Diagnosing autism.........?!

[The Autistic Warrior]

Hello, I am a young man of 21 years old from the Netherlands and I would like to tell other people how I feel about an autism diagnosis:
It should be banned! For an autistic person to diagnose his or her autism is a hallmark of an anti-autism society. What is so acceptable and positive about the fact that autism should be diagnosed? If autism is supposed to be accepted, what does diagnosing mean? What do we want with such a diagnosis? More clarity or something? Why actually? So that people who are annoyed by autistic characteristics can get an explanation for it? If autism is supposed to be accepted, why should we even be annoyed by autistic characteristics and find an explanation for them?
If diagnosing being gay is seen as hatred of gays, why is diagnosing being autistic not hating autistic people?
I think we autistics should fight against the fact that autism is still being diagnosed today!

 

[Thinx]

Good point. People could be helped with any issues or problems they have without having a diagnosis of autism. Neurotypical people aren't diagnosed as such. I was not diagnosed, but I would have liked to have known I was ASD1 neurodivergent because it would have helped me understand myself better, and to know why making friends and being social was different for me. But being diagnosed with it implies a problem and attracts stigma - because it implies it's a medical problem rather than a difference, I mean.

 

[Atrapa Almas]

Because autists do share common dificulties and there are proven strategies to help them.

Augmented comunication systems, noise canceling earphones, establishing routines, understanding black and white thinking, masking strategies like looking to places close to the other person eyes, practicing understanding emotions from face pictures, understanding how to deal with burnouts...

The list goes and goes, its extremely good that childs are diagnosed soon so they can get understood by their NT familiars and friends.

A lot of the therapy goes to train parents in how to understand and accept their autists kids.

 

[Luca]

If diagnosing being gay is seen as hatred of gays, why is diagnosing being autistic not hating autistic people?

I am both autistic and LGBTQ+. I have felt equally offended by people saying "You're gay" and "You're autistic" to me because it feels like criticism and I know it isn't usually meant in a complimentary way. I was also bullied about both of those things for my entire life.

In some ways, like Atrapa Almas said, having a diagnosis can actually be helpful for some people. I don't think my everyday life would've been super different if I wasn't diagnosed, but at least now I know why I'm different, and I can connect with other people like me. If I was never diagnosed, I probably wouldn't have come across this forum and other supports.
But yes, I wish there was more emphasis on acceptance and understanding rather than "treatment."

 

[Au Naturel]

Hello, I am a young man of 21 years old from the Netherlands and I would like to tell other people how I feel about an autism diagnosis:
It should be banned! For an autistic person to diagnose his or her autism is a hallmark of an anti-autism society. What is so acceptable and positive about the fact that autism should be diagnosed? If autism is supposed to be accepted, what does diagnosing mean? What do we want with such a diagnosis? More clarity or something? Why actually? So that people who are annoyed by autistic characteristics can get an explanation for it? If autism is supposed to be accepted, why should we even be annoyed by autistic characteristics and find an explanation for them?
If diagnosing being gay is seen as hatred of gays, why is diagnosing being autistic not hating autistic people?
I think we autistics should fight against the fact that autism is still being diagnosed today!

Women have been "diagnosing" men as gay for as long as there have been women and men who are gay. Hate has nothing to do with it. The diagnosis has both explanatory and predictive value. Self-knowledge is also important.

You are preoccupied with hate.

 

[LadyS]

Why is diagnosing being autistic not hating autistic people?

I think it's more of a scientific attempt at understanding an outlying difference. If autism wasn't a smaller subset of the population then my guess is it probably wouldn't need to be "diagnosed". "Hate" comes more from the fear of difference in the unknown, a tribilistic part of human nature and to combat that misinterpretation maybe a diagnosis is needed as a first step? Though I agree that a "diagnosis" is a less palpable concept. Maybe, "identify" is better? I do think we are heading towards the no longer needing to treat as a treated medical condition for many of us. Just needs more time and understanding.

 

[Thinx]

Just to clarify for some who have responded. My understanding of what this OP is saying is, that he proudly identifies as autistic but feels that it is a difference rather than a medical condition. He drew a comparison with being gay, as the state of being gay was treated as an illness up until the 60s, and people were made to have hormone treatments for it. They also offered conversion therapies to try to persuade people they were not gay, and searched for a gay gene. Whilst there are are differences in the 2 issues, I would say there are also some striking similarities.

