I found this video to be very reassuring. I didn't really know what autism was until a few years ago, I'm in my 30s now, and I have resonated very strongly with people that have Autism and ADHD diagnosis. My family was poor growing up and I was in a very rural area, so Autism wasn't on the table. I was in gifted classes but struggled to pay attention, and school in general was a nightmare for me despite being told by everyone how smart I am. I'm not very excited at the idea of sitting on a waiting list for a year and paying many thousands of dollars for a doctor to tell me what I already know, but listening to other autistic people talk about their experiences has allowed me to give myself much more empathy and strengthened my resolve to advocate for myself when I feel the need to
I was very isolated and homeschooled through grade school. By the time I was in high school I was labeled a "weird homeschooler" and that explained all of my differences to myself and others. I was in my 30s when I realized I was never going to push through my differences and become "normal".
As a recently self- diagnosed at 68 years old...living in East Texas...I can't tell you how encouraging your words are. Just in validating my position as self-diagnosed...is reassuring in sort of an odd way, really. I have no doubt. When my husband asked me how I knew...I told him...firstly...I can read and have experienced the masking for over 60 years. Now I know why. I have always had the questions...and now, I am learning the answers.
I am 56. I was diagnosed a few weeks ago. I self diagnosed for over a year before I got my diagnosis. You are in for quite a journey. For me it has been both positive and negative. For a long time I felt relief finally knowing why life felt like such a struggle. And now I am grieving too. Actually getting the diagnosis was sadder than I imagined it would be. The best thing is that I have tools to make my life easier. And I am kinder to myself.
I self diagnosed and then later got it formalized at 51, but I feel self diagnosis is valid. I highly resent the way the specialist treated me. She literally bullied me ferociously, and insisted that I tell her details on how I got PTSD. She said she wouldn't give me a diagnosis if I didn't. I'm still not over the trauma she deliberately brought back. We know ourselves. I wouldn't want anyone to go through that! My insurance refused to pay for it afterwards. The hospital harassed me about it for years, but I said, "I've already paid dearly for it, in the form of her sick version of entertainment."
I just wanted you to know I saw i video about the triggers for autistic trauma, and the diagnostic process is traumatizing for many of us. Hopefully if more of us speak out on that it will change how we are assessed.
@@karenholmes6565 Thank you. That sounds interesting. Do you remember the title of it? I don't know why they have to be so mean to us. It's like they're angry at us for wanting an answer to a lifetime of questions. It wasn't just the assessment that was bad. I had an extremely painful experience in 1983 that it's impossible to "get over" and she forced me to tell her what it was and the details. That was not necessary to make an autism diagnosis. It really would be good if they could learn to be kinder to autistic people in the future.
@@raven4090 I have watched 100s of autism videos. I like the really technical creators, and researchers. It was presented in pie chart visually. I will think about which vid it was and come back if I can remember. I did a search about trauma of geting a diagnosis and even Bing's copilot brought up information. It is common for autistic people to feel traumatized by assessment. And that is fairly understandable. We do not like novel experiences. We often have negative experiences with medical professionals. I don't go to the doctor anymore because they've ignored my suffering for my entire life, try to push antidepressants on me, don't listen to me. I just find interacting with the entire thing traumatizing
@@karenholmes6565 I get frustrated with doctors too. Same reason. If I have something that's not going to go away on it's own, I go and tell them what it is, and what I need to take for it. I ended up treating myself for low thyroid after 50 years of them lying that it was fine. My thyroid ended up almost dying, so I now have a weight problem. I used my test results to find out I have Hashimoto's. They were never going to tell me. Dr Google is my friend. 😁
This was brilliant, subscribed! I’m trying to counter this argument against self-identification elsewhere right now, and although I’ve found many fabulous speakers and research on this, you came up with a lot of angles I genuinely hadn’t thought to include in my argument. Thank you! P.S. I’m also one of the lucky ones who has a very open-minded GP, but I’m stuck on a waiting list, potentially for years yet.
In the US, as an adult, you are in for massive costs and lost time in order to get a diagnosis that most likely won't materially affect your circumstances.
Thank you. I've been self-diagnosed for a few years now. I was never sure I could ever afford a clinical diagnosis, but lately I'm not sure I would want to pursue one if I could. Any resources or accommodations I could get with that piece of paper don't seem necessary to me. Telling myself that I was autistic helped me to better understand and accept myself as I am. And the people in my life that I've told have been very accepting and supportive. Self-diagnosing actually improved my mental health and to me that is enough, and certainly more valuable than indulging in other people's negative opinions.
