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Why I Don’t Call My Autism Diagnosis A “Diagnosis”
There’s a much better word for it than this…
The ongoing debate about the legitimacy of self-diagnosis vs. professional diagnosis is no doubt one worth having. I don’t believe it should be used to deny the validity of a person’s self-diagnosis, after all, not everyone is able to get a professional one, and even if you can, that professional can only go off what you tell them anyway. With a good amount of research from decent sources (i.e. not using TikTok to self-diagnose), I have total respect for anyone who adopts the label of Autism if it helps them move through the world more comfortably.
I did a lot of research and was fairly confident in my Autism, but it had become something of a special interest last year and so I wanted to follow it all the way through to a professional opinion too. Since then, I’ve worn it with pride. While I’m honest with almost everyone about it, when it’s relevant of course, what I don’t refer to it as is my ‘diagnosis’.
What in a word?
Perhaps it’s because I had such a strong idea that I was Autistic before I was told, but I very much saw it as a confirmation of my Autism, rather than a diagnosis. I associate the word ‘diagnosis’ with things far more clinical. It sounds like something with a beginning and an end or…
