No, I Don’t Need a Diagnosis. I Am Still Autistic.

From a thread I did a while back.

Anti self-dx really let (often):

• white
• perisex allocishet binary male
• neurotypical
• abled
• upper middle class

people be the sole arbiters of who is and who isn’t neurodivergent / disabled.

Mm-hmm that checks out /sarcasm.

The more I learn from neurodivergent people, especially autistic people, the more I’ve learned that the way I experience the world matches up a lot more with them than with neurotypical people.

But I don’t see the point in obtaining a diagnosis because:

1. Professionals gender autism into “girl” autism and “boy” autism, and I don’t need binary cis people trying to figure out “which one” I am.
2. I don’t need “official” support. I have the tools I need to cope with sensory issues. And my life is fairly socialization free.

What i do need the medical establishment for is gender-affirming healthcare, however…

1. There’s so many horror stories about how hard it is for autistic people to get gender-affirming healthcare. If I’m ever in a position to be able to get gender-affirming healthcare, I’m not jeopardizing that due to medical professionals’ well-established ableism.
2. I have medical trauma that I’d prefer not to ignite, especially for something noncritical.
3. I’m an adult, and I’ve seen adult autistics report being asked such “amazing” questions as:
   • Have you ever had sex before?
   • Can you make a frowny face?

Autism is still very much seen as a “little boy’s disease”. “Professionals” have no clue what they’re doing. And even if that changes, I still should not be forced to “prove” I’m autistic. Nobody else should either. I know myself better than anybody else, and I know that I’m autistic.

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