Self Diagnosed Autism?

Is being autistic different than being on the spectrum?

Nope

Its called Autism Spectrum Disorder so wouldnt you be on the spectrum no matter how many autistic traits you have?

Yep

Spikey said:

if you are only on the spectrum and not diagnosed with the whole thing

Spikey said:

spectrum category instead of getting the whole diagnosis

Spikey said:

I knew deep down that I had Autism and wasn’t just on the spectrum

Is being autistic different than being on the spectrum? Its called Autism Spectrum Disorder so wouldnt you be on the spectrum no matter how many autistic traits you have?

Glad you agree! The way we perceive ourselves is so important.

Ausomely Autistic said:

It’s actually a huge paradigm shift which can change lives

Yes I agree.

Attitude to all sorts of things in life can make all the difference.

That's just a difference of attitude though.

It’s actually a huge paradigm shift which can and does change lives including my own.

Ausomely Autistic said:

The huge difference between the information that I have posted and the diagnostic criteria is that it is neuro affirming, autistic authored and based on actual autistic lived experience.

That's just a difference of attitude though.

The criteria used is still in many cases the same.

I've looked at a few of the many links you have posted for me and I don't see a huge difference between the criteria used by medical professionals and those posted on the sites.

The huge difference between the information that I have posted and the diagnostic criteria is that it is neuro affirming, autistic authored and based on actual autistic lived experience.

The problem with the diagnostic criteria is that it’s a series of overly simplified observations made by non autistic people and explained through a deficit lens.

Ausomely Autistic said:

Regardless of the ways in which we discover our autistic identity we are still both equally valid autistic people.

I've looked at a few of the many links you have posted for me and I don't see a huge difference between the criteria used by medical professionals and those posted on the sites.

I have never questioned your autistic identity or whether or not it is valid.

I simply spoke about 2 different sets of criteria to reach 1 conclusion but in fact they appear to me at least to overlap.

Ausomely Autistic said:

I have felt an instant intuitive deep connection with other autistic people for years, so I don’t need an uneducated professional to tell me who I am. I know who I am.

I can see from your links that you have used criteria that are not dissimilar to those used to diagnose/self diagnose via 'standard' information so the above muddied the waters for me.

Ausomely Autistic said:

Please do not question my autistic identity, I know who I am. I should not need to prove my autistic identity to other autistic people such as yourself, as you should know the impact and harm this can cause.

 I am autistic. I would not base my whole life and motivations around autistic community if I wasn’t.

 I don’t question or invalidate your identity or experiences so please don’t do this to me.

I didn't do any of the above.

I do and many other autistics believe that the current diagnostic criteria is only reflective of an autistic person in distress and therefore the majority of the criteria is not relevant to our autistic experiences.

It’s not surprising given that the majority of autistics are unfortunately only identified when at crisis point.

Here is the autistic community definition which I heavily relate to and can be used instead:

https://ausometraining.com/am-i-autistic/

https://reframingautism.org.au/about-autism/

https://www.youtube.com/live/U4zzGFziZMU?si=wK5wL7PY8culr9BZ

There are numerous ways to discover your autistic identity, without using outdated and pathologising criteria . Regardless of the ways in which we discover our autistic identity we are still both equally valid autistic people.

It concerns me as there will be the autism that is diagnosed using standard criteria and those who diagnose themselves as you do by different (non standard) criteria.

That’s great Purple Lily! I am glad the Monotropism questionnaire has helped you understand your autistic neurology in more depth! Enjoy your Monotropism deep dive, how very monotropic of you!?

A few months, I posted this questionnaire in this community and there were lots of results from different members including myself.

Here is the link to the discussion:

https://community.autism.org.uk/f/adults-on-the-autistic-spectrum/32944/monotropism-questionnaire/330271#330271

The only real “problem” I see with you self diagnosing yourself is that it can’t really get you any legal help or support that you can get if you have been diagnosed on paper. Though you don’t really get a lot of support if you are only on the spectrum and not diagnosed with the whole thing apparently.

I myself was going through the process of testing for both ADD and Autism at the same time and as they have some similarities, they couldn’t see which of the similarities came from which diagnosis so I got ADD and was placed in the spectrum category instead of getting the whole diagnosis to see if anything would remain when they got me on some medication. I knew deep down that I had Autism and wasn’t just on the spectrum and didn’t understand why they couldn’t just give me the diagnosis at the time until way later when I realized that they share some aspects making it hard to know. When I got the full diagnosis years later I realized how badly I needed that support and how inconvenient it was to just have the spectrum on paper without the support really was. So I really recommend getting officially diagnosed to get that support.

Autism can be really challenging in a lot of aspects other than the social interaction part which Autism is so commonly known for that the internet doesn’t really provide or mention, but some content creators do so I would recommend to look some of them up.

