I’ve been internet-diagnosed with autism plenty of times, but the one time I went to get evaluated, they said I didn’t have “it.”
But if it’s a spectrum with different combinations of different traits at different levels of intensity, maybe a diagnosis is irrelevant and what matters is what your constellation of traits actually is, regardless of an official diagnosis (which, let’s face it, is probably highly subjective outside of some constellations–that is to say, with a long enough list of psychologits, I could probably get a dx).
Personally, for me, what this means is I can look to autistic literature to see what resonates with me without worrying about the fact that I don’t share many of the hard markers for autism. For instance, my investment in the truth often conflicts with social niceties even though I can read people’s emotions. I can see myself as an unofficially atypical person in a lot of ways.
I’ll leave my resonsances in the comments below. Feel free to share yours.
My diagnosis cost $3,600 in Canada where we apparently have universal health care because I couldn’t wait any longer. There was a wait list for that too, but just a few months.
I had been on a waiting list for a psychiatrist to who may or may not have been able to diagnose, we hadn’t even gotten that far in terms of discussion. I didn’t hear for a year so I called the clinic to ask and I got told that the doctor had left that clinic and gone to another so I was not in any waiting list and could expect another 16 months before anyone could see me. They said they told my GP’s office but my GP says he had nothing on file so if I hadn’t called I would never have known.
This is not to diminish your experiences, but to share how my individual privilege was used above the privilege I have living where I do.