As a girl in the 80's, I was missed completely and never even considered or assessed to be potentially Autistic. I was just the shy kid that preferred to read encyclopedias and line up toys to making friends with my peers.... I had no idea of what Autism was until my younger brother and sister were both diagnosed with Autism in their 30's. I didn't have the financial resources to seek a diagnosis as they did, so I did my research. I know that I am Autistic, but I still don't have the financial resources to get a diagnosis. I'll have to get a diagnosis, once I can afford it...
Thank you Peter, all of this. I am in the transition from inkling suspicion (" what IS going on with me?") to self diagnosis (via the brilliant FB "I've been autistic all along?") and am just now making a big leap into possible official diagnosis. My mind boggles, your video is so helpful. Keep well, keep safe, keep going. I am FOF (Female over fifty).
I started out as self diagnosed slightly over a year ago. I am awaiting my official diagnosis which is being processed, but the doctor told me she has diagnosed me as autistic. I am a 56 yr old female. Only one person in 10 over the age of 50 has been diagnosed. I think those numbers are wildly under counted because I think we're still missing girls in childhood. Girls get diagnosed, we just get the wrong diagnosis. We get side eyed by our doctors who say our symptoms are in our head, well it turns out they are right, the problem is in our head. It is how our brains are fundamentally different. I went decades complaining about my state of health to be told I was completely healthy over and over and over again. I am going to try to find researchers that want to study autism and ageing now that I have a diagnosis. I think it is important for younger people to know what their futures look like without help. Because people like us lived a life without support, and it wasn't okay.
Thanks for this Pete. I was informally diagnosed by a clinical psychologist as Autistic at 50, and as ADHD at 52 by a different psychologist. I can't access university disability support services as I don't have the piece of paper. In fact the psychologist who diagnosed me as autistic told me "I can't officially tell you you're autistic" and gave me nothing in writing as they couldn't. Anyway thanks for the great work. I've cited you several times in my PhD, both books and videos- including the vid about authority. Cheers. D
Thank you! I became aware of the possibility of being autistic when my son was diagnosed for ASD and ADHD (at 25, as he was highly masking and this possibility was overshadowed by his depression and anxiety which were treated) and his doctor told me to get diagnosed for I very probably have slso both. I never realized because we were so similar (!). The problem is, my son lives in Scotland and has access to NHS. I live in Finland and the situation is very different here. There is very little knowledge of adult autism in the healthcare, and adults are as a rule denied a diagnosis by the public healthcare, only children are diagnosed. The idea is that if they have survived into adulthood, they do not need healthcare and they should not burden the system by wanting a diagnosis. You can be assessed in private clinics but it is very costly and it could backfire because experts of adult autism are few and far between. If you succeed to get a diagnosis, after all these obstacles, you are treated badly by the healthcare. You csnnot have therapy or medication for depression etc mental things because ”autism cannot be cured”. Also doctors are highly suspicious of and sometimes hostile to autistic patients. They do not understand them because they knew next to nothing about autism and have only stereotypes in their mind if anything. Self-diagnosis and keeping quiet about your autism when dealing with doctors is the way here. With others you can be open. It surprises me that most of my friends know more about autism than my GP. But that’s how it is.
thanks for pointing out the misogyny, I have been following both male and female (and other gendered creators) autistic ones and i have been noticing how those really strong comments about someone faking it...for attention or whatever seems to be so much more common on videos from females presenting and it's disgusting...and also shocking...even though I'm a female myself and experience certain...discrimination alot...I don't actually want to think of people badly and it's difficult to acknowledge misogyny because I WANT to believe that people like healthcare professionals should be atleast be professionals and not do that....but it happens...alot....I really hope we get past that at some point.
One of my biggest regrets is not doing any research or finding anything out about autism before my diagnosis. It might had helped me be better prepared for when the diagnosis eventually came!
Isn’t it a chicken an egg if the ‘government’ don’t know the percentages they won’t give funding and support roles in schools . The stats must be huge and struggling with MH and then the big life long severe labels and meds and all that trauma. Wish we had a more therapeutic humanistic society in every aspect.
If you do all of that research with plans of an actual assessment that is clinically recognized then I'm all for that but you cannot self-assess yourself and demand others treat you as such.