Some may be really sensitive when it comes to people self diagnosing themselves but that can’t be said for everyone, might be a personal issue in that case.

Calling yourself autistic imo indicates that you have been diagnosed on paper and I don’t think I’m alone in that but I don’t really see a problem in it, might cause some form a misunderstanding at some point tho since hidden meanings can be pretty hard to understand for some autistic people as far as I know. 

The autistic brain is wired differently though ie physically different.

Yes I am aware of this. My experiences of the world are vastly different to those of non autistic people so the fact that this is my experience is evidence of a different neurology.

I am very monotropic, hence why I have been researching autistic experiences for years. This is a key indicator that I am autistic, because why would anyone be so interested in autistic people if they were not autistic themselves?

Please read these links:

https://reframingautism.org.au/service/i-am-questioning-my-identity/#:~:text=Self%2Didentification%20is%20very%20personal,lots%20of%20research%20and%20reflection.

https://www.autisticparentsuk.org/post/self-identification-is-valid-formal-identification-is-a-privilege

My diagnostic report also listed “Restricted, Repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests, or activities” and “Deficits in Developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships”.

As I understand it, I had to score above a certain level in all of those criteria to meet the requirement for a formal diagnosis.

That's what the *'triad' re diagnosis is about - lots of people might think they are autistic or have experiences that are within autistic experience, but to actually be diagnosed as autistic, you have to come within the criteria (which you are dismissing).

The triad of impairments is extremely outdated and pathologising, please refer to the Double Empathy Problem instead.

Please do not question my autistic identity, I know who I am. I should not need to prove my autistic identity to other autistic people such as yourself, as you should know the impact and harm this can cause.

 I am autistic. I would not base my whole life and motivations around autistic community if I wasn’t.

 I don’t question or invalidate your identity or experiences so please don’t do this to me.

Ausomely Autistic said:

neurology is unnecessarily medicalised

I don't agree with this.

Ausomely Autistic said:

By researching autistic experiences and culture for several years and heavily relating to autistic lived experiences.

You are saying then that because you relate to autistic experiences you are autistic.

The autistic brain is wired differently though ie physically different.

That's what the *'triad' re diagnosis is about - lots of people might think they are autistic or have experiences that are within autistic experience, but to actually be diagnosed as autistic, you have to come within the criteria (which you are dismissing).

Thanks FrozenHeart

I appreciate you adding to and enhancing my explanation!

That’s okay!

It sounds like the people on here have had a range of experiences. I think some had a single online session, as you said.

Okay I didnt know that. Ive always just heard that you have a few interviews where they ask questions and then they might have you do a few activities. Sorry

debatable. From what ive heard from people who were formaly diagnosied, theres like a couple sessions and then they diagnose you. Is that as thourough as years of self research?

I had a two hour initial interview, a 2 hour IQ test, the ADOS test (over an hour), around a dozen forms to fill in and they did two separate interviews of people who know me (with me not present) and the diagnosis was confirmed by two separate clinicians (as per guidance) so I think it was extremely thorough.

Even now I sometimes doubt my diagnosis but before it I really worried I was just convincing myself falsely that what I experience is real.

Ausomely Autistic said:

I don’t need an uneducated professional to tell me who I am. I know who I am.

This is probably true in some ways but not completely. People who diagnose neurological conditions have a basic knowledge across a whole lot of diagnoses. Unless they specialize in autism, their knowledge probably only goes as far as the DSM5 and stereotypes. I own a copy on the DSM5-TR (because what other 16 year old just goes out and buys one lol) and asd section isnt exactly as thorough as researching nonstop for years. It does have the fundimental parts of autism so I think you would need to at least fit into those. But I feel like there is a lot of usefull additional information that isnt included but is availible by interacting with other actually autistic people like on this forum, watching various content creators, or researching old and new data (information is always getting updated). 

If you do use the same medical criteria for your self-diagnosis, then what is the difference between you doing it and a medical professional doing it apart from thoroughness and that someone else is making the decision?

The thoroughness could be debatable. From what ive heard from people who were formaly diagnosied, theres like a couple sessions and then they diagnose you. Is that as thourough as years of self research? And masking could always be a problem. They most likely cant see the whole parts of you based on a couple interractions especially if you are masking. 

You say that 'formal identification' would be 'unnecessarily ... pathologising' but pathology is the study of disease.

Autism isn't a disease so a medical diagnosis isn't 'pathologising'.

The process to get a formal diagnosis can be long and stressful for people and that could make it a negitive experiance that could be avoided by not getting one. 

Autism isnt a disease but some people may treat you like it is one. Like there is something wrong with you and that you need to be fixed.

I think that is kind of where Ausome was getting at (correct me if im wrong)