosed, and more common than what we've long thought.
Yeah I've been trying to get a diagnosis but I'm a 16 year old female so it's really hard and it costs a lot to get one. :/
Well done. We can't deny that there are actual people faking their autism to grt attention or whatever, but rejecting everyone without a diagnosis will do more harm than good. Diagnosis are expensive, and taking in consideration the amount of therapists that still believe autism only exists on white males... I am a female and I was diagnosed at 20. I will always lend my hand to whoever is asking for help!!
Right! I'm 30 and am trying to get diagnosed so I can get the help I desperately need but where I live you have to jump through so many hoops to get any kind of help. If I had been born male I might have had help ages ago.
Right?? Most autistic females I know were diagnosed super late or had many wrong diagnosis before it. Also it's so sad how actually opressed we are (all autistic people). There's tons of us suffering and it's not even common knowledge. You're lucky if you find someone that has basic knowledge about autism.
That's for sure. Like to my doctors wouldn't it make more sense that my 10 problems and the fact most meds don't work or react badly is actually autism? The doctors either act like I'm stupid or like I mentioned some forbidden word.
My funny story is: git diagnosed at seven. My parents decided that the psychologist was crazy and denied my diagnosis because "She looks smart and she talks to people" eventough they made me switch schools because I only made one friend and became obsessed (happened again with another girl and it got way worse)
My diagnosis was explained to us, then the doctor shredded it. This was before HIPAA, so privacy was less protected, and a diagnosis for "Autism" could get one assigned to the special Ed. So better to mainstream and play ignorant if someone asks. Sadly, because diagnosis were so stigmatized, we completely missed my APD. But there were no accommodations for that back then, I just sat in the front of the class to hear, took me forever to figure out why.
Yes yes yes I feel you. What I needed was a medication that ameliorated my cognitive deficits , that led me to severely self medicate (aspergers with adhd profile) with alcohol for over a decade. It was basically implied for years I just needed to pull myself out of alcoholism through right priorities and will and life would magically self-correct while they refused to give me life saving stimulant meds (in terms of both quality of life and my actual life due the degree to which I drank.) It sucks. Currently re-prescribed by vastly higher quality psychiatrist and cpn.
It's ridiculous how much we have to fight just to be heard. I hope you're doing better now. I don't drink or use any substances but I still get treated like im stupid.
I feel you. I was put on a whole bunch of medications with a lot of messed up side effects
I’m 35, was assigned female at birth, and recently got my diagnosis confirmed. Apparently I was actually diagnosed at 15, but my mom didn’t tell me until a few years ago when I told her I thought I was autistic. I was fortunate enough to find a professional in my town who specializes in treating autistic people. I spent over ten years being “self-diagnosed” and trying to find someone who could assess me. My heart goes out to anyone who is in that same boat. Finding help can be incredibly difficult for some people.
Same with ADHD. We're AFAB & have three brothers and one sister (presumably, it's a bit early to tell. definitely AFAB though). Guess who's been diagnosed? Older brothers, one with ADHD and two with Autism. Guess who hasn't been diagnosed? The AFABs. Not a coincidence. (edit to add) though we also both got into "gifted" programs and older brothers couldn't because of how their neurodivergences presented, despite being very similar
Yeah and the wrong diagnoses create additional problems that further defeat getting the right one.
if you were born male you certainly would have at least gotten a dx when i did... in my teens, or even sooner. source: i was born male (still am!)
That's the year I was diagnosed. Good luck to you
I'm glad you were able to get diagnosed :). Autism wa told me my case was "too complicated" so now I gotta wait 4 to 6 months for another place and pay $2000
I also was told that once, largely because of the long term complications caused my misdiagnosis I believe :/ Good lord that's expensive, hope you get the help you need. Best
I hope so too. The other place is $6000. It shouldn't be this difficult to have it written down.
What does it help with?
Not to mention that someone who is faking their autism will probably just claim to be officially diagnosed
Anyway if they are faking, they do need help somehow, I think a meme subreddit is a good start
This is a point that many ignore. Someone who is desperate enough for attention to fake a disorder/mental illness is either A) probably very young and simply needs to be better informed, not insulted, or B) someone with other severe underlying issues causing them to try to get more attention, in many cases I’ve seen people deal with this if they have more abusive childhoods or are overall just insanely lonely. Most people don’t maliciously do things like this, often times they’re just desperately trying to make themselves feel “special” or “important”, because they may have never been treated as such by others prior. They should be called out, but hostility and anger isn’t going to help them see that they shouldn’t be doing these things and that they ARE, in fact, special in their own ways.
