Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi there,
I am self diagnosed with ASD and high masking. I am pretty much comfortable with my diagnosis. I use a lot of material (articles, podcasts...etc.) to understand myself much better and be increase the quality of my private, as well as, professional life.
I have been considering having a professional diagnosis, yet it costs a lot of money in Berlin (where I love). I was wondering if there are any benefits of having my diagnosis documented apart from finding an explanation to the way I experience life, I have that already covered, and I am pretty comfortable with my self diagnosis, therefore I don't see a need for a professional diagnosis for the matter.
Also considering that autism is neurodivergence and not a disorder, I am not sure if there would be any benefit of a documented diagnosis work wise.
What are your thoughts on this?
Many thanks in advance!
P.s. I am not judging or doubting the professional diagnosis, but just thinking out load!
Thanks for sharing. In the UK's context I understand the usefulness of the formal diagnosis considering the laws protecting individuals with ASD. I live in Germany, I don't believe there are such laws designed specifically for ASD, especially that the country is rather behind on this topic. Yet, there are many strong employees protection laws in Germany anyways, that an additional extra layer of protection does not feel needed, well... at least not at the moment.
Thanks for sharing
Hello there, thank you for sharing. I completely understand the fear of issues related to Jugendamt, your feeling are definitely legit, in my option! I guess it all relied to the lack on understanding of what autism is about, and how uninformed individuals could make certain judgements that might dramatically impact your life. I do wear headphones ALL THE TIME, in workspace, public transportation and even when I am waking in a noisy area, I believe I can navigate workspaces while keeping my headphones on, without the need to provide a diagnosis of autism to my employers. As you mentioned, I fear the same, I would prefer to keep this information to myself in the work context.
Thank you very much for your kind response and useful recommendation. I will look into the related topics :)
Much appreciated!
Similar to Amerantin, I notified my employers, and they provided some degree of support. However, my ability to work was hindered by other health issues, rendering my position unsustainable. I am currently unemployed and contemplating my next course of action, even questioning the possibility of returning to work in the future.
In the UK, there are laws designed to offer protection to individuals with ASD to some extent. However, for these legal safeguards to be effective, a formal diagnosis is necessary.
Hi
Welcome to the community!
In addition to discussing this here in your own thread, I'd suggest also searching the forum, as this topic has been explored many times before - so there is a lot of useful information to be found.
When viewing this thread, you should also be able to find direct links to various previous discussions in the right hand column, under "Related".
This is by no means intended as criticism (about you having also asked in your own thread). Just trying to offer a helpful tip :)
Hi, I’m also self diagnosed and also living in Germany in Brandenburg state. For me the label could be potentially helpful in case of a noisy workplace (it would allow me to wear ear plugs and maybe avoid crying and panic attacks) but I can also see a potential risk of being ostracized by people who have no idea about autism. I’m my case I have a little child and I’m deadly afraid of Jugendamt coming and hovering over my family for a potential change of taking my daughter away for some maybe even minor reason, if I’m officially diagnosed. I’m not sure if my fear is reasonable or not, but I have it. I’ve heard a lot. I’m doing everything at home on my own, I don’t need any substantial support.
I look at it from two points of view.
Firstly, a psychiatrist suggested to me that I might want to investigate an autism assessment and I did all the usual research and online tests and self diagnosed. But there was always an element of uncertainty and imposter syndrome associated with that. I needed the certainty of an official diagnosis.
Secondly, there is the potential for material benefit. For me this has only been in the form of informing my employers, who have actually been quite good about it and worked with me to make my job more sustainable. I don’t think I’d have done that on the basis of self diagnosis.
But this is just me, we all have different needs.