I am a self-diagnosed auttistic. I am not professionally diagnosed because:
1. I am a woman.
2. I am visually impaired.
3. The therapist I spoke to was only familiar with male autistics and attributed my symptoms to personality type and my impairment. I was too nervous to explain further.
4. There is no one in my state qualified to diagnose adults.
5. I am in grad school and have neither the time, money, or means to travel out of states for a diagnosis.
6. There is almost no research into the presentation of autism in visually impaired persons. There is one study which describes autistic symptoms as they manifest in non-verbal visually impaired individuals and relies on stereotypes, describing the person as withdrawn using others as tools, lacking empathy, no interest in others, etc. All other works focus on a need for more research.
So, anti-self-dx’ers, please tell me how I should see a doctor and what a horrible, deserving of hate person I am, given the current literal impossibility of my obtaining of a diagnosis, and the likelihood that I may never obtain one, as, even if I could find a doctor, in my state, capable of diagnosing a female adult—given the differences in symptom presentation between men and women—my visual impairment would keep me from being diagnosed. [The first part is sarcasm, which I’ve learned to use.]
Sincerely,
A Visually Impaired Autistic Woman
You aren’t really deserving of hate–you’re deserving of an education. You can think that you have something all you want, but until a doctor diagnoses you, you can’t claim it. You can’t get any benefits or medication related to this autism that you claim you have. The likelihood that I’ll NEVER obtain one? Wow, you’re just full of sunshine.
After you graduate, I’m SURE you’ll figure out a way to get a real diagnosis. Because while being on Tumblr and talking about your self-dxes is pretty common, going out into the real world and explaining it won’t be the same. You have to be professionally diagnosed, end of story.