Is self-diagnosis okay/valid/a good thing?

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Did you understand what the diagnostician meant?

In the process of being diagnosed, some things the psychiatrist said made me realize that my perception was very flawed in some areas. It was very strange hearing him talk with my wife and realizing that they saw things and shared a perspective that I did not have.

This is how I see it. There are generally three categories (or reasons, I suppose) that people fall into when it comes to self-diagnosis:
a) They either cannot afford an official diagnosis or have not been able to convince a professional of their diagnosis. (It's not uncommon for women to have a harder time getting a diagnosis than men - the same also seems to be said for adults getting diagnoses versus children getting them.) Another possibility is not having access to someone who can diagnose them. I've learned from personal experience that you want someone who specifically works with those with ASDs and actually has knowledge dealing with ASD assessments.
b) They don't really care for the official diagnosis. This mainly seems to be common in those who are older and don't really need access to the services that a diagnosis can provide.
c) They're the typical type of internet goer that seems to self-identify with every single new disorder they hear about (seriously, have you guys seen tumblr?). I would call them hypochondriacs, but technically speaking, they wouldn't fit the diagnostic criteria.

I'm currently self-diagnosed, but will be getting assessed (hopefully) within a couple of months. As I noted before, everyone does not have easy access to a qualified professional worthy of diagnosing an ASD. I was only able to find one place that would diagnose teenagers over age 16; I was told at 18 that two of their psychologists felt that my concerns were definitely worth looking into for an assessment. I'm 19 now (just getting time to deal with this) so I'm not even sure if they'd diagnose me now. In my state, in most ways, you're legally an adult at 19 - not 18. This is one of the reasons I hope to be able to open an autism/neurological clinic to be able to provide assessments to patients of all ages relatively easily.

Actually, my interest in autism and me realizing that I fit the diagnostic criteria is what lead me to choose my primary major - psychology (and also for me to pursue a graduate certificate or Master's in ASDs and then on my PhD/med school). Thankfully, I'm at a school that has an autism lab (and an autism class), so I'm allowed to research that as my undergraduate thesis. Since I plan to study the biological bases of autism, hopefully some of my research (and others who are also researching similar things) can lead to a resolution of problems like this. If we can isolate differences in the brain, for example, we might be able to determine autism diagnoses from things like fMRIs. That's not to say that people still wouldn't diagnose though... that's just part of psychology and psychiatry considering unlike physical illnesses/disorders, there aren't many tests to determine whether someone actually has a psychological disorder. Most of these diagnoses are based simply off of a person's behavior. It's also important to note that because of the way diagnoses are given, having an officially documented diagnosis doesn't necessarily mean more (or hold more weight, I guess) than someone who self identifies as having autism. I've seen plenty of people on here alone doubt their official diagnoses, so that's proof enough.

I see both sides of the issue and I agree with both. I can't stand people who "self diagnose" with disorders they don't have. In fact, there are some semi-famous "autistic" individuals who are said to be lying about it.

EDIT: Forgot to add... I actually wrote a blog post about this when a classmate pissed me off about it.

Once again did not suggest it was defined primarily by intropspection, just that self reported symptoms and mental states is an important part of diagnoses much of the time. Disagree all you want but that was pointed out repeatedly when I was taking abnormal psychology courses.

I will ask this again because nobody answered this what is a person to do they decide they fit most of the traits and if legitimate diagnosis is unavailable to them?

Proceed on the assumption that the previous official diagnosis was correct because it was official even though deep down they believe it to be wrong?

If they have never had a diagnosis before proceed as NT?.

The day official diagnosis by people that have at least have a clue is readily available and official diagnosis produces tangible benefits for all age groups and genders is the day I become FNORD on this issue. Until then self-diagnosis, self identifying, proceeding as Autistic call it what you wantis the best and a legitimate workaround.

Widespread clueless and unavailblity and lack tangible benefits for many is the difference between Autism and most other conditions and why the usual answer could be hurtful here.

For right now I would advise anybody thinking about if they are autistic to stay as far away from Wrong Planet as possible.

I don't think it is remotely realistic to imagine benefits being available to people without an official diagnosis.

But It seems clear to me that the people who object to self diagnosis are just objecting to people saying "I am autistic" but have no issue with people saying "I suspect I am autistic" or "I think I am autistic" and no objection to people modifying their lives in the light of that knowledge.

Instead of advising people to stay away from wrong planet, why not tell people that there is a lot of good information and a good community here, but that they should know that this issue is real for a small number of vocal people and if they describe themselves as self-diagnosed or ask a question about self-diagnosis, they can expect to hear these points of view, among others.

If they can't make use of a resource unless it's perfect, life is going to be pretty hard.

All right, good luck in getting a toddler to answer 50 questions from the Aspie Quiz. What kind of input do you want exactly from a non-introspective, quite possibly non-verbal, child?