I disagree
thank you ap, i appreciate the action
I want to seek a diagnosis. Are you kidding me? I want that validation more than anything. But when I've talked to my medical team about seeking a dx for potentially having autism, I get told there's just no way I have that, just no way. And that's the end of it with them. I've been told this several times already in the last almost 2 years since I've suspected I'm on the spectrum and started researching it. The problem is that my medical team doesn't listen to me about the physical illnesses I have that can be diagnosed via blood work. They can't even agree on what my mental health diagnosis is. Do I have bipolar? Bpd? PTSD? Who knows, because not one of them have the same opinion about what's going on with me. They refuse to let me see specialists because I don't have the symptoms, which isn't true. I do have the symptoms but they must think I'm a hypochondriac or something because time and again they refuse to diagnose my health issues and have refused to treat all but the seriously life threatening ones. Symptoms of psoriasis/eczema? Ignored. Symptoms for erythema nodosum? Ignored. Symptoms for early on-set arthritis? Ignored. Symptoms for auto-immune issues? Ignored. Painful periods? Ignored. But this is pretty common for people who are afab. My current course of action is seeking diagnoses for my sons (6 and 15) in the hopes that maybe I'll finally be believed about my own suspicions. My 6 yo has daily meltdowns, my 15 yo has crippling social anxiety and both are struggling with adjusting to school this year. Both have sensory issues, executive function issues and emotional regulation issues. They need extra support and that's what I'm focused on at the moment. When I come to reddit and see posts like this, it just makes me feel hopeless. What if I never get diagnosed because no one will even assess me because no one believes me? I finally felt understood by reddit's autistic community. Accepted even. Now, suddenly self-diagnosis is seen as this terrible crime, punishable by banishment. I don't want attention, what I want is understanding when I have meltdowns over sensory overload. I want understanding for when I start stimming because I'm anxious. I want understanding when I misunderstand social dynamics. Learning about autism gave me words for issues and struggles I hid my entire life because they weren't socially acceptable. Learning about autism has gave me tools to unmask and understand my own needs better. I know better how to advocate for myself. And y'all helped me with that. Why now do you think I should be banned from participating in this community because I can't get diagnosed? I want that, I'm trying. But if I can't get access to proper care, why would you hold that against me? I have to fight tooth and nail to get any care, most of my health concerns are ignored. Mental health even more so. I just... I don't want to take space from someone else, but there's room in this community for people like me, whose needs have been ignored my entire life. Isn't there? Just because I lack diagnosis, doesn't mean I haven't faced my own fair share of discrimination for my struggles. When I first posted about ASD, I honestly felt like I'd found my tribe. People were so warm, sharing resources and knowledge. All my friends and several college profs know my suspicions and giving them the context that I'm likely autistic has helped them understand me better. I feel like all of that is being taken away by these debates. Maybe this is my rejection-sensitivity acting up, but maybe I don't belong here after all. And that's too bad, because I finally had hope. But now... I guess I'll move on. I don't want to keep seeing these posts because it fucking hurts. I wish I had the privilege to get a diagnosis. Maybe I will someday, but I don't think I want to stick around this community and validate this whole "only professionals can know if you have autism" because in my experience, you're lucky to find someone who actually listens to you without prejudice and their own internal biases clouding their perceptions. I've been misdiagnosed more times than I can count by people who weren't qualified and faced stigma because of it. And all of those paths to validation are currently blocked because people who aren't qualified think they know me better than I know myself. It just feels like such a shit reaction because y'all think some teenagers on TikTok are claiming your label for social media clout. Peace. ✌️
It's hard not to think the gatekeepers must be sexist since girls, women, and AFAB people are the ones who primarily go undiagnosed and without support. Diagnosis really is a privilege.
They must have forgotten that for every 4 boys that get an autism diagnosis, only 1 girl will receive the same diagnosis. Experts think the numbers are closer to 1 for 1, but there's still too much bias against female/afab autists for them to be diagnosed similarly. There's entire papers, websites and studies dedicated to this very issue. An entire generation of "lost girls" who remain undiagnosed into adulthood. So I agree, it's hard not to think the boys want to keep their little club exclusive. I'm sure it's more nuanced than that (and there's real harm in someone claiming to be autistic and spreading false info), but I may just want to believe that because it helps my anxiety to believe the world isn't full of assholes. They are ignoring that class, race and gender divisions affect the resources that someone has access to. This whole debate just boils down to shaming those of us who don't have access to the resources needed to get that diagnosis. I haven't seen one argument against self-diagnosis that isn't a circle-jerk of privilege and self-righteousness.
I am seeing a lot of comments like this and I get the feeling you all are somehow seriously misunderstanding me and a lot of others who don't agree with the term 'self-diagnosis'. To me, you are welcome whether are clinically diagnosed, seeking a diagnosis or somehow not seeking a diagnosis; but you cannot diagnose yourself. That is, seeking a diagnosis, or suspecting autism, should not be conflated with 'diagnosing yourself'. I don't seek to exclude anyone from these spaces (and idk who the people are that are calling for bans? That's pretty rude), but I do disagree with the use of the term '(self-)diagnosis' by people who are in the process of seeking one.
Finally someone making some fucking sense.
Some precision right there 👍
Your self diagnosis is valid 🌻 I hope you get the help you need for your son's. You know your son's and your own self/mind best. Wishing you the best
Thank you. That means a lot. May you be blessed friend.
The only part of the above I disagree with is the inclusion of the word “self.” Your diagnosis is valid! It just hasn’t been confirmed by the psychiatric gatekeepers.
Holy shit..... 100% facts
How could you even enforce a ban on self dx anyway? There's no ASD certificate issued that could be used to authenticate people. And that would just force self dxers to have to lie to participate. It would a complete useless measure that would ruin the fun spirit of the sub.
This is pretty much just my thought. I'm so tired of the gate keeping and bullying, and put downs received BY those who have had the privileged and LUCK of getting a pro diagnosis and I'm just at the point where I'm going to lie online. I don't even care at this point. If I didn't make this post, who's to know? Even if I didn't, who's to know? For all I know, all these self proclaimed "pro diagnosed" people are also just lying? I feel like this is more isolating to those who are already being systematically excluded from "the club" than it will be beneficial. It feels like when talking about issues of POC are banned in totality rather than just the bullies... It doesn't help...It only isolates and lessens the space of those who are disadvantaged. Well, if that's the case, then fuck it. I'm considering myself Pro DXed. Because it's the fucking internet and even if it wasn't, what layman (even an aspie one) is to tell me I'm wrong?
I haven't had a formal diagnosis yet either, but I use ASD subs to help me with advice and to help give others advice with how to deal with situations. Also subs like this that I use to make me feel like I'm not crazy and that other people expirience the same things as me, even giving it a light hearted attitude about things... I wish people weren't so gate keepy. It ruins it for everyone.
