onetinybat:

I am a self-diagnosed auttistic. I am not professionally diagnosed because:



1. I am a woman.

2. I am visually impaired.

3. The therapist I spoke to was only familiar with male autistics and attributed my symptoms to personality type and my impairment. I was too nervous to explain further.

4. There is no one in my state qualified to diagnose adults.

5. I am in grad school and have neither the time, money, or means to travel out of states for a diagnosis.

6. There is almost no research into the presentation of autism in visually impaired persons. There is one study which describes autistic symptoms as they manifest in non-verbal visually impaired individuals and relies on stereotypes, describing the person as withdrawn using others as tools, lacking empathy, no interest in others, etc. All other works focus on a need for more research.

So, anti-self-dx’ers, please tell me how I should see a doctor and what a horrible, deserving of hate person I am, given the current literal impossibility of my obtaining of a diagnosis, and the likelihood that I may never obtain one, as, even if I could find a doctor, in my state, capable of diagnosing a female adult—given the differences in symptom presentation between men and women—my visual impairment would keep me from being diagnosed. [The first part is sarcasm, which I’ve learned to use.]

Sincerely,

A Visually Impaired Autistic Woman