My new theory on self diagnosed autistics

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One should keep in mind that this is the Internet, and we could ALL be lying. We ultimately have to take it on faith that other people's claims are true. Or not take it on faith. Your choice. I was self-diagnosed for a year, not because a friend or loved one suggested I had Asperger's, but because I recognized myself in the symptoms of a friend's child who was diagnosed. I eventually got the official diagnosis after a lot of searching. It was difficult to find someone who knew how to do the diagnosis and was covered by my insurance. My regular psychiatrist told me there was no test for adults, and then that it wasn't covered by my plan. After I found that it was, she gave me the referral. Some plans may not cover it, so it may not be feasible because of the expense. And is it really necessary for everyone? The services for adults may not be available everywhere.

And I could be lying about having a diagnosis. Or not. Who knows? If we're lying, why stop at self-diagnosis? Why not come up with more solid credentials like an official diagnosis?

My point is, we have to judge people on what they say and do, not what they claim to be, because we will never know for certain, even in MeatLife. I get benefit from the posts people put up here. I don't care if they are what they claim, so long as it helps.

I've always thought that too. It takes honesty to admit to self-diagnosis, and suffer the suspicion that's cast your way.

The only way we'd know if all of us were diagnosed was if proof of diagnosis was needed to register. But I guess someone could forge proof so it'd never be completely certain. Not to mention that'd be ridiculous. We just have to take each other's word for it.

I actually think the OP is entitled to his "Theory".

I'm just not sure of whether he is justified in bringing it on to a website where he knows it will cause contention.

When you wave about theories like this people do automatically go on the defensive because they believe they are being attacked.

This is meant to be a support site not a battle ground.

Got to agree with you there. I dropped out of the thread once it became clear that the majority opinion was rightfully inclusive and we were just dealing with a few grumps. I'll admit some good links have come up in the conversation.

Here's the real irony. Whether you're called an NT or an Aspie, that's still a diagnosis. You could make a list of the different ways of getting diagnosed and rank them from 0 to 100 on a certainty scale. We could quibble over how far "self-" should be from the various types of "professional" diagnosis. Based on my conversations with professionals, I think "self-" falls into the "professional" constellation, but we could argue that.

The one diagnosis that will be way down below everything else is -"some total stranger on the internet decided you're an NT because he/she has a theory."

I'm still unclear on what the benefits of pretending to have autism are anyway? 85% unemployment? Relationship failures? Being patronized and dismissed by NTs?

(underlining mine)

No, not necessarily. Sometimes, in really looking into accusations or at least suggestions made against us (in general), we discover a whole lot more about ourselves than we knew, and we are also better able to figure out how to explain these things IRL. Certainly arguing one's position (constructively) can be beneficial. This goes for both the officially DXd and the self-DXd and spans different levels of so-termed "functioning."

Let's face it: when it comes right down to it, we're all wasting time more so than "doing something constructive" right now...we're all making that choice, and we choose to spend our time doing this right now.

If the only forums allowed on the internet were fully constructive, non time-wasting ones, we'd have approximately...well, zero internet forums.

But as for me...yes, I do see benefits in arguing one's position at times (see my first paragraph above), so personally, I don't feel it's a time-waster, and as I didn't have "curing cancer" on my agenda for today, nothing really has been wasted, for me.

Last edited by NowhereWoman on 27 Oct 2015, 5:34 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Again...may we have an example? A specific one? I see a lot of "people do X/people's motivations 'might' be Y or Z" right now but not a whole lot of "I personally know a person who did X" or something less generalizing and more concrete. If you could provide times that this has actually happened it might help in the overall understanding on this particular point you have been making. Also, it could give a better context of whether this is really as large an issue as (I think) you feel it is...i.e. if it's say one person on here for every 200 people posting, well, that wouldn't seem to be that huge a problem overall and probably nothing to merit a whole thread in order to stop the madness so to speak, etc. and certainly wouldn't warrant larger generalizations...KWIM?

Also, I'm not clear on where you say: "...a person with no professional help is needed and they 'know' they are autistic and no one can tell them differently." Is there an actual case of this you're thinking of? Why did the person say s/he "knew" s/he was autistic? Why were people trying to tell him/her differently...what was it the person said that made people thing s/he wasn't autistic? You're saying it was clear the person couldn't be autistic but the person kept insisting he or she was? Is that right?

Sorry to be serial-posting. I just keep seeing points being made that are bringing up more questions for me.

Last edited by NowhereWoman on 27 Oct 2015, 5:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Each person is different some people might be a since of belonging some people it might be different. Fight CLUB is an excellent movie and book that explores the concept of tourists in disability groups.

Fight Club is a work of fiction, so I don't use it as a measure of anything. And even if there were disability tourism (which sounds a bit far-fetched), it's of no concern of mine if someone wants to pretend to be disabled, so long as it does not steal money from my pocket or injure me in some way, or make me look bad. If someone was faking a disability in order to get government benefits (not possible with an unofficial diagnosis), con someone, or act outrageously in order to embarrass autistic people, I would get angry. And if someone wants to go around faking a disability, they probably have some sort of mental illness, akin to the self-blinding woman in your original post.

There are plenty of less contentious groups to join, since we're all adamant individualists--our hypothetical faker would have an easier time slipping in with bridge players or Mormons.

I want to be a bridge-playing Mormon.

^^^ I agree. Works of fiction are fiction.

A real "disability tourist" would almost certainly fit the diagnostic criteria for Munchhausen Syndrome, which is also a disability.

From research findings - which have been well replicated - rates of PTSD are much higher in all 'disabled' minorities. Social scientists expect that, given equivalent findings of particularly high rates of bullying, along with other serious forms of abuse, known to be inflicted on these populations. I would speculate that nearly 100% of people with symptoms of autism (whether diagnosed or not, whether even aware that autism exists or not) will be targeted at some stage by the abusers who are attracted to the vulnerable like iron filings to a magnet.

The claim that self diagnosis results from PTSD not autism makes no logical sense to me at all, considering that the more 'visibly' autistic are probably the most likely to be bully/abuser targets, the most likely to develop some degree of PTSD, and the most likely to be formally diagnosed, often not on their own initiative.

The self-diagnosed age profiles seem to be quite different (older) than the formally diagnosed profiles; my feeling is that the underlying strand of ageism in these attacks on the self-diagnosed is not particularly visible (and probably not intended), yet is nonetheless in the mix of these threads that continually attack self-diagnosis.

All very well put. I've noticed a age-bias in the type of diagnosis I seem to see on this site. I certainly fit the profile. I have a son who is diagnosed. He has much the same issues that I had, but was never diagnosed. My theory is that the strongest opportunities and impetus for diagnosis happen during school. If you're 30 or older, you left school before the changes in the diagnostic criteria had fully propagated through the system.

OMG! I totally just read that as "I want to be a bridge-playing moron."

In which case I was already formulating my response, "I'm way ahead of you there, except I don't play bridge."

Yes, as well as the fact that by adulthood, many autistic people have taught themselves coping mechanisms that make them "seem" less autistic.