Self-diagnosis

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How do we feel about self-diagnosis?

It depends.

One cannot conceivably diagnose one’s self with cancer—but one could certainly diagnose one’s self with a broken leg.

(•) I have a medical diagnosis and feel that if someone suspects they have AS/ASD, then they should get a valid diagnosis from an appropriately-trained and licensed mental-health practitioner.

There's no problem with self-diagnosis, if you tell people you are self-diagnosed and not formally assessed.

I agree a formal diagnosis is best, but I also understand that some people don't have access to testing, or the means to make it happen, or else they choose not to be evaluated in a formal setting for personal reasons.

Sure, if a person slices their hand open, then it is a reasonable "diagnosis" that they have a laceration.

But for someone to declare that his or her emotional and mental problems are the result of AS/ASD, and expect that his or her diagnosis is as valid as that of an appropriately-trained and licensed mental-health practitioner is simply wrong.

Other neurological disorders can mimic some of the symptoms of AS/ASD, or even distort a person's perceptions enough to make them not only believe they they have an AS/ASD, but they may also believe that he or she is a space alien, Napoleon Bonaparte, a hologram, Mary the mother of Jesus, or even soul-bonded to an imaginary anime/manga character.

So leave the psych evals to the professionals, people!  You'll be far better off for it.

I was professionally diagnosed before I’d ever even heard the words “Asperger’s” or “autism.” I would say that if someone says they think they have autism/Asperger’s, or that they probably do, that seems to me like the right way to say one is self-diagnosed. There are a wide variety of people who are “self-diagnosed,” ranging from people who do tons of research and most of the symptoms seem to fit for them, to people who are just a little shy and a little “nerdy” and think that that means they have Asperger’s, so there’s not really a one-size-fits-all answer, to me. To me someone in or near the former category could say that they have autism/Asperger’s, but someone in the latter category actually probably doesn’t, and I find it a bit demeaning when people who really don’t have much trouble with day-to-day life due to their symptoms try to lump themselves in. That’s why I have to say I have autism (when I was diagnosed with Asperger’s) if I want anyone to have any clue how much it affects me. So, I guess I’m sort of in-between on that. Personally I would feel like I was lying if I said I did have autism if I wasn’t diagnosed, I’d feel like I had to use one of the qualifiers I mentioned. But someone who has spent a long time doing a lot of research probably knows as much as or more than the diagnosing psychiatrist would about what autism/Asperger’s are actually like (unless the psychiatrist specializes in ASDs), so again, I wouldn’t complain if someone like that wanted to drop the qualifiers and just say that they have autism/Asperger’s.

Oh, look, yet another longer-than-necessary rambling post from dragonsanddemons, what a surprise

If you weren’t being ironic.....I didn’t find that post “longer than necessary.”

I was poking a little fun at myself because I’ve noticed recently that my posts seem particularly long. I guess I just think too much about things and type my thoughts as I have them. These days, my posts probably end up about half as long as they were before I read them again several times (before posting) and try to remove irrelevant rambling

The problem with "self-diagnosis" of something as complex as autism is that it's not an actual diagnosis. A proper autism diagnosis requires an evaluation with outside observation, and there is no way to give oneself a neuropsych evaluation.

In addition, "self-diagnosis" offer precisely zero of the benefits provided by a real diagnosis. That fact suggests an ulterior motivation for self-diagnoses of autism. And that is a major reason why self-diagnoses ought not to be trusted: unknown but likely bias.

Of course an official dx trumps self diagnosis , but I have little time for anyone born when it was much easier to get an early dx criticising older people for self diagnosing .

I have autism, indefinitely, but no one sees that. They just see the borderline personality.

As a late-diagnosed woman, I have sympathy for other mature women who strongly suspect themselves to be autistic but have not been able to get a diagnosis because their behaviour/presentation is too dissimilar to that of autistic children or males, upon whom the diagnostic criteria were typically based. I feel myself very fortunate in having found an autism specialist who knew enough to diagnose me, and have no problem with those less fortunate identifying as self-diagnosed.
Even if the person self-diagnosing has got it wrong, it's not as if self-diagnosis will gain them any benefit, is it? One needs a formal diagnosis to gain any kind of formal assistance.
But it can certainly help them feel accepted into the autistic tribe, which is priceless in its own way for the lonely and misunderstood probable-autist.
Plus the formal diagnostic process is not exactly fool-proof either, and historically in Aus it varied from place to place and by practitioner. They've tried to standardise it recently, but there are still people floating around with an incorrect autism diagnosis - so even the experts don't always get it right.
While I'd be cautious around a youngster claiming self-diagnosis, a mature adult who knows themselves and their difficulties and has read up about autism is likely to get it right.

I disagree.
The answer for "what's been wrong with me for my all life?", if correct, is really useful, no matter who provides it.
Also, if incorrect, the answer can be even more harmful when provided by a highly regarded professional.
Of course, a specialist has a greater chance to provide the correct answer... but I've been misdiagnosed and it's hell.

BPD I came across before autism and still consider it likely, I also know that I'll never get a professional to diagnose it as they don't care about it unless it's causing threatening behaviour. Though I don't think my signs of BPD come across without getting to really know me and that's rare to happen.

As for ASD, I believe self diagnosis is important but they have to have gave it serious research, same for anything self diagnosed. Without self diagnosis, a professional one would never happen as it's not actively looked for at any point in the system/ society that exists (assuming it has some masking). Even then the wait and effort required shows that the care really isn't there and still have to decide for a long time for yourself if you want to use the self diagnosis.

Practically the dx has made little difference . IMO that's not surprising given my age and the lack of support for adults . Too much water has gone under the bridge to make much practical difference.

Emotionally/mentally it's made more difference . It confirms I wasn't totally crazy in thinking there was more going on than just the severe mental illness . That although I was negatively labelled for seeking better care and support, I was in fact right for doing so .

I am self-diagnosed and I support self-diagnosis*

I highly disagree. I've spent the last two decades trying to solve the mystery of "what's wrong with me". I've tried on various diagnoses, some of them offered by professionals, none of which ever quite fitted. Autism fits. It is a huge relief to know that there is nothing wrong with me, that I am not a defective human being. Thanks to my self-diagnosis, I've learned to drop the self-hatred and love myself again which has made such a huge change to my overall happiness. I don't think there can be any greater benefit than that, for me at least.

Why do I choose not to pursue an official diagnosis? Beyond external validation, an official diagnosis would not offer me any additional benefits as far as I know. Even if there were help/resources available, I don't need them (at the moment anyway). If things change radically in the future, perhaps I'll reconsider. But for the time being, I don't feel the need to subject myself to the anxiety and frustration of seeking an official diagnosis.

Having said all that, I am wary about (other) self-diagnosers. I can't know if they've done as much research on the topic as I have, how strong their cases actually are. But it would be extremely hypocritical of me to not support them, so I guess I'll settle on accepting self-diagnoses if they can present enough evidence for their case.