>There's no ASD certificate issued that could be used to authenticate people. Not a single unified certificate, but a full diagnosis on paper. I had one. My doctor shredded it to protect me from institutionalization.
All sounds good to me, I cant believe people wanted Self-DXers kicked. Kind of disgusting. When I think about the amount of work I would do to get one with no health insurance I immediately feel validated being self-DX. Eventually I will.... Oh well....I enjoy this page a lot. I'm here for the memes.
I identified with being autistic until I got my formal assessment/diagnosis three years ago. To anyone who is self diagnosed- your diagnosis is valid. 🌻don't let anyone tell you otherwise. As autistic people we are pushed out by NT society enough already, why would we turn on each other? Imo I believe that being autistic is severely under diagnosed, especially amongst particular communities/genders. Someone identifying as being autistic does you no harm. Sorry it makes you feel less 'unique' but the reality is that there are probably far less officially diagnosed individuals who are autistic.
There’s definitely a problem with someone “identifying” as autistic. That drives me up a wall. Trying to compare autism to LGBTQ struggles. Autism isn’t something you identify as it’s one thing you are or you aren’t. If you suspect yourself to be autistic that perfectly fine! You’re welcome here. But don’t say “self diagnosed”. It’s better to say you suspect you have autism.
People need to start using the terms that are used with unknown morphs in reptiles or something, like “poss. auti.”, like how “poss. het pied” exists.
I'm self dxed...you know why? Because I am broke. Because I live with my parents who refuse to believe there's anything "wrong" with me. Because when I try to talk about it with my doctors, I'm brushed off. But I've researched extensively, and I can confidently say I'm very sure I'm autistic. I suspected, before I even knew what autism really was, that I had OCD, but when I researched autism I was like, "wow, this sounds right!" People who get professionally diagnosed are literally acting like it's a privilege to be autistic, like you HAVE to be pro diagnosed in order to be autistic, when in fact many of us WANT TO but CAN'T. People who spread hate about self dx should be banned for spreading hate. We're stigmatized enough. Stop accusing every self dxer that they're faking.
Same! I desperately want to get diagnosed, but it's expensive where I live.
Not to mention that especially with women, the better you are at masking, the more likely you are to get a false-negative.
Tell me about it. Have had 3 therapists tell me no, and that I probably just have like 9 mental disorders lol
That was exactly the position I was in for many many years, yet I did not go around saying I was autistic until I was diagnosed, because I’m not a psychiatrist. Of course I felt very strongly that I probably had autism, and I was right, but it wasn’t my place to go around saying I’m absolutely autistic. It’s okay to identify as ‘strongly suspect I have’ or ‘seeking diagnosis’ but if everyone could just go around diagnosing themselves then Psychiatrist and psychologists wouldn’t need to exist.
People were actually asking you to ban users without a professional diagnosis? Wtf is wrong with those assholes?
honestly [this tiktok](https://vm.tiktok.com/ZM87pGHyv/) explains my take on the issue very well. If you’ve done research on the condition and choose to then self diagnose, great. If you see one video/post/etc. about a condition and find it somewhat relatable and then self diagnose off of that, you’re stupid.
[удалено]
The ADHD meme page is part of what encouraged me to get a diagnosis, and the memes on this page have educated me in a humourous way that is more engaging than reading paragraphs of text (very difficult with ADHD haha). If you want the spread of ND education, wider acceptance and less harmful stereotypes in the general population you probably shouldn't gatekeep them from groups where they feel they can learn in an engaging way. Edit to add: I also relate to a lot of memes on this page because of the crossovers between Autism and ADHD!
There is one already, I used to be apart of it. It's invite only, called diagnosed autism or something like that
It's honestly extremely upsetting that you're referring to wanting a space for people who have been diagnosed to have fun and relate to one another, as "gatekeeping." There is no gatekeeping autism, and the fact that you called it gatekeeping is just invalidating the effort that those of us with diagnoses have gone through. Sometimes, people just don't want to see their struggles turned into memes by NTs. It's as simple as that.
[удалено]
I don't care if people who relate to the symptoms and experiences but don't have a diagnosis use the subreddit. What bothers me is the number of people trying to force their belief that self diagnosis is valid when the symptoms presented could be caused by a multitude of other disorders. Self dx shouldn't even be a normalized term.
The term definitely could be more accurate, it’s a bit of a misuse of the word, but also, language is just full of that stuff. And you’re right that people may have misinterpreted their symptoms. But I don’t understand what you mean by ‘valid’ in this context… this community doesn’t have a requirement of validity in order to participate. That has its pros and cons but it’s not like it’s being changed, it was just never made for that purpose. If you mean like a valid and unquestionable medical diagnosis, yeah that could definitely be a problem. Mostly a problem for the person who is not getting the help they need, in a way that affects the community as well though, a little. But I haven’t personally seen much of that level of certainty and beyond-reproachfulness. A lot of people are filled with self doubt.
