Credit to Autie-biographical Comics
this post was submitted on 20 Apr 2024
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Autism
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A community for respectful discussion and memes related to autism acceptance. All neurotypes are welcome.
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That’s not a thing, though… there is no epidemic of people self-misdiagnosing disorders… which is why I called it ignorant boomer logic.
But moreso, it’s harmful, because perpetuating this non-existent problem harms those of us fighting for acceptance by encouraging that we be questioned and distrusted (let alone having to deal with the usual stigmas).
Neurodiversity shouldn’t be seen as a “disorder” at all… we need to accept that different people just work differently, and that’s okay, and one set of expectations/assumptions doesn’t work for everybody.
If someone is having a hard time, trust them. If they suspect it’s because of an undiagnosed neurodiversity, support them and help them. Calling ANYONE a fake is - again - extremely harmful and must not be left unchallenged.
Even your use of the word “special” is problematic, and goes right back to the original comment I responded to. ND people don’t want or need special treatment, just different treatment. We have to get past this mentality that something is “wrong” with ND people or that treating people as unique individuals is “special”.
Oh yea, I'd never question anyone having a hard time. In the context of the meme specifically it doesn't make much sense to question things, now that I think about it. If only autistic people go "yea sounds about right" there's a good chance you're autistic anyway.
But I've seen it personally where ppl match some symptoms and become utterly convinced they must have a specific disorder, and it doesn't make sense either. There's no huge harm to it but esp an awareness of differential diagnosis seems to be lacking.
I think it's best to encourage people to go see professionals if they suspect they might have a disorder or any kind of illness. But I think it's detrimental to tell them they are just imagining things as this might lead to serious issues flying under the radar.
Let the people decide who studied this.
This is a nice, optimal idea, but so many people don't have access to that. As an adult, getting diagnosed is a pain in the ass at best, and that's if you have decent insurance (USA here). Ultimately, everyone should get diagnosed by a doctor, but till we have the ability to do so, self-diagnosis has the ability to connect to a community that may be able to support someone who does have such a condition, but no ability to get the diagnosis.
Sure. These days, at some point, almost everyone has searched for symptoms on the internet only for WebMD to tell them they have cancer. I’m saying that’s not an actual epidemic… and when I said we need to help and support others, encouraging them to seek a proper diagnosis is part of that. And mind you, pursuing a formal diagnosis can be a REALLY difficult thing for ND people (and especially for adults).
It doesn’t help that there are a lot of really ignorant, harmful doctors out there (e.g. those that think ADHD doesn’t exist or that Autism isn’t a “spectrum” and only “severe” cases are “real”). So yeah, if people think they have something, lets support and encourage them, and help them to get what they need. Perpetuating stigmas and spreading distrust doesn’t do that.