So I have been thinking about this for a while. I Am quite sure, that I am somewhere on the spectrum. Im not sure if Its autism or ADHD or somewhere between. I do observe quite a lot of behaviours in myself that regularly get associated with neuroduvergent people (example: I constantly observe different people to analysis how they act in “social interactions” (or other stuff too), because I kind if don’t know what society expects as social norms (etc.)).
Logically the next step would be to go to a psychologist and get tested for neurodivergency. The thing is, that I seriously do not see the use in doing so. I know all the different quirks I have quite good and how to deal with them. I also wouldn’t say, that they cause any sort of “day to day problems” for myself. Why should I invest the effort to search for a psychologist (I really should do that, but thats for this shitload of other problems I have) to get tested just so that I have a piece of paper that does not change anything in my day to day life.
Being told I’m on the spectrum, by a medical person was like.
Oh
I’m not a weirdo for no reason. I’m not being picky because I can’t stand certain fabrics. I’m not being an asshole (…debateable) for being overstimulated without words to explain it. Those other children were being dicks to me, it wasn’t just me being sensitive.
A relief. Not much of one, but I cling to it.
Depends on your country, I guess. If your country has additional benefits, rights or support to offer then you need an official diagnosis to access them. That’s the case over here in Sweden. If you’re American though then sure, I assume that part of healthcare and social security is completely absent.
Ultimately though yes, much like the definitions for personality disorders, the dividing line is generally whether it negatively impacts your day to day functioning. If you don’t feel any negative impacts on your life as a result of how you are then you don’t “need” a diagnosis.
It could still help you understand yourself better though.
You assume wrong. An Autism or ADHD diagnosis would make you subject to the rights inherent in the ADA. Meaning that you have a known disability and may be eligible for things like Medicare, or Medicaid, and SSI depending on your situation.
Additionally you are guaranteed certain accomodations in work or school by federal law.
America sucks healthcare wise and our system is definitely not remotely perfect when it comes to disabled people, but I really don’t like it when people just assume and put out bad information based on that assumption.
My bad, and I am happy to hear there is at least something even in the US. I have seen so many US posters on here express mostly negative sentiment towards the idea of a diagnosis that I assumed there were basically no benefits. I’m glad to learn that was wrong.
I think that we have a negative view of diagnosis because it’s been difficult to get for a lot of us, especially women and adults, and because of the current political regime and the likelihood of a diagnosis being used against us.
For Autism specifically, besides maybe therapy there’s not a lot of safety net style support for adults (there’s loads of programs for children though), and that further stimatizes things in the community.
Well then I guess I was only half wrong. Over here there are safety net type benefits, special accommodations and resources etc you have a right to even as an adult if you have a diagnosis.
It’s not that safety nets don’t exist for some. They just aren’t widely available. I’ll give you an example. My father is a Vietnam Vet. specifically a 100% disability Vietnam Vet who has a rating for being exposed to Agent Orange. Because my youngest brother has more severe autism and was diagnosed as a child and is diagnosed as having a more severe disability that makes him “helpless” in the eyes of the law, he qualifies for VA benefits through my father meaning that even when my father dies he will receive those benefits. That support system is not available to me even though I was diagnosed with ADHD as a kid (and autism as an adult). This is specifically because my “disabilities” aren’t considered to be debilitating and weren’t considered such since I was a child.
The system set up is just a hodge podge but it’s not non-existent.
This. Some countries (like Australia) do provide additional support services or allow you to access accommodations through your employer if you have a diagnosis.
Not sure if it’s wise in the US at the moment, though.
ADHD diagnosis helped me get meds and they have made a big difference for me.
Autism diagnosis makes it so you can request a GDB (Grad Der Behinderung) in Germany which gives you certain benefits. I didn’t make my autism diagnosis “official” with my healthcare provider tho as I am aware of potential stigmata regarding potential future fascist governments. Also I have heard some horror stories about autistic people being denied gender affirming surgery.
Depends entirely on how much you struggle. Diagnosis is useful for knowing what kind of help to get. If you don’t struggle, but only see some kind of behavior patterns that might occasionally cause problems, you can just try to address those individually.
I have a diagnosis for BPD, which was useful for getting treatment and ultimately, financial support. These days however I don’t agree with the diagnosis and rather think I’m somewhere in the BPD/C-PTSD/Autism neighborhood but I don’t really need a clinical diagnosis for any practical purposes.
These are all just words that people made up, that reflect a cluster of patterns with great variability between individuals. They’re not absolute truths. Just tools to help navigate whatever system one finds themselves in.
On most days, the piece of paper is just that; paper. But if you need medication, psychological counseling, or an accommodation for work or school, that piece of paper can be quite useful. On average, I feel like it is better to have it and not need it, rather than to need it and not have it.
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Nested parens? Yup, you’re on the spectrum.
So am I, didn’t realize until I was old. No need for me to get a diagnosis; I have also settled into my ways. I just understand them a bit better now, and I’m okay with “being who I am”. However, a lot of that came because my kids got diagnoses.
If you’re young(ish), and don’t have a solid clinical understanding of how autism can manifest, a diagnosis for you might be useful - but you can also acquire that additional information independently. Just make sure you’re researching at legitimate sources and not what randos on the internet say.
Nested parens? Yup, you’re on the spectrum.
That could also be because of me being a programmer /s
We already knew, you didn’t need to keep telling us. /s :)
Someone else also pointed out being able to get additional assistance or accomodations at work or school, and I wanted to strongly echo that. Didn’t come to mind for me because I’m way past that point.
If your “otherness” neither bothers/harms you nor the people around you, there is no need to treat it.
A formal diagnosis can help you get meds, which could help. But it won’t change how mustard tastes. It’s up to you.
Concentration camps. Probably.
WE still have some time until we reach that level again (in Germany), but we surely will get there.
Well, as a Slovenian, I never benefited from my diagnosis. I was just regularly subject to discrimination. This still continues into my highschool education and will probably continue throughout my whole life.
Talking to a psychologist might help you to understand yourself better and maybe help you develop strategies to cope better with certain situations. So it may well be worth it. If certainly not a silver bullet that will “cure” you, but it might be useful. Whether that’s worth the hassle to you, is entirely your decision.
There also exist mental problems like being a dismissive avoidant(DA) attachment that can masquerade as autism, so making sure that it is not something else that can be treated away can be beneficial, you might even be a DA and have autism. So getting the DA treated would most likely help you in every day life
I also wouldn’t say, that they cause any sort of “day to day problems” for myself.
Well then you wouldn’t qualify a diagnosis. A competent diagnostician would say that you do not have ADHD or Autism. You may have some neurodivergent tendencies without being categorically classified into one of the diagnostically-labelled neurotypes.
But I guess your question is why to do it at all? Getting a diagnosis helped me focus on exactly where to put my efforts toward managing my life. Very worth it for me. Suspecting I was autistic was all well and good, but the idea that ‘maybe I wasn’t’ was a bit of an obstacle to moving ahead with certain changes.
For me, it was access to “free” Medikinet (paid by mandatory health insurance)
