1.3 Navigating Autistic Self-Discovery Articles

When it comes to autism, specifically, a licensed practitioner is not *necessarily* better equipped to make an accurate diagnosis than an autistic individual themselves.

They *can* be... and often are... but they are not *always* better equipped.

And I want to explain why...

A research study was conducted on self diagnosed autistic adults and compared them to formally diagnosed autistic adults.

The study found that every manifestation of autism-related experiences that showed up for the formally diagnosed group... ALSO showed up for the self diagnosed group...

Saying "self-diagnosis isn't valid because everyone is claiming to be autistic after watching a single TikTok video" is as accurate as saying "formal diagnosis isn't valid because all practitioners are telling people they can't be autistic after meeting them for 5 minutes."

Yes, both happen. But it doesn't make either of them universally true...

There's a creator I follow and deeply respect who made a post about self-diagnosis that I disagree with.

The content of their post made a few points, which I will address individually in this post...

"I don't know who needs to hear this, but you're not autistic"

I've seen a shocking number of people starting posts and videos like this lately... including clinicians, which has been especially disheartening to see... and I think it's time we talk about it...

If you're self-diagnosed autistic this is for you…