Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi everyone,
I would really appreciate your opinion please. I have had a therapist and GP say I have ASD, but no formal diagnosis. Apparently that's as elusive as matching socks. I've just been on a 3 day research binge and I no longer know which way is up. In your opinion is self- identifying acceptable? I honestly don't know if it would make me a fraud or others would see me as a fraud. All I've ever wanted is to just make sense of myself and find a place where I feel I belong. I would really appreciate your thoughts, right now I have too many of my own. Thank you
I don't know what I think about self diagnosis. I'm a social worker for adult social care and I know generally speaking, not just for ASD, a diagnosis is always taken more seriously than speculation. That being said, I don't always expect people to have received a diagnosis for every condition because sometimes the person themselves tells me enough in their experiences and behaviour to recognise things. I don't often work with autistic people but I think I'd not worry too much as an assessor about a formal diagnosis. Are many people claiming to be autistic when they aren't? I feel quite a stigma about it personally and I consider myself to be quite open-minded so not sure how common this would be?
I suspect neurotypical people may not readily accept a self-diagnosis but that is probably because I'm currently weighing up pros and cons of disclosing I'm waiting for an assessment.
Disclosing anything about ASD Is difficult I think. You're right, there are pros and cons to consider. It's an emotional minefield.