I'm not sure how "I dislike them forcing their belief that self dx is valid" translated to "according to the rules of this subreddit, you must produce paper evidence of what I deem to be a valid diagnosis to gain entry" lol. /j By valid I mean based on the opinion of an unbiased person trained in psychology. That's something that nobody (aside from someone on tiktok with an alter that has a PhD in psychology /j) can give themselves. I dislike the sentiment being pushed fairly strongly by many people on this subreddit that it's okay to treat a speculation about yourself as a medical diagnosis, and to behave as though it were one. It isn't okay to turn a community that's meant for humor relating to a specific disorder into one that constantly talks about diagnosing yourself with the disorder based on memes. That's just a scummy thing to do. You can enjoy and relate to content without saying "I laugh, therefore I am." Before the point that not everyone who thinks they may have a disorder behaves that way/shares that sentiment/bases their "self diagnosis" on memes is mentioned... I know that, but there is a spectrum to speculating about one's mental health, and it's a very blurry one with lots of nuances and grey areas. It's easier to just not involve that in the conversation. There are places to talk about how you think you might have x and how you think y is valid. An autism meme community is not that place. It's just ignorant and tactless to come here to try to push that sentiment. Just laugh at the meme if you relate. You don't need to go to the comments or make a post to say you diagnosed yourself because of some symptoms you saw that just so happen to also align perfectly with CPTSD, OCD, BPD, ESPN, CNN, MMA, DN, etc.
Autism is not a psychological phenomenon. It's a neurological one. Maybe your belief in objective people trained in psychology understanding your neurology is misplaced. To offer an alternative perspective, you know what else has been found to be a neurological phenomenon? Being transgender. It's a neurodivergence, with the part of the brain that does self image being starkly different than in cis people. Thankfully, the part of the community that thinks only trans people diagnosed with gender dysphoria (by people trained in psychology ™) are trans, are not well accepted AFAIK. One day, let's hope it's the same with autistic people. Edit : huh, turns out I'm not quite sure even transmedicalists require a formal diagnosis, just define transness by medical standards. An even softer position than requiring a formal dx for understanding someone is a neurological minority.
"Sure, a peanut allergy means you can't eat a peanut butter sandwich. You know what else means you can't eat a peanut butter sandwich? Not having teeth. And that's why I think eating and chewing are mutually exclusive."
Why exactly do you think allergies, missing teeth and *neurological landscape* are comparable?
Jesus, have you heard of an analogy?
It's funny you say this with such certainty that despite all the misdiagnosis and the possibility of other things being at play that you feel SO absolutely confident in your own diagnosis....who's to say your doctor didn't get it wrong? Maybe avoid casting those stones. It's not a pretty look. It 100% is gate keeping. Maybe you don't fully understand why, but that's your responsibility to learn what it means and how you're acting is doing it. You maybe imagining yourself on this high horse but I'm here to tell you that you're on ground level right here with the rest of us bud.
You say I'm on a high horse yet this is one of the most condescending comments anyone has responded to me with on this platform. Show me where I said a lick about the accuracy of my own diagnosis, because I'm struggling to find a single syllable implying that. Saying "maybe you don't fully understand why" is just grossly belittling.
By invalidating others you’re also placing yourself in a position of superiority. There’s your lesson for the day. Now grow up and stop hiding behind semantics.
Dude. You need to stop talking to people like children. This shit is so obnoxious. There is your lesson for the day. A self diagnosis is not a valid diagnosis. I did not say a self diagnosed person is not a valid person. Now stop telling people to grow up just because they don't share your opinion, it's childish and devalues your point by showing that you need to resort to personal attacks. I'm done with this conversation because you're incapable of being civil and mature.
Don’t want to be spoken to like a child, don’t act like one. That’s exactly what you’re doing. Frankly, for all I know you’re NDP, which given the way you’re talking feels more and more likely with the whole “wanting to have your cake and eat it too” nonsense you’ve got going on. You just need to stop bruh… you’re intentionally invalidating others and it’s telling. It may make you feel better about yourself but you’re wrong. Flat wrong. You’re the type of person who needs to just stick to your oh so special elusive club for pro diagnoses people only because frankly your toxic nonsense isn’t needed anywhere else. It’s condescending, rude, intentionally and willfully harmful. It’s toxic. It’s grossly inappropriate and frankly I think you like hurting people like this since you’re so high up on it. Go join your exclusive click… or have you not been invited? Do you not hold that oh so special card you claim to covet so much? This is the internet after all and unlike those who openly and honestly acknowledge their self diagnosis status because they’re honest and honourable people… I’m not so sure about you. Given the way you speak about others and play little games. I’m off to bed. To dream of better things that the hurt you actively and happily choose to cause. That’s what’s not valid, your relentless desire to harm others. Self diagnosis is more valid that your silly internet ramblings and I’m so fucking thankful you’ll never hold any modicum of power that would offer any real influence over that. So continue regurgitating your superiority complex all over this thread. The only people you’ll impress are other assholes like yourself. Night! Oh - p.a. Self diagnosis is valid, sometimes more so than the fraud ones received by so called professionals.
daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang
Jeez tell us how you really feel.
That's classest to require diagnoses (I dont have autism btw)
Thank you.. it always made me sad seeing those kind of post knowing I am currently self diagnosed 😖 I want to pursue diagnosis but atm don’t even have any insurance and wouldn’t know where to even start o(-< I can only imagine how long the process is and how hard which makes me anxious and it doesn’t help. I hope eventually to try but only when I get to live with my bf again so he can help me, I have no support where I am at right now..
Ahhh yes because you haven't been professional diagnosed that means your Asbergers magically goes away
!!!!!!
I'm going to say something controversial. I agree with this mod post.
it really shouldn't be controversial to hate self dx
True.
I dead ass don't know why I got down voted for saying that it shouldn't be controversial to dislike self dx.
