Autism Self diagnosis is invalid!

[@andreagriffiths3512]

Mostly self diagnosed - since the professional $500 opinion from Mr Clinical Psychologist was “You’re female and can talk.” 🤬🤬🤬🤬

[@Junierox]

This! We're fighting to get our kid diagnosed and that's basically what any non-autism specific doctor tells us. Autism asseaments and groups agree that the risk factor is high and warrants further investigation

[@andreagriffiths3512]

@@Junierox there are lots of online tests - I’d take them and show them professionals the results. I didn’t but I wish I had. May your journey be smoother than mine was.

[@Junierox]

@andreagriffiths3512 Oh I took the ones frome the school district that indicates she has "high risk". Didn't even look. I have an organization helping me now with getting an evaluation because all they do is pediatric Autism services 🤞

[@FeyPax]

I got “you’re dealing with female angst”. I was like okay cool.

[@suicideshy451]

You paid 500$ for that shit... I'm so out of hope rn

[@gammarayne]

"Your autism is not more valid than someone else's autism simply because a doctor told you so" 👏 This actually got me a little choked up, as someone who is only self diagnosed for the time being due to limited means. Thank you ❤️

[@Oysters176]

I was discriminated and ableized in school because of the so called knowledge of the diagnosis, it was a whole thing.

[@Plethorality]

We know who we are.

[@Oysters176]

Being giving Support in school, is comparing autistics to the guy in a wheelchair who cannot speak. I made sure to never accept any pity. This is how abuse happens in plain sight.

[@bottomofastairwell]

Honestly, getting an official diagnosis kind of scares me, because one, it costs money i just don't have, but also, the ramifications of being put on an official list are scary. Because the facts is, they can use an autism diagnosis in family court as a reason why you're not for to have custody of your children, can use a diagnosis as criteria to keep you from immigrating to other countries. Even what's going on with lists being leaked of people who have sought gender affirming care. I see the way things are trending, especially in the US, and it just makes me very hesitant to pursue an official diagnosis and have my name on some list that could potentially be targeted. Especially as it costs unreasonable amounts of money just to access a diagnosis. So I don't know, but right now, self diagnosis just feels safer

[@alexm.6533]

I’m ngl im an autistic dude who was against self diagnosing autism and I expected this video to agree with me, instead it made me think more about autism and now I’m more open to people who self diagnose themself with autism.

[@FreshAlacrity]

Heck yeah! 🎉

[@salome_psychostudy_asd]

Same. I think what made me hate self diagnosis before was social media content about autism that ended up not being about autism. For example people sharing their personality traits as being autism, while they just happen to have these traits AND be autistic. And I just realised whether they are professionally or self-diagnosed (even actually autistic or misdiagnosed) doesn't change anything to the problem. I'm also concerned about the "everyone is an expert in psychology" type of trend as it can lead to dangerous misinformation, but I think people self-diagnosing and trying to accommodate might be the most empowering part of it.

[@ayjayce]

yes!!!!

[@hah-vj7hc]

I did all of those self tests yesterday. And they tell me I'm clearly autistic. All of the info I've found also indicates this since the descriptions fit what I've experienced in life - most of the aspects, not all of them - which does make sense if it's a spectrum. So, for example, it seems like many autists struggle with language. You be the judge of my second language in which I'm texting this... I know I passed the C2 test so yeah... But the theory of monotropism fits me like a glove, I have always been thinking most poeple must be crazy since they seem to believe so often that they can indeed understand each other's intentions although they are usually judging mine wrongly etc... It does seem kind of clear to me, You know, I quit my studies some years ago even though I was already in the process of writing my thesis. But i fell into depression after certain social interactions that had left me ruminating and incapable of moving on. So I got a social worker to aid me. He proposed I do therapy. So we went to a psychologist. He asked me if I smoked weed. I said, "Yes, same as every other student." So he made me do these 2 weeks of "detoxification" first, promising I'd get my therapy thereafter. So I stopped smoking it, which was no problem whatsoever. And I went to this detox programme, already being detoxified to begin with... And after that, I was told I now need to do a 6-month-long rehab from drug addiction. I told them that's not what I'd signed up for. They said, hey, this was essentially the same thing, a therapy with additional drug-abuse-related stuff on the side. So I did that, thinking some therapy is better than none. So where did I end up? In a rehab facility where the majority of patients were prisoners who had commited drug-related crimes and had the opportunity to do this 6-month programme rather than 2 more years in prison. Every single one of them had taken all kinds of other drugs than weed, many of them were alcoholic too. I never got any worthwhile therapy in there, instead they were trying to make me believe I was an addict. And what's more, if I would have to pay all of this myself if I'd quit before 6 months. So I stayed there just so my insurance would pay for it. After that, I had a much mroe severe depression that before and progressively retreated from life, didn't talk to any family for over 2 years and ended up homeless. Because I wanted to have a roof over my head, I pretended I had taken drugs and went back to the facility. There I managed to convince them my problem was something else though. So I was diagnosed depressed (what an insight). I then took antidepressants for 2 years and became obese. So I quit those. No doctor bothered to give me actual advice during these 2 years anyway, so I simply stopped getting the meds and decided to do my own research. So here I am, having gone through all of those things I mentioned, having a big student loan left to pay, having diagnosed myself. I am still sometimes contemplating getting a professional diagnosis. But sooomething tells me i might decline that benevolent offer by the friendly psychiatrists who so ardently led me to destroy my life. i mean, are there good psychiatrists out there? Probably. But am I taking the chances? Again? I think not.

[@MagentaDinosaurs]

I think that is by design, its a good way to draw people in and hopefully change their minds by presenting a calm discussion about two perspectives on it. You're primed to agree with them and then are met with openness rather than intolerance and defensiveness. It can be very effective in changing perspectives.

[@Disgruntled_Kinkajou]

I was told BY A MENTAL HEALTH PRIFESSIONAL to get assessed for autism, and sent to a clinic that specializes in it. After a 30-45 minute questionnaire and a 10-15 minute interview, I was told by the interviewer that I'm clearly not autistic. I now realize their entire process was based on ruling out OCD, which I was and am diagnosed with, so they just dismissed me, even though OCD and autism are highly comorbid. A relative of mine became a counselor, and now thinks I am on the spectrum but of course can't officially diagnose me, but she knows me better than anyone else in the mental health field. I'm now fighting tooth and nail to try to get a diagnosis so I can get benefits, but having trouble holding down jobs makes that really hard, and I'm pissed off at the clinic I went to for not giving me the care I needed, and making me think I didn't need the care that I desperately need, which I could've gotten by now if they had done their job right.

[@mynnri]

can she recommend someone you could see?

[@terralexj9468]

How do you know their process was based on ruling out OCD? Confirm that information before your later realisations use it.

[@Princess__Buttercup]

@@terralexj9468to put it in perspective, my doctor tried to tell me my health issues were in my head … Turns out that I had nearly 24/7 exposure in my home (I work from home) to a slow natural gas leak for 2 years because DR Horton couldn’t be bothered to tighten the natural gas pipe on my hot water heater. The HVAC system sucked the methane in the system and continually blew it on me from the vents. I kept describing syncope (I had to find the medical term myself) but she kept writing vertigo and ignoring that I was passing out. The oxygen deprivation destroyed my thyroid and I had to have a full thyroidectomy. It caused white matter growth in my brain. THEN after all of that, my vitamin d was low, she prescribed me prescription strength vitamin D but didn’t bother to have me come back for blood work. Last week I discovered that for a year I have had vitamin d toxicity. I have been bedridden for almost 2 years and she wrote me off as a head case. So, not only did she do nothing to help me when I was literally dying, she said it was in my head, then poisoned me with vitamin d. Doctors love blowing you off. Their next patient is there for the next 5 minute time slot. Obviously that was an exaggeration, but a relevant one.

[@LangkeeLongkee]

​@@terralexj9468I'm sure this person has a valid reason to think that, but it would just be complex and long to explain. I know the first time I saw a professional he was trying to slap bipolar on me. If I explained it to you why, you'd definitely agree, no one who I have explained it to disagrees, but it would take a LOT of background information and be a tangent. Also... They don't owe you that lmao mind your business.

[@quantumAnarchist]

Ive heard from a few of psychologists/psychiatrists they will give only one diagnosis, they will dismiss any comorbidity with mental conditions and only diagnosis whatever has the most prominent symptoms/traits. Seems like its a trend amongst medical professionals

[@thetickedoffpianoplayer4193]

I would say to that doctor, if you don't want people self-diagnosing, how about you take their flippin' insurance if they're on Medicare. Otherwise, bite me.

[@az8560]

Instruction unclear, a person wants to get bitten. In such case I can only recommend playing Project Zomboid.

[@thetickedoffpianoplayer4193]

@@az8560 Oops, sorry, that was unclear. I don't literally want to get bitten. It's an expression that means go away, but it's a stronger way to say it.

[@az8560]

@@thetickedoffpianoplayer4193 Thanks for the clarification. Surprisingly, I didn't know the exact meaning of this phrase. A half of my brain understood from the context that it's some sort of indirect version of suggesting to perform autoerotic act instead of doing unwanted activity, but the other half wanted to bite someone and played flashbacks from Zomboid at the same time, so I chose to express confusion of that second part for humorous reasons.

[@thetickedoffpianoplayer4193]

@@az8560 Ah I see. I just like the sound of that expression.

[@j.adamwegs2882]

Because that isn't how Medicare works, doctors can't just decide to accept it.

[@Irisarc1]

I self-diagnosed recently. It explained SOOO many things about my personality and history. I talked to my therapist, and she said, "That makes sense." I talked my friends, and they each said, "Yeah, I can totally see that." I looked in the mirror and said to myself, "You are not bad because you are awkward, clumsy, emotional, and weird. You're just autistic. You're fine. It's just who you are. Stop beating yourself up over something you cannot now and never have been able to control." The weight this diagnosis lifted off me is enormous. I just have to keep doing the best I can. Even if it's not perfect, if it's the best I can do, I can't do any better. I'm just going to concentrate on learning to relax when it comes to things I tend to stress over...but I'm not going to stress over it. 😊 (Lter edited for spelling.)

[@r3l_0]

Proud of you

[@LukeNAndo]

This is my journey exactly. Thanks for sharing!

[@Irisarc1]

@@LukeNAndo You're welcome 😊

[@Catsgirl32]

This is so wonderful I'm so happy for you!

[@WhimsyCourier]

So happy you found that freedom and space to give yourself grace.

[@StephtheGD]

It took me 47 years to finally figure out what was wrong with me. It was a webtoon that made me first ask “Could I have Autism and ADHD?” Six hours and $3600 later it was confirmed by a doctor. Your self diagnosis is valid.

[@grummelameise]

took me 12 years to figure it out on my own, and i had to fight my family and friends tooth and nail. whole family has adhd, father has autism, i am the only one diagnosed, and they still are kinda smirking about my 2 diagnoses. i i had not done all that, NOBODY would have told me. 5 years of heavy antidepressants and alcoholism no biggie, but dont you dare take ritalin, you dont have adhd or autism, your whole life of chaos that is so similar to other peoples life is just you being lazy, you want to be special. i am still angry about it all.

[@InfiniteGameReviews]

Same for me. I didn't fit the criteria for either diagnose. In reality I had both and they masked the other and made it harder to detect.

[@grummelameise]

@@InfiniteGameReviewsyeah, and then some docs and some of your friends will still give you a hard time, even you have the official papers in your hand. i am completely fed up with this development. for example: friends tell me: but you were always so bubbly, full of ideas, had adventures and you were so social and yada yada! yeah, i was drunk constantly to cope with social situations, my adventures were catastrophic adhd impulses with very bad outcomes that SOUND funny when told, but sure werent funny when i had them, and you sure didnt see me catatonic in depression at home, where i would invite or tolerate absolutely nobody, and didnt you notice i often vanished without saying goodbye, and you constantly complain about me being unreliable? sorry for the rant.

[@InfiniteGameReviews]

​@@grummelameise: Sorry you had to experience that. Most of my friends have always been about as nerdy and antisocial as I am. And most of the friends I still have around me have become my friends during and after my years of trying to find out what the f-k is/was wrong with me. Also, I feel ADHD is such a bad template to use, since people think it's just in one specific way but I actually have ADD which was a diagnose of it's own but today it's a part of the whole ADHD diagnose but with a "subclass" (inattentive) and I'm generally not at all bubbly and maybe even not that impulsive either, and I have trouble getting thing done at all, although I have done my fair share of mistakes. Anyway, since I'm quite passive and antisocial = rarely spend time with people = less social problem and less anxiety. So I don't have many friends but at least they understand and accept and most of them also have at least one of my diagnoses (very often autism), and I think it's partly because of autistic friends that I was finally convinced that I was autistic and then I just didn't give up fighting the psychiatry and finally they realized that I did have the diagnose.

[@Jacq.T]

Not a rant. Valid venting. 👍

[@ComfyChaos]

I spent hundreds of dollars for an hour with a psychiatrist who told me I didn’t “jump out of a textbook as far as autism goes” because I didn’t have any of the “typical” presentation (I’m AFAB and have also been diagnosed as a kid with ADD, nowadays it’s ADHD inattentive subtype or something similar). The whole time, he talked at me and pretty much insinuated I was only self diagnosing because of stuff I read online. I told him I still wanted to get formal testing and his office never called me back to set it up. This is why so many people have no choice BUT to self diagnose. Side note: I scored on the RAADS-R self-assessment in the 150s which is “strong evidence for autism.”