So you want a toddler to self-report their own symptoms and mental states? Again, good luck with that one.



Because there's no one-size-fits-all answer. If you're an adult, it's up to you what you do. You can proceed on a few assumptions:

- that you're weird but NT and forget all about autism
- that you suspect you have an ASD but aren't sure
- that you definitely, without a shadow of a doubt, have an ASD

I have zero issues with the middle category, so anybody who suspects they have autism but aren't sure are welcome by me on WP. I have a few issues with the last category, but they are also welcome by me on WP - well, sort of. Provided we don't end up rowing... <_<.

Also, just because official diagnosis is currently unavailable doesn't mean it always will be. If circumstances change, you may be able to obtain one at a later date.

This is only me:

Self-diagnosis can go correctly, but it can also go wrong, in my experience at a high rate relative to official diagnosis. I don't care if an individual decides to self-diagnose but I will never trust the general concept.

If I was interested in questioning an autistic person of their life experience I would be compelled to seek out those with an official diagnosis because of this. That does not mean I have anything against self-diagnosed individuals. Personally I don't trust unqualified people holding a gun, but that doesn't mean they won't be good at using it.



IMO I often want to say the opposite - that anybody thinking that they are autistic should stay away from WrongPlanet when it isn't as 'strict' (cbf finding a better word). There are way too many threads where a person may only be remotely autistic, yet are being somewhat cheered on by almost every person who posts in the thread to push for the diagnosis. The forum is heavily, heavily, heavily, heavily biased in favour of diagnosing ASD.

Also I admit I am biased myself because when I see somebody self-diagnosed with OCD when they obviously do not have it (not even slightly impairing), it makes me want to punch them out. It trivializes the disorder and transmogrifies it into a badge of identity, worn on the sleeve, paraded around etc.

going to bed if I wake up and somebody quoted me I will explain myself in about 18 hours.

But...in truth....and you could ask Alex for confirmation:

Wrong Planet is not just for people with Autism--it's for people who want to advance autistic people/advance autism research.

I don't think you even need to ask Alex.
There is a "parents" board and not all parents of autistic people are autistic.
There is a bipolar, tourettes, schizophernia and other psychological conditions board with 2,183 threads on it.

WP is not just for those with an ASD diagnosis. QED.

And then there is the "About Wrong Planet" text:


Seems more inclusive than exclusive. I think it's fair to say that someone who strongly suspects they are autistic has some neurological differences or psychological conditions, regardless of their official label. And they deserve exposure to your relentless positivity!

I believe this is where introspection is critical. It’s important to understand and accept who you are as an individual. It’s important to understand that it’s OK to be different. That it’s OK to be you. You don’t need a diagnosis (professional or otherwise) for this. Then, you need to identify the areas where you are “inside your comfort zone” and those where you are “outside your comfort zone”. And, then simply gravitate towards those situations where you are inside your zone and avoid those situations where you are outside your zone. Again, it’s OK to be different. It’s OK to be you.


I think WP fully supports this notion that it’s OK to be different. That it’s OK to be you.

O.k. I will go away then.. just the way you and FNORD want things to be. Because it works for you. I have been trying to understand how things can work for me, but apparently that is not possible. I will stand alone again. Goodbye...

You are all correct. I would need expert advice from an outside source. Since I cannot get any, that makes me far far different from all af you.

Go ahead and despise me, and all others like me. It is not a new concept. I'm out of here. Farewell.

So you want a toddler to self-report their own symptoms and mental states? Again, good luck with that one.


Obviously it depends on age...and ability of the patient to have introspection if they lack that ability then they aren't going to be able to use that as they wont get any, though I think efforts should be made as the individual grows older or in the case of a non-verbal individual I'd hope attempts at communication are made as I mentioned before some find other ways aside from talking in which case they might then be able to express a little more insight as to what is going on on the inside. I was thinking more adolecents/adults initially...but at the same time I knew something was wrong with me at the age of 10, suspected it much younger than that.

You're just being ridiculous, I do not think I ever implied the bolded part

That's what I said repeatedly, and you said that I lied, when I did not.

You seemed to be implying it had no place within official diagnoses initially...or lacked any significant importance, unless that is not what you meant.

I did not imply that, because I did not say that.
You made that up in your mind.

Then you said that none of the things I mentioned (behavior) defined autism, but that is inaccurate.
Autism is indeed defined by behaviors.

I think it's totally fine. Just take all the tests you can online by yourself and look up the criteria and research it as much as you can and look at all the periods of your life. Take the RAADS test and the BAP (Broad Autism Phenotype) test. You know yourself better than anyone. If you're female look at all the traits lists created by females, this is a research area that needs to be expanded so seek it out if you need to. When you answer test questions, look at all of the time periods in your life before answering, and remember that when you take the tests, answer the social questions mainly as though they are asking you about how you are with strangers. A lot of tests have this in the instructions.