"Autism Self-Diagnosis Is Not Special Snowflake Syndrome"

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http://nosmag.org/autism-self-diagnosis ... -syndrome/

Of course there are reasons people self diagnose themselves. But is it as reliable as professional diagnosis? Should they advocate for autistic people saying they're autistic? I don't think so to either, but just my opinion. But yeah, if the resources on this site (and other sites) help them I'd be a douche to say they're not allowed because they're not diagnosed.

I'm sure this'll end up as shit-throwing like every other self diagnosis thread ever though. Same stuff over and over.

For many people, self diagnosis might actually reduce the feeling of being "special" and hopelessly different - as it did for me, when finally I discovered that there were many other women who have similar lived experiences to my own. I've never had the pleasure of befriending one in the wonderful world of 'face to face' socializing. The only other person who I have met that comes close is my ex (still my closest nonfamily friend) who I strongly suspect has Asperger's himself.

I've never given a damn about being "special" because to me, every living being is unique and fascinating, and most humans vastly underestimate their own potential and that of others.

Just call self-diagnosis "self-assessment." That would solve the problem, I believe.

I'm self-diagnosed with autism.
I will call it what I want.
And if somebody has a problem with that,
it's not my problem.

...

Thanks for the interesting link OP. I hope everyone who replies reads it. Here is another that I think makes similarly valuable points on the basis of reason rather than prejudice:

https://kirstenlindsmith.wordpress.com/ ... cceptance/

Particularly, in regard to older people on the spectrum, her comments about the way ageism is a factor in the "hater-self-diagnosis" tirades are very pertinent to the overall phenomenon of these attacks.

The irony is that for a 'special snowflake' to even exist, there would have to be an 'ordinary snowflake' to serve as a basis of comparison. All snowflakes are unique - just as all people are. It's an illogical thing to accuse someone of.

I got my diagnosis by literally walking down the street and meeting with an autism testing specialist just a few blocks from my apartment. I had the money to pay for it, without insurance. Not everyone is that lucky.

And yet, my reality is that it's not guaranteed that any future doctor I see will agree with my previous diagnosis. In five seconds, a GP with no understanding of how autism presents in adult females could choose to completely dismiss what an experienced autism specialist spent hours carefully assessing.

There needs to be far more public awareness, that autism is a spectrum disorder, and not just an outdated stereotype.

@B19: thank you.

For many of the reasons the author mentioned, I am considering getting a "real" (*cough*), I mean, "official" diagnosis. I'm honestly not sure how I "look" to others anymore...no one says anything, but most of the people I spend my time with know me pretty well (roommates, friends), so if I ask, they just say "Well, you're you - that's all." I applied for several jobs this summer, made it to about three interviews, and got rejected from all of them. If my behavior is unwittingly causing me problems, I'd like to know what I can do about it.

Additionally, stress is getting to me a lot lately. Admittedly, I do have some "reasons", but I feel like they're affecting me more than they used to...which may indicate I need better coping skills.

Just wondering if I'll be able to find someone who can actually do a reliable diagnosis...I'm looking around, but there isn't much in my town.

I have always thought "get an official diagnosis if you think you need services/help" - and I may be getting to that point.

There really is no rational, logical reason for the nasty responses to self-diagnosis. All it takes is understanding that people turn to this because they are trying to figure themselves out. They're not trying to be special snowflakes or get extra benefits no one else would get. They're trying to puzzle out why their lives are the way they are.

Also disappointing is the urge many have to exclude self-diagnosed people from some aspects of autistic community, even while acknowledging the possibility that a self-diagnoser's assessment is possibly (even probably) correct.

The same professionals whom anti-self diagnosers exalt so much are known to say things like "If you think you're autistic, you probably are."

Really good links. Thank you conundrum and B19.

I had not considered the age aspect until it came up in an anti-self diagnosis discussion on WP a few months ago. Now that I see that a lot of it makes more sense. Younger people really have no idea what life was like for us. Even stranger, they think tumblr has something to do with reality.

People shouting at Tumblr is like old men shouting at clouds.

I can (sometimes) see the funny side of being told by a 20 year old that my nearly 70 years of self knowledge, personal and professional experience, education, intensive study of ASDs, exposure to older and younger people on the spectrum in the three generations of my family currently living, friends on the spectrum (I have quite few), including my colleague psychologist friends, that this in their views counts for nothing (in terms of learning about and understanding the vast composite of my Self and autism), while they contend that their single, unreplicated formal diagnosis, (subject to phenomenon of false positives as all clinical diagnosis is) is automatically correct. (New Paragraph): However I was actually young myself once, and am amazed to look back at some of the naive and arrogant ideas I had - and how they must have seemed to some of my elders! Also, I agree with the statement that autistic people now in their teens, twenties have no or almost no conception of the realities of how psychiatry and 'psychiatric' diagnosis operated toward anyone who was different "in the old days" (ie 30 years or more ago). People older than that witnessed some terrible things happening to family members and/or friends who sought a better understanding of themselves from clinicians. It was a pretty brutal time when psychiatrists were even more powerful and had no understanding of autism at all. We can understand the legacy of that, in a way that most younger people have no realistic conception of. It is not all that long ago that being different and 'strange' was enough for people to be forced into having lobotomies against their will. (Bloody Captcha again!)

I'm kinda confused about this thread for the following reasons:
1) I came here self-diagnosed. Made no bones about it, and seeking official/proper diagnosis. The tests actually gave me comfort as I never saw things the way the tests pointed out. "Is that really a thing?" was a constant thought in my mind. So, the internet and online tests gave me comfort as well as pointed me to some really good places.

2) Nobody here ever razzed me about being self-diagnosed at this point. As a matter of fact, most were helpful and even put me in touch with places like GRASP.

So, I'm surprised that there is mention of any self-diagnosis being treated in a less than helpful way.

I've never really understood the "special snowflake" thing because I've only seen people use that term on the internet. I've never heard anyone use it in real life and certainly never heard of it when I was growing up. To the contrary, I have always heard the word "special" used as a polite code word for saying a person is ret*d or mentally slow. The special snowflake concept just seems like it comes from a totally different culture from the one I live in.

I know when I was diagnosed, and I mean officially diagnosed with ADHD, I ran across people who didn't believe I really had it, or didn't believe that ADHD is real at all. But no one ever accused me of being "normal", or of wanting a diagnosis/label just to be special or different. People usually thought I had some kind of problem, but they wanted to be the ones to label it according to their own ideas about what it was. And I feel like that's the real issue, it's not that people really respect an official diagnosis either. It's just that they want to feel free to make their own speculations and judgments about a person.

I am glad you were treated with that respect, as that is what all people on the spectrum so need to receive - formally or self diagnosed. If we lack respect for one another within the spectrum community, then we play into the hands of those NTs who disrespect autism full stop - and there are millions of them.

There have been "jihads" here on the self-diagnosed in the past, though hopefully those days are behind us on WP now, and the vast majority of members here were never hostile in any way to self-diagnosis. Enjoy your time here, and may it continue as it began