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

ADHD and OCD in particular can screw with how the diagnosis presents, as well as the ability to mask. I've got what's likely savant syndrome along with the ADHD and OCD, which makes getting a clean ASD diagnosis incredibly challenging as I have an absolutely massive library of rules that apply to pretty much everything and often don't know why I"m doing things the way that I am.

[@fwstace]

@@SmallSpoonBrigade you do not have savant syndrome 💀

[@EmL-kg5gn]

This is exactly why it’s so hard to justify getting a medical assessment… I already know exactly where to find gaslighting and condescension for free 🤪 But in all seriousness, I’m so so sorry that happened to you 😞 I hope there’s something you can do to get accountability or at least to warn others about that Dr

[@ComfyChaos]

@@EmL-kg5gn Thank you so much! Unfortunately, he is the only psychiatrist in my area that will perform autism assessments on both pediatric and adult patients. So adults really have no other local options. It’s also nigh on impossible to get an appointment with him because his ONE secretary does all the scheduling and she never, ever answers her phone; she literally says in her voicemail to leave a message and then it takes weeks for her to call back. She’s also highly unpleasant and when she finally DID call me back to make the appointment, she acted incredibly inconvenienced by it, as if I was wasting her time. This is all at the largest, if not one of the largest, neurology and neuropsych practices in my area. It’s basically impossible to complain because there are no other options. All the other psychiatrists and qualified clinicians in my area will only assess children. My AFAB friend received her assessment and diagnosis when she was 20 (about 15 years ago) by one of the psychiatrists who works exclusively with children only because her psychologist at the time was personally friends with that psychiatrist and so the psychiatrist was doing my friend’s psychologist a favor. There are services online, such as through Embrace Autism, that offer qualified assessment however it costs thousands of dollars and they don’t accept insurance. So I’ve made peace with my ADHD diagnosis and accept I *might* be Autistic as well but I’ll never know for sure.

[@AlissaSss23]

OF COURSE you self diagnosed because you did research on it!! And yes, ASD is a SPECTRUM, it's not the same for everyone, and it doesn't look like textbook ASD. ESPECIALLY if you have ADHD too, and especially if you're NOT a little white boy

[@keylimeyogurt_]

Something that really annoys me with people who are against self diagnosis is that they don’t even consider that we may be seeing a therapist or other medical professional who supports us, but aren’t able to give us a proper diagnosis because we need to see a specialist for it. And seeing that specialist isn’t accessible for everyone! I’m technically self diagnosed, but my therapist and previous nurse practitioner (I’m seeing a new one soon due to mine retiring.) both support me in thinking this. When I see my new doctor, I’m going to talk with them about getting a referral for a proper diagnosis, but I know not everyone can do that because of cost and the waitlists are super long, over a year most times. Wanna stop all the self diagnosis? Well, then we gotta make getting a proper diagnosis more accessible for all ages. ☺️ Edit: I wanna add my age, I’m 32, just incase that adds any context someone may want.

[@Neurospicybunny]

Same here! I'm also 32 coincidentally, and my therapist and psych NP are supportive of me trying to get this assessment/diagnosis from a psychologist, but I can't access it due to money. I have especially talked extensively with my therapist about it, she is neurodivergent herself and at one point even tried her best to look into possible ways she could put in my chart. I'm also someone most people wouldn't believe if I just started saying I was autistic, because I'm so high masking and honestly, because of my outward appearance as a blonde trendy white girl. My special interests are "normal" girl things like skincare/haircare/makeup, but nobody knows how deep my interest goes, they are my hobby I spend hours consuming content about. I had an older psychiatrist once tell me I couldn't be autistic because i make eye contact... So yeah, I just say I'm secretly self diagnosed now to avoid hurt and invalidation😞 I hope your new provider is able to help you access a diagnosis though.

[@mythhooked6082]

Yes! I’m legally diagnosed with autism and ADHD but because of reasons, I can’t be diagnosed with PTSD anytime soon, but not only has my therapist straight up told me she’s almost certain I have it, and I have a ton of symptoms for it, but I mean, we’ve been treating for that and it’s been working.

[@ryanmackenzie6109]

Yes! My psychiatrist agrees it's HIGHLY likely I'm Autistic (I didn't even get to show him my whole list of symptoms!) But he won't diangoe me until I've gone through the testing. In the meantime, though, I'm trying to get in with a therapist to maybe help point me in a direction of self help

[@saltydinonuggies1841]

I’m 21 and my therapist agrees I’m likely autistic and that even if I weren’t there’s no actual danger in me viewing myself that ay because it helps me accommodate myself. Currently it’s not safe for me to have a diagnosis due to the political field in my area surrounding autistic trans people. It could cause me to lose access to my very necessary hormonal medical treatment. And given that I’ve been in therapy since I was 8 and only now at 21 did a therapist go “maybe you have DID” I think I’ll still to my self dx for autism. They couldn’t even find something supposedly super obviously like DID (not really that obvious) so why would I trust them to properly diagnose me with autism?

[@joana.en.pyjautiste]

Same here. I'm 38, and I have been on the waiting list for 15 month now, and I still got no date of appointement.

[@Fantasminhe]

I clicked on this ready to be convinced I'm wrong in my own self-diagnosis... I feel so confidently that I'm autistic, but it's too expensive and I often try to look for evidence that I'm wrong or faking it, cause the lack of confirmation makes me feel like an impostor. This actually makes me feel a lot better... Thank you!

[@SammyBoy2001]

same, but I'm lucky enough to have some good-ish health insurance and (hopefully) enough money. my problem is that I'm unfortunately stuck on a 6 month long waiting list :)))

[@Princess__Buttercup]

Same

[@Armament0fJustice]

I clicked the video expecting to be upset, but looking for information on if I'm really not valid for the way I feel. This video actually fighting against the title of it was a pleasant surprise... I wish the title felt honest, but I can see the benefit of drawing in the crowd looking to feed confirmation bias and then posing the argument.

[@sharonhobbs4857]

Imposter syndrome is a thing, just ask anyone who can't access a diagnosis. You sre not alone

[@moiouimoi3858]

@@SammyBoy2001in my country, waiting list are more 3 years. (But it’s free.) I managed to be taken in a new structure that didn’t have many person applying for the moment. My appointment is in one month !!

[@billyb7852]

I self diagnosed with Klinefelter’s Syndrome, which is very different, as a chromosomal variation. There is only one way to know for sure. My doctor insisted on testing me for Marfan’s first because he didn’t like me self-diagnosing. When that came back negative, he finally tested my DNA. 47XXY. Patients know their own bodies and minds.

[@jnharton]

Patients know their experience, that's not the same as getting confirmation from DNA testing. It's generally good for doctors to practice differential diagnosis when symptoms are shared between different diseases, disorders, and syndromes.

[@billyb7852]

@@jnharton my GP literally said to me “I’m the doctor, I’ll be the judge of that” when I told him I thought I had KF. My point is that listening to your patients is really important but often the ego of the doctor gets in the way. Particularly older doctors who got their licence before empathy was taught and assessed in medical schools.

[@Princess__Buttercup]

@@billyb7852after my doctor was going to let me die and I figured out what was wrong with me and got to a surgeon that confirmed it and setup my operation said: We will agree to disagree.

[@TheNinthGeneration1]

Just curious, what are the symptoms of KF and how did you figure it out?

[@middledog466]

💗

[@Fakers126]

How did you manage to explain every single aspect of this struggle? How? And this only has 11k views??? HOW???

[@heyna1185]

It surely deserves more views. This is the best and most concise breakdown of the arguments for and against self diagnosis. I‘m definite,y saving this video so that I have a link to share in case someone challenges me on this in the future.

[@kiwio3o387]

It likely has more views on TikTok. He’s a TikTok creator.

[@kiwio3o387]

@@heyna1185 It likely has more views on TikTok. He’s a TikTok creator.

[@IsaacMyers1]

the ONLY thing i can think of him missing is this: Why would someone go get tested for autism if they didn’t think they had autism? If you can’t self diagnose you only would get people accessing themselves who get told they should be tested and believe them. Oh, wait, that’s also self diagnosis isn’t it? Maybe Im missing something, but the only people who aren’t “self diagnosing” are kids maybe. Again though, isn’t that also a nonprofessional giving you their opinion?

[@younglove6363]

@@kiwio3o387oh wow, he has 360k followers on tik tok. That’s more like it!

[@androart1817]

“Self diagnosis is invalid! And anyone who does it is wrong!… Anyway guys my rates are £1000 per diagnosis and my wait list is only 3 months so sign up now!”

[@Dinnyeify]

3 months is quite generous

[@Ann963]

Wow, only £1,000 and only a 3 month wait! That’s not good, but it is a lot better than reality!

[@saragoltz1191]

😂😂😂 exactly!!

[@GovilGirl]

And the diagnosis is just based on scoring the answers to the same test and printing off a graph? So mostly done by a computer except for typing in some history that was probably speech to text generated?

[@itookallthenames]

3 months! Damn, where do you live, that’s practically tomorrow!

[@Bownimations01]

I was told by my aunt, who raised my autistic cousin, that I could have autism. My mother exploded and said "why do you always want something to be wrong with?!" I told my therapist after doing some research that I show signs of autism and crying to her I said I want to get help so I dont have to keep feeling wrong . She told me point blank 1. I don't think you're autistic because you can communicate quite well and you look me in the eye and read social cues (despite the fact that I was forced to look people in the eye growing up, I've had years of communication classes and customer service jobs and writing experience, and I'm hyper aware of everyone to the point of overthinking my every action and word) and 2. You don't want the label anyway, too much negative connotation. You only need it if it's affecting your life in a negative way (as I'm crying my eyes out) Turns out I'm AuAdhd self diagnosed after years of research and accredited testing and I have 80% masking symptoms and now I'm actively trying to figure out how to get more out of my life by handling my symptoms and reversing my masking so i can finally stop making the same mistakes and better change my quality of life Edit: typo

[@ryanmackenzie6109]

A good tool I heard somewhere along the line about unmasking is that it's a misnomer! Because you're not necessarily 'un'doing anything. Think of your mask not so much like a wall keeping your Autistic traits in, but rather a wall that separated you from stereotypically Autistic things you could have enjoyed. Because if you try to peel away the mask as it is, you will find nothing inside. You will feel hollow and empty. Because the Autism is "outside" of you, right now. Instead, add to yourself. Hobbies, reactions, interests, emotions. Learn to stim. Find hobbies and creators that bring you joy. Find community that will give you safety that you were missing. If you add to yourself, there's a good chance the mask will naturally fall away on it's own time, and you'll find yourself a more full person in the end. ❤

[@Crooneh]

I was trying to put into words how much this comment hit me, but I keep stumbling, so instead, thank you! This says so many things I couldn't put into words myself, and has such a wonderful positive outlook on unmasking.

[@Catlily5]

My counselor said the same bullshit about eye contact. I fool people by looking at their eyebrows. But she was wrong. I am autistic.

[@visionvixxen]

Same!

[@visionvixxen]

I wish all doctors had to watch this before graduating because it’s happened to me several times about different things to the point that you have to be careful about being truthful with your therapist?!?

[@416London]

I know myself better than anyone else. Doctor or not. In 2007 I had to fight tooth and nail to be tested for a condition I have that, if unsuspected/undiagnosed by me, would have killed me around about …now. When I first mentioned the possibility, the doctor snapped at me that it was virtually impossible I would have what I have. When the tests proved me right my doctor had a face like a pair of smacked buttocks. I am the gatekeeper of my life, including my health.

[@nanimalgirlEssie]

Recognisable story. I've done some self-diagnosing in the past that I needed medical confirmation for. And every time the answer was always either complete denial, mockery or patronizing. It's frustrating because tests performed by these same medical professionals kept proving me right. Then I'd be given the necessary medication and advice (as expected by me) and then I'd switch doctor (because how fo you keep working with someone who won't say sorry when they're wrong or have gaslit you). I still believe there are lots of good medical professionals out there but as soon problems (whether physical or psychological) become a little too complex or intricate, there's only a small number of professionals left that really want to invest in digging deep and listening well. That can be very frustrating and off-putting. So... Let's not lose hope, let's not assume the worst of medical professionals, but let's definitely protect ourselves and believe ourselves.

[@mercymonroe83]

I am going through this. I have what seems to be lymphatic fluid that excretes out of my skin though my sweat, ears, and more, and when I try to describe this to doctors they look at me funny and say that isn't how lymph works and it isn't possible. I'm sorry, when you can watch the stuff come out of me when sprayed with water and see it collect on the surface of the water and sides of tub, enough to be scraped off and collected, DO NOT TELL ME IT IS NOT HAPPENING. Gaslighting and ignorance in the medical field is unreal. It is like if they didn't hear about it in medical school, it doesn't exist. I am tired of doctors (who a lot of the time seem to be lacking common sense after all their fancy schooling) acting like they are the end all and be all of medical knowledge. I have had to teach practitioners basics before and it's scary.

[@lalaj5831]

My mother always said doctors are just practicing. You know yourself better than anyone.

[@sylvianimates]

it always baffles me when doctors do stuff like this. like isn't your job supposed to be to help people with that kind of stuff..

[@robertj6182]

Cocky doctors are the plight of humanity.