I found this video to be very reassuring. I didn't really know what autism was until a few years ago, I'm in my 30s now, and I have resonated very strongly with people that have Autism and ADHD diagnosis. My family was poor growing up and I was in a very rural area, so Autism wasn't on the table. I was in gifted classes but struggled to pay attention, and school in general was a nightmare for me despite being told by everyone how smart I am. I'm not very excited at the idea of sitting on a waiting list for a year and paying many thousands of dollars for a doctor to tell me what I already know, but listening to other autistic people talk about their experiences has allowed me to give myself much more empathy and strengthened my resolve to advocate for myself when I feel the need to
I was very isolated and homeschooled through grade school. By the time I was in high school I was labeled a "weird homeschooler" and that explained all of my differences to myself and others. I was in my 30s when I realized I was never going to push through my differences and become "normal".
As a recently self- diagnosed at 68 years old...living in East Texas...I can't tell you how encouraging your words are. Just in validating my position as self-diagnosed...is reassuring in sort of an odd way, really. I have no doubt. When my husband asked me how I knew...I told him...firstly...I can read and have experienced the masking for over 60 years. Now I know why. I have always had the questions...and now, I am learning the answers.
I am 56. I was diagnosed a few weeks ago. I self diagnosed for over a year before I got my diagnosis. You are in for quite a journey. For me it has been both positive and negative. For a long time I felt relief finally knowing why life felt like such a struggle. And now I am grieving too. Actually getting the diagnosis was sadder than I imagined it would be. The best thing is that I have tools to make my life easier. And I am kinder to myself.
I self diagnosed and then later got it formalized at 51, but I feel self diagnosis is valid. I highly resent the way the specialist treated me. She literally bullied me ferociously, and insisted that I tell her details on how I got PTSD. She said she wouldn't give me a diagnosis if I didn't. I'm still not over the trauma she deliberately brought back. We know ourselves. I wouldn't want anyone to go through that! My insurance refused to pay for it afterwards. The hospital harassed me about it for years, but I said, "I've already paid dearly for it, in the form of her sick version of entertainment."
I just wanted you to know I saw i video about the triggers for autistic trauma, and the diagnostic process is traumatizing for many of us. Hopefully if more of us speak out on that it will change how we are assessed.
@@karenholmes6565 Thank you. That sounds interesting. Do you remember the title of it?
I don't know why they have to be so mean to us. It's like they're angry at us for wanting an answer to a lifetime of questions. It wasn't just the assessment that was bad. I had an extremely painful experience in 1983 that it's impossible to "get over" and she forced me to tell her what it was and the details. That was not necessary to make an autism diagnosis.
It really would be good if they could learn to be kinder to autistic people in the future.
@@raven4090 I have watched 100s of autism videos. I like the really technical creators, and researchers. It was presented in pie chart visually. I will think about which vid it was and come back if I can remember. I did a search about trauma of geting a diagnosis and even Bing's copilot brought up information. It is common for autistic people to feel traumatized by assessment. And that is fairly understandable. We do not like novel experiences. We often have negative experiences with medical professionals. I don't go to the doctor anymore because they've ignored my suffering for my entire life, try to push antidepressants on me, don't listen to me. I just find interacting with the entire thing traumatizing
@@karenholmes6565 I get frustrated with doctors too. Same reason. If I have something that's not going to go away on it's own, I go and tell them what it is, and what I need to take for it. I ended up treating myself for low thyroid after 50 years of them lying that it was fine. My thyroid ended up almost dying, so I now have a weight problem. I used my test results to find out I have Hashimoto's. They were never going to tell me. Dr Google is my friend. 😁
This was brilliant, subscribed! I’m trying to counter this argument against self-identification elsewhere right now, and although I’ve found many fabulous speakers and research on this, you came up with a lot of angles I genuinely hadn’t thought to include in my argument. Thank you!
P.S. I’m also one of the lucky ones who has a very open-minded GP, but I’m stuck on a waiting list, potentially for years yet.
In the US, as an adult, you are in for massive costs and lost time in order to get a diagnosis that most likely won't materially affect your circumstances.
Thank you. This was exactly the talk I needed today.
Thank you. I've been self-diagnosed for a few years now. I was never sure I could ever afford a clinical diagnosis, but lately I'm not sure I would want to pursue one if I could. Any resources or accommodations I could get with that piece of paper don't seem necessary to me. Telling myself that I was autistic helped me to better understand and accept myself as I am. And the people in my life that I've told have been very accepting and supportive. Self-diagnosing actually improved my mental health and to me that is enough, and certainly more valuable than indulging in other people's negative opinions.
