Should You Get A Diagnosis?
Honestly this question gets asked a lot on social media whether it’s Facebook, Reddit or YouTube. A lot more people are getting diagnosed in school (lucky) but those that got missed because Autism was barely understood until most of us are past high school, it costs money. Adult Screening Tool can help you decide if should go for it as long as you are honest with your answers.
The benefit in Canada at least is that with an official diagnosis you can get access to resources like for instance if you qualify for the Disability Tax Credit (DTC), or the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP). You know little things that can make a world of difference if you qualify. Make sure you get tested by someone that is certified and has experience with the different ways Autism presents itself in people that are nonbinary, women or just not white Cis male, especially as an adult you may mask more than you think.
Also some doctors don’t have enough experience especially with XX Chromsome autism so getting an expert that knows what they are doing is key. Alberta has the best/most because the Ability Hub is just off the University of Calgary campus.
Now before I changed professionals and got my diagnosis I was seeing someone that had a pretty dated view of Autism even though her grandson was autistic. That person told me I couldn’t be Autistic because I could empathize with people and put myself in their shoes. That is one of the biggest myths about ASD. I probably feel a lot more than the average neuro-typical however, trying to put those feeling in words they can understand can be difficult. “English is my 2nd language. Autism is my first.” – Dani Bowman Thankfully I changed my person and my new person was the first to mention Autism to me. Her exact words were “ has anyone ever told you, you might be autistic?”.
I also want to take this chance to remind people NOT to support Autism Speaks as it is actually a hate group. There are other organizations that actually support people on the spectrum. Autistics United Canada is such a good place for support as it’s run by and for Autistic people. In fact it’s an affiliate of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network.
Wondering why it’s pure evil? Autism Speaks is Evil here’s a link to the page I created which hosts a bunch of other links that prove how evil Autism Speaks is.