I also want to just add that if anyone is by chance offended that I am insinuating they may have misdiagnosed themselves-- good, because I’m not insinuating it, I am betting on it. And as I have hopefully made painfully clear, I am immovably confident in my stance on self-diagnoses particularly as it relates to ASD. I am open to further discussion surrounding this, but I will never yield this position because, quite simply, you cannot reduce what I have experienced in life to something you think you have. I am telling you now, and I very much do not want to elaborate, anyone who says today they may have undiagnosed ASD would not want to have been diagnosed with ASD as a kid. It was not helpful, it was not fun, it did irreparable harm. Please, just trust me when I say you do not know this brand of hell.
I am an autistic male. They used to sterilize us. The term schizoid literally refers to us. It wasn’t until 1963 that they stopped putting us in mental institutions. Even then, it was still easy to become ward of the state. Medicaid, social security, and charity are the only things keeping adults like my little brother from being unsustainable in a home environment. They used to live in fear of having autism. Fetuses were terminated as a result of speculative diagnoses.
By self diagnosing yourself, you are reducing decades of unimaginable personal suffering among untold individuals and families across the nation to equate to your quirks.
So please, do not diminish this blight on our country’s mental health record, or it stands to be forgotten. And I am sorry for the wake-up call.
I also want to just add that if anyone is by chance offended that I am insinuating they may have misdiagnosed themselves-- good, because I’m not insinuating it, I am betting on it. And as I have hopefully made painfully clear, I am immovably confident in my stance on self-diagnoses particularly as it relates to ASD. I am open to further discussion surrounding this, but I will never yield this position because, quite simply, you cannot reduce what I have experienced in life to something you think you have. I am telling you now, and I very much do not want to elaborate, anyone who says today they may have undiagnosed ASD would not want to have been diagnosed with ASD as a kid. It was not helpful, it was not fun, it did irreparable harm. Please, just trust me when I say you do not know this brand of hell.
I am an autistic male. They used to sterilize us. The term schizoid literally refers to us. It wasn’t until 1963 that they stopped putting us in mental institutions. Even then, it was still easy to become ward of the state. Medicaid, social security, and charity are the only things keeping adults like my little brother from being unsustainable in a home environment. They used to live in fear of having autism. Fetuses were terminated as a result of speculative diagnoses.
By self diagnosing yourself, you are reducing decades of unimaginable personal suffering among untold individuals and families across the nation to equate to your quirks.
So please, do not diminish this blight on our country’s mental health record, or it stands to be forgotten. And I am sorry for the wake-up call.