#the diagnosis process

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

Why self-diagnosed autistics are valid

medical diagnosis can be expensive

humans are the experts on their own minds

family may prevent assessment

diagnosis criteria is a poor checklist of stereotypes

diagnosis criteria ignores gender, race, sexuality, culture & more

medical diagnosis confirms autism, but doesn't create it

discrimination within the medical profession may prevent diagnosis.

Assessment waiting lists often long

medical trauma may make assessment unfeasible

Neurodiverse Journeys

#self diagnosis #why it’s valid #I find it perfectly acceptable with doing the correct research #the diagnosis process can be complicated and sometimes not a very pleasant experience #i honestly think I had ADHD too but I have no idea if I am #actually autistic #self diagnosed adhd #neurodivergence #neurodiversity #actually neurodivergent #feel free to share/reblog #Neurodiverse Journeys (Facebook) #autism awareness month #autism acceptence month

[neurodivergenttales]

I wish people would stop expecting instant emotional reactions

When someone tells me something, whether that's upsetting news or happy news or anything in between, it takes me a while to process it

I need time on my own, away from other people's eyes and expectations, to think it through in my head, understand the consequences of it and what it actually means

People think that a lack of emotional reaction at the time means you are cold or uncaring, they don't realise that processing isn't a seconds-long process for everyone

For some people, processing can take minutes, hours, days, months, even years

Give people that time and don't judge people for not following the same emotional timescale as you

#neurodiverse stuff #actually autistic #autistic adult #autistic #actually autism #autism #asd #late diagnosis #late diagnosed autistic #neurodivergent #unmasking #unmasking autism #processing

[wheelie-sick]

ILY people who are continually wrong about their self diagnoses

being right about self diagnosis isn't what makes self diagnosis okay. it's a process, and you're learning. it takes time to find answers and just like doctors can be wrong in their suspicions so can you.

figuring out what condition you have is hard and I'm proud of you for taking steps towards finding the right answers. being wrong is okay and is even a valuable part of the process of ruling things out. sometimes it's not a horse, sometimes you're just a zebra, and you can't know you're a zebra without making sure you're not a horse first.

#this is about the diagnosis process for rare diseases but idc if other people relate to it #it's just a very frustrating process to suspect something so badly to the point your doctors agree #just for it to never be what you suspect #chronic illness #chronically ill #cripple punk #physical disability #physically disabled #cripplepunk

[bananonbinary]

as a certified Diagnosed Autist(TM) i cannot stress enough that i am not only pro- self-diagnosis, but also pretty anti- legal medical diagnosis. it is, at best, a cruel hoop we have to jump through so privileged people will deign to give us what we need. don't fucking do that shit unless you have to, it was disgustingly expensive, fucking humiliating, infantilizing, and dehumanizing, and would probably actively cause problems in my life if i didn't have some really good allistic (-passing) people in my corner and also wasn't so fucking disabled that it mostly doesn't matter.

literally get that diagnosis if you need it for job/school accessibility shit or SSI or whatever, and otherwise dont tell the government SHIT about yourself. there is zero good reason for them to want that information. that's between you and the people you want in your life.

#as a side note: this goes for gender too #dont fucking get a special marker on your passport or whatever #trying to get ssi has made me realize how deeply cruel the system is #never reveal any vulnerability you have unless it's absolutely necessary #do not do this stuff for validation the government is not your friend and you should seek emotional fulfillment elsewhere #hm this post turned out a lot angrier than i meant #guess i'm still mad about how awful the process was #it wasnt even long it was just. so *impersonal.* #this woman talked to me for two hours. went down a fairly bigoted checklist. #didnt ask me my own opinion on much of anything. and then declared a bunch of her impressions as if they hold weight just bc shes allistic #like how i have 'identity issues' (am trans and dont want a romantic partner) #and thats just. my permanent record of diagnosis! this two hour conversation with a stranger! she doesnt fucking know me #we paid like $500 for that

[nezoriy]

hello i made a niche meme

#tried to start the process of getting my trans diagnosis today #a woman on the reception was confused from who to who i am transitioning #accisental ally 👌 #trans #trans man #queer #transgender #lgbtq #trans memes

[thefrogdalorian]

Spent my day doing Hot Girl Things and reorganising my shelves and I'm so happy with this one!! Gorgeous gorgeous girls have a little shrine to Din Djarin in their bedrooms 🫢

#the steelbooks the bi lighting it's so !!!!!!! #i have so much stuff lol but collecting the tin can man sparks joy #din djarin #the mandalorian #collection #crying cos when i was going through the process of getting my diagnosis last year i kept thinking but what if i'm not #and then one look at my room and yeah.... no neurotypical explanation for me at all :D

[jojo-schmo]

More Schmojo!! And I decided to name her dark matter friend living in her bubble rod, “Beauregard.” >:3

Plus some doodles I thought of during work, and a lighthearted poke at myself lol.