[@jesterr7133]

Everyone has their own opinion, but it is more than possible for someone to self diagnose anything, and be correct. In 2014, I began having unexplained swelling in my joints. Over the next year, I went to multiple doctors, before being sent to a Rheumatologist. She spent the next year or so running every test she could think of on me without a diagnosis. Frustrated with the situation, I began studying autoimmune disorders online. I diagnosed myself with Psoriatic Arthritis. When I suggested it to her at my next visit, she said it was impossible since I had never been diagnosed with Psoriasis. When I showed her the unexplained rash on my scalp, she sent me to a Dermatologist, who then diagnosed me with Psoriasis, and I was officially diagnosed. I have no medical experience, and I was able to diagnose a condition that multiple doctors couldn't, and it only took a few hours of research. It is more than possible for people to self diagnose. Sometimes you don't need a fancy degree to know what is wrong with your own body.

[@bndlett8752]

I'd argue that's your own fault. You even explicitly stated that the rash was "unexplained" and she didn't even send you to a dermatologist until after the fact that you pointed out the rash. Not only that, I'd even argue that getting a diagnosis and solving an issue requires both the patient and doctor to be working together -- you can't just rely on the doctor themselves to do everything for you.

[@four1629]

this is, in my opinion, because of the faulty medical model. i say faulty, but it's actually working as intended - doctors are trained to work this way, and are taught not to trust the opinions of patients. anecdotal evidence is seen as "less than" which is kind of valid in science, but it doesn't have as much of a place in medicine where the anecdotal evidence is what brought someone to the doctor in the first place. there needs to be more emphasis on teaching patients how to describe their symptoms and teaching doctors how to describe their knowledge, so that the two languages can come together and be more understandable. otherwise, it's two people talking at each other and experiencing no change.

[@four1629]

@@bndlett8752 this quite literally makes 0 sense

[@roxyndra]

Indeed! It’s good to do research and print out new info for docs who may not know, too. Stick to .edu and .gov ofc. Good self advocacy!

[@dgcfgvvgb6555]

​@@four1629I think they're trying to imply that the rash wasn't shown to tge doctor until af5er tge self diagnosis and that if it was pointed out fron the get go they would've been diagnosed quicker as the doctors would know what to look for. Not that I necessarily agree because it could've been brought up and then dismissed earlier until psoriasis was mentioned

[@thematchgirl327]

I almost didn't click on this great video because I thought you were serious when you titled it "autism self diagnosis is invalid"! Maybe you should put a tone indicator of sarcasm on the title! Thanks for sharing 😊 as a self-diagnosed person who has autism research as a special interest, it was great to hear everything you had to say about self diagnosis.

[@TheCloverAffiliate12]

Glad I'm not the only one who was thinking the first part of your comment!

[@Inuyashagirl2015]

I think that might be on purpose. You are probably already inclined to agree with what he says about self diagnosis based off of your comment. Someone else might click on it BECAUSE they initially think its confirming what they believe about self-diagnosis being invalid. When they realize it's not, many will probably click off, but hopefully not everyone and hopefully a few of them will be willing to reconsider their stance if they really sit and think about WHY they believe that people "want" autism

[@brianjakobsen7556]

I believe my initial thought when seeing the title was… “Your evidence? Bold claims need solid evidence.” Glad I watched the video.

[@SortofUnpleasant]

I prefer people who don't agree with me click on this video. I'm not looking for someone to confirm something I already believe- I'd rather bait someone on the opposing side into learning about my perspective.

[@lar-in-a-crisis]

Lol same. My first instinct is to assume people are being literal in their communication.... Almost like I have autism.... 🤪

[@shadisparrow19]

To add to all the other anecdotes: I’m a therapist and I still got misdiagnosed with a personality disorder (OCPD) when I got neuropsych testing done! For a while I believed it, at least partially. At 32, I finally worked with an affirming therapist who is also neurodivergent to find out that I am, in fact, autistic. I went into both of those assessments without a self-diagnosis, yet the “official path” missed me. And I now realize that the DSM-5 symptoms of OCPD look a lot like a traumatized autistic person trying to cope. But I didn’t have the language when I was originally tested in order to describe my experiences more clearly (because I wasn’t self-diagnosed) and the psychologist who diagnosed me with OCPD wrote in her report that I was able to have “easy reciprocal communication” with the tester while she ignored that the tests I did worst in were for task switching (difficulty with which is a trait of autism) and I scored above the average range in everything else 😐 Most medical and mental health professionals are not trained to assess for autism in people who , like me, don’t fit the stereotypical presentation (e.g. who are AFAB, non-white, queer/trans, high-masking, multiply neurodivergent, lower support needs adults, etc.). There is a giant hole in the system for official medical diagnosis of autism (and many other conditions) that needs to be fought against, not meekly accepted. I am so thankful for the privilege I had to seek a second opinion. Plus, I think understanding my own experiences more fully has also helped me to become a better therapist.

[@gillypiexo]

Amen dude this has been my biggest wall I hit

[@SobrietyandSolace]

Don’t forget that traumatised autistic people can also develop personality disorders after the fact, but I’m glad your underlying autism was recognised. My parents had to lie and hide us from CPS pretended g there wasn’t still abuse at home before they would assess me without framing everything as a trauma response, but I recognise my autist traits as being separate to my cPTSD and BPD/EUPD traits though they can certainly fuel eachother. Then throw ADHd into the mix too….

[@joana.en.pyjautiste]

Thank you for sharing this 🙏

[@shadisparrow19]

@@SobrietyandSolace (An important note on the following response: I don’t want to try to take away any labels that individuals find helpful to use for themselves. This is written from my own experience with the medical and mental health systems in the US and from both the perspective of a patient/client and a therapist/researcher.) Yeah, I should add that I personally have come to believe that what we call “personality disorders” are not well-described by that name (especially since many people then consider them to be immutable inborn disorders-like thinking that’s just your “personality” that you were born with and will never change). I believe that they are mostly patterns of coping with childhood trauma, that certain people may be predisposed to developing these patterns based on how their individual characteristics interact with their early environment, and that treating the trauma while respecting the individual’s neurotype (and never shaming the behaviors that they used to survive in a very effed up world) makes it possible to slowly change these patterns if the individual wishes to change them. OCPD has already been found to have a huge overlap with autism even with the flawed diagnostic methods we currently use. I can’t help but wonder if the overlap would be even higher if more people were able to get accurate autism diagnoses. And at some point, I wonder: what is the benefit of using the label of “personality disorder” (especially given the history of stigma associated with these diagnoses) if the underlying issues can be readily understood without it? In a perfect world, I would want to leave it up to the individual to decide if they find that label helpful instead of having doctors/therapists give it to them without their active informed consent. In my understanding of my own history, experiences, and patterns, the traits I have that were previously mislabeled as “perfectionism” and “rigid morality” etc. seem to be much more accurately described as “difficulty with task switching under stress”, “attempts to gather information on social expectations in order to mask differences from neurotypicals”, “comfort in predictability”, and “high empathy/valuing altruism”, which more closely reflects my autism and, in my opinion, is really not better described as a personality disorder. I think as more (just, equitable, unbiased, affirming) research can be done on diverse populations, we will see more underlying traits and neurotypes emerge that better explain patterns of behavior that were previously labeled as “personality disorders”. Like I said at the beginning, though, I don’t want to cast aspersions on the labels that anyone else finds helpful in understanding themselves or accessing care.

[@lar-in-a-crisis]

Yes to this. I first got told it was "just" anxiety, and then I was told that maybe it was a panic disorder, and then come to realize: it's been meltdowns from sensory overload. When do I get most overstimulated? That's right! In social situations! What does that sound like? Social anxiety. But I just didn't know how to communicate that PEOPLE weren't the issue, it was the fact that people are loud and I have to mask. I also CLING to routine and have disproportionately emotional reactions to deviations from my status quo. What could that indicate? Anxiety. But was it? I mean partially, but ALSO IM FLIPPIN AUTISTIC. Ugh

[@Problempossum11]

They cut funding for autism resources in my province and i was told by my psychiatrist who is aware of my ADHD as well as my family's history with autism, that im most likely autistic but that there arent many resources in our province for adults on the spectrum and that i should only seek formal diagnosis if all i want is closure and validation. Other than that, just stick to the support groups ive already been using. Its upwarss of $3000 for the assesment alone in a country with socialized healthcare. Meanwhile the developmental service field is practically BEGGING people to take these jobs working with the developmentally disabled and they are so desperate, they arent even asking for any kind of training or schooling to qualify. The state of autism supports and resources are dismal right now

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

There never were many resources for autistic adults, at least not unless you were diagnosed early on. Same goes for ADHD, when I was diagnosed as ADHD, I was given a prescription and that was about it. There weren't even any psychiatrists available that specialized in it at the time. There are now, but there's far fewer of them than are needed. It has gotten marginally better, but depending on what combination of traits you have, it can be virtually impossible to get any support professionally, most of it comes from the community itself. Which isn't ideal, while it's important to listen to the wisdom of the community, the community doesn't necessarily always have the necessary perspective in the wider scope of the world and can be subject to confirmation bias.

[@Pallibasher]

I feel pretty much the same way. I'm in my 30's, there really isn't anything at this point in my life that would be aided by a diagnosis, and in fact it could hurt. I'm content just knowing what I am.

[@Pallibasher]

I feel pretty much the same way. I'm in my 30's, there really isn't anything at this point in my life that would be aided by a diagnosis, and in fact it could hurt. I'm content just knowing what I am.

[@uniquechannelnames]

You in Canada? May I ask which province this is happening in?

[@ninjakiwigames5418]

Watching a single tiktok and thinking you have autism is stupid, but most people don't self diagnose like that. I know I personally did lots of tests, spoke with people in my life, watched videos from people who have autism, etc. Great video btw!

[@maearcher4721]

In my case, i always knew i didnt fit in with people around me, but never understood why. This only became worse in my 20s, and as i struggled to cope with life in general, and the symptoms i only felt bit like teen became so much stronger as adult. I thought i was literally crazy, because i was suddenly having anxiety attacks, meltdowns, irritated over nothing. My sensory sensitivity spiking up under stress, but i was clueless of the cause. But at 27 i finally figured i had sensory sensitivity...started googling more about it, and eventually google search engine spat out some webpages with autism. I didnt click upon them originally. But after while i was bored and curious, checked few, then more, and realised almost every symptom of autism in females fits me perfectly. Now i am 29 and only coming to terms with it.

[@ellecimz6618]

Right lol the only people I've seen doing that are narcissists or other similar personalities because it's easier to accept than "I am just a huge d*ckhole" cause then no one would like you including yourself. Nobody wants to have a disability actually. And it's pretty simple to talk to someone to see if they are struggling and looking for answers or if they are just looking for a diagnosis as an excuse. Sucks

[@AverageConsumer-uj8sm]

I didn't do these tests because I was diagnosed as autistic and ADHD and asberger's. I'm just now learning to question the diagnosis I had as a 6-year-old because I've noticed the ADHD advice doesn't help me much. Can't wait to figure out what's truly going on in my head! ^-^

[@CrazyAssDrumma]

funnily enough they treat us like NTs in that respect! Like yeah, you think Inhavent hyperfocused the shit out of this using my skills from university? you think I saw 3 tiktoks? man...

[@bottomofastairwell]

Don't forget the hours spent reliving every single childhood memory to find all the weird and seemingly inexplicable occurances and things you did that, actually, make SO MUCH MORE SENSE when viewed through the lens of autism.

[@ccrtelevision]

I think a good way to tell if your self-diagnosis is accurate and valid is if the advice directly aimed towards autistic brains helps you more than neurotypical advice. I didn't learn about the full range of ADHD symptoms until I was 17, and for several reasons, I wasn't able to get a formal diagnosis until my early 20s. But during that time, I treated myself as if my suspicions were correct. Was it any wonder that the advice aimed at my specific problems helped me more than the neurotypical advice I had been struggling to work with before? Anyway, I was right about ADHD and I recently came to the realization about two weeks ago that I might be autistic. These past two weeks of researching and following advice meant for autistic brains have, in no exaggerated terms, transformed my life more than anything I've ever tried in the past 25 years of my life. It doesn't take a chef to know the toast is burnt! I'm excited to seek official assessments so that I can get professional help for the areas where I can't help myself. My anxiety may have been misdiagnosed autism. I'm so grateful that your channel reached my feed because it feels like my algorithm is giving me the answers to questions I've had for years and just assumed it was a me problem! I can finally be free to be silly :3

[@kitcat8308]

" it doesn't take a chef to know the toast is burnt" ..... Love this... So much adding this to my words and phrases Library 😅😂🥰

[@emilyrasputin]

​@@kitcat8308 Same!

[@colbyboucher6391]

Yep, it's been the other way around for me. Diagnosed with autism early, but seeing people point out that really dreading work can be an ADHD thing (and loads of ADHD-centered advice being helpful) got me thinking...

[@jnharton]

You can have ASD and anxiety, they're not mutually exclusive.

[@ryanmackenzie6109]

THIS EXACTLY! My biggest thing with my self diagnosis, is giving myself permission to be Autistic. Stim, don't force myself to be perfect at socializing, take accommodations where I can find them, be more mindful of my needs as if I were Autistic... And what do you know, there was a MARKED improvement in my mental health. I don't need my antidepressants anymore. I haven't really needed my ADHD meds. And I'm happier than I've been in years. Like.. if that's not enough to say "even if I don't have Autism, I'm close enough to warrant saying I do" I don't know what is.

[@ErutaniaRose]

Feel like doctors also forget that an official diagnosis can come with negatives, like not being able to immigrate somewhere abroad. So sometimes self-diagnosis is an active choice as well to maintain having some human rights. Whether you choose to pursue an official diagnosis or not, it's up to you and there is no judgment in that. You gotta do what is right for you, your goals, your needs, and your life.

