I looked for a diagnosis. Called lots of providers and, in summary, they only providers that could accept me were expensive and lengthy. I don’t have light or sound sensitivity (which isn’t required) so I don’t need accommodations. I don’t have trama and have worked through most of my issues so I don’t need therapy. There’s objectively no benefit to getting a diagnosis for me other than claiming I have ASD. And there’s some negatives, especially if traveling abroad. So yeah, with that, I don’t want a professional diagnosis. I did lots of research and checked more than enough boxes in the DSM-5 to validate myself. Others’ validation isn’t worth a couple thousand dollars and hours of consultation over a year.
I was searching for why I am different and found that it had a name and there are other who have similar experiences that I can relate to. That’s good enough for me.
I get gatekeeping and that people may be spreading false information or making the community look bad. Call them out then. Otherwise, an educated self-diagnosis isn’t harming anyone. Let people be at peace with their sense of self.
I looked for a diagnosis. Called lots of providers and, in summary, they only providers that could accept me were expensive and lengthy. I don’t have light or sound sensitivity (which isn’t required) so I don’t need accommodations. I don’t have trama and have worked through most of my issues so I don’t need therapy. There’s objectively no benefit to getting a diagnosis for me other than claiming I have ASD. And there’s some negatives, especially if traveling abroad. So yeah, with that, I don’t want a professional diagnosis. I did lots of research and checked more than enough boxes in the DSM-5 to validate myself. Others’ validation isn’t worth a couple thousand dollars and hours of consultation over a year.
I was searching for why I am different and found that it had a name and there are other who have similar experiences that I can relate to. That’s good enough for me.
I get gatekeeping and that people may be spreading false information or making the community look bad. Call them out then. Otherwise, an educated self-diagnosis isn’t harming anyone. Let people be at peace with their sense of self.
What are these negatives you mentioned if traveling abroad?
Traveling isn’t much of an issue, but emigrating can be prevented to some places like Australia and New Zealand.