Case (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
case) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomsecrets2022-12-17 04:35 pm
case) wrote in fandomsecrets2022-12-17 04:35 pm
[ SECRET POST #5825 ]
⌈ Secret Post #5825 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
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Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 46 secrets from Secret Submission Post #834.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
Re: Non-fandom pet peeves
(Anonymous) 2022-12-18 04:31 am (UTC)(link)Re: Non-fandom pet peeves
(Anonymous) 2022-12-18 05:31 am (UTC)(link)Re: Non-fandom pet peeves
(Anonymous) 2022-12-18 01:07 pm (UTC)(link)As another anon stated, it can be very difficult for women to get an ASD diagnosis, especially in adulthood. On the other hand, I got diagnosed in childhood and got some treatment, at least enough to allow me to gain more skills and eventually independence. I still stim and have sound sensitivities, though, so my ASD didn't exactly disappear. I also received an ADHD diagnosis in my late teens and was prescribed Adderall. That was a nightmarish three months. That med made me rage; allowed me to only sleep four hours a night; and caused me to drop six pounds in a month. I had to beg to stop taking it, and I quit it cold turkey. To this day, I think the ADHD diagnosis was wrong.
Still, I sometimes feel like at least around women I have to announce my ASD traits in order for my ASD to he taken seriously. I feel like the rise of self-diagnosis has contributed to this (although how much is hard to gauge). When you autistic but have at least one formal diagnosis and have gained skills, being in the community as a woman can be tricky because you have a very different experience than others that can prevent you from being understood in the group. It's a no-win scenario for sure.
Re: Non-fandom pet peeves
(Anonymous) 2022-12-18 06:21 pm (UTC)(link)Being a textbook autistic person who still didn't get diagnosed before adulthood, to me being a woman who got diagnosed as a child if you're over 30 is urban legend. But I got diagnosed with other stuff (common comorbidities so to speak) as a kid, prescribed harmful meds that made me rage much like you said (not the most social-life-favoring experience for an autistic girl in kindergarten if I had to say lol).
Unfortunately the indiscriminate handling of psychiatric diagnosis is common and bad for everyone, most of all the actual impaired people. Sorry you had to go through this. At the same time, ADHD is (and has been for a while) a popular diagnosis and it's weird and sad that even some professionals seem to believe that every executive dysfunction = ADHD (a possible reason for the rise in ADHD diagnosis alongside ASD ones). Sadly not everyone has means (finantial, intellectual or otherwise) to perceive "hey my diagnosis doesn't seem appropriate" and go after other opinions/docs. It's terrible that there are so many misdiagnosis but it's not patients' fault either. It's a complex matter.
Re: Non-fandom pet peeves
(Anonymous) 2022-12-18 06:34 pm (UTC)(link)I'm almost 40 and recieved my ASD diagnosis (specifically PDD-NOS) in the late 80s. I'd have to ask my dad for the details, but I think I was able to get a diagnosis for a couple reasons. First, I had a loss of language skills and had a couple years of echolalia in my adulthood. Second, due to my language delays and behavior at day care (I once threw a rock at my instructor), the school district wanted to put me in special education. My parents objected to the prospect of me being in special ed. The school district ended up victorious in that one. This is all a huge contrast to my husband, whose autism was only diagnosed a couple years ago. He flew VERY under the radar and was a star pupil. Thus no one suspected anything. This is all to say that I know it's rare to be a grown woman with an early childhood diagnosis. Frankly, I'm tired of sharing my story showing how my experience is in fact real, but I know I have to keep going in order to make sure such invalidation doesn't continue to happen.
Your remark about "it's weird and sad that even some professionals seem to believe that every executive dysfunction = ADHD (a possible reason for the rise in ADHD diagnosis alongside ASD ones)" intrigues me, as I know more ND folks are going into psychology careers, especially in research. I wonder if that influx is driving this wave. I know it's a popular discussion on Autistic Instagram, so I am curious to see how all of these things are working together to drive this phenomenon.
Re: Non-fandom pet peeves
(Anonymous) 2022-12-18 06:35 pm (UTC)(link)The "adulthood" in the first paragraph should be childhood.
Re: Non-fandom pet peeves
(Anonymous) 2022-12-18 07:32 pm (UTC)(link)Some kinds of impairments are more evident than others, or rather more problematic behavior and I say this as someone who went through a few "problematic" phases. Language impairments are easily noticeable and "problematic" behavior even more of course. So it makes a lot of sense depending on where you live etc.
Hmm. Not sure myself. Growing up I had internet at home (in the 90-00s) and was a nerdy oddball with unspecific/unhelpful diagnosis, and researching psychology topics became a hobby for me. And I didn't know what I wanted to go to college for, so I got into a psychology bachelor program because I was interested in research, but also in new possibilities such as UX design. Of course becoming better at masking was a goal too though I wasn't aware of the concept of "masking" at that point. Something like that happened to me and I assume to many others who had a similar trajectory. But I doubt that has anything to do with the rise in certain diagnosis. To me it's more that sadly professionals haven't been interested enough in doing differential diagnosis as they should and instead choose to hand out diagnosis that are convenient for them (because they're getting paid to advertise meds or whatever else). It's not illegal, or even unethical to do something like that because in the end it's trial and error: a med may not work the same way for 2 people with the same (proper) diagnosis as etiology may not be the same. It's immoral but immoral can pay the bills too. But that's just my belief. And then there's a lot going on with research as well, how much the DSM has changed in recent years, how genetic studies are advancing and ethical aspects... there's a lot that could be said (and improved ofc) about it all.