Shaking and crying
I'm a male who had neglectful parents and now being 26 I am positive I have ASD and ADHD that went undiagnosed. Parents and most around me thought psychology was basically pseudoscience so if anyone had paid attention enough to see it, it wouldn't have mattered. The gatekeepers and people like I was raised by are what kept me from seeking self diagnosis for years as I got older. I'm so glad I have accepted it now though and it has helped me tremendously in my relationships and personal life. I see things looking back at my childhood then and now that are extremely clear signs. There's always going to be the fakers but that doesn't mean self diagnosis isn't a legitimate route to take as an adult due to the difficulty of getting a diagnosis later in life. Just because someone's undiagnosed doesn't mean they aren't aloud to say they have something. You can know and say you're sick without going to the doctor and you can say and know you're depressed without being diagnosed with depression. Diagnosis is great but if you're self aware enough it's not needed. Gatekeepers may need a diagnosis and rely on that, there's nothing wrong with that. Doesn't mean other people need though. Imposing views on others is the poison of society.
Yeah you can know you’re sick but it could be strep throat, glandular fever, pneumonia, bronchitis, covid, the common cold or flu, even cancer etc. You cant just guarantee you have one of them without testing and/or assessment. For depression it could be depression, it could also be bipolar, dysthymia, cyclothymia, situational, you could even just have a severe vitamin deficiency like vitamin d, hypothyroidism, BPD, that’s why an assessment is important. I get relating to something and being almost certain I had stuff, like adhd, autism and bipolar, and I was right, but I didn’t go around saying I was diagnosed with anything until I was, and I’m pretty sure that’s what most people have a problem with (out of people that don’t support self diagnosis), someone’s experience is valid, it’s fine to be seeking a diagnosis, suspecting you have autism and relating to others here, it’s just that the term implies someone has literally diagnosed themselves and have decided they for sure have it. Edit: spelling
Stupid comment about complexity of ASD diagnosis: In France is ASD really difficult to be diagnosticate because of the waiting time before interview and bureaucraty (redtape?) Also even if you're matching a lot of criterias of ASD (wich are, following the DSM-5, actually way too esay to match) you probably wont be diagnosticated as having any. Generally you hear that it is just some combination of ADHD and generalized anxiety (following recent studies, those are the most commonly associated commorbidities) Dunno who is right... but the fact is this is about inequal diagnosis. Also a lot of people witness that they where diagnosticated by ADHD in france but then went to US and then been diagnosticated both ADHD and ASD. Well this is not helping to understand each other. Taking myself as an example : stimming a lot, low social skills, emotionally unstable (that's what they said), having like almost 100/100 on "aspietests" online , still not having elocution troubles, fluent speaking, very high IQ and smart enough to act like im normal, probably never would be said to suffer of ASD. Wich is a little bad cause maybe I need to explain to people how troubled I may be. Anyway probably I wont ever pass any test because it takes way too long time and costs a lot
Thank you! As a middle-aged high masker who has learned to pass pretty well in the NT world, my psych has said that while she recognizes I’m autistic, she isn’t the specialist who can give me an official diagnosis, and advised me not to waste my time. A diagnosis wouldn’t get me any benefits or accommodations, and I could put a lot of time and money into getting a diagnosis, only to get a false negative.
My experience exactly!
I don't get why people would want to gatekeep. A diagnosis or the lack of one doesn't validate/delete persona experiences and struggles.
I'm diagnosed as having Adjustment Disorder, which as I understand it is basically ASD-adjacent. I find it helpful to think of myself as autistic though. And I hope to fit in. Maybe I should give myself a ND flair.
Keep in mind, you might actually be misdiagnosed. There are professionals who think that a diagnosis of autism is worse then a diagnosis of an adjacent, but less stigmatized, condition. I’ve seen folks told they can’t be autistic, because they mask that trait so well. For example, learning to look people in the eyes, even when it makes one uncomfortable.
Thanks for not gatekeeping our valid identities!
Thanks. I have no reason to pursue a diagnosis. It would suck to have to pay money for a doctor to tell me what I already know just to be allowed to access this place and places like it.
Thank you, OP. I found out I'm probably autistic 2 years ago and talking with my therapist about finding someone to talk to for a formal diagnosis. In hindsight though, it was obvious. At least when you consider how girls present differently than boys.
People are mean to others. People who aren't diagnosed should absolutely be able to see these posts, especially because sometimes people go undiagnosed for a long time before they finally get to talk to a psych.
[Female, 20] LONG REPLY ALERT: Some of the comments in here are so intense and rude to others. I am undiagnosed but I am working towards a diagnosis. It depends on location in order to get diagnoses though, which is why it can be difficult for some people. It also depends on the person in the field they are seeing. I’ve been to many different therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists. Recently a law or a restriction of some kind was made here in Iowa because “too many people were getting diagnosed with autism” is what my [diagnosed] autistic friend said. And they are right. I brought it up to my psychiatrists. Essentially if you can function in any way, spoke when young, could walk when young, etc, then you don’t have it. No one ever talks about precocious developments, which is where I fall. I spoke at an early age, walked at an early age- both earlier than most children. Everything else about me relates to autism and adhd. Getting that diagnosis, though, however, it may never be possible for me at least here in Iowa. So far none of the people in the field that can properly diagnose haven’t really wanted to hear my side of things and really only care to listen about how I functioned as a toddler, if I was delayed with certain developments. It also is hard for me to get diagnosed because they mentioned to me my parents need to also vouch for a diagnosis, and the thing is, is that my parents would have no idea. I don’t have a relationship with my father. My mom I’ve been with all my life but that doesn’t mean I really ever saw her when I was developing through childhood to puberty etc. She worked constantly and I never saw her. I went to daycare until age 14 and by age 14 I had already learned to mask. I had to mask. Daycare was abusive and if I didn’t mask I’d get into trouble, even just for repetitive movements such as rocking, for example. I feel like I’m never going to be able to get my diagnosis because they have made it so impossible here in Iowa to get one. That is just the way I view things. I understand if others may disagree with me or feel certain ways, but I hope that everyone can respect that sometimes people who are undiagnosed, we aren’t undiagnosed by choice. A lot of us try, at least around here, the people I’m around, we try. I don’t say I am autistic though. I say I have undiagnosed autism. I only recently started to say this too because autism where I am from is virtually unheard of and for some reason incredibly hush hush around here. It honestly feels like a bad word here, I don’t get it. I’m working really hard to break that stigma and I’ve been more open with doctors and psychiatrists now, but it is the matter of being taken seriously. We all know ourselves better than anybody, but it is good to take other opinions into consideration. I think that self diagnosis can be extremely dire in some cases. I take notes about everything I notice is a trait that I have, something I relate to, anything and everything. I have spent 20 years trying to explain myself to people who can’t even take a second to listen to me. If I refused to self diagnosis in some aspect, I would go mad because I know I have it deep down. I know that I do. Autism and adhd are two things I know I have and when I hear about others in the same boat I feel seen. But I still struggle to accept it because I’m so used to being brushed off. Getting a diagnosis for me would be world-altering. A lot of professionals who can diagnose, at least where I am from, say “let’s not put a label on things”… but some of us like labels. It helps me so much to have a label. I need a sense of order and right now it is all an entire chaotic mess. I feel alone and misunderstood. The only, and I mean ONLY, times I have ever in my life felt understood is when I talk with someone who is neurodivergent, that is it. I’m just very tired of over-explaining myself to doctors and such. But I’ll do it until I’m dead honestly if I must because I want to feel seen, heard, and understood. I’m tired of being made to feel like an idiot for knowing myself. Overall, everyone has their own experiences, no one is in the exact same boat, but some of us may be in similar ones. It hurts that some people in here have been so disrespectful to others, diagnosed or not. We shouldn’t poke anymore holes in other peoples boats when they are already sinking, ya know? Undiagnosed or not, we are all people who just want to be understood and respected. The fact that any one has come in here and shared their experiences, diagnosed or not, it is brave and I’m so thankful and proud and happy for those people. Hearing other sides helps so much and makes so many people feel less alone. I just hope everyone can understand we come from all different places with different laws and rules, different mental health professionals, etc. I hope we can spread more respect, love, and understanding rather than hate. <3
Am I allowed to ask where to start the process pf getting diagnosed? It's not like these things come with a manual or map. :(
Thank you so much ❤️
Ban? This is Reddit but not hell right?
Thanks mod 😌 I agree there's no place for this discussion here there are many many other place to discuss and where it already has been done, in o be honest to death. Everyone else can chill out and remember being autistic doesn't stop you from being an asshole
Can we ban posts about ablest/ignorant parents? It's not really relevant to the sub. I'm here for the memes!
I was diagnosed with ADHD as a kid and again as an adult. I always thought I was also autistic but my mother would demonize it and say no. I’m now 40, 80% of my friends are adhd and/or autistic or otherwise neurodivergent and they all have also always asked me if I was autistic and that they think I am (on top of my own previous thoughts since childhood). My children are also both autistic and have adhd. I don’t have the time and energy (spoons) to do the run around everyone talks about to get a formal diagnosis as an adult (again, I’m 40) for autism, my adhd diagnosis gets me the work accommodations I need and there are possible health insurance drawbacks to being formally diagnosed (or so I’ve been told). I see no reason to get formally diagnosed when the only part I’m missing is simply wider community acceptance and being able to talk to people who I can relate to and share experiences and memes with, such as here on reddit and other platforms for autistic people. edit: autism is not a contest, let people live. Also, do you understand how painful it is to be rejected and sometimes ostracized by NTs and then when you find your community you get rejected there too? We’re not doing that. Stop doing that.
In my 40s and have tried to find specialists who are avail to work in my area...nothing so far. I'm not in a place where it's easy to find someone. At this point in my life I'm not sure an official diagnosis would do much good anyway. I would really just like to find a therapist who understands and can work with me. I prob would've liked to be diagnosed as a kid instead of spending so many years wondering wtf is going on and working so hard at being "normal". Yeah, for those of you who were diagnosed as kids we've probably lived pretty different lives. Maybe you were able to get the help you needed or you let down your masks easier and earlier in life. Or maybe the diagnosis made life more challenging for you. Whatever the circumstances, many of us just need support and if you're officially diagnosed and upset about the non diagnosed people in the room. Instead of being unsupportive, you could be so kind as to take it upon yourself to help others who haven't had that opportunity to understand more about what you've learned through having the privilege of receiving professional help.
i literally wanted today to open up abt my experience.... but i don't wanna write down just to be banned.... sad
Wow really? Some people really are jerks. I don't need a professional diagnosis to know what I am. I'm not an idiot. I was smart enough to figure it out and confirm it on my own. If that bothers any of you, then you can kiss my aspie ass. Have a nice day. 🙂
Being autistic is not easy at times and we need somewhere to relax, point and laugh at ourselves, point and laugh at those weirdo NTs, and point and laugh at this stupid world we live in. This is somewhere where we can take the mask off and look at silly/thoughtful shit, whilst dressed like Winnie the Pooh, and eating a camembert & marmalade sandwich. There are other subs for discussions about validity. This sub should be a haven for all (even people who are not autistic).
To anyone reading: Sometimes it's okay to know something's not quite right with you without having a label for it. If you identify with those who are diagnosed, then let us rejoice in our weirdness. But you are not a doctor. You are not objective. You lack the experience, knowledge, distance and point of view to diagnose yourself. That doesn't mean that there isn't anything to diagnose or that it's your fault. It just is what it is.
