Why does everyone say "we can't diagnose you here"?

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Before people give me the obvious answer, "Because we can't", I just want to clarify that's not actually what I mean to ask, the subject line is just too small to fit my full question. Basically, I feel like that's stating the obvious, and is therefore not really helpful to someone coming on WrongPlanet looking for answers. I can at least say that personally when I first joined WrongPlanet, it was not helpful to me at all, because I wasn't looking for a diagnosis here to begin with; but at the same time, I didn't want to go straight from doing research on the internet (by myself with no outside opinion whatsoever), to walking into a psychologist's office asking for a full psychological evaluation. I just wanted to get some feedback from a group of people who will truly understand what I'm talking about, rather than someplace like Yahoo Answers, or anywhere else on the internet, which is full of people who think they know a thing or two about autism but clearly do not. I've actually seen people that tell the OP, "There's no way you can be autistic. How could you be writing this question here?" me: ...yeah, not very knowledgeable on the subject. And I certainly wasn't going to ask anybody in person about it, so this seemed like the best place to go.

Anyway, the reason I feel the need to post this is because I feel like some people might see an answer like, "We can't diagnose you, only a professional can do so," as the person basically saying, "Why are you asking us? Go get a real diagnosis first." I don't think anyone, or at least a great majority of the people here, would actually mean it that way, but I think some people can get that feeling, and I think it's kind of pointless to say anyway.

I just wanted to say, when someone is coming on here and listing traits they feel align with autism traits etc., an answer like, "We can't diagnose you," although true, is not very helpful and might even be detrimental, at least by itself. Personally I would never say that in response to someone's post, unless either A: they were specifically asking about the over-the-internet diagnostic capabilities of WP members, or B: if I was just stating it as a formality before or after a more in-depth response to their post (I'm not sure I'd even do that). And as far as I can tell, nobody has ever come on here asking about A.

I'm wondering what other people think about this, why it is important to say that. I find it a little annoying to be honest, like the person saying it is insulting the OP's intelligence. I just think there's no reason to say it, and it kind of makes it sound like someone without a diagnosis is not fully welcome. What I think most people are really looking for when they come here is a place where they can make some real human connection with people who actually understand their struggles, which honestly wouldn't even apply to autism exclusively anyway, considering how many people here have comorbids or other mental disorders entirely.

That response is typically given to those asking on their first post "am I autistic?". These threads do come up a lot and I think people are just tired of people listing autistic symptoms they have and don't have and asking whether or not it makes them autistic.

However, it is rarely "we can't diagnose you" by itself. You also get replies like "well based off this there is a chance so you might benefit from a diagnosis" or "this does sound more like (another disorder) but I can't be certain".

People say it because there sometimes is an expectation of a diagnosis from new members. Quite a large amount are people who joined after suspecting autism hence the large amount of this type of thread.

Not all new members do this though. Many will "lurk" before posting and see that many are fed up of all these new threads and instead think a sticky about this would be of benefit.

If it is out of the blue "we can't diagnose you" about something that wasn't even asking about it then yeah, but these replies are to people who do expect a diagnosis usually.

Well said, OP. I absolutely agree with you. I've been feeling exactly the same. I don't think anyone would seriously think they can get an official diagnosis on WP.

I think the "we can't diagnose you here" answer is usually intended to be unkind. Probably some people may simply be annoyed by such threads that keep springing up all the time and answer them unkindly.

Then why do they ask for a diagnosis?

There is no such intent on my part. It is not unkind to tell the truth.

As for me, I am more concerned that people will harm themselves over an invalid diagnosis, or that they may actually have some other disorder that goes untreated because they only believe that they have an ASD.

I am going to keep responding to these requests for diagnosis the same way that I have been.

Honestly, I think it has to do with liability issues. Kinda stupid, if you ask me.

There is that, too. If unqualified members here started issuing diagnoses without ever seeing their "patients", there could be a legal liability issue -- it is possible that someone could sue Alex (the owner of this website), the member making the diagnosis, and anyone else involved.

So what if some kid's parent sue Alex because their kid hung himself over being told that he has autism? Think of the pain and suffering the victim and his or her family went through. Think of all of the adverse publicity. Think of how institutions like Autism Speaks would react. Think of what would happen if WrongPlanet was shut down because some members pretended to be qualified to give a medical diagnosis.

If you mean asking for a diagnosis from a collection of amateurs in an on-line community, then 'Yes'. If you mean someone giving a diagnosis because he or she is under the false belief that he or she is qualified to do so, then 'Certainly'. But if you are referring to medical liability laws, then 'No' -- they exist to protect people from receiving bad diagnoses and treatments.

Last edited by Fnord on 12 Jul 2015, 5:54 am, edited 1 time in total.

Have you actually seen people saying, "Can someone here diagnose me with autism?" I think it may sound a little like that sometimes, but unless they don't understand what a medical diagnosis is, they wouldn't be looking for that on an internet forum. In the event that someone is literally outright asking for a diagnosis, then yeah, it would be appropriate to give them the facts, but I have never seen anyone do that for any type of disorder on the internet.

No, I don't think most people who say it mean to be unkind, but people might take it that way. What I'm saying is, unless there actually is a good reason to state this fact, which I don't believe there is outside of the situation I stated above, it really shouldn't be said.

