this post was submitted on 04 Jul 2026
32 points (97.1% liked)

Autism

10105 readers
278 users here now

A community for respectful discussion and memes related to autism acceptance. All neurotypes are welcome.

Community:

Values

  • Acceptance
  • Openness
  • Understanding
  • Equality
  • Reciprocity
  • Mutuality
  • Love

Rules

  1. No abusive, derogatory, or offensive post/comments e.g: racism, sexism, religious hatred, homophobia, gatekeeping, trolling.
  2. Posts do not need be related to autism, off-topic discussions are allowed. This is a safe space where people with autism can feel comfortable discussing whatever they feel like discussing, as long as it does not violate the standing rules.
  3. Your posts must include a text body. It doesn't have to be long, it just needs to be descriptive.
  4. Do not request donations.
  5. Be respectful in discussions.
  6. Do not post misinformation.
  7. Mark NSFW content accordingly.
  8. Do not promote Autism Speaks.
  9. General Lemmy World rules.
  10. No bots. Humans only.

Encouraged

  1. Open acceptance of all autism levels as a respectable neurotype.
  2. Funny memes.
  3. Respectful venting.
  4. Describe posts of pictures/memes using text in the body for our visually impaired users.
  5. Welcoming and accepting attitudes.
  6. Questions regarding autism.
  7. Questions on confusing situations.
  8. Seeking and sharing support.
  9. Engagement in our community's values.
  10. Expressing a difference of opinion without directly insulting another user.
  11. Please report questionable posts and let the mods deal with it.

.

Helpful Resources

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
Lexam@lemmy.world
32
Subclinical autists, let's talk (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 1 week ago by schipelblorp@sh.itjust.works to c/autism@lemmy.world
49 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I've been internet-diagnosed with autism plenty of times, but the one time I went to get evaluated, they said I didn't have "it."

But if it's a spectrum with different combinations of different traits at different levels of intensity, maybe a diagnosis is irrelevant and what matters is what your constellation of traits actually is, regardless of an official diagnosis (which, let's face it, is probably highly subjective outside of some constellations--that is to say, with a long enough list of psychologits, I could probably get a dx).

Personally, for me, what this means is I can look to autistic literature to see what resonates with me without worrying about the fact that I don't share many of the hard markers for autism. For instance, my investment in the truth often conflicts with social niceties even though I can read people's emotions. I can see myself as an unofficially atypical person in a lot of ways.

I'll leave my resonsances in the comments below. Feel free to share yours.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[โ€“] searabbit@piefed.social 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Funnily enough, you can have hallucinations without schizophrenia. