More people saying they have Autism lately?

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I'm noticing a lot of people on social media and other websites saying they have Autism
but never stating they where diagnosed. It's gotten me to be a little concerned? I know we have a large community
but am i the only one feeling like somethings up? Why does it seem so many strangers are now saying i have autism
completely out of the blue and without anything like i was diagnosed with it are people self diagnosing more and more lately? This may come out horribly wrong but i don't actually mean to hurt anyone's feelings or say someone isn't
i'm just saying i see it a LOT more then i used to and i'm wondering if there is actually reason or if i'm alone with this and maybe just being overly observant.

I always assume someone is diagnosed until they say they have never been diagnosed.

Some people assume someone is self diagnosed whenever they say they have it without saying they are diagnosed.

I don't see others saying they are diagnosed when they claim other disorders. People also self diagnose with other disorders too like depression, anxiety, BPD, body dysmorphia, PTSD, anorexia, eating disorder, ODD, PDA, ADHD, Bipolar, RAD.


I think more people are diagnosed with it than they were 20 years ago because more doctors know about it and have expanded the spectrum and with autism being made more aware, more people are going to think they have it. You might be experiencing cognitive bias, I think that is what it's called when it seems like it's happening now than it used to. I have always seen people mention having autism as long as I can remember just as long as I have been lurking on message boards and I have seen self diagnosed in yahoo groups back in the early 2000's when I was in high school and I have seen personal webpages by people who would say they have autism and people were calling Asperger's autism then too.

I think the Aspergers/autism situation will soon be like the OCD situation.

Now, lots of people are self-diagnosed with OCD. Some just say that because they are organised, while others really have issues but are unable to see a doctor about it for various reasons. Perhaps in another 10 years, autistic will be synonymous with 'awkward' just like right now OCD is synonymous with 'organised'.

I state in my signature I had tongue cancer. I have never stated that I was diagnosed. I felt there was no need to because it never occurred to me that what I stated would be doubted. I do state my diagnosis in my signature in part because of the perception that there are so many neurotypical autistic wannabees. Very Very sad and very very frustrating.

I also hate the "I'm so OCD" mess as well. These are serious problems and people who do that make it sound like some kind of joke!

I am fine if you think you have autism, I have noticed that people seem to start thinking that just because they didn't have a lot of friends or didn't talk much or had some kind of special interest that means they could be autistic. Everything else seems fine until this one moment or situation and then some start questioning it. They never struggle with eye contact, speak just fine most of their lives, no meltdowns, etc.

I say, if you think you do have autism please have a life story that would be believable! Autism doesn't just appear only in certain moments in your life! Autism is also usually more than just one or two problems through out life.

I've noticed people self-describing with autism and OCD as well, when they seem to mean they're not adept socially or get obsessed easily or are perfectionists or nervous they forget things, etc. I remember Jerry Seinfeld doing this and then retracting his statement because of some backlash. I agree it tends to minimize the publicly perceived seriousness of neurodevelopmental and other mental conditions. I think that's why it gets to me when folks claim "everyone is on the spectrum" - it seems to discount the often profound challenges and differences we face as people with autism. I suspect that many NTs would be stunned if they knew how deep some of the differences actually were.

I agree. ^^^^^

Everyone on earth has a few autistic and OCD traits, but the question that needs to be asked is "Is it enough to have an actual disorder?" For me, OCD can completely ruin my day in a second. I'll be fine for about an hour, and then I'll get one intrusive thought and my whole world spirals out of control. I basically shut down and get very withdrawn and depressed (I'm talking about real depression here). People always think I am just really tired or something, but the truth is, I am so anxious, depressed, afraid, and petrified that I just can't do it anymore. It can make a good day become a bad one in less than a second. Thankfully, I am learning more techniques to stop paying so much attention to intrusive thoughts, and my OCD isn't as bad as it used to be (although that will probably change in the next five minutes ). Autism, OCD, and depression aren't just quirky labels to describe someone's personality. I still try my hardest not to blame people for saying things like "I'm so OCD" though, because I have done that before for something I didn't have OCD about. I think everyone would be better off if we didn't use neurological disabilities as personality descriptions, but sadly, people don't know what things like autism and OCD actually are. I think that we shouldn't just let people talk about autism in that way, but I don't think we should penalize them for slipping up once or twice. Who knows? It may even be a good thing. Maybe you can even explain what autism really is!

I think I have NT traits or I am a bit NT , today while sitting in a restaurant for a few brief moments , I had no intrusive thoughts , didn't analyze anything , manage to almost have a complete conversation without misunderstanding something or asking someone to explain.

It's not OCD or Autism , it's nearly every disorder or illness , I can't tell you the amount of people who told me they had a nervous breakdown last week , everyone is paranoid about this or that , they are dyslexic etc. It won't be long till everyone claims that they have had a schizoid embolism.

On a plus point this type of behaviour may reduce stigma but it does trivialize it and makes people not see how serious these issues can be.

How about a proposal from a person who has no access to a medical psychologist yet for the reason of unavailability. Instead of diagnosing ourselves of something we cannot confirm, how about we diagnose ourselves of something we cannot deny.

As an aspie who do not suffer from anxiety -- I would know the difference between an allistic with tons of autistic traits, from an autistic who might as well be relate to any alliatics, or even closer to NTs.

Autistics do have this 'other language', perceives and therefore interprets things differently. It mattered a little what he or she likes or dislikes, or what he or she inclines to do. Or what he or she suffers from or enjoys things from. Or even what he or she can or cannot do.
What matters is, internally speaking, perceptions are not the same with an allistics. Therefore interpretations are less likely the same.
Then those who do perceive things as any NT then concludes differently is still an NT with an outlining interpretation -- even though said conclusion is something that an autistic would say, it's still an NT who could relate to autistics, because of having the same conclusion and same experiences even if perceptions are different.

Yet, said 'same conclusions' are but the surface. Because an allistic does not have the autistic perception of things -- which is too complicated to explain to begin with, with all benefits and problems it brings. Therefore...
An any allistic could've claim they're autistic just because their experiences are alike autistics'. Even if said experiences and choices are more of a personal side, less had anything to do with the cause of said action or state.

A 'skeptic' (I'm not sure if this is the right word for it) would claim the inverse -- that autistic experiences are but egocentric interpretations of an allistic in denial who wanted to be 'special'.
That those who experience things that way should be ashamed of themselves and should be discouraged.



In the end, though -- those with same conclusions, same experiences, despite differing perceptions, neurology, or something fundamental: they likely sync if they know how to honor one another.

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