#like the adhd I have irl they are not evil or broken. just something that coexists alongside me. #I can yell and scream at it to go away and get frustrated at its existence #or I can learn to understand and cooperate with it so we can draw strength from each other #…..or something. hahaha they’re not true personifications of my diagnosis or anything but it’s just something I consider #like talking to myself almost haha. my inner thought process. and how I sometimes feel like I have two different halves to my personality. #not like I’m two faced tho! #like…. I experience opposite extremes of emotions sometimes #-twirls hair- can’t help being a Gemini!! #ANYWAY here’s more directors commentary for you #again they are not personifications of my diagnosis. I will throw both versions of my sona aro #*around my head like jumping beans teehee #kirbysona #art #Kirby series

[absentlyabbie]

still shaking my head about that time my doctor and i were discussing how my Exhausted All the Fucking Time chronic illness had been getting gradually worse and i never had energy to do things

and he asked me "have you considered exercising more? that can increase energy"

to which i replied deadass staring him in the face "cool, sounds great, love to, but hey, doc. one question: with what energy do i do that"

and he just cringe-shrugged and changed the subject

#my dude you were my doc WHEN i went through the process to receive this diagnosis and you still didn't know a year later what that meant??? #laziness wears a lab coat #chronic illness #idiopathic hypersomnia

[trans-axolotl]

why is it so hard to find information about POTS that isn't either ableist nonsense from doctors or someone trying to scam me into buying their supplement. losing my mind

#personal #pots #it isn't really like. necessarily a new diagnosis for me #but it's been in limbo for a year where i was tenatively diagnosed last year and then they said #never mind and that it was just my ed. but finally got rediagnosed this week #and i guess i'm processing for the first time that this is chronic and isn't just like. going away #and trying to figure out how to adapt my life #chronic illness tag #im glad i already knew so many people who have POTS bc that has been helpful

[crimeronan]

I TESTED POSITIVE FOR LUPUS ANTIBODIES

#THIS IS AMAZING FUCKING NEWS LIKE IT SUCKS TO HAVE LUPUS BUT I THOUGHT ALL MY SCREENS WERE NEGATIVE #TURNS OUT THEY JUST HADNT PROCESSED ALL OF THE RESULTS YET #I CAN GET REAL EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE AND GET ON MAINTENANCE MEDICATION NOW #the specific antibody is generally either for lupus or mixed connective tissue disease or systemic sclerosis or a combo #my result was 80x the lowest normal range 10x the highest normal range. #because it's not 100% conclusive i'll have to see what diagnosis the rheumatologist gives me but regardless #this means i've tested positive for systemic disease and that steroid treatment makes the most sense regardless of my specific diagnosis #AAAAAAAAAAAA I FEEL LIKE I'M GONNA PASS OUT I'M SO EXCITED AND RELIEVED #i've really felt like i'm gonna die. like really really really.... #autoimmune tag

[heresiae]

me, before realizing what was going on and starting the diagnosis process: goddammit! I got distracted again. what's wrong with me!! and why I'm not understanding shit?! the argument is simple. why is everything confusing?

me, after the realization: adhd, behave! we need to hear this. I know this dude is boring, the argument is boring, but we need to make an effort. autism... I know, I know. they're confusing and not following a logical narrative pattern. we'll ask ALL the questions after.

#I read that for some people the realization was a curse more than anything #not for me though #after 38 yrs of total and utter self flagellation it was a relief #to finally understand #I don't have the instruments to actually help myself now #because diagnosis is still in process and only after I can access the NHS support therapies #last day I cried at a video on ADHD life on instagram #I felt an outcast all my life #out there now there are people like me #thank you all for all your sharing #adhd #add #autism #neurodivergent

[spacecrows]

me (diagnosed with ADHD): *talks about little funny/annoying things my brain does (because of the ADHD)* my mom (not diagnosed with anything): wow that's so funny, the exact same thing happens to me too! i've never heard anyone else describe that. so random that you get that too. genetics, huh? :))