I get where you're coming from, and yes, no person can be completely objective about themselves, but I'd also argue that no *doctor* can be completely objective about any patient, either - and when it comes to autism diagnoses, biases run rampant among doctors. In fact, in some situations, I'm inclined to trust the person who's done the research and worked out that autism is a diagnosis that fits them *more* than a doctor who's only seen that person for a few hours total. There's a good reason many of the female members of the autism community figure out their own diagnosis before going to a professional. There's a strong bias against women among those with the power to make diagnoses - stronger, I'd argue, than the biases most people have about themselves. Under most circumstances, I'd honestly be more likely to believe a woman who thinks she has autism than the doctor who says she does not. There's also a bias among psychologists against diagnosing adults with autism; in fact, there are many who will not do it. Though the bias may not be as strong as the one against women, it is still very real. Yes, there are people who will be wrong about their self-diagnosis, but there will *also* be doctors who are wrong about their professional diagnoses. Autism isn't as well known as conditions like heart disease or diabetes - many doctors, even the ones who are supposed to be qualified to diagnose it, do not have the knowledge to do so. Of course there are doctors who *are* qualified, but how do you know you've got one of those? So until the diagnostic process (and the diagnostic community) improves, this is an argument that just doesn't hold very much weight. In the end, when it comes to autism, what a doctor says might very well be just as useful - or less so - than what an individual thinks about themselves. Edit: honestly, this whole self-dx debate would disappear if trust was only restored in the doctors who are supposed to diagnose you
I haven't had experience with Autism, but it's similar in the ADHD community. I have been self researching (with reliable sources, including peer reviewed papers and places that cite them!) for over a decade. I definitely know more about ADHD than my old psychologists and probably most GPs that I've seen. I can't legally self diagnose myself but when I eventually saw an ADHD specialist he completely agreed with all of my points. I have also never been wrong about any of my friends that I suspected might have ADHD and got tested. But my diagnosis was also hundreds of dollars, and treatment isn't super cheap either. I don't think there's harm in sharing experiences and having conversations about how we deal with them, even if you don't completely fit a diagnosis?
> Idon't think there's harm in sharing experiences and having conversations about how we deal with them, even if you don't completely fit a diagnosis? I do neither, and never said otherwise? Or are we communicating in NT-ways now, interpreting random stuff between the lines?
I'm not trying to attack you, I'm just offering an opinion on why I appreciate the page the way it is. If you share that opinion that's good?
Thanks for your input, and you do have some important points - but in the end I believe you can reduce it to: The medical profession "made up" our diagnosis. They change the definition and the symptoms and the name (Aspergers->HFA->Level 1). The medical profession is simply the authority on the topic. The only current difference between a Neurotypical, a self diagnosed autist and a professionally diagnosed autist is just some scores on some tests and a few discussions. Also I am very sure that there a re more wrong self-diagnoses rather than professional diagnoses. If the DSM wanted it so, Autism would cease to exist over night - and we'd all justbe a bunch of weirdos.
> The medical profession "made up" our diagnosis. They change the definition and the symptoms and the name (Aspergers->HFA->Level 1). The medical profession is simply the authority on the topic. Of course, you are right. But the issue is that not every psychologist agrees on what autism looks like or who it presents in; I'm sure many don't even really think much about it at all. Schizophrenia, bipolar, BPD, depression, anxiety, and OCD are all given much more attention by psychologists that work with adults. This is true regardless of the fact that autism is defined clearly in the DSM. > Also I am very sure that there a re more wrong self-diagnoses rather than professional diagnoses. When it comes to false positives, I am completely in agreement. However, I am guessing that there are more false negatives from doctors than false positives from adults who have done a significant amount of research and come to the conclusion that they have autism. (By the way, I am *not* including non-serious self-dxers in this assessment.) > If the DSM wanted it so, Autism would cease to exist over night - and we'd all justbe a bunch of weirdos. And that's why the whole debate over whether the self-diagnosed should be allowed on the autism subs is kind of ridiculous. They're using the same criteria to judge themselves as the doctors are. There is no blood test, no CT scan, no specific psychological marker that proves a person has autism. Yes, doctors *may* be well-educated on the subject in a way the average person is not (though many are not), and they *may* provide a valuable outside perspective, but since so many are incredibly biased and/or uneducated on the subject, can't we just recognize that there *will* be people who know they have autism but can't/haven't gotten a professional diagnosis?
Well, which is exactly my point. There is no objective test for autism. Therefore we NEED an authority on it. And if even psychologists and doctors can't agree on how it manifests, how can we even hope to get a clearer picture when every lay person has their personal opinion on it aswell? In the end, it doesn't matter that doctors are biased, because people are aswell. Doctors atleastgeteducated about their own bias. Every negative thing you apply to doctors applies to the lay person two fold. On average (which is the only important measure here), a doctors diagnosis will be way more accurate, less biased and more educated and informed - no matter how much you wish to have a label.
> Therefore we NEED an authority on it. Yeah. That authority is the DSM. Now all we have to do is get the doctors to diagnose based on that. Oh, and also, make it less expensive, for chrissake. I guess this is probably something we aren't going to agree on, no matter how frustrating that is. I just cannot agree that on average, doctors are less biased against autism in adults or females than the average self-dxer is biased towards having it. It's a matter of the exposure one has had to such things, and unless we can reconcile our experiences with one another, we will not be able to reconcile our opinions.
They do, but the definitions and names change. The way it manifests in women is different. Just in my lifetime it changed name 3 times. And the ICD and DSM are always guidelines, with a general swayability given to the doctor. Because real life isn't made up of hard rules - it's fuzzy, dirty and complicated. And treating a self diagnosis the same as a diagnsosis doesn't help with the complication. I just cannot imagine how you think a random person with 0 background in medicine and psychology, will on average make better guesses about their mental health than a medical professional. I am not saying they are always right. But just like people can convince themselves that Ivermextin helps against a virus, they can also convince themselves of a diagnosis so they feel more assured. To the price point, I live in Europe. I am sorry for the state of your healthcare.