[@sparklingdeath1730]

This is exactly why I don’t want to professionally diagnose (alongside the hefty concerns with interacting with the medical field which, because of my autism, is difficult to do). I don’t have citizenship in the country I live in, and have lived in my entire life, having a disability listed could give them reason to deny that citizenship, it could also stop me from being allowed to go certain places. Also, as much as laws can work when if comes to discrimination in hiring, they don’t entirely stop people

[@ErutaniaRose]

Exactly this. I hope things work out for you!@@sparklingdeath1730

[@MikeAndros0]

Exactly this. With many of the experiences I've had, I would rather have my freedom to do what I want above all else.

[@maearcher4721]

Also autism as diagnosis can cause massive backlash from family members. My mother straight up refuses to discuss with me even possibility of me being autistic or speak of the topic. I think she would be more okay with me being lesbian or bisexual than autistic. Yet all the time she complains about quirks of my personality and what went wrong with me.

[@ErutaniaRose]

That's a major point as well. I'm so sorry you have to deal with that ableist mother. I hope you are able to either escape it or somehow get the space and healing needed that would work for you. @@maearcher4721

[@AwesomeJellyBean]

I took multiple self-assessment tests before being able to be officially diagnosed with ASD. Beforehand, I was misdiagnosed with bpd. BUT BEFORE ALL OF THAT my autistic friends diagnosed me as autistic. And even before then, probably all of the bullies I had throughout grade school. Anyways I was lucky to get diagnosed with autism because there’s low cost testing where I live, but that took 8 months on a waiting list, and I was told that this was FAST. Most take even longer. Anyways it hasn’t done anything beneficial to me at all tbh. Like we already knew, I’m still not getting any jobs, I’m still being told to “suck it up”, I’m still running myself into the ground masking, I still have people doubting that I’m autistic despite having an official diagnosis, and I still don’t trust medical personnel to take care of me. Which like. Also comes from being an afab, trans POC. My autism and ADHD diagnoses are just another fucking drop in the bucket at this point lmao. Anyways. Like the vid says, self-diagnosis is a Right and Good, Actually.

[@danielpintard7382]

precisely my experience as well, currently going through clinical burnout

[@taradale811]

Same just on a list as my assessment coat £2200 was misdiagnosed with BPD and EUPD already diagnosed with saver combined type ADHD and type 3 Ehlers-danlos syndrome the negligence iv face has even put me at risk of being killed by these doctors it needs to stop was told my EDS was all in my head cuz training only started on 28th February 2022 i the NHS they say we are so rare we dont exist. If you hear hoff print think horses not zebra and Ehlers-danlos syndrome is also called the zebra condition.

[@grummelameise]

was diagnosed bippolar as well, and surprise surprise, the meds didnt work for _hit, and i didnt have mania at all, never once in my whole life. no psyschosis or halluzinations or whatever either. and surprise surprise, stimulants are the best thing that ever happened to me.

[@gracelewis6071]

That part about the bullies diagnosing you... literally people on the street can tell, and we're not stupid, we can tell that people are treating us differently, and leaving school doesn't stop the bullies, the workplace is just as bad only now they are holding your literal livelihood over your head... oh but "you don't seem autistic because insert stereotype here"

[@taradale811]

@gracelewis6071 yep that's a good way to be diagnosised becuse this is our lived experience.

[@communist_oranges]

When i was a kid, my parents always told me i couldnt be autistic because i was a girl, even though my brother was, and i always knew soemthing was off about me. When i got older, i learned girls could have autism, and started looking around online. I started my assessment, followed autistic people online, even started self-identifying as autistic to friends and classmates, and getting accomodations from my schools. Now, at 17, after 4 years of assessments and waiting, as of 2 days ago I'm officially diagnosed with autism!!

[@FluffyTailedPrince]

They keep saying I'm depressed but the anti-depressant they give me just... does nothing. Best of all, During the time I took them, I did things like quitting my job on the fly. Now I'm being checked for ADHD, which can make sense since anti-depressants can potentially make your adhd worse. Misdiagnosis truly is a thing.

[@AlissaSss23]

Antidepressants stopped working for me a while ago, and then I discovered I had ADHD 😂

[@jnharton]

It's important to understand that 'anti-depressant' is pretty broad terminology to label a drug with, given that drugs generally have very specific targets. When drugs "don't work" for some people it may just mean that the causative factors are different.

[@ckorp666]

i think we underestimate the damage being done by SSRI pill mills, since ppl with brain problems can be blamed for any ill effects and zonked out on more pills til they shut up

[@blarghblargh]

not saying you definitely need an anti-depressant, and that you haven't completely nailed your self-diagnosis. lots of people know themselves way better than their doctors do. antidepressants often work differently on different people (because they're a somewhat blunt hammer, not a precision instrument), and it can require some time and trying several different ones (slowly, and with medical guidance!) to find the right one. it can also take a while to find the right dose, too. it really can be a slog. but for many people the results can be well worth it in the end. but I'm not a doctor. I just have several friends on various antidepressants, and they've all had a bit of a different journey of it, and some more effective results than others.

[@LangkeeLongkee]

​@@jnharton drugs have specific targets but also can be weirdly versatile. Anti-seizure medication is used to treat bipolar and sometimes ADHD. Stuff's crazy man.

[@maggierestivo5256]

Thank you for this! Self-diagnosed 63-year-old here.... been gaslighted by the medical field for years, so even if I had the money? Still not sure. I know in my heart what I am; shouldn't that be enough? What you said about gatekeeping, so true. As someone in the gay community and pagan community as well, I can tell you that gatekeeping is everywhere. Well, to end on a more positive note, just today I met a new neighbor in my apartment complex, and she said she could tell I was autistic, "just because of the way you mentioned that you can hear electrical humming throughout your apartment." So nice to hear that, especially after hearing from the few family members that I even broached the subject with, "Oh, there's no WAY you can be autistic, because.... " "You don't LOOK autistic", etc. So.... that was nice. Again, thanks so much. Loved your video and subscribed.

[@ShegrasiRegalis]

The electrical humming! I haven't met a single person in all my years who noticed it and WASN'T autistic. I'm willing to be wrong and admit my mistakes, but I'll always assume anyone who mentions things like this is autistic, no matter what other traits they may or may not have.

[@EVOSYS_YT]

Nice! It's funny to me that so many people are uninformed to the point they think autism is supposed to have some drastic physical effect to make you "look" it. It's not down syndrome. It by definition is someone who reserves to the self, draws into internal world (aut-o means self) I hope this video and these comments reach more people, so they can be kinder to those who self diagnosed.

[@alpheusmadsen8485]

Having recently self-diagnosed, and had briefly doubted my diagnosis ("What if I'm just acting?"), I cannot help but observe how much *work* it is to be autistic -- you have to be constantly moving, and it *often* has to be done when you're not thinking about it! I self-diagnosed myself a couple of weeks ago -- and have been dealing with a painful yet amazing flood of realizations, memories, and behaviors that all of the sudden make sense. I have been asking my family "when this happens, do you do this?" (to both my presumably normal, and to my autistic daughter) trying to make sense of what is and is not normal for people -- because a *lot* of stuff that I've been assuming is "normal", actually isn't! It is *very* hard to see how I could be faking all of this.

[@saragoltz1191]

Yes. This describes me exactly. It was almost like going through the 7 stages of grief.

[@FreshAlacrity]

Right there with you! It's been so helpful to have a community of other autistic folks around on the other side too, to say "oh yeah! I do that too!"

[@anna-fleurfarnsworth104]

​@@saragoltz1191I'm only familiar with the 5 stages of denial anger bargaining depression and acceptance, does autism grant us the ability to feel 2 extra levels of grief? /lh /hj

[@saragoltz1191]

@@anna-fleurfarnsworth104 haha. Sorry. 5 stages.

[@seraphinadrakin5908]

I was diagnosed at the age of 12 before I fully understood what Autism actually was, but, I was also diagnosed with Bipolar on top of it and social anxiety and nonverbal learning disorder. I don't know a single person who wishes they were in my shoes. I've had people tell me that I can't be autistic because I'm "Too smart/capable." So, the reality is that it doesn't matter if you're self diagnosed or clinically diagnosed because people are going to say what they think regardless of how you feel about it.

[@DaughterApollo]

I knew it before I got a professional diagnosis. It explained everything. I had been diagnosed with BPD, OCD, NPD, SAD, and MORE over the years by various medical professionals, and they all got it wrong, so the lesson here is that medical professionals CAN be wrong, and you CAN know yourself better than them. Doesn’t hurt to get evaluated by a professional though, as it helps with school/career/government stuff in the future.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

Being wrong on this is normal. They wrote the most recent revision of the criteria more to kick people off the spectrum that were the least able to participate in the debate about where to draw the lines. So, you get folks that were diagnosable with autistic disorder and the higher IQ aspies being kicked off the spectrum, with little evidence to base that decision on, but those were the folks that were the least able to participate in the process of writing the criteria and don't necessarily need any less support than those that do. The result is that folks like me aren't technically autistic, but we're not schizophrenic either, we fall in the hole that was created when they discontinued the Asperger's Syndrome Diagnosis and deprecated the Schizoid Personaliy Disorder diagnosis. ScPD is likely to go away in the relative near future as it's not being actively researched or used. But, really, the schizoids that aren't more reasonably diagnosed as either schizotypal or avoidant personality disordered, are really hard to tell apart from aspies with an extreme level of alexithymia.

[@leifotto4277]

I tell clients these stats all the time. Most have suffered errors or abuse from mainstream doctors. They have no difficulty believing me. For the rest, I will send them this vid. Absolutely brilliant - *very* well done! Thank you!! 🙏🏻☺️🍁

[@sammjaisais7135]

Every day I live to still find myself in a reality where my profession (I'm a medical intern, hi) is making things harder for other people to exist, especially people like me (autistic or neurodivergent, LGBTQ+, any minority) I am reminded why I still haven’t called it quits on myself. I still don't know if I'm going to specialise in psychiatry, family medicine or internal medicine, but I want my patients to come to me with trust and believe that I will help them to the best of my abilities, that their concerns will not go unanswered, and that I'll help them. To have patients not be afraid of being condescended or dismissed. The medical profession is about the patient, not about the doctor. It's about the patient, not the illness. Don't lose hope, I can't be the only medical professional who thinks like this.

[@saragoltz1191]

There are good ones out there just when you are exposed to the not so good ones it hurts. You have all this stuff going on, you go to a medical professional and you get gaslight or I had a dr tell me I had too many issues to discuss in one visit I would have to make another visit. If she said it nicely I would have made the second visit but she couldn’t even help me with some of the issues. That day. I left with no answers or referrals. It was terrible.

[@jnharton]

I'm sure that an intrinsic part of the problem is being a minority simply because doctors have far more experience with the typical.

[@chey7691]

Yeah but in their profession refusing to learn new things KILLS people. If they don't want to keep up they should get a different career. I trust someone (purportedly highly) learned to not think they know everything, and be willing to listen and learn. @@jnharton

[@Treppidation]

Getting an official diagnosis can be difficult. When I went in for one the person who did my testing had specialized in autism in children, I'm a high masking adult, this guy literally told me "you can't be autistic you made eye contact" he didn't know what masking was and didn't believe it was a thing, literally "if you were autistic you wouldn't try to fit in" People can be highly trained in a field and still be entirely wrong, I'm glad that your video explores this angle and not just the angle of accessibility (which you also explore and kudos to that) I jumped through hoops for the better part of a year for a man to look at me and tell me basically "you don't look autistic" like wtf. WTF

[@amazinggrapes3045]

As someone who was diagnosed officially at a young age... I kinda think that guy was into something. Now I'm not saying he was correct, because you were an adult when you saw him and you said he works with children and it sounds like he didn't take into account that autistic people can learn as they grow up, but I am constantly hearing that people overlook autism in girls because "autistic girls present differently than autistic boys". Well, if that were true... how did I, a female child, present with such a textbook case of "male autism phenotype"? When people use the explanation of "girls mask more than boys" or something along those lines, I have to question that because it's just such a distinctly un-autistic line of thought. Trying to act like other people not for a specific end goal but simply because *you value conformity*... It doesn't get any more allistic than that. If allism had diagnostic criteria, that would be a required feature. I've seen so many people say they're autistic that have such a jarringly neurotypical way of thinking that it seriously begs the question of what they gain from saying they have the same condition as people they have nothing in common with. Well, I blamed the lumping of Asperger's into "autism" for some of that probably... but imagine if you were part of a religion, and then it became well known and a bunch of people said "oh yeah, I believe in that too!" but their worldview and morals held no resemblance to yours. Why call it the same religion then? I think (or hope, at least) that eventually this "female autism phenotype" will be recognized as a different condition. The very concept of the "autism spectrum" undermines everything IMHO. Someone who has autistic symptoms because their IQ is low enough to impede their social skills does not have the same condition as someone who has autistic symptoms because their IQ is high enough that their peers think completely differently from them and the automatic built-in shortcut of assuming others are like you that most people rely on doesn't work because of that. Someone who struggles because their sensory perceptions are disablingly low does not have the same condition as someone who struggles because their sensory perceptions are disablingly high. As it stands now, "autism" is an artificial category to throw the "weird kids" into. And people are desperate for a genetic or congenital cause for Weird Kids because when parents drag their kid to a psychologist looking for an explanation for their Weirdness and the psychologist implies that their actions could be at fault in any way, they're going to go to someone else until they find someone who tells them what they want to hear.