I think the issue he is particularly drawing attention to is that of how stigma encourages self-hate, and lowers people's self-esteem. We see plenty of that here. Identifying brain differences is different from giving a diagnosis. Especially if done in a positive way. That is not the current process, however.

 

[Mr. Stevens]

I definitely agree that the idea of diagnosis can bring problems. It's not fun being viewed in pathological terms. Also, the more specific the diagnosis, the more effective it is, which means we're not always seen as people first. Instead we are a problem requiring treatment, as others pointed out.

But, we are different, and societies are not designed for us. So we need some kind of recognition, and a diagnosis can then be helpful. It certainly allowed me to get work accommodations so I can be more effective.

I think the better impression we make, the more society will accept us. The more people see what we can do, the less they'll view us as scary, odd, weird, broken, etc. Even though many parents abort fetuses with Down Syndrome, I've met plenty of individuals with DS who are accepted and loved. So I don't think that's impossible for us. We can be recognized and accepted. Both are necessary.

I also did not mean that to imply that abortion is wrong or those parents aren't accepting and loving. Just that we can be accepted and seen in different ways.

 

[Au Naturel]

Just to clarify for some who have responded. My understanding of what this OP is saying is, that he proudly identifies as autistic but feels that it is a difference rather than a medical condition. He drew a comparison with being gay, as the state of being gay was treated as an illness up until the 60s, and people were made to have hormone treatments for it. They also offered conversion therapies to try to persuade people they were not gay, and searched for a gay gene. Whilst there are are differences in the 2 issues, I would say there are also some striking similarities.

I think the issue he is particularly drawing attention to is that of how stigma encourages self-hate, and lowers people's self-esteem. We see plenty of that here. Identifying brain differences is different from giving a diagnosis. Especially if done in a positive way. That is not the current process, however.

From my perspective, diagnosis isn't destiny.

There's no stigma attached to diagnosis if you don't tell anyone. Diagnosis helps you understand yourself better. Instead of randomly stumbling around while trying to find your way, if the diagnosis is accurate, you can start planning and working with it. You may even be able to access resources to help. If anything, diagnosis is the antidote to self-hate. You can stop blaming yourself for bad choices or laziness or sinfulness or anti-social whatever, which is how parents and teachers, and associates interpret behavior that irritates them.

Autism is not just a difference, like brown or blonde hair. It affects function. I have a package of traits that make it impossible to function as most people around me can. I'm not highly skilled enough in anything to overshadow that loss of function. The reality of life is that most people do not care that you have autism. Unless you tell them they don't even know. Certain traits within autism put you at a disadvantage. If socializing is important, I am at a huge disadvantage for several reasons. And that is a reality I have to accept, adjust to and compensate for. The world isn't going to change for me.

Life is a process of changing your environment when you can and adapting to it when you cannot.

 

[Thinx]

I agree that identifying that one has autism is useful, and can lead to positive progress and relief of puzzling issues.

However I don't agree that receiving a diagnosis of autism isn't stigmatising. It seems fairly evident that stigma affects us whether we tell people our diagnosis or not. People internalise stigma, for one thing, we internalise the stigma of being 'abnormal' it is not a simple choice to do so or not.

Most people who get diagnosed as young people can't choose not to tell others, they may have behaviours that mark them out as different, parents of course will know the diagnosis, probably other family members, plus they may be in specific groups or measures at school. The young person grows up knowing they are different and regarded by some as lesser. But having a different neurology is not the same as having a problem! Or it shouldn't be, and need not be. Perhaps it's time to get more aware of how this approach of medical diagnosis and labelling, affects people.

For ASD1/Aspergers, I think not having a medical diagnosis is preferable. Alongside improved knowledge of the condition, to allow it to be identified for anyone who is wondering. I spent many years in therapy groups as a younger person where part of the issues was social functioning challenges due to my different neurology. It should have been identified but wasn't due to the ignorance of the issue at that time.

But now we have young people who get named and shamed, aka diagnosed and some are actually incapacitated by that. Plus many are still taught to try to be neurotypical and mask behaviours that show non neurotypical feelings and experience , which is futile and unhelpful, plus disrespectful. This needs thinking through.