I really don't think that anyone has ever decided that a "diagnosis" from a WP member was enough for them to decide they have autism. Saying it's possible or even somewhat likely isn't the same as a professional diagnosis, and I think anyone who thinks about this enough to take the effort to come on here and ask about it knows that fact. Even if on my introduction thread people had told me, "Oh yes, you have my certification that you indeed have autism," I wouldn't take that as a diagnosis.

Yes. I have actually seen those words, in that order, on this website.

I have also seen, "Do I have autism?", "Please tell me if I have autism", and similar things, all of which indicate that the person is looking for a diagnosis where none should be given.

But if you want to pretend that you know what you're doing, then I hope you have a good lawyer (Alex, too).

If that was really an issue though, I would think it would be included in the terms, right? Or at the very least it would be listed as a forum rule somewhere.

Wouldn't Alex know if that was an issue then? I would think he's either already addressed the issue in the terms somewhere and therefore has no reason to worry about it, or he has no reason to worry about it because there is literally nobody on WrongPlanet issuing diagnoses to newcomers (I think it's the second one). I'm not advocating telling people that they definitely have autism; that's stupid for obvious reasons and I have never seen nor heard about anyone here doing that. Of the two I'd definitely prefer that people say, "We can't diagnose", but why do we feel the need to say that? Unless they really don't seem to understand that fact what's the point?

I don't recall seeing anyone here claim that they can make a diagnosis on another member, and that if they deem the enquirer to be on the spectrum, it's "gospel" and set in stone.

The question may be asked, but I've haven't noticed anyone respond by pretending to be a professional diagnostician, around WP, though obviously I haven't been here for years or enough time to see everything that happens.

Alright, well in that case (like I said in my original post), yeah, tell them it's not possible to diagnose here. I mean, I still don't think the people who post those questions are literally wanting a WP-certified diagnosis, maybe they're just wording their question poorly. In that case I would just base it on what they say after that to determine whether or not they really think someone here can definitively say either way, and if they do then yeah, totally appropriate. That's not really what I'm talking about though. I'm talking about the people who are speculating. It is the response I see on almost every post like this, regardless of whether or not they seem like they're looking here for a definitive answer or not.

And I'm no lawyer, but I highly doubt that Alex could get sued over one user making a stupid comment, especially when I'm sure somebody here would call them out on it (I know I would if I saw it happening). And anyway, who the heck is on here claiming to be able to make internet diagnoses? How many people have you seen try to do this, and of those people how many got away with it?

And what do you mean "pretend to know what you're doing"? What am I doing? It seems like you think what I'm saying is, "Hey everyone, let's just tell everyone they definitely have autism so they won't feel sad!" Not even close to what I'm saying.

I think Alex and I will be fine without a good lawyer, but I appreciate the concern.

I think that many people who come here and immediately ask WP members to evaluate whether the OP has autism do not see a difference between "medically-relevant, professionally-evaluated diagnosis" and "opinions of people who live with autism and know about what it looks like." Obviously, when you (the OP) came here, you knew the differences and that is great. But a lot of people don't do even research to realize the differences between professional and amateur diagnoses; a lot of people don't want to go to a professional to get a professional diagnosis, but they want a firmer diagnosis than an online test can give, and they think they can get it from us. The problem is that we can't learn enough about a person from what they type out, so no, we can't give them what they're looking for.

There is at least one member here with an "internet diagnosis" - a diagnosis via skype. So they are possible. I know this isn't about that but still.

Well, the simple answer you gave is why. We can't. But I don't think there's a person on this earth that's going to call themselves autistic because a stranger on the internet said they are, I think we're getting too wrapped up with the politically correct term of "asking for a diagnosis on a forum" for stated reasons. I've never seen anyone ask a member for an offical diagnosis nor have I seen one claiming they can offer one, to debate it is a waste of everyone's time.

But, that's just it - we can offer insight, but we can't tell someone even if they might have it just based off what they read on a computer. I've read fnord's posts for years and I couldn't tell him if he had it or not, so it's not just not being able to tell from a few paragraphs. I'd need to be exposed to someone in person for some time to know, and I think that's true for most people.

The other point is we can't diagnose because the majority of people just google search their social anxiety and stumble upon wikipedia's article. They look at themselves, say they're awkward and smart in some subject vs others, and are quick to diagnose themselves, when there's so very much factors to play in.

I just did some searching. I didn't find any posts that were literally asking for someone to diagnose them here, nor did I find any with people claiming they could do so. I did find some where people did share their opinion that yes, the person has autism. I agree it's not entirely appropriate to say it like that, because it sounds too certain, but it is still just an opinion, and nobody would have a case in court based on that, assuming an individual, who just found a helpful and accepting community of people like them, for some odd reason committed suicide as a result. They are not actually claiming it to be a diagnosis.

Now, what if someone came on here, and instead of getting a helpful answer, got something like, "We can't diagnose you on the internet. Sorry, we can't help you."? I think that's far more likely to result in an individual committing suicide than what Fnord is suggesting. They came here looking for some help, some insight, some human connection, and instead got blown off and dismissed.

We can't diagnose. But there are still a lot of things we CAN do, which are really even more important than the diagnosis in some ways. Which would you rather have: an accepting community of people like you, where you can go for advice on personal matters and such, or a piece of paper from a doctor? Hm, tough choice.

I'm sorry but no. If someone does kill themselves after reading that I wouldn't say that's the reason, not at all. Clearly there was a lot more in their life than suspected autism, wouldn't you think? People don't just, on a whim, decide "oh I think I will die today".