https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-65457044 this feels very unhelpful. It says #SelfDiagnosis of #ADHD is harmful but doesn't say why, also doesn't point out it's nearly impossible to get a GP appointment let alone referral for diagnosis nor that private diagnosis ranges from £350 to £1500. Sure there's some wacky claims of ADHD traits out there on social media but also... Uh. If it quacks like a duck...

when you just told someone you're #Autistic & they tell you that you don't seem autistic or that your #SelfDiagnosis isn't valid

#AutismAcceptance

Um.
So... when you close your eyes and picture a thing.
You actually see it?

#Aphantasia #SelfDiagnosis #NoSeriouslyThough #MindBlown

Brain is mush. Vaguely feeling more comfortable with the idea I probably have #ADHD and #SelfDiagnosis isn't a terrible idea... Watching a video pointing out that using kids things actually work well for adults with ADHD because both have executive dysregulation and sensory issues. Highly explains the articles on "toddler teens" that were around in the late 90s when I was a teen too. #diary

@TheMacMommy @Pathfinder My entire family is #ActuallyAutistic it is really common for #Autism to run in families; it is genetic.

And please don't feel like you're 'taking support' from other Autistics. Realising your #AutisticIdentity is one of the most important things you'll ever do. It explains so much and will help you understand yourself.

#SelfDiagnosis is valid!

ADHD and autism: Turning to social media for 'diagnosis'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-hampshire-64487881

#ADHD #Autism #ActuallyAutistic #Neurodivergent #Neurodiversity #SocialMedia #SelfDiagnosis

RT @ShanonBeckPA@twitter.com

My tweets have received nearly a million views in the past 2 days; I believe I have successfully spread the message that #selfdiagnosis is NOT valid.

#Autism #ActuallyAutistic #ActuallyDignosed https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1616966125933449217

🐦🔗: https://twitter.com/ShanonBeckPA/status/1616966125933449217

@stephenczetty Congratulations on the Autism!! 🥳 🎉 …and welcome to the #ActuallyAutistic Community! 😁

#SelfDiagnosis is just as valid as an official diagnosis. Society makes it very difficult for us to get an 'official diagnosis' so self-identifying is absolutely accepted.

Please accept a celebratory cake! 🎂
(I need to get myself one of these!)

@actuallyautistic

Yesterday I started reading a book by and for #neurodivergent #parents of #autistic #children, and was doubting my own #selfdiagnosis - but by the afternoon my own #sensory #overwhelm had caught up with me and I was like, oh okay, I am actually seriously impaired in like, three out of five areas on the chart in the book. Social communication, executive function and sensory processing were all making it impossible for me to function, and I had to go hide. Kinda validating, I guess?
#autism

Why it's essential for healthcare professionals to listen to their patients' self-diagnosis

As healthcare professionals, it's important to remember that almost all patients come to us with their own self-diagnosis.

Mary O’Connor is an orthopedic surgeon.

https://youtube.com/shorts/AtqZOYc6Trk

Listen here: https://kevinmd.com/podcast

#healthcare #patientcare #clinicalencounter #selfdiagnosis #communication #teamwork #doctor #nurse #medicine #patientadvocacy #patientempathy #patienteducation #health literacy

Why it's essential for healthcare professionals to listen to their patients' self-diagnosis

As healthcare professionals, it's important to remember that almost all patients come to us with their own self-diagnosis.

Mary O’Connor is an orthopedic surgeon.

Listen here: https://kevinmd.com/podcast

https://youtube.com/shorts/AtqZOYc6Trk

#healthcare #patientcare #clinicalencounter #selfdiagnosis #communication #teamwork #doctor #nurse #medicine #patientadvocacy #patientempathy #patienteducation #health literacy

@subrote The more I read about the various ways that an official #AutismDiagnosis can be used against you, the more I think that #SelfDiagnosis is the way forward for our #AutisticCommunity

The entire diagnosis experience is ridiculous and can be damaging. To have to convince a (nearly always) non-Autistic doctor of your Autism by fulfilling outdated & incorrect criteria!

And let's face it, what meaningful 'supports' are we able to get with a diagnosis?

@Prof_Meowmers And btw, I know you’re still deciding but IMO you don’t need an official diagnosis unless you’re trying to get specific supports at work / school.
The #AutisticCommunity supports #SelfDiagnosis because it is so hard to get an official diagnosis due to cost, waiting lists, gatekeeping and the inherent bias of many psychs.
If being #Autistic resonates with you, answers your questions, and, as many say, ‘feels like home’ then you’re probably #OneOfUs !
#ActuallyAutistic 💗

@LemonsToMagic Know you are welcome here!

Our #ActuallyAutistic Community is not into #GateKeeping

We accept #SelfDiagnosis and if our community resonates with you, if you feel that being #Autistic would answer your questions, if, as you say, you feel 'at home', then chances are, you're #OneOfUs ! 💗

#AutisticIdentification #SelfIdentify

@jonatin @qlp Completely agree with @jonatin We support #selfdiagnosis or #selfidentification as it is also known; an official diagnosis is not necessary to identify with us.

If the #ActuallyAutistic community resonates with you, if it feels like the answer to your questions; then Welcome!

There are many people on the edge, not sure where they fit, do they have the right to join in? Yes, they absolutely do!

No-one will ask you for your diagnosis credentials 💗

#OneOfUs #AutisticCommunity

I was talking with a friend yesterday about how, at one point, neither of us would have understood #SelfDiagnosis or developing one's own treatment plan. But that was before both of us got put through the wringer of of the #medical system.

I'll spare you the details, but none of my diagnoses came without me knowing it first and seeking out the diagnosis. I've been dismissed and invalidated, for many years, by many doctors.

I've gone without care and figured out how to reverse symptoms of one condition, and been disbelieved by physicians.

I have some semi-helpful diagnoses now for my most pressing issue, but I have medical questions and no access to the care that could answer them. So I'm on my own, yet again, managing for myself.

So now, if I hear of someone diagnosing themselves and/or treating themselves, I get it. When you can't get a #physician to help you, you either sit around and deteriorate, or you go into research mode and figure the damn thing out yourself.

#HealthCare #NEISVoid #LongCOVID #MECFS #ME #CFS #fibro #fibromyalgia #ChronicallyIll #ChronicIllness #doctor #MedMastodon

@Fullnihilism We support you! There are so many people where you are, right now, wondering if they're #Autistic ?

The majority of the #AutisticCommunity are supportive because they understand how important it is to find your identity, and sometimes that takes a little while to figure out! Especially when there is so much opposition in some areas to #selfdiagnosis

I completely support self-identifying as Autistic 💯
#ActuallyAutistic
@actuallyautistic

@actuallyautistic I forgot to include in the original post, #SelfDiagnosed #Autistics are welcome in the Autistic Book Club! 🙌♾🌈💗
There are many barriers to an official #Autism diagnosis; exorbitant cost, gatekeeping doctors, psychs who don’t understand Autism and refuse a diagnosis on the basis of irrelevancies such as ‘you can make eye contact’, bias against minorities, etc…
We support you!💗

#SelfDiagnosisIsValid #SelfDiagnosis #ActuallyAutistic #AutisticBookClub #AutisticCommunity

Did other people take a while to fully accept their #autism after #SelfDiagnosis later in life?

Some days my brain says "but you *can't* be #autistic - someone would have noticed by now" or "who the hell do you think you are to be diagnosing yourself? you should wait for a doctor to tell you what you are" or "you are an insult to those people who definitely *are* autistic" and so on.

Most days my brain doesn't scream these things at me, and overall I do feel #ActuallyAutistic. Self-diagnosing has solved so many puzzles (if not yet any problems), but I wonder if I'll only fully accept after I complete my NHS assessment. Maybe 40+ years of my brain telling me I'm wrong doesn't go away overnight just because I've discovered the probable cause.

@mandelbrot57 @looneybyron @BlinkPopShift @actuallyautistic Life can be so complex, especially when you’re #Autistic #ChronicallyIll and have an #AutisticFamily ! 🤯
I don’t even try to explain to people who are not Autistic

And you’re right, if you know you’re Autistic, that’s all that matters, #SelfDiagnosis is supported by the majority of the #AutisticCommunity 🙌🌈♾
#OneOfUs #ActuallyAutistic #AutismDiagnosis