3 ms·

Maybe. I've always been surprised at how little other people (mostly NT) will actually say that they don't like the situation they're in, especially i

Maybe. I've always been surprised at how little other people (mostly NT) will actually say that they don't like the situation they're in, especially if they have the ability to change it by doing so. Hmmm. I'm tempted to say that NTs maybe tend to express things in more subtle and less literal ways, but I think the limiting factor here is that I certainly don't have a complete catalog of which people in my life were NT and which were ND, so I can't really make that guesstimate with any confidence! One of the most helpful things I ever heard was "If you think you might be autistic, it's likely you are." Even if you get a formal diagnosis and it turns out you're not, you can have many traits of autism. Hah! I think I like that statement. Question.... I would welcome and be grateful for your advice! I guess my thinking has always been that whether I get the a spectrum diagnosis or not, it's going to come down to working with those little individual traits anyway, so from a practical standpoint I haven't focused on whether or not an overarching "autism" label makes sense. (I'm also dealing with some other things in life, and therapy hours have been limited, so a spectrum diagnosis hasn't been a priority) So my question (finally, lol) is: did you find value in that diagnosis? Practical value, and/or more intangible values?

digging 3y ago
> I certainly don't have a complete catalog of which people in my life were NT and which were ND Ok you're definitely not autistic then, that's basic stuff! (I kid - I only have assumptions about most people in my life) Personally, yes, I found a formal diagnosis extremely valuable for two reasons: 1. All of my nagging worries about "not really being autistic" and taking up space reserved for "real" autistic people vanished. This also "allowed" me to talk about being autistic more openly. You may not have the same anxieties at all though - I specifically had a really big setback years ago when an ex said they didn't believe I was autistic. 2. I found it much easier to deal with the individual traits, both because I learned about some I wasn't aware of during diagnosis, and because I now have the ability to identify anything that's upsetting me and ask, "In what way is my autism affecting this situation?" At the very least it's a useful framework or jumping-off point for introspection that might have been difficult otherwise, because it isn't always true that some autistic trait or another is involved.
- JohnBooty 3y ago
  Thank you, thank you, thank you for a wonderful and personal (and funny) answer. That is really helpful and appreciated, stranger.

digging 3y ago

> I certainly don't have a complete catalog of which people in my life were NT and which were ND Ok you're definitely not autistic then, that's basic stuff! (I kid - I only have assumptions about most people in my life) Personally, yes, I found a formal diagnosis extremely valuable for two reasons: 1. All of my nagging worries about "not really being autistic" and taking up space reserved for "real" autistic people vanished. This also "allowed" me to talk about being autistic more openly. You may not have the same anxieties at all though - I specifically had a really big setback years ago when an ex said they didn't believe I was autistic. 2. I found it much easier to deal with the individual traits, both because I learned about some I wasn't aware of during diagnosis, and because I now have the ability to identify anything that's upsetting me and ask, "In what way is my autism affecting this situation?" At the very least it's a useful framework or jumping-off point for introspection that might have been difficult otherwise, because it isn't always true that some autistic trait or another is involved.

JohnBooty 3y ago
Thank you, thank you, thank you for a wonderful and personal (and funny) answer. That is really helpful and appreciated, stranger.