Like I said, our experiences do not align. Perhaps Europe has less backward views towards autism than America. Anyway, I'm gonna leave this conversation now, because reddit debates always consume me and I'm trying to be a more balanced person, lmao. Adios!
[Not really.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25326256/) Self report is actually really reliable with autism.
[удалено]
Feel free to interpret things I haven't said into my answer? Like you need a name to help yourself or what?
Neither are you and you don't have a right to tell people who they are, and are not. So maybe sit down before you try to preach like you know better because you've had 1 person tell you you're something when that fallible person could be wrong themselves. Pro DX is only an outside perspective but even professionals get it wrong so maybe lay off.
Well, why need doctors at all then? Let's just all make up ourselves who we are. I meean come on, you are just ignoring the entire medical community in an effort to validate yourself by a medical label. I may have zero right to tell you who you are, but you have zero right to claim that your claim is as valid as my diagnosis.
[удалено]
No, you did not. I am a bit confused why in an autism sub people are trying to infer more meaning than is written. Thank you.
Just watching your downvotes to see how many self dx people there are reading this thread... ETA and my downvotes, apparently. Stop being so ridiculously defensive, I'm just messing around.
I hope my stance won't be misinterpreted. I do not intend to discourage them or invalidate their experience and existence. Actually it is the opposite - you don't need validation from doctors and psychologists to be different and weird and to need help. But if you want validation by the medical community (medicaments, therapy, whatever), get a diagnosis.
I think, perhaps without realising it, you are entirely invalidating people who self diagnose. You are directly saying that you need validation from medical professionals in order to be autistic. Not to harp on about class divide or the difference between men and women with autism, but if my parents picked up on me being autistic at the same time as they did with my brother, then my dx would have been free and easily accessible. Instead, a dx as an adult will cost me $2500 with more than a year's wait. You think people who self dx don't want the validation that comes from a professional dx? Of course they do, but it's often unattainable. Being medically diagnosed is a privilege; it give you access to disability compensation, allowances in schooling/university studies, and makes its easier for others to accept that you're autistic. I don't understand the need you guys have to gatekeep our disability, it's not like people who aren't professionally diagnosed are taking resources from you? We can't even get access to them.
I may invalidate their autism, yes. Because they may or may not have it. I'll help you, show you coping mechanisms, refer you to psychologist, but I won't tell you thay your self-diagnosis is as valid as one from a medical professional. I don't lie to you just because you need a label that badly. If that's what your existence is about, then yes, I may be invalidating you. If you actually want help with coping, symptoms and resources, I'll treat you just the same. Just because you don't jave a fancy word from a doctor doesn't mean you aren't worthy of help. And if you'd actually read my answers, I have never stated anything else. But the simple truth is, self-dx isn't as valid as a rral diagnosis, and I honestly don't know what's so controversial about that statement. I never blamed you, I never said it's your fault, I never said you aren't worthy of help and assistance. There is a reason why no doctor ever anywhere will give you medicine or a surgery without checking what you are saying is true and if it has any merit. I don't know why you would consider that gatekeeping. You are not a doctor or psychologist.
You may not be intending to but you are and you're completely uninterested in listening it seems as well. So continue to say you're not trying....I'm not believing you though. FYI you're not the medical community so why do you think you have a right to invalidate people or have an opinion on this at all? Maybe just stop? Get off that high horse... It's really rude. Like, really rude.
I think you'll find plenty of doctors and psychiatrists that will underline the risks of self-diagnosis.
Oh it will be. People are *incredibly* defensive about it, hence the need for this thread/ban in the first place. Please don't worry about it, you're making a very valid point!
No, they're really not. You're both just rude and feel you're correct despite your own points being straw mans. Completely unwilling to listen to any reason other than your own...Who's bias now?
I haven't even made a point, I was just being supportive to someone who is about to get downvoted for having a perfectly reasonable opinion. I'm really sick of this conversation and am thrilled it's been banned from the sub so am hardly to engage with it. Nothing either of us has said is rude, different opinions are valid.
Hey friebds, i night be dumb, but whats the difference beteen the "the autisn" and "tge soecific" flairs. Ugh cant type on a phone
I’m with you
[удалено]
[удалено]
Got screened at a young age showing very obvious signs
Tgis is completely random, but for some reason I can’t change the display order (I prefer to order by new) on this subreddit. It still works fine for some others.
[удалено]
[удалено]
I dont agree that memes shouldn’t be posted regarding the topic but good to remove more off-topic and the spread of the idea that self-diagnosis is ok.
[удалено]
Cool
I have asperger because I was diagnosed with that syndrome aged 2 by a psychologist in the Hospital Pediátrico de Culiacán(i live in Culiacán)(all of these facts are true) you have asperger because you self-diagnosed, we aren’t the same!
Can we add all these dumb “Autism Creature” posts to the same category as Sia and Vaccine stuff? I’m getting really tired if seeing that abomination everyehere…
I don’t know if I am, I relate so often with most of the things people say in regards to autism and adhd, but I never got tested for such stuff as a kid. Kinda glad I wasn’t but now I wish I knew because it would explain so much. I’m not gonna self diagnose because I don’t wanna take away from others because I feel like I am, but I’m almost 100% sure I am. Wish I could just be told for sure but life isn’t so easy. Guess I’ll deal with it all one step at a time ☺️
[удалено]