Self Diagnosis

I wanted to talk about self-diagnosis within autism. Within the autistic community, this is widely accepted for a variety of reasons and is just as valid as a professional diagnosis.

An autism diagnosis is not accessible. Most research for autism is done on young white individuals who were assigned male at birth. This skews the data as autism presents very differently in people assigned female at birth and people of color. The DSM-5 is not an accurate reflection of this very complex neurotype.

An autism diagnosis also is very expensive and takes a lot of time, something many people don’t have.

It is not a new trend that more people are coming out as autistic. More people are finding a community of people that understand them. No was wants to be autistic. We all just want support and accommodation.

All of this is to say that you are valid. Self-diagnosed or not. You are the expert of your own mind.

If you suspect you’re autistic, don’t feel pressured to get a professional diagnosis. Do your individual research, talk to your treatment team, find things that help you, and love yourself.