[@Treppidation]

@@amazinggrapes3045 Autism runs in families though. As for the rest of what you're saying, yikes. Vibes my guy. Bad vibes. Like are you gatekeeping autism? From who? Why? For what? The definitional criteria for autism isn't "kid is weird" though. What I hate about this whole "people will fake autism for clout" discourse is so many of the self diagnosed people I know are adults. Like there's this idk idea that there's a bunch of teens out there repping autism and they don't have it but I haven't seen it once. Just a bunch of late diagnosed adults, and adults that fell through the cracks. Did you watch the video? Ok, I see you're questioning the underdiagnosis of afab people and of bipoc people (both are less likely to get an official diagnosis) but your reasoning for that seems to be ebcause they mysteriously present more allistic, but do they? Is that really the reason they are undiagnosed? Like is that what the people studying this think or is that your understanding based on the understanding of people who heard that this is a thing? I say this because when I first came across information about the disparity it had both more historital context and a different theory as to why. Autism is not a religion and it is not analogous to religion. It'd be better to liken it to depression, did you know that depression can manifest in a lot of ways? It can be cyclical, it can be seasonal, it can be persistent it can be major, it can involve bursts of anger and rage or numbness or inconsolable sorrow. By your reasoning the person whose depression manifests as anger has a different condition from the person who is too sad to get out of bed but by the diagnostic criteria they don't it's the same thing. Personally, I have yet to meet a person who claimed autism but behaved or felt neurotypical to me. I'm curious where you're meeting all these fake autistic people

[@Catlily5]

​@@amazinggrapes3045 I saw one study which did brain imaging in children diagnosed with autism. They found that brain scans did show some differences in girls and boys. About 80% of the children matched their sex. But about 20% matched the opposite sex. You would probably be in the 20% of girls who matched the type of autism found in boys. It doesn't mean other women's autism doesn't count.

[@sarahferrell5458]

T H I S !! !! !!!

[@sarahferrell5458]

This is exactly why people are FORCED to self dx. The amount of BS among the people who are the literal gatekeepers is staggering.

[@Sugar3Glider]

This was overly thorough at the 4 minute mark, but man is it nice that it keeps going.

[@Ann963]

I know! 🔥

[@AliciaElnagger]

yes! i had the same thought! there were so many awesome mic drop moments and i kept realizing he still wasnt done! so good

[@NighDarke]

I'm in my 60s and I've been told my whole life that I was weird or different or strange. Believe it or not most people chalked it up to my being an artist because artists are always eccentric aren't they? It took quite a while for me to realize that my odd behaviors weren't just my being hard-headed or stubborn or whatever else others labeled it, and I have no doubt that I am indeed on the spectrum. It has altered how I approach things that I know are going to be a problem for me and to understand why I react, or don't react, the way that I do. But what I cannot afford to do is go to a doctor to get it officially diagnosed because I don't have insurance and I don't have money, so I don't have any option but to just deal with myself the best I can. Not getting it diagnosed by a doctor doest make it not be real.

[@lizbeigle-bryant1710]

I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression in 1990, ADHD Inattentive in 2010 after my son was diagnosed with ADHD, and autism in 2022 after self-diagnosing while on FMLA for what turned out to be autistic burnout. I'm in my mid-60s. When I asked my regular GP for a referral for an autism diagnosis, he said: "But that's a developmental disorder and you are not a young boy!" and "What happens if it turns out you aren't autistic?", while refusing to put in the referral. I guess I was I that good at masking... I went to another GP in the practice the next week and got a referral to start the diagnosis process that month.

[@bes03c]

I self diagnosed with validated scales and watching tons of KZbin videos. I later got an official diagnosis. It was way less involved than my self-assessment.

[@cynthiabrown5456]

I like how this was titled to get the right people watching it. :) Well done.

[@cynthiabrown5456]

"which is a trait of... what diagnosis". lol

[@thetickedoffpianoplayer4193]

I almost didn't click it because I was afraid it was going to tick me off, lol.

[@InAHollowTree]

@@thetickedoffpianoplayer4193 I was kind of catching a satire vibe when I saw the thumbnail come up in my suggestions, so I decided to take a chance, hahaha! I've done that before though and have had it occasionally turn out that a questionable video was somehow _not_ satire but earnest and unhinged.

[@thetickedoffpianoplayer4193]

@@InAHollowTree Well I'm blind, and my braille display doesn't show thumbnails, so I couldn't tell.

[@ShegrasiRegalis]

​@@thetickedoffpianoplayer4193​ The thumbnail had a picture of a guy in a lab coat with an overly exaggerated expression of shock or surprise, with a text overlay that says "Self-diagnosis is bad" with an excessive amount of question marks. Figured I'd give you a description so you'll at least know what clues we're talking about. ^^ I also took the risk of it being serious and unhinged, but I'm happy I noticed the clues to it being satire and clicked on it anyway. Definitely a well thought out video. 10/10

[@KMx108]

This video is GOLDEN. I self diagnosed and tried to get an official doctor diagnosis but couldn't find ANYONE willing to evaluate or work with an adult...and i was willing to put in the time and pay the thousands. My own mom who is 71 shared with me that she felt I was autistic (she also thinks my dad is and i agree) but didn't want to tell me until after I determined it myself. I think that's pretty revealing and it's obvious that doctors can't really handle not being the one in charge with respect to displaying their hard-earned expertise. Their ego can't handle a layperson being able to accurately diagnose their own condition without committing years of formal study on the topic. It makes them feel inferior and they go out of their way to feel better, no matter what harm is inflicted on those they are supposedly committed to helping. (I've encountered this in other areas of medicine which resulted in delayed medical treatment so maybe I'm overly bitter about their overwhelming snobby attitude. The doctor who genuinely cares and doesn't have a huge ego is rare in my experience.)

[@tbriceland]

This made me cry. Thank you. And thank you for listing the website with the tests. I am doing them now and just trying to understand the double negatives in these questions HAS to be proof positive that I am Autistic. "I DISAGREE that I DONT feel this way about that thing" WHAT??? lol. I have to carefully and slowly read each one out loud like 5 times. My brain is going to melt 🤕🤬

[@aquamari6770]

Omg the double negatives trip me up so bad every time and make my head hurt! 🤯Also there's often questions that are almost exactly the same and that confuses me immensely. I can't help but think that there has to be some hidden purpose to them that just eludes me😅

[@tbriceland]

@@aquamari6770 EXACTLY! LOL. Holy mack they are sooo hard to comprehend.

[@saragoltz1191]

lol. I was the same! Had someone take the test who I knew was neurotypical and they finished in about 5 seconds! My brain was scrambled. Plus I was so unsure on some of the answers and trying to be as accurate as possible. Drive me nuts when the question was asking something like “always” or “Never” with possible responses such as “sometimes” or “most of the time”. Who the heck wrote these tests??? I’m going to guess it was a neurotypical.

[@tbriceland]

@@saragoltz1191 100% it HAD to have be written by a Neurotypical. ahaha. without doubt.

[@aquamari6770]

@@saragoltz1191 Exactly!!! I feel like I accidentally lied in so many of the questions just because I didn't understand them. They often asked two different questions with different variables at the same time in a questions like "Did you enjoy imaginary play with other kids as a child?" Like yes...no...? I practically lived inside my head and only played imaginary things but didn't like playing with other kids. SO WTH AM I SUPPOSE TO ANSWER?! 😂 And this exact question was in my official diagnosis evaluation.

[@shadeeldridge9711]

Thank you for this video, my imposter syndrome is insane. I'm one of those people where my social issues usually present as "avoid awkward situations and embarrassment as much as physically possible to the point that it makes you more awkward in the process". It doesn't even have to involve me I can just be around something I perceive as socially uncomfortable and sometimes I can't even stay in the room. I also have masked heavily for years and when I wasn't hyper vigilant to all of that I wasn't very socially acceptable.

[@saragoltz1191]

Yes. I still deal with imposter syndrome. But every time I use a helpful solution for autistic problems I am so surprised how much better my quality of life is. For one I’m in love with the Loop ear plugs. I have both. Helps with public outings. I knew noise bothered me. But didn’t realize how much it it. I keep the Loops with me at all times.

[@shadeeldridge9711]

@@saragoltz1191 love my loops!! Yeah adding accommodations to my life has been huge. I have no idea how I was surviving without my weighted blanket, ear plugs, collection of safe foods, and stim toys 😆 these feel like natural daily necessities now

[@Dontstopbelievingman]

The number of afabs who have adhd or autism who have just been told all their lives (until proper assessment by either self or a more informed doctor) with all kinds of personalty disorders is so frustrating. You can't treat neuro divergence by telling people they're bad or crazy or medicating with antidepressents. But autism diagnosis is $1200. I'm not autistic myself (adhd) but have a long list of things I was shouted at for as a child which were later diagnosed after decades of misery, as physical issues and neuro divergence.

[@Catlily5]

I have autism and I am mentally ill. More than 60% of autistic people have at least one mental illness. I don't know if you meant it this way but it sounds like you are calling mentally ill people crazy. I don't appreciate it.

[@Catlily5]

Also, not all autism assessments cost $1200. Sometimes they cost less if you find the right place.

[@ShegrasiRegalis]

​@@Catlily5 I think they meant; the same people who say "girls can't have autism" are the same people who treat mental illnesses like it's a curse, and it's the person's own fault, rather than an illness that needs treatment. People who didn't put effort into understanding one thing, probably won't put effort into understanding other things either.

[@maizystar666]

This was spoken beautifully. I was diagnosed with Agoraphobia when I was 11 but only recently I've felt like I might have been misdiagnosed because I was ALWAYS outside, I was ALWAYS with friends, and I was ALWAYS in public places before my diagnosis. These panic attacks I was having, I was describing them as fear or being scared of everything around me, but I was simply OVERWHELMED by my surroundings and I was having visual sensory overload. I never feared leaving my house before so it just doesn't make sense to me.

[@grimsluvr]

this video helped me feel validated, thank you. ive had autism for years and so many teachers and doctors noticed it too, as well as people in my own family. went to get a psychological evaluation a few months ago and was diagnosed with ADHD, depression, anxiety, and an unspecified personality disorder and trauma disorder. i scored high on the autism test and was found to have an iq of 110, but the doctor didn't diagnose me with it because i "had too many illnesses already" ??? and i kept telling him that multiple people have noticed autism symptoms in me for years, ESPECIALLY OTHER AUTISTIC PEOPLE, and he said "well they're not psychological professionals." and he pulled the "why do you want to be diagnosed with autism so bad?" card. i dont WANT to be diagnosed. i NEED to be diagnosed so i can get accommodations and support and live a normal healthy life. smh

[@jenna739]

I was a little concerned when i saw the title since I hadn't seen your channel before. I was self diagnosed for a bit then had what was basically an intake appointment where they had me take tests and said "yeah you're AuDHD." It wasn't much more than my self diagnosis, but it was enough to get me the accommodations I've always needed. I wish it happened earlier than this because accommodations and understanding myself would have been useful long before my senior year of college (like at least 6th grade if not earlier), but I'm grateful to finally have gotten to where I am. Now to survive 1.5 more semesters of college and then do real life

[@gh0stlyd4niel]

Some people like myself don’t want to be “diagnosed with autism by a professional’ because the world still discriminates against people who have autism on their charts. Even though it’s illegal in the states… doesn’t stop people from discriminating.

[@InAHollowTree]

I just found out that we can't immigrate to some countries because they think we're "burdens" on the system. >:-(

[@spaghettneocreates]

This makes me feel soooo much better about all the conclusions I come to. In addition to trauma, I believe I have both ADHD and ASD that affects me GREATLY and every accredited online test has proven it. I've never had access to medical care cause I grew up poor (in america) and self-diagnosis was literally my only option. If I didn't go out of my way to heavily research my symptoms, I would've never found other people like me that provide self-help & hacks that actually make sense to me, and if I'm not allowed to believe I'm neurodivergent, then it leaves me with the only ways I had to describe myself before: terrible, lazy, and broken. I think knowing I just function differently and finding ways to help myself is a lot better than just believing there's no hope for such a person. :) I still struggle to tell people I have ADHD and ASD though, because I have some fear they'll be like, "Okay, where's your diagnosis?" and I'm gonna have to explain. xD

[@AlexShiro]

This! This was the convo I have had for the last few years. Our ASD peeps slipped through cracks; she was also ADHD, but never considered for for ASD bc, girl. Decades of hell for her, a horrible childhood, abuse bc of her trusting naivety and bad Dxs added to being gaslit for years.

[@PukuDuckie]

My psychiatrist even told me I couldn't be because he has a son with autism and he KNOWs I don't have it, plus it's mostly a boy's thing. My PSYCHIATRIST.

