friedbeantoes:

so today my autism self-diagnosis was heavily and pointedly affirmed by the psychiatric nurse who was doing my initial evaluation for the process of paper diagnosis.

after lengthy discussion of my childhood development, my current symptoms, and the coping mechanisms i’ve developed at 26 years of age, the response was basically:

‘Your theory makes absolute 100% sense, and all the research you’ve done actually helps support it. You show a great deal of autistic traits. Here are some autistic-led groups you can join right now if you want to. I’m giving you referrals to psychologists you can seek a formal dx with if you want accommodations, which would definitely be helpful for you, but don’t feel like you have to wait for that paper, if what you need right now is community.’

so, not only was my self-dx treated as valid, but i was explicitly told by a mental health professional that the extensive research self-diagnosing takes is helping make the process of formal diagnosis easier.

just thought i’d put this out there.