EDIT: please, if you don’t agree with the arguments in the video, come in and discuss, don’t just downvote the thread.
I found this video with many arguments supporting self-diagnosis validity and wanted to share.
Main point may be that there is no valid reason to look for a self-diangosis than the fact of being autistic, and needing support for that. At least until there will be equitable access to medical care, self-diagnosis is the only way for people to understand themself and understand the support they may need in their life.
But, there is much more in the video, take a look at it by yourself!
I’m sorry about that, i really want to understand you.
let me make a very practical example.
Let’s say that I’m a 40 year old male. I always knew there was something different about me. Strong logic, STEM phd. Very weak communication skills (outside of my fields of interests, at least), usually silent. Somehow and with a lot of difficulties I found a partner, who, after several years, suggested that I may have some serious communication/relation issues. I found some random video on youtube like “10 traits you may be autistic”. Oh gosh, I got all 10. Oh look, there are these self-tests I could try. Are they just trash? Let’s dig a bit. Uhm, no, apparently they are research backed, and people use them to do actual self assesment. Ok, I’m pretty sure they will exclude me. Oh gosh, i’m in the 90 percentile of diagnosed autistic people on all of them. What do I do? Seek for actual diagnosis. Ok, apparently it takes years, and it costs a lot. Ok, let’s do some research. I read about 10 books, like the one from Atwood, neuro-tribes, etc. I joned a lot of online groups like this one, finding a lot of pepole with issues like mine. I learned a lot. I understood why if I’m out for dinner with more than 6 friends I cannot follow conversations. Why if the environment is loud I feel exhausted after 10 miniutes. Why I had issues with bullies when I was young. The bad hand-writing. The sensitivity for food textures. Why I cannot bear wool on my skin. Why I need to carefully plan the routes when I’m moving. Why I have anxiety when stupid weekend plans are changed (EDIT: ah the anxiety with everything!). Why my wife thinks that my questions during fights are stupid while I cannot even understand what’s happening without an answer. And a lot of other things, really a lot. And things got better. Now I don’t blame myself if I cannot bear certain situations. I just know I have to take a break from social mettings and it’s ok to do that. I carry some era plugs to go to the grocery store that help me cope with the noise that would exhaust me etc.
So, if you could get to the end of the above wall of text, my question is: how is any of this disrespectful? Towards who? You? The doctors? Why cannot I qualify as a self-diagnosed autustic and share my experiences like one? What a medical diagnose would add at this point, where I don’t need any additional accomodation? If I was still a child, that would have helped. But now?
Okay fine, the problem with self-diagnosis goes further than personal experience. It is about how much value you put on a medical diagnosis and having respect for the medical field for figuring out what constitutes that diagnosis. Autism specifically is a very broad condition, with even the medical field disagreeing on what puts you on the spectrum. But even they will argue the importance of a medical evaluation, which by definition has changed over time, and will change, so I’m not talking about giving anyone a stamp, but rather respecting professionals who dedicate lifetimes to their research by not using terms which they work so hard to define.
A lot of people who have autism aren’t diagnosed properly, which is genuinely infuriating. Which is why there is so much value in spreading information which could help anyone, especially for people who don’t have the resources. But that information could apply to anyone or anything, and because of the broad nature of autism there aren’t any “10 signs which show you have autism”, because there are people who will actually find themselves having those 10 signs who do not have any neurodivergence of any kind. But that person will still find value in what those 10 signs tell about them and about how other people deal with that.
You have found value in every aspect of what it means to have autism, you have used those resources to help youself in ways you didn’t know was possible. That is genuinely heartwarming, and I am not here to tell you you are wrong. What I’m saying is there are a lot of people suffering but also working on bettering the lives of everyone with autism, and self-diagnosing devalues both of those people.
If I were you, I think I would describe myself as having similar personality traits as a person with autism. But not actually having autism.
I have to admit that in this particular thread I am exaggerating on purpose, to get to a point. I usually say (at least online… Offline it’s still undisclosed) that I have strong indication that I may be autistic, and that I ran the tests, and found similarities etc (similar to what you suggested). And all this mainly because, even if I suffered a lot in some phases in my life (bullying, loneliness and isolation, failure in relationships anxiety, depending on the age mainly), in the end I didn’t need assistance until now (this is debatable: maybe I need it? Sometimes it’s really hard)
The thing is, even if I don’t define myself as self-diagnosed autistic, I wouldn’t mind if someone in a similar situation would do it, if he/she really thinks it fits, especially if he experienced a lot of suffering in life because of it, and that definition would help improving his/her life.
It’s obvious that you mean the same, but “self-diagnosing” internet content has been rising a lot, as humans we tend to see patterns quickly and video’s like that one simplify actual medical conditions into shortform video content, convincing people just watching these clips can diagnose anything. It doesn’t help your video has an obvious anti-science agenda either.
For sure the video was not the most scientific founded or informative source that one can find, but I found it at least entertaining and with some good point.
BTW thank you for not giving up on the discussion. I know I may result unpleasant at times, I just like the debate and knowing different ideas behind people opinions 🙂