Any other groups that are more accepting of self-diagnosis?

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[opinion=mine]

A self-diagnosis is nothing more than one person's opinion of one's self -- an opinion that is not backed up by an appropriate degree or license, and which ranks alongside other self-referential opinions like "I am psychic", "I am an otherkind", and "I am a space-alien/human hybrid".

[/opinion]

Or one can take the viewpoint that if it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, that there's a decent chance...it's actually a duck!

I'm fortunate that I live in Canada where for the most part the cost of obtaining a formal diagnosis, to answer one's question of am I autistic or not, is a non-issue. And I don't want to get into a side discussion on the (in)efficiency and (in)effectivness of the US Healthcare system. Harvard U already clearly demonstrated where the US Healthcare system ranks relative to its peers in the developed world (Google it).

Anyhow, in my humble opinion, the whole debate on the topic of formal diagnosis relative to self-diagnosis as it pertains to participation in this online community reminds me of the old philosophical arguement of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin --> largely irrelevant.

So what? People also form or seek communities based on identifying themselves as psychic, or otherkind, or alien/human hybrids, and they have every right to do so.

What makes you think your opinion is relevant to this thread?

Seems to be an implication that anyone who doesn't have an official diagnosis is merely a fraud, IMO.

I don't agree with that and think it's not conducive towards creating an inclusive environment here. I do appreciate that Alex posted in the other thread supporting those who don't have an official diagnosis yet, or at least saying they are welcome here.

I think Alex also said something along the lines that discounting personal experiences is not a good idea here.

Or... like, "I was born on the Wrong Planet?"

This is a bit of a pet peeve of mine as well.

Self diagnosed via reading books/online & cross referencing to my entire lifetime's experiences & memories. I could schedule an appointment and get an official diagnosis completely paid for by taxpayers. But I don't need one to know what I know about myself. Further, I don't want the stigma of one and what it could do to my future career.

Also, I don't know if I would qualify for a diagnosis now that my symptoms are so well under control. I may not exhibit clinically significant symptoms any more. But I could if I wanted to prepare for it - all I'd have to do is take a strong course of antibiotics to alter my intestinal flora & change my diet for a couple weeks and boom, symptoms would be back.

Which leads me to why it's annoying to here the self diagnosis discounters & doubters here. Several people have used my self diagnosis as a reason to discount what I've had to share about how I've managed to successfully treat myself via diet, herbal detox, medicinal foods, supplements & probiotics. Apparently me being self diagnosed somehow means I'm lying about how big of a difference in symptoms and my life this treatment protocol has made. Whatever, whoever has an open enough mind can learn and benefit from what I've shared and whoever would like to ignore it is free to do so, too.

I think this forum is accepting of self-diagnosis. To my knowledge no one has been refused membership or kicked off because they don't have an official diagnosis.
The majority of members are accepting and frankly, I don't give a damn if a very small minority of people here aren't.
I would hate to see anyone leave this forum, especially members who have contributed so much useful and interesting information such as yourself.

Thank you I appreciate that. I'm not planning to leave though. I would like to have another place to discuss things where there is no debate or criticism going on (or mockery or ridicule for that matter).

So again, does anyone know if/where such a group exists?

Considering the number of stories of bad psychiatrist and psychologist when it comes to diagnosing Asperger's it doesn't appear that many of the "professionals" are apt at diagnosing Autism.

I had a psychologist who worked specifically with children with social issues especially Autism, but what if you can't find or afford one?

You keep talking about this supposed 'mockery' or 'ridicule' and yet are seemingly blind to your own derogatory language.

I care more about hypocrisy than I do about whether you are self-diagnosed or not. Frankly I can't pretend I would miss you if you left WP in the slightest. Just as I'm sure you wouldn't shed a single tear if I left.

EDIT: Just realised, with my revelation in Ezra's thread, I've set myself up to be shot like a fish in a barrel. Oh well. Perhaps the charge of hyprocrisy is too harsh in this instance. But still, I do find you to be intolerant and apparently not incredibly self-aware. But you probably think the same about me, so whatever: we're equal.

No, you just invest far too much faith in "expert opinion." There are some practices that don't even perform any sort of empirical tests. There are many psychiatrists who start writing a prescription for haloperidol, which can make some people very sick, or some popular, heavily marketed drug before they're halfway through the door.

"Free-for-all" is the status quo in the field of psychiatry. Declaring it to be a free-for-all merely prepares us for that fact. People with autism or family members with autism need to exercise a high level of autonomy and self-help. It is not an aspiration or a goal, but it is a fact of our existence.

Last edited by Persimmonpudding on 02 Dec 2014, 10:53 am, edited 1 time in total.

It is better to have faith in formally-educated experts than in self-taught amateurs, since the opinions of the experts are more likely to be correct than those of the amateurs.

More experts --> Greater accuracy

More amateurs --> Greater risk

It's just that simple.

"Amateurs" can't write themselves prescriptions for haloperidol that result in them being sent to the ER on an ambulance truck, which is what happened to me after trusting my health to a cut-rate psychiatrist.

Again, "free-for-all" is the status quo, and pretending it to be otherwise is reckless.

You have no idea about how much faith I actually invest in "expert opinion". It depends on many different factors how much "faith" I have. You perhaps assume I've never had any bad experiences with doctors or medications, when I have had numerous bad experiences with both.

Actually this entire self-diagnosis debate reminds me of a phenomenon I have seen on the IBD boards I post on, where people who have become disillusioned with western medicine turn to alternative medicine instead. It is not uncommon to see these people bash on conventional doctors and treatments (sometimes with justification), but believe everything that they read on alt health blogs or what their "naturalist" doctor tells them.

Or to put it a bit more simply: in rejecting one paradigm of treatment and uncritically adopting another, they're throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

The only difference is that most of these people do already have a diagnosis of UC or Crohn's. (Although there are a few cases where I think it's a grey area, eg the person could have had colitis, but not necessarily UC.) However, I think their attitude of "I know better than the experts" are similar to the self-diagnosed on WP, tbh.

I don't sense that most people who are "self-diagnosed" believe they "know better than the experts."

It could be more like: why don't the experts listen to the viewpoint of the diagnosee, rather than just rattle off, in their minds, the specifications of the particular DSM V section during the diagnostic process.

Also: there is always the matter of costs--many self-diagnosees really can't afford the assessment--it's usually costs more than their net monthly income.