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  • Antiwork [none/use name, he/him]
    ·
    1 year ago

    What are your thoughts on self diagnosis of ND? Coming to the reality I’m definitely on the autism spectrum. I don’t think I need to fill out a scantron to figure that out.

    • Veganhydride [he/him]
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      Here's one perspective: https://archive.is/yaFoo

      Ask yourself: what would an official diagnosis bring you? And what would self-identification bring you? Are there specific issues?

      Going through similar things right now, I feel like I'm probably autistic but I just have zero confidence in choosing that label for myself so I would like some actual confirmation. I have a suspicion I may have subclinical autism or something so that may not help at all.

    • Chapo_is_Red [he/him]
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      From what I understand, you need a professional diagnosis for certain purposes, like ADA protections. I could be wrong tho

    • milistanaccount09 [she/her]
      ·
      1 year ago

      I'm self diagnosed as autistic. I already have an adhd diagnosis on the books but I don't see the need to get one for autism, I don't think it would help me more than it would hurt. I think self diagnosis is 100% cool

    • Commiejones [comrade/them, he/him]
      ·
      1 year ago

      self diagnosis of ND

      to what end? If you want it as an excuse for being a shitty person or if you are doing it to gain an identity like a certain "musician" I know? not cool fuck that guy. (sorry, venting)

      If you want to use it as a way to self crit it can be really helpful. If you want to use it as a way to preface/ add context to how you interact with people that's ok.

      If you can identify specific symptoms you have it can help to avoid the umbrella term "autistic." I have dysgraphia and social anxiety and I'll talk about them openly. I'm definitely on the spectrum but I don't tell people that very often and wouldn't ever say the words "I'm autistic" because I feel that should be reserved for acute cases.

        • Commiejones [comrade/them, he/him]
          ·
          1 year ago

          Yeah do that. The way I dealt with it was by becoming a stoner so I no longer cared/noticed and other people just blamed my "strangeness" on me being high.

        • Commiejones [comrade/them, he/him]
          ·
          1 year ago

          A person with a sprained ankle and a person who is paralysed below the waste are both lame. A person who had a nonmalignant melanoma removed and a person who went through stage 3 leukemia are both cancer survivors.

          • autismdragon [he/him, they/them]
            ·
            1 year ago

            Disagree that the autism spectrum can be compared to those things cleanly like that. Like, we abolished the seperate label of ASpergers not just because Hans was a nazi but also because we recognized that its all a spectrum and seperating it like that doesnt make sense.

            • Frank [he/him, he/him]
              ·
              1 year ago

              Agreed. It's a diagnostic category that encompasses many different symptoms that people experience to a greater or lesser degree. There's no biomedical marker you can point to that is required for diagnosis. Gatekeeping it is silly and just further stigmatizes the condition.

            • Commiejones [comrade/them, he/him]
              ·
              1 year ago

              Yes it is a spectrum just like a rainbow and I am saying there is a distinction between the rainbow itself and warm/cool colors or a shade of green 5/7ths the way from yellow to blue. The autism spectrum is a umbrella term for a multitude of different conditions and a range of severities. Autism isn't a thing, it is a group of things.

              Most neurodivergent people are so low on the spectrum that they don't even know. Most of the low-middle on the spectrum people that I have met prefer to make the distinction between their situation and that of people on the deep end. There is a marked difference between how you relate to a person who is non-verbal and a person who has difficulty identifying other peoples interest in a topic of conversation.

              Autism is a un-understandable and un-relatable diagnosis specifically because it covers so many terms some of which are completely contradictory. Its a big boogie man that alienates people. Breaking up the autism spectrum to identify specific forms of neuro divergence will only lead to better understanding of those conditions and only lead to more acceptance.