this post was submitted on 01 Sep 2023
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Autism

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Is an autism diagnosis worth it? (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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I ask this because of the cost. I am willing to pay for an assessment in the lower end of the high cost range which assessments typical have. However, I want to know what it would do for me, if I already have enough evidence showing I'm autistic? I want a therapist who can help me with struggles relevant to being autistic. But I don't know what an assessment would actually give me? I can see it potentially giving me access to a good therapist who specialises in autism. But can I do that without an assessment?

For those of you who are diagnosed, what has it done for you? Did it make any meaningful difference in your situation?

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If a diagnosis can help improve your quality of life then yes it's important.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

This. I've always known, but never got diagnosed. After struggling through life, I thought I could get help. So I was tested and got a plethora of things I wasn't expecting. Now I'm being treated for other things and the ASD diagnosis only confirms what I had always known about why things are different (i.e. I didn't always know I had ASD, but I've always known that things are different). But my life is undoubtedly better now and had I grown up in a healthy environment, I may have known all these things much earlier and may not have needed to struggle for so long.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I just paid $3,300 for a diagnosis. I used a flexible spending account, which meant that that was pre-tax money. I felt that it was worth it, because of the possibility of having certain protections available to me in the future if they're needed(for example, in employment, and possibly some day unemployment). It also provided closure to know instead of just suspect for the rest of my life. I am glad that I went through with the diagnosis. It also led to diagnosis of not just autism, but some other things, as well. Keep that possibility in mind that autism might not be the only thing they diagnose you with, and that might provide you knowledge or might help you in some way.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Mine is in a few weeks. Here is why I am doing it.

  • it is free in my area, though it's taken a few years to get here.

  • I am focusing on my mental heath. I've been seeing a therapist for awhile. Knowing if I am autistic may help me in finding and navigating some of my mental blocks. I often lack a nerutypical perspective when empathy is very important to me. I also possess a lot of self hate so in theroy this may help me take it easy on myself.

  • Am I finding some of my "quirks" are getting stronger as I get older. I've gotten even more unfocused and exhausted. The diagnosis may help me get treatment for these problems before they get too bad. Though that will probably just be dietary.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

Basically the same as all the other commenters before me. It absolutely makes sense for a plethora of reasons, if you can afford it.

Where I live, you don’t have to pay shit for a diagnosis, it just takes long and you basically need help getting there either a friend who is inquisitive or some other person who has your back.

In any case, you have been „disabled“ all your life. That’s not going to change through diagnosis. What changes is your legal stance. If someone mocks you for being autistic, this can now become a hatecrime (hyperbole but you get the gist I hope).

Wish you tons of luck on your journey. Have a good one.