Should I get a formal diagnosis?

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I am positive I am on the spectrum. I grew up in a very religious household, and my mother never had me tested because she was under the belief that she could "pray it away" (spoiler: she couldn't).


I am now 18. I want to get tested, but for the most part I can socially pass as neurotypical, and my mother thinks that if I get a diagnosis it will ruin or greatly decrease my chances of getting hired vs. just being "weird" and "eccentric".

Does anyone know anything about this or have any advice? If I get a diagnosis, can I hide it from potential employers?

Yes.

To elaborate on Fnord's "yes," having an official diagnosis will give you protections under the ADA (if you're in the US - YMMV in other places), so it's definitely worth having.

Potential employers shouldn't be asking you about this kind of thing during the hiring process, and if you can normally pass as NT (and don't need accommodations for any part of the hiring process), you shouldn't be bringing it up, either. Get hired first, then talk to HR if you need accommodations.

That's a big 'yes' from me as well.

It would be helpful accessing vocational rehab supports or other disability benefits that might help you with working and also could compensate if you are only able to work a little bit, or have an extended period looking for a job.

Don’t expect a diagnosis to change the way people perceive a normal looking person. Even with a diagnosis you still have to do what everyone else does or become a recluse.

I'm on the way to getting diagnosed as certain aspects of my job are not great and a formal diagnose would help.

If you are completely certain that you have it, I don't see how paying an enormous amount of money just for a formal diagnosis would really be of much help unless the identity aspect of the diagnosis is of particularly great importance to you. As for its harming your career prospects, I'm not sure about in the United States but in the United Kingdom one generally doesn't need to disclose that information to a prospective employer.

Free in the UK

Yes, you do not want to end up like me. With no recourse. Autism will cause job loss, again and again and again.

Better to have a proven reason to ask for accommodation but caveat

as my family has found and I fear for my son in the next 5 years
....the protections drop drastically for ASDs in adults and the bar for proving it a liability enough varies by diagnosis and by your local support networks.

In resumes, it kills me silently as a "preexisting condition" (I only found this out when told me why I was not hired even with his referral, but he waited until he was fired to mention it *sigh) since it is already in my work history even though I don't have to disclose. And one can only get SSI state supplemental if they have not contributed very much in work history no matter how old they are. "real" disability requires either/and tax contribution history if not old enough.
Like being fired for attending military duty. If you can prove the discriminated, they are toast. But it is hard to do.
At my desperate point, I am going to have a re-evaluation of severity so I can have a safety net of disability. I prefer to work.. am I am terrified it can affect my custody if I do not have smooth transition between protection of my legal rights and the process of applying for said protection. But too many doors are shutting and I only become less attractive to employers as I age and my work history gap is longer. Nor do they make accommodations for my quirks that are uncontrollable (expression, style of speech, not being placed in certain type departments) though I can mimic humans for a period of time <_<

It helps because disability money can be a safety net, but if you can handle a job go for it because disability money is not much.

I am already considered disabled for having other things so having an autism diagnosis probably wouldn't actually help me with much truthfully. But as said above it can become a big part of some people's identity.

I think it’s really wrong to not hire a person because of damn insurance, but I guess that’s current reality. I do wish it was different.

I’m going to make a separate post that right now H&R Block, Jackson Hewitt are hiring for about a 6-week job. Yes, the storefront tax season is massively front-loaded with people who know they’re getting a refund.

It’s a semi-chaotic work environment at times. But a chance to do some good for your clients, especially if you matter-of-factly disclose main negatives of their bank and loan products.

It doesn’t sound like much, but I became an informal leader and rather enjoyed it.

I am going to say a qualified No you don't need it. Here are the reasons, and they may not apply to you.

1. If you are already passing as normal and can mask enough to get a job or into college in your chosen field, there is nothing to be gained by having an official diagnosis. And, having that label could do you harm.

2. If you are female, as you state, you will have a difficult time finding a professional who knows enough about autism in women to properly diagnose you. The risk of high functioning women getting an inaccurate diagnosis is high. Then you end up feeling like you are crazy because the doctor said you don't have autism.

3. It can be very expensive.

If you think you will need SSI or work accommodations, or assistance from vocational rehabilitation or other resource, then you will need an official diagnosis. Note: SSI does not require a work history. (SSDI does.) These are two separate programs and have different requirements and different benefits.)

Yes definitely get it as it could help you be able to get an exemption from the new work requirements for food stamps. However, I don't think you should disclose it on a resume or cover letter when applying for a job as the employer might be afraid of paying extra for health insurance or could be risk averse to hiring someone autistic. The exception would be if it was a workplace that had an autism employee policy, or if you were aware that the staff knew a lot about autism and was likely to give you a drive by diagnosis on the day of your interview or on the first day of work. The diagnosis could be brought up if you needed a specific accommodation after getting the job. For example, if you were distracted by a noisy work environment, you might be able to use the diagnosis to ask for a corner work space with fewer coworkers nearby. The other thing to consider is that this advice is for someone presenting with a mild case of autism. Someone with a more noticeable case probably would need to disclose it as it would be noticed, and would be possibly seen as a covering up of something if it was not mentioned in the job interview. For the latter group SSI and, or SSDI will likely be important along with vocational rehab, all of which would require a thoroughly documented case of autism, along with other related limitations such as anxiety, or OCD to be entitled for benefits or assistance.

This reminds me of how I found out about ASDs in the first place. I was hired as a lower level manager at a store. the manager told me that one of the cashiers has autism and that is why he hired me instead of promoting him. Also this guy told me I could treat this guy like crap because "he has no emotions, so he won't feel angry at you." Anyway that lead me to research the topic. Obviously this manager was discriminating against this guy. This is when I started seeing symptoms in myself after I researched it. But then I had a severe manic episode and I got fired... I think this manager didn't have much understanding/respect for that sort of thing. Avoid people like that manager!