All the people screaming about self-diagnosis not being valid and tripling down on undiagnosed people not deserving services without a formal diagnosis are missing the point by a COUNTRY MILE.

We KNOW self-diagnosis won’t get us services and support (usually). In fact, waving around a diagnosis often attracts even more discrimination and hate than we were getting already. 

The self-diagnosis is FOR US.

It’s so we are able to APPLY what the field of psychology has discovered about autism to our own lives and UNDERSTAND OUR OWN BRAINS BETTER.

It’s so we can USE our newfound understanding of autism as a framework to articulate our needs to others and ADVOCATE FOR OURSELVES (because no one else is going to do it for us).

Because we would be autistic with or without that piece of paper. 

And those of us who are, in fact, autistic... BY DEFINITION NEED SUPPORT to not be disabled by our brain wiring.

We’re not self-diagnosing to get the ability to call ourselves autistic. 

We’re self-diagnosing so we can confidently ask for the support we both need and VERY MUCH DESERVE.

And if you are more worried about the tiny percentage of people who are getting it wrong than the HUGE NUMBER OF US who are still undiagnosed but also VERY MUCH AUTISTIC... I just have one question for you. 

Why?

P.s. Before you attempt to undermine what I am saying because you think I am self-diagnosed and you think no one who is self-diagnosed should be taken seriously... you can put down your pitchfork. I am formally diagnosed. I have that piece of paper. But I once WAS self-diagnosed. And guess what? I was right.