#sure mom. funny. funny coincidence. #this happens every time i see her #it happened like 6 times today alone #meanwhile my dad and my sister are staring at us like 'your brains do WHAT now???' #she doesn't really know much about adhd #i only got diagnosed a few years ago and she wasn't part of that process at all because she was living in another country back then #and like. i've gently mentioned to her before that genetics seem to play a big role in adhd too #and that actually many people get a late diagnosis when their child gets diagnosed #and it's fine. i won't pressure her to look into it more because she's doing well! #i don't think she needs meds or therapy or whatever at this point #but i just feel like it might help with how she sees herself? because it's so deeply engrained into her that she is Not Smart??? #because she flunked out of school as a teenager??? #due to bad grades #and like. oh i wish i could talk to that girl #things turned out well for her and she's generally a happy person #but still. i know part of her think she's stupid. and i fucking hate that #anyway i mainly just think this is really funny when it happens #adhd #nd

[badolmen]

My psychiatrist: sorry I need to write this down - I love how you describe your experiences; you’re not a box checker type and the language you use is really insightful

Me: this is good I’m getting a good grade in mental illness. normal to want possible to achieve etc etc.

#ra speaks #personal #she’s very sweet and I like how she approaches my brain struggles #like we both agree that official diagnosis at this point would only help if I needed it for specific meds #but also I feel like not being diagnosed gives me the freedom to describe how I process and deal with things #without a lens of ‘oh that’s just how ocd and adhd is’ #(my autism is a bit different bc of how strongly it affects me) #but my psychiatrist has suggested that I have some ocd tendencies (looking back on my bfrds uh. yeah. but also some of my ritual stuff.) #(as in yes autism tends to lead to specific routines/rituals but apparently mine have an ocd flavor) #anyways no point in this post really it’s just nice to not have my every thought and action pathologized and instead approached as a complex #and dynamic system of inputs and outputs

[8rujaa]

yalllll i’m finally getting a treatment plan for my adhd and my fibromyalgia after a whole decade of it ruining my life

#i’m outside with my goats going YIPPEEEEE #maybe i’ll finally be able to go to school and stuff :3 omg so exciting!! #i’m trying not to get my hopes up too much bc i know it may be a process of ups and downs #but i can’t help but feel like this is what i needed all along #not to mention with a diagnosis i can ask for accommodations now : #:D #brain vomit

[caught-the-aut]

Does anyone else feel like the process of diagnosis/self-diagnosis with autism (or any mental disability really, but in my experience, it's especially been autism) to be more of a mourning process rather than something that's liberating or freeing? I see so many people talk about realizing they are or might be autistic and feeling so relieved with this label/diagnosis becauss it explains so much and now they can find resources and community.

But for myself, it feels like I'm grieving who I thought I was. I feel like I have to look back at my entire life and re-analyze everything I've ever done or said and think "Was that a normal thing to do or say? Was that a normal way to react?" And I feel like everything I do now I'm overanalyzing in the same way; "Is this normal?" I feel like people telling me I am/might be autistic and thinking of that being my reality feels like it's changing everything I know about myself and the world around me. It's so much more stressful to admit I am autistic than freeing, so I deny it or just say it's a possibility but unlikely. And that isn't to say being autistic is bad or shameful in any way; it's just very difficult to apply that label/diagnosis to myself when, again, I feel like I've gone my whole life thinking I'm like everyone else despite my quirks. Now it doesn't just feel like quirks; it's a disorder/disability, and that's hard for me to cope with personally.

It seems like there are people who go through this grieving process with their diagnosis, but ultimately come out the other side feeling more liberated and happy. But again, I feel like I don't see a lot of people talking about that grief, so it'd be nice to know it's not just me.

#asd #autism #personal #self diagnosis #I've talked a little bit about this in therapy but we haven't gone over autism stuff in a while bc other things are taking precedent atm #but maybe now that I'm unemployed i can focus more on self acceptance and processing grief and possibly self diagnosing...

[ratwithahatonamat]

The first time I read Frankenstein it made it click in my mind I was autisic

I was ranting about it to my friends (autistically) about how I related so much to victor and his struggles and his like hyper focus and I said

“Oh he’s so autistic coated too like literally the definition of undiagnosed autism”

and my friends who had been trying to explain to me for 3 months that I am on the spectrum just took this opportunity to say

“And you relate to him? This character you headcannon as autisic”

And literally for the first time a single gear in my head turned and I finally made a connection to that literally the only way I would accept having autism is seeing that someone cool I liked also had it

It’s basically wrapping cheese around a pill to feed it to a dog but you have to use my kin list to prove that I’m neurodivergent

#Frankenstein #autism spectrum is really.. something #I thought I was insane for thinking Frankenstein was autisic but then I got into the gothic lit fandom and it turned out I was just right #replace the infinity sign to just a low quality png of Frankenstein and put it on all the merch #okay this one is hard to defend but jonothan harker is autistic that or just really fucking British #the autism diagnosis has been a process and my parents ain’t happy bout it lol