[@oiytd5wugho]

@@PukuDuckie I got the "you can't be autistic because you're trans" and therefore my mutism was clearly just me being manipulative. I'm pretty sure your psych was misogynistic in the same way mine was transphobic. Psychiatry is not free of bigotry, in fact it's often that students _learn_ prejudice from their professors

[@PukuDuckie]

@oiytd5wugho That's the dumbest thing because autism and transness so, so very often co-occur. Ugh... That's the problem with the mentality some professionals have, like, who would -want- to be these things? Not as if it's a bad thing, of course, but there's still a lot of stigma against both being trans and having autism. Who would choose ridicule?? The kind of "attention" they think we're seeking.. isn't what they think it is. We just are crying out to be seen, validated, and understood for what we've clearly seen in ourselves and had to deal with since forever without always having a word to accurately describe what we've already been experiencing. People don't just "want" to be these things without feeling like there is a need we clearly feel is failing to be met. Why do people even get mad, impatient, or annoyed because we are looking for support? I don't necessarily think he was being a misogynist, but he was relying on some very outdated information about a condition in his own professional field, and that's pretty concerning. That assumption that it is mainly a boy's condition probably does originate from a misogynistic view the world has had over time, though. After all, it wasn't just originally thought to be in boys, but specifically white boys.. The understanding of the condition has evolved so much after considering all different kinds of people, and not just watching white, male children. :/

[@oiytd5wugho]

​@@PukuDuckie The two things are kinda similar in terms of the supposed attention-seeking, actually. In order to get a transe**ality diagnosis I had to make up a stereotypical persona, because it's a "trend" to self-described experts as well. (thankfully I have a lot of acting experience from masking, so it wasn't difficult, just uncomfortable.) And yeah, I was faking in order to... be discriminated against? be in medical debt? What is the big benefit for me here? Women's bathrooms are slightly cleaner I suppose, but that's hardly worth the effort /j It all comes down to the last part of the video - if they admit they don't actually know us better than ourselves that's gonna hurt. They would have to listen to people who _didn't_ spend 5 years in college and be open to learning from them - that's sometimes hard for people who spent a lot of time in academia I don't know your doctor, so whatever you say about him is more correct than my assumptions, but if there wasn't misogyny there still was another common thing : medical professionals not updating their knowledge - I absolutely hate having to gently probe a doctor to see if they read newer research about things that concern me. And you can't just tell them "that drug isn't recommended anymore" because they get mad at you. It's exhausting For the record though, if you gave ma a magic pill that makes me no longer be trans or autistic I'm not taking that. I do _want_ to be myself.

[@PukuDuckie]

@oiytd5wugho Very true. Well, for trans at least, the benefit of getting a diagnosis would be being allowed to start the treatment for transition and gender affirming care. For autism... I remember talking to my psychologist about my potential of having autism, and while she said, "Why do you think you have autism?" It made me feel immediately defensive and anxious, but I realize it's a really normal question a professional should ask instead of saying,"No. I don't think so." I had to make a list because I get so anxious trying to talk about it to people. She said after reading the list, "Well, maybe, but what would you hope to gain from having the diagnosis? Starting the assessment would cost $2,000." and that question really did make me think... there isn't really a medication or certain medical treatment for autism that's gatekept behind a diagnosis, and if it's for government aid, I already have my adhd diagnosis. The $2,000 already says no to me, I can't afford that right now. Maybe the thing to gain would be validation, but considering the facts... well, why can't I just self-identify and just be undiagnosed? If only people could just accept that. I feel you about having to gently probe medical professionals about reading up on the latest information. I really appreciate doctors who are open to learning new things from patients. It feels great! Oh, of course. Absolutely. When I think about that and me being gay, liking women, I feel like; I like women, so why would I not want to like women? I want to like women, because I like them. lol I like being me for the most part, autism, adhd, being queer, it's great. Well, actually, the adhd is more my problem in my daily life. lol My adhd has gotten pretty severe, and having this level of situational forgetfulness, and being so, so very distracted is pretty burdensome, but I can deal with my bad traits to keep the parts of me that I feel adhd made me better. : ) 💖

[@RGBSupremacy]

I have a therapist i worked with who i mentioned feeling i was autistic to at the beginning of our patient relationship. They said what would it matter, you’re an adult now. They’re good in other fields but it felt so invalidating. I didn’t make it to adulthood without diagnosis because the symptoms aren’t an issue, i slipped through the cracks because i didn’t have access to be assessed. I even had a childhood therapist mention it’d be a good idea but my family couldn’t afford the test so i just ignored it. I’m self diagnosed but still feel so guilty i rarely tell anyone and self doubt all the time instead beating myself for being lazy and a baby. I may switch therapists to an autism specialist because at least they’d be able to give me some tips/guidance but i’d need someone who specialized in girls. I think if someone ever completely wrote it off without listening at all to me it would crush me and i’d never try to get help again. I just wish people were more willing to listen. Autism or not something is wrong with me and the symptoms align with autism a-lot so regardless of if it is autism it’s still worthwhile to consider those traits in autistic people and apply them to my situation. So so so frustrating!

[@Problempossum11]

I feel bad for autistic children most of all right now. With how difficult and expensive it is to access a diagnosis, imagine being a parent and seeing all your kids symptoms in a video about autism but without a piece of paper and a diagnosis from an specialists mouth, you cant say anything and your child will also be shamed if they reach the age that they become aware enough of their neurological difference that they can self diagnose. Like what are those parents supposed to do? Just NOT support their child's differences and disabilities? An autistic person is still autistic even if they havnt been diagnosed by a specialist yet so do all these people who bash self diagnosis, think a parent should simply not support their child's difficulties UNTIL a doctor says so?

[@voca-voca9469]

I felt bad for autistic adult cuz nobody give a shit about us

[@amazinggrapes3045]

Uh, what exactly is stopping them from being supportive parents without getting a piece of paper? It's like "what if this person isn't neurodivergent and we were nice to them for nothing?" kinda logic

[@Problempossum11]

@@amazinggrapes3045 well I'll use my own childhood as an example. My parents were never supportive of me as a child because they were convinced that my issues were related to laziness, selfishness and unwillingness to act "normal." Because i wasn't diagnosed, my parents had the perfect excuse not to support my needs, because "there was nothing wrong with me" You'll often find this same situation to be the case for a lot of neurodivergent people who were late diagnosed. Believe it or not, there are a lot of crappy parents in the world and if enough people had taken my issues seriously, my parents would have less of an excuse for the way they treated me. With a diagnosis during childhood, my parents might have been more empathetic towards me and I could have had access to resources and programs that would have helped prepare me for life as a neurodivergent adult. My situation is incredibly common and I've heard many people say that if their parents knew that they were neurodivergent that maybe they could have at least had access to support outside of the house if their parents weren't willing to cooperate

[@Problempossum11]

@@amazinggrapes3045 also as I stated in another comment. Funding for autism support and services has been cut in a lot of places or never provided to begin with. We are now seeing the effects of that in my province. Teachers are literally quiting their jobs because they have classes full of children with undiagnosed neurodevelopmental and behavioral issues that the parents and teachers can not properly support because those children are lacking a diagnosis. The waiting lists are several years long just for an assesment through the public health system and cost thousands through private practices. So yes, there is a need for official diagnosis but people aren't getting them because of how difficult it is and absolutely the next best step would to be to treat the child or adult like they DO have a condition when its evident that they do, but it is not yet diagnosed. Its a slippery slope all around and its absolutely not being solved or even helped by those who scream "self diagnosis isn't valid/self diagnosis only causes more damage!" That doesn't help anyone. Helping would be pointing out how using resources available to neurodivergent people can be helpful for those who think they might have a condition but can't access assesment/diagnosis. Helping would be spreading awareness about lack of mental and neurodevelopmental health resources. Unfortunately most people don't actually want to help, many people just want to feel high and mighty and like they're doing something by insisting "SELF DIAGNOSIS = BAD 👎" without actually having any real world knowledge about the state of life for neurodivergent people or all its little nuances

[@Catlily5]

In the USA children can be diagnosed at school for free at least where I live. I am sure some kids fall through the cracks though.

[@Stick_and_stone]

As a person with autism myself, who agrees that self-diagnosis should be taken into consideration, I do want to say that it seems believable a lot of teens will see autism being discussed and autistic communities being so positive with eachother and may think that it'll get them positive attention. People who are lonely, or insecure might try to join such a community just to fit in. Now, based on my experience: I know teens are desperate to fit in. They will put on a fake personality to be accepted. They will do bad (i. e. drugs) things just to fit in/ be viewed as cool. In my area, it is definitely considered more cool among teens to make fun of people with autism, so unlikely anyone would pretend to be. But in an area where there is a general positive attitude towards those with autism, and just understanding and support, there might be temptation for these insecure teens to put on a show to try and get that same support. It's just theory, I'll be honest. I just don't think the bullying and hate is something that would deter many people from pretending. If you're planning to pretend for attention, chances are you don't care wether it's positive or bad attention.

[@markb4790]

Even if someone "wants" to have autism that would be a huge indicator that that person was actually autistic. Someone who is not really struggling would most likely not want the label of being autistic. I'd really like to know where this idea that autism is something that brings people some kind of positive social status comes from because it is absurd

[@lightbeingform]

Wow, you broke this down so perfectly. Never underestimate the problem-solving power of a growing, vibrant community of people who thrive on getting things right!

[@8evanesse]

Wow, this is so good! Thank you so much. I’m self-diagnosed, and the official diagnosis process not only seems terrifyingly insurmountable, but also like a bad idea. I’m sure people at my work can tell I’m not neurotypical no matter how well I think I’m masking, but I really worry that an official diagnosis might call my job competency into question. Why would anyone purposely want to associate themselves with a diagnosis that many believe equates to intellectual deficits and still carries huge stigma, unless there was something to it, unless they’ve noticed they’ve been struggling where others just don’t seem to? Trust me, the further I can get from even being perceived by others, the more comfortable I am. It’s not for attention.

[@faiora]

Depending where you live: Getting diagnosed doesn’t mean your diagnosis is automatically shared with your workplace. You’d still be choosing to reveal that you’re autistic, and when you do you’d at least be taken more seriously, and your workplace would (in some places) be able to look for funds and resources to support your disability. Not to mention, distancing yourself from diagnosis adds to the stigma. If more people are diagnosed, then more people will know someone with a diagnosis, and more people will know that they love or work with someone with ASD, and that there’s a broad range of people with ASD.

[@FreshAlacrity]

If it helps, the reason I'm personally planning to get an official diagnosis (even though I already know that I'm autistic) is because I've found that as a person with disabilities I often get a lot of push back and requests to prove that I need the accommodations I'm asking for, even things as simple and obviously helpful as subtitles on school content (which is even federally required to have accurate subtitles in the country I live in). I know that if I can ever find work that's healthy for me, there are going to be accommodations that I need to have. I want to know in advance that any employer is going to be actively supporting my needs (including the autistic sensory needs that I have) - hopefully out of being awesome, but if not then because I can prove that I need the specific accommodations I'm asking for by showing documentation from health professionals backing that up. Maybe even that is not realistic, but at the very least being openly autistic when I can do so without putting myself in danger also paves the way for others to do the same! Imagine how much more free we could be if we didn't need to hide ✨

[@damescholar]

Bravo! I self-diagnosed myself first, but the initiative came from the paychiatrist that diagnosed my son. (Unfortunately he could not diagnose me.) I did various tests and they confirmed my suspicion. I was told that self-diagnosis is ”harmful”. I booked an appointment from the public healthcare to be evaluated. They declined. Adults do not need a diagnosis because they ”cope”. I paid for a private neuropsychiatric assessment and was diagnosed with both autism spectrum disorder and ADHD. And STILL.people do not believe that I have these. Because ”everything is hypermedicalized nowadays”. And ” you don’t look autistic”. Etc. They never believe.

[@kalt1976]

This is so true and so important! When health professionals and others dismiss self-diagnosis, as something people reach with just 1 test from a magazine, I tell them about my own self-diganosis (which has since been confirmed): I started my self-diagnosis (AuDHD) journey after my son had been diagnosed (ASD+PDA). I spent a full year researching and researching and researching- I took every single available test online, read the DSM and the ICD, I read hundreds of lived experience writings, heard an endless stream of podcasts, watched every video and documentary I could find and participated in webinars, Q&As and live streams and became part of many online support groups. I dissected, analyzed and scrutinised every moment and experience of my life. And I dare say my self-diagnosis has been more thorough, meticulous and in-depth than most official diagnosis.

[@DWSP101]

Did the same but it was for 6 year I studied

[@belatis553]

Thank you for this. Like two years ago I started learning about what autism actually is. Online, going through a lot of materials, videos, articles... and then I realized that a lot of these things I'd read about are way too accurate. That I might be autistic too. I've never tried to get an official diagnosis, I don't think I need it. I know I might be wrong about being autistic, but probably not. And there's a chance of being misdiagnosed. As a queer 18yo woman I've been told by my therapist, that I'm just 'too smart to make friends, that it would be better at college, and that I shouldn't try to understand how the world works, I should just accept it. My mom told me that when I was a kid she thought I could be autistic, but after discussing it with a friend she decided to let it be. And even if i was wrong. I've learned so many things about myself since then. It's like I found a missing piece of knowledge about myself. Suddenly a lot of things make sense now. And I know I'm not broken.

[@baileyellison642]

I basically self diagnosed my autism but when I brought it up to my therapist he said that because I wanted to make friends I couldn’t be autistic. I tried to push it out of my mind, it when I moved and got a new therapist I brought it up to her and she had me take one of these online tests. She was very open about the possibility because she was a gender specialist. And apparently, even though it hasn’t been officially studied, if u have gender identity disorder (are trans) and u think u r autistic, u should get tested if u can and vice versa. It’s been observed to be comorbid a lot of the time. So she had done some research on autism so she could better understand it. Even b4 I got the test she was treating me as if I had autism and adhd, we both knew I had a minimum of one or the other, I have both. She was so validating. Even though I knew/felt I was autistic if it wasn’t for my current therapist validating my concerns, I would still be undiagnosed for both because back then I didn’t know self diagnosis could be valid.

[@shadamethyst1258]

That's an annoying misconception, yeah, that "autistic people can't make friends". It's challenging to make friends, yes, but it's definitely not impossible, especially around other neurodivergent people, with whom you can relate more about these kinds of things.

[@Disgruntled_Kinkajou]

Do yourself a favor and report your former therapist. This is a huge ethical violation.

[@GovilGirl]

​​@@Disgruntled_KinkajouIf you don't want to waste time reporting him, print out this comment thread (from a screen shot is fine) and write out a link to this video and mail or email it to them. Mailing it in a card works better in my opinion. It is like a "let me Google this for you" hyper link of CE credits being deposited. You can leave a not that if he wants more context he can call you. He cannot bill you for him seeking your advice and feedback. That is sonething you are just gifting him instead of charging him for.

[@greatmatt301]

The problem with self diagnosis is its really easy to put yourself on a track. The symptoms for almost everything also tend to be symptoms for other illnesses. There is also a massive difference between "I have adhd" and "some of my symptoms intersect with adhd". One is an inquisitive statement looking for outside opinion, and the other is a statement based on a single person's opinion, your own. This can lead to bad practices like doctor shopping and refusing treatment for other potential issues because you know you have something. Doctors aren't always right, but neither are you.

[@prinxen1733]

*I can see the point of this, but I think being overly cautious of "doctor shopping" has led to me getting very mistreated haha. I didn't realize that a doctor that won't hear you out and genuinely consider your concerns is bad in any case, I never understood doctors are meant to listen to you, recommend treatment that they know about and you don't, and advocate FOR you until I got to my current doctor

[@heyna1185]

Thank you for this video. I got a little worried seeing the thumbnail and title and I was going to leave a comment politely disagreeing but I see there is no need lol. Before I knew I was autistic, I‘ve personally been misdiagnosed by my therapist with depression and social anxiety which lead to me continuing behaviors that halted my recovery from burnout but she thought would help me. Doctors and therapists can be wrong and I know myself best. I‘ve been doing much better and recovering from my burnout caused by overwhelm due to many years of undiagnosed AuDHD. I‘m now officially diagnosed with ADHD and on meds. I‘m not going to seek a medical autism diagnosis because I don‘t think it would be beneficial to me anymore and I want to spare myself the stress. But online resources for autistic people and especially people who share their own experiences have helped me understand myself a lot better and I feel much better equipped for life‘s challenges.

[@tobydandelion]

The problem is when folks learn about their place on the spectrum, but then assume higher support needs folks just don't exist. The self-diagnosis crowd needs to learn and understand the support needs levels, or they're throwing more disabled folks than them under the bus. A lot of self diagnosed folks refuse to just take 'I'm autistic, I can't' as a reason for accommodation, or they say, "I'm autistic and I can do it, so you can too!", refusing to accept that some autistics are more disabled than others, or attributing that increased disability to things besides Autism. The worst gaslighting about my needs that I've ever encountered was from other autistics who refuse to understand my limits are just different. That's the difference- a decent doctor could tell them what level they are easily, which instantly conveys that, yes, there are folks who are more disabled by the same neurotype. We need better tools online for self-diagnosed folks to understand the levels of severity.

[@1110-binary-days]

Two of my friends both self diagnose Autism and ADHD a lot. I've mostly stopped being friends with them recently, especially one of them as they're very rude to me. I've tried to explain to them why self diagnosis is bad, and they've made very generalising points on ADHD and autism. They've also said that getting a proper diagnosis doesn't matter for two reasons. One being, the wait list in England is about a year so it's too long for the to see a professional. The other is that they think that the testing for autism isn't accurate or good at all, solely due to their lack of an understanding. I have reason to believe that I may have ADHD, I've done a lot of research and stuff. However, I'm not self diagnosing which is an important distinction to important make. Also, although in the video it was said rather ironically, self diagnosis can easily lead to spreading misinformation and other bad effects, due to a lack of training and professional knowledge. Self diagnosing is when a person is saying that they have a specific neurodivergency. It is fine to believe that you *may* have a specific neurodivergency, whilst accepting you may not and that you don't have a proper diagnosis. Self diagnosis is bad, understanding you might have a certain neurodivergency is fine. Believing you might will lead to you doing a lot for research and seeing a professional if you find a lot of evidence. The video, talks mostly about believing you might, not complete self diagnosis. You shouldn't say that you have a certain mental condition, when you don't have a professional diagnosis. You don't have the expertise or knowledge to fully diagnose yourself properly. Also, people can misdiagnose themselves quite easily, as they can have misconceptions of what they're like, habits they have or other stuff. Doing research can lead to people picking up on those behaviours, even though they didn't have them before.

[@Gnomereginam]

I keep asking my doctors again and again to let me go get my diagnosis for autism (I didn't get it because when I first got assessed I didn't even know what masking was even though my CAT-Q score is 151) and they just link me to services that I've already independently applied for and found quite useless for my situation. Like "Have you heard of this free therapy?" "Yes, I've gone through it twice. It's five meetings with a therapist who doesn't have any ADHD or autism specific strategies to offer me. We talk about my life but in the end I leave with nothing to use long term." "Oh, but have you heard of this support group?" "Yes, I just finished my meetings, they put me in the ADHD group because I don't have an autism diagnosis and had a hard time getting a word in. I think they all hated me." I'm in Finland btw, we have a lot of free services but still, I'm just wasting those resources because I can't access the ones that would actually help me.

[@christinam2475]

I'm self diagnosed autistic and got diagnosed with Attention and Concentration Disorder and currently in the process of getting a diagnosis for autism/ADHD. I have an assessment coming up in March. It was very difficult for me to make the decision to get a diagnosis. I wanted to feel confident in my self-diagnoses but I know that people will not take them seriously unless I get them professionally confirmed.

[@rosepuppy1984]

Not to mention this attitude spills over into how actually diagnosed people are treated! I have been fake claimed for both my autism and ADHD and it’s so frustrating!!! I shouldn’t have to provide the fact that I was diagnosed with ADHD at age 6 before I even knew what ADHD meant, every time I say I have adhd in order to avoid getting accused of being a hypochondriac trying to be “trendy!” I have been fake claimed both by both neurotypicals who had no idea what they were talking about and just spewed ableism, and by people with adhd, autism, or both! It’s ridiculous and hurts!

[@mjolnir3309]

Wow! That was like a chess match against yourself! I'm glad you won!

[@astraamarante6233]

Okay! This is my exact take on this! There’s a difference between self-diagnosis and lying. If you are pretending to have something, that is lying. Self-diagnosis means you suspect you have something, and that’s why you even go to get that checked in the first place. If everyone tells you you can’t have something that you do because a doctor didn’t tell you, well… “What‘s the point of getting this checked out of I don’t have it?” Technically, you can get the “wrong” thing checked because of overlapping symptoms, but that just means you didn’t have enough information to self-diagnose ACCURATELY. Have a nice day and good luck with your self-diagnoses!

[@rahbeeuh]

Referring to the RAADS-R: "There are a few limitations to the test that make it important to use alongside professional clinical diagnostic processes. Some limitations may include questions being misinterpreted, misunderstood, unawareness and/or over-reporting of symptoms, and the same symptoms being rated different levels of "obtrusiveness" in daily functioning. The RAADS test has only shown moderate accuracy in clinical settings. It has also been shown to require further academic study due to its likelihood of returning a false positive. In an evaluation of the screening effectiveness of the RAADS-R among 50 participants, there was no association between RAADS-R scores and a future clinical diagnosis of autism."

[@AliciaGuitar]

I was diagnosed as a kid by a dr and my parents still didnt believe it. This just proves to me that WE are better at diagnosing ourselves than others are. I have had doctors tell me patients are the best expert on their own conditions and symptoms. Too bad not all docs understand this.

[@WillyKillya]

I'm sure I'm autistic. I am diagnosed arthritic, but that wasn't always the case either. About 15 years ago (I'm 43 now) I started to get a weird pain in my lower back when I was running that I never experienced before, and it didn't go away the next day. It was like someone stabbed me in the back and left the knife in. I kept going back to the Doctor, at one point I was told one of my legs was 2 inches longer than the other, I was put on steroids and this and that, and finally the doctor said "what the hell let's take an X-ray". BOOM, degenerating disks found, arthritis diagnosed. Before this the doctor said I was too young to have arthritis, and even after my diagnosis, and I would tell people about it, they would tell me I'm too young. Now I have to go on an even more difficult journey to obtain an autism diagnosis, which again I never considered until my daughter was diagnosed. Once again, even though those same people say that she is just like me, I am being told that I'm not autistic for all the various fun reasons (Too old, and I just need to man up, I can make eye contact if I know you, etc.) And to what end? So people can hate me officially instead of just casualty. I believe it's prevented me from being able to interview or network for a job and I'm trying to freelance (Database Programmer) to make money, I have to have EBT and sell my plasma just to make enzymes and even that is a month-to-month nightmare. I stay alive for my daughter but even that hope is starting to dim, tough to see myself being alive a year from now. I keep watching videos like this and I know they are made in good faith, but they just leave me more distraught and realizing that my end is near.

[@michaelmacpherson-wm6mh]

when I told my sister I am autistic she had an answer for every symptom I mentioned. "oh I do that too", "oh Monica (my niece) is like that as well" so I asked her "does Monica feel like she is from another planet and she is here to observe the humans?" ... she didn't answer.

[@DWSP101]

Here is a summary of all your test results including the newly provided Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20): **RAADS-R Test** - **Total Score: 175** - Indicates a strong likelihood of ASD traits. **Empathy Quotient** - **Total Score: 20** - Suggests lower than average empathy, which can be associated with ASD. **CAT-Q Test** - **Total Score: 159** - Suggests substantial camouflaging of autistic traits. **Online Alexithymia Questionnaire** - **Total Score: 146** - Indicates significant alexithymic traits. **Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) Test** - **Total Score: 31** - Above the average, indicating a number of autistic traits. **Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ)** - This test appears to be taken but a score was not provided in the screenshots. The TEQ measures empathy, which is the ability to recognize and respond to others' emotions. **Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20)** - **Total Score: 68** - Indicates alexithymia. - **Difficulty Describing Feelings Subtotal: 19** - Some difficulty in expressing emotions verbally. - **Difficulty Identifying Feelings Subtotal: 31** - Significant difficulty in recognizing one’s own emotions. - **Externally-Oriented Thinking Subtotal: 18** - A focus on external details rather than internal emotional experience. Your scores collectively suggest challenges with emotion recognition and expression, empathy, and social communication, which are often associated with ASD. 1. RAADS-R Test (Autism Traits): Your high score suggests a significant presence of autism traits, particularly in areas like social interactions, specific interests, and sensory sensitivities. 2. Empathy Quotient: The lower score here indicates challenges in empathizing, which is consistent with the autism profile. This might manifest as difficulty in understanding others’ feelings or perspectives. 3. CAT-Q Test (Camouflaging Autistic Traits): Your substantial score points towards efforts to mask autistic traits in social settings, possibly through mimicking social behaviors or hiding difficulties. 4. Online Alexithymia Questionnaire (Emotional Awareness): A high score here suggests notable challenges in identifying and describing your emotions, a common aspect in autism. 5. Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) Test: Again, your score confirms the presence of autistic traits, especially in social skills, attention to detail, and communication. 6. Systemizing Quotient-Revised (SQ-R) (Systemizing Skills): A high score here indicates a strong inclination towards systemizing, understanding patterns, and organizing information. 7. ASRS-5 Test (ADHD Traits): Your score suggests a higher likelihood of ADHD, potentially impacting attention, focus, and organizational skills. 8. ADHD (Predominantly Inattentive Type): Characterized by difficulties in maintaining attention, especially in non-engaging tasks or environments with distractions. 9. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Traits: Your strengths likely include pattern recognition and working within rule-based systems, while maintaining attention outside specific interests might be challenging due to ADHD. 10. Auditory Processing Disorder (APD): You might face challenges in processing auditory information, affecting your ability to understand spoken language in noisy environments or complex instructions. 11. Dyslexia: Though specific details aren’t provided, typical challenges might include reading, writing, and language processing, with potential strengths in creative thinking and problem-solving. This is me….. And yea I do believe I have ASD. Sorry for dumping

[@saragoltz1191]

Oh wow! I realized the accurate lists and documenting of traits and tests just like you just did, was a huge sign that I am autistic. 😂not just the results telling me I was. I was almost trying to prove for sure that I am. Still have imposter syndrome though.

[@-thunderstar-6414]

I had self-diagnosed myself with ADHD, anxiety, and depression when I had a hyperfixation on neurodiversity and mental illnesses. And guess what? I took an in person test and now I have an official diagnosis. Also, the more I learn about autism now, the more I start to think I may also be autistic. Especially because I've experienced what felt exactly like how sensory issues and shutdowns are described.

[@bndlett8752]

I support seeing self-diagnosis as *less* valid than an actual diagnosis. The reason why I say this is that sometimes there are certain traits and qualities about yourself that you may not be able to notice easily as you are just *so* used to it. Not only that, but masking can make it even harder for you (or anyone else) to notice that you have autism, hence why a professional may be necessary as they know the more subtle signs to look for. Of course, there are stories here that says that they've been told "you're female and can talk" and that they don't have autism because of that; however, it is also best to recognize who is and isn't a professional (as even GPs or primaries can fall into stereotypes and/or statistics). TL;DR: professional can notice signs that you or anyone else would not easily notice due to masking. Thus making self-diagnosis less reliable (and "valid").

[@karkador]

this. exactly. doctors can't even diagnose themselves. how is a biased self diagnosis going to be completely accurate? it is good to question what the issue might be, but it isn't a "Diagnosis"

[@merryannm]

Okay, so let's pretend I'm autistic. It's perfectly acceptable, even encouraged and rewarded, for me to pretend to be neurotypical and do my best to fit in and get along and be one of the neurotypical people. Got it. Now, let's pretend I'm not autistic. It's absolutely NOT okay for me to pretend to be autistic and do my best to fit in and get along and be one of the autistic people, because that's lying. Got it. Now, let's say that I don't have any diagnosis, one way or another. Doesn't it make the most sense to live my life in the way that involves the LEAST amount of pretending? The way that allows me to be the most me? Yet some people have decided I need an official test to tell me how to live? Why? So I can 'fit in' with a community and be accepted? Hey, I've lived my whole 58 years not fitting in. I think I can manage to keep right on being an odd little being all by myself. This was a great video, and I'm glad I watched it.

[@arthurlavigne9859]

I was self-diagnosed after taking many online test and watching MANY videos. I took the time and had the money to get an official diagnosis at 60 years old. My psychologist used my online test scores as part of my assessment as it save him time from haveing to give me those same test again. I was 100% sure of my self diagnosis but was still worried waiting after the last appointment to get my official one that it would come out as something else, it didn't. ASD (PDA profile), ADHD and Dyslexia. I really didn't need someone to know but it is affirming to have that paper. I don't foresee needing more support, it was more of a self discovery thing, but I did disclose to my work leadership just in case it becomes an issue.

[@nstinnett6869]

I'm actually crying while watching this video because I've been trying to tell people in my life ALL of this, but because I'm not a doctor, of course I just have to be right. Again. When in reality I don't give a whit for being right. I care about being accurate. Thank you, sincerely, for making this video! This content is so important.

[@FinalSeraphLeo]

"That was a rhetorical question" MD: *Invasion of the body snatchers screech*

[@mariannagregorio2905]

I am brazillian and I think I might be autistic. I'm very religious, so whenever I felt like I was alone (which happened a lot) I would pray to God for answers. I've also been self-diagnosing myself in secret (only a few friends know) because my parents don't think there's any possibility, my mom even said she took me to a professional when I was very young. All of the tests I do say there's a high chance I'm autistic, but I'm still a teenager, and I don’t have any money of my own, so even when I become 18 in 2025, I don’t know if I'll have enough money for a neurologist by then. This video is the answer to many of my prayers, and I thank you for sharing this information. May God bless you and continue to use you as a blessing in many people's lives.

[@sherlocknothelock]

I guess when I’m bleeding out on my way to the hospital, I must be “self-diagnosing” for attention when I tell the doctor I’m dying 😊

[@saragoltz1191]

That was the best video I have seen. Not just about autism. The best most informative, looked at every aspect of those issues. Amazing. I have found the autistic community to be very kind and supportive to me, self diagnosed autistic. Would love a formal diagnosis but it cost too much money. And I agree, who would self diagnose with autism?? What’s the benefit? Makes no sense. We are just trying to figure out why we are so different and what we can do to live better with ourselves. I have learned so much and my quality of life has improved dramatically after realizing I am autistic.

[@loumona76]

The autism tests are also SHIT Like damn Losing money Becoming depressed bc of the doctor Not getting anywhere Losing time, getting high anxiety Struggling with their stupid paper test

[@JennyNobody]

I have felt SO GUILTY since realizing I am neurodivergent... self-diagnosed only. This video helped me remember WHY and feel so seen. Thank you so incredibly much

[@ryanjamesloyd6733]

I think this comes down to psych 101, where you are staunchly admonished not to self diagnose anything because you'll figure you have Everything. That doesn't count with Autism for all the reasons. We already, by in large, know we're weird, and recognize others of similar weirdness, and have been told in no uncertain terms by the "normal people" that we are, in fact, weird. The people thinking we're trying to be "special"- that's a Very neurotypical way of looking at the world. They don't get it. I'm not sure they Can get it. And it seems like the autists who rail against self-diagnosis tend to be the very "Rules and Structure Oriented" type (or those who were traumatized into NT conformity so deeply they can't see out of it). Having a community of peers who understand you and can help you understand your own experience is Far more valuable, as things stand, than some expensive "Expert opinion", or the pearl clutching of some rules lawyer type A personality autist.

[@Ann963]

Well said!

[@marygannon3031]

❤ I love your comment ..we know we are weird.. I completely agree and can relate to this description.

[@ganondorfchampin]

It absolutely applies to autism because the lived experience of autism is completely different form the clinical description.

[@ars6187]

YAY ALL DAY!!!! 🙌🏽🙌🏽

[@EmL-kg5gn]

As someone who ignored that advice and actually did painstakingly go through the DSM with a list of everything about me that could possibly be called a symptom, noting down a long list of every single diagnosis I could possibly meet the criteria for, it made me panic. And in order to calm my panic I had to unlearn a lot of ableism. I had to accept that it was actually okay if I had numerous conditions affecting my brain that weren’t curable! Then I set to work looking into all of those conditions, after a number of years I ended up self diagnosing with only a few of them and treating myself in the way that people with those conditions are supposed to be treated has drastically improved my life. I also learnt a lot and it made me a much better friend to people who have conditions that I don’t! Basically I eventually understood enough about the conditions I was worried I might have to know why and how each of the symptoms manifests, which differs from one condition to another, and based on that I could rule some things out and confirm other things. For example anxiety is common in many conditions, but it looks different and happens for different reasons in PTSD, GAD, OCD, Autism, ADHD and so on. Was it a painstaking, stressful process? Yes. Was it worth it? Definitely. I understand that they’re trying to prevent existential crisis but maybe letting mental health professionals learn that they’re not so different from their patients after all isn’t actually a bad idea?

[@Subliminalsapper]

Look, I don't want to be AuDHD, but had I had access to medical care as a kid (couldn't afford it, shocker), I wouldn't have spent my entire life wondering why I seemed to be such a flawed person, why I couldn't just do what other people did and maybe I wouldn't have hated myself my entire life.

[@linden5165]

Brilliant! Sometimes I like to really wind up the gaslighting gatekeepers by letting them know how much the autistic community welcomes and supports self-diagnosed neurokin with open arms. And that lots of autism researchers are including self-diagnosed folk within their research. In all my work in the field researching and educating we acknowledge and support it. It is a valid and valued feature of our community that some are self-diagnosed and all the gatekeeper ignorance can't change a damn thing about it.

[@andiralosh2173]

My therapist told me I didn't have a communication deficiency, so I couldn't be autistic. I'm not even upset about this, but it is the level of awareness in the profession. Non experts really know almost nothing, and that would be okay if people in the field weren't trained to act knowledge with vague impressions of profiles, rather than a meaningful understanding

[@colbyboucher6391]

I was diagnosed at six years old, but this is my first time hearing about this website and I'm absolutely checking it out!! Much of what goes into diagnosis is really pretty straightforward if you just have the information and think carefully, and most of the information is paywalled. Frankly I'm starting to think that's most of what the psychology industry is, paywalls, people investing in learning information that could be freely available and becoming the sole arbitrators of it because they have the money.

[@makettricowens9425]

As a self-diagnosed autistic trans woman, I completely agree. Autism explains a lot about why I can't seem to act "normal" in social situations and why I tend to speak without much inflection. Thankfully the transfem community tends to be very supportive of self-diagnosed autistic people

[@dangops5875]

This should get 100 times move views.

[@Mangaleech]

It's the same in the DID (and related Dissociative disorders as well). I'm self diagnosised as autistic and OSDD (a subsection of DID). I have a LOT of trauma both inside and outside of the medical field. But I've done a lot of research, sifted through the misinformation (of which there's a LOT) and found that in order to get a Dissociative disorder diagnosis, it can take up to 7 years (and in more complex cases, more). That's 7 years of paying a professional about $700 to $800 per month... just to get a paper saying that MAYBE I get to take unlimited unpaid sick leave at my job... That's literally the only accommodation that can reasonably asked of me. In the meantime, without the aid of a therapist, I've learned what my Austic masking behaviors are. I've learned my common stims and common situations where some stims might be more acceptable than others. I've developed techniques to identify when I'm having an emotionally deregulated day to avoid severe meltdowns. And on the OSDD side, I've met my headmates, I've built a relationship with them. We have agreements with what is and is not okay to do with the body and the outside identity we present. Our husband has met all of us and has good relationships with us. Our friends at work know we have this and support us when triggering situations get brought up. I could be paying hundreds of dollars per month that I cannot afford to be put in intense scrutiny for a disorder that many people think is fake (including many therapists) for years just to get a diagnosis, or I can do the work that it takes to make living with these conditions bearable (and sometimes enjoyable, for those of us who know what it's like to have the inside jokes only autistic people could relate to). Yes, I do not function in the way that people are expected to. But I have learned to function in a way that works for me, not because I did not want help in doing so, but because I live in a place where it is nearly impossible to afford the help in doing so. There are days I feel limited in my disorders. I hope wen I feel that I remember my journey and I find my strength again.

[@tiptapkey]

I had a psychiatrist ask me 10 questions and diagnose me with bipolar. When I tried to argue, she said that because I get aggravated sometimes, don't sleep much sometimes (like maybe 4 nights a year), and I don't feel tired the next day, then I have bipolar. Doctors are honestly worthless.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

That's more common than it should be. A lot of that is because the practice of psychology is based on what is externally visible to the clinician doing the diagnosis with little consideration paid to what's going on on the inside. It's how you get goofy things like depression being both a failure to enjoy pleasurable things and a failure to seek out pleasurable things when those are known to be on different neural circuits and require somewhat different approaches.

[@cheriibud]

This kept popping up in my recommended and I thought that it wasn't going to be a skit. Finally opened it and was pleasantly surprised. Years ago I basically self diagnosed (thought it made a lot of sense with my experiences, and kept scoring as such in those tests) but ended up not seeking any help because I felt stupid and like I was "taking away from the autistic community". Even though I didn't talk to anyone about it. Years after that I ended up seeing a psychologist, and by pure coincidence she specialized in autism (I didn't know that until after she brought up diagnosis with me lol). The office was made up of many doctors and I went to it because it was in my insurance network. A few months into my sessions, she brought up that she believes I have autism and she then did the full assessment and I ended up being diagnosed. I am EXTREMELY lucky and privileged to have had this experience, with a doctor my insurance fully covered. For me personally its made it so I'm a lot more understanding of myself, as opposed to critiquing myself every moment because I can't seem to act like a "normal person." It made me understand that not everyone had constant pain in reaction to certain sensory stimuli, and that it wasn't that everyone around me was just better at dealing with that pain, but rather they didn't have it to begin with. I will say, I do actually believe self diagnosis might be better than one on paper, due to possible discrimination (in addition to all the barriers there are to getting one in the first place). I've experienced it now with it being listed on my chart and the doctor just going to speak with my mom instead of contacting me even though I was over 18 at the time and didn't even live with her. I removed her from my HIPAA so they don't have the choice to skirt around me. Not to mention there's the fact that gender affirming care is starting to be restricted specifically to autistic people, which I'm scared will turn into "every autistic person cannot be capable of making informed decisions for their own health."

[@Arctic_and_The_F0X]

i saw the title and almost fuckign exploded

[@Guayavic]

Even having an official diagnosis, you still get questioned and receive negative backlash for being autistic. We’re all really on the same boat here, the best we can do is support each other. SELF DIAGNOSIS IS VALID, YOU ARE VALID

[@TheSorrowfulAngel]

Makes me wonder what the rate of self-misdiagnosis is. I dont think think there is any decent data on that, though.. seems hard to do a study on. Stands to reason that the self misdiagnosis rate wouldn't look much better than external misdiagnosis rates.

[@ashton6271]

"Wholemindedly" agree lol

[@woofbarkyap]

I think the thing with incorrect self-diagnosis is that the label won't fit perfectly and advice/solutions for people with that label won't fit perfectly and people will simply move on in their search. Conversely, medical diagnoses seem to stick, professionals can't see past it and people blame themselves for failing to conform in their symptoms and responses. For that reason I'm a great believer in integrated care where people are empowered to find out for themselves, explore for themselves and put forward ideas for themselves, whilst being supported and maybe guided or nudged by a professional whose training may give them a broader overview whilst the person has their own tightly focussed view. A utopian ideal, yes, but worth striving for imo.

[@TheSorrowfulAngel]

@@woofbarkyap Honestly, not that utopian - cause that's more or less how professional diagnostics in psychology especially should work. You work together to find out what the problem is and what the solution may be. Then again, Ive been through enough "professionals" myself, soo... It certainly feels utopian.

[@arbhall7572]

My doctor learned not to question me too...my follow up questions usually left him speechless and questioning his education ...too many times.

[@LisaH-kk3ny]

👏👏👏👏 Bravo!! I love the way you truth-tell. Thank you!

[@enolp]

I was self-diagnosed a year and a half before just barely being formally diagnosed. I sent a 56-page pdf of my personal research to my diagnostician

[@goatsfluffy8254]

The issue is have with self-diagnosis is that some people don’t even take the self-assessment quizzes, and just decide ‘I’m kinda awkward so i’m autistic’ and finish there. Plus the social media assholes who use it for clout are always self-diagnosed.

[@m0L3ify]

My doctor said self-diagnosis is totally fine and there's no need to get evaluated for what I already know I have unless there's a need for medication or accommodations at work. I can just know I'm autistic and it's A-OK! She believes me. 😊