As a girl in the 80's, I was missed completely and never even considered or assessed to be potentially Autistic. I was just the shy kid that preferred to read encyclopedias and line up toys to making friends with my peers.... I had no idea of what Autism was until my younger brother and sister were both diagnosed with Autism in their 30's. I didn't have the financial resources to seek a diagnosis as they did, so I did my research. I know that I am Autistic, but I still don't have the financial resources to get a diagnosis. I'll have to get a diagnosis, once I can afford it...
Thank you Peter, all of this. I am in the transition from inkling suspicion (" what IS going on with me?") to self diagnosis (via the brilliant FB "I've been autistic all along?") and am just now making a big leap into possible official diagnosis. My mind boggles, your video is so helpful. Keep well, keep safe, keep going. I am FOF (Female over fifty).
I started out as self diagnosed slightly over a year ago. I am awaiting my official diagnosis which is being processed, but the doctor told me she has diagnosed me as autistic. I am a 56 yr old female. Only one person in 10 over the age of 50 has been diagnosed. I think those numbers are wildly under counted because I think we're still missing girls in childhood. Girls get diagnosed, we just get the wrong diagnosis. We get side eyed by our doctors who say our symptoms are in our head, well it turns out they are right, the problem is in our head. It is how our brains are fundamentally different. I went decades complaining about my state of health to be told I was completely healthy over and over and over again.
I am going to try to find researchers that want to study autism and ageing now that I have a diagnosis. I think it is important for younger people to know what their futures look like without help. Because people like us lived a life without support, and it wasn't okay.
Thanks for this Pete. I was informally diagnosed by a clinical psychologist as Autistic at 50, and as ADHD at 52 by a different psychologist. I can't access university disability support services as I don't have the piece of paper. In fact the psychologist who diagnosed me as autistic told me "I can't officially tell you you're autistic" and gave me nothing in writing as they couldn't. Anyway thanks for the great work. I've cited you several times in my PhD, both books and videos- including the vid about authority. Cheers. D
Thank you! I became aware of the possibility of being autistic when my son was diagnosed for ASD and ADHD (at 25, as he was highly masking and this possibility was overshadowed by his depression and anxiety which were treated) and his doctor told me to get diagnosed for I very probably have slso both. I never realized because we were so similar (!). The problem is, my son lives in Scotland and has access to NHS. I live in Finland and the situation is very different here. There is very little knowledge of adult autism in the healthcare, and adults are as a rule denied a diagnosis by the public healthcare, only children are diagnosed. The idea is that if they have survived into adulthood, they do not need healthcare and they should not burden the system by wanting a diagnosis. You can be assessed in private clinics but it is very costly and it could backfire because experts of adult autism are few and far between. If you succeed to get a diagnosis, after all these obstacles, you are treated badly by the healthcare. You csnnot have therapy or medication for depression etc mental things because ”autism cannot be cured”. Also doctors are highly suspicious of and sometimes hostile to autistic patients. They do not understand them because they knew next to nothing about autism and have only stereotypes in their mind if anything. Self-diagnosis and keeping quiet about your autism when dealing with doctors is the way here. With others you can be open. It surprises me that most of my friends know more about autism than my GP. But that’s how it is.
Thanks! I found that most reassuring.
thanks for pointing out the misogyny, I have been following both male and female (and other gendered creators) autistic ones and i have been noticing how those really strong comments about someone faking it...for attention or whatever seems to be so much more common on videos from females presenting and it's disgusting...and also shocking...even though I'm a female myself and experience certain...discrimination alot...I don't actually want to think of people badly and it's difficult to acknowledge misogyny because I WANT to believe that people like healthcare professionals should be atleast be professionals and not do that....but it happens...alot....I really hope we get past that at some point.
I’m only 1:46 in and you are speaking so much truth! Thank you!!!
Thank you!~
One of my biggest regrets is not doing any research or finding anything out about autism before my diagnosis. It might had helped me be better prepared for when the diagnosis eventually came!
Isn’t it a chicken an egg if the ‘government’ don’t know the percentages they won’t give funding and support roles in schools . The stats must be huge and struggling with MH and then the big life long severe labels and meds and all that trauma. Wish we had a more therapeutic humanistic society in every aspect.
To be honest, if you want something well researched. Make someone on the spectrum curious about it!
All this
If you do all of that research with plans of an actual assessment that is clinically recognized then I'm all for that but you cannot self-assess yourself and demand others treat you as such.
This is why I sought diagnosis. I needed accommodations for grad school. I'm in my 50s.
They NEEDED the paperwork for the accommodations.
You can do what you like.
exactly unfortunately there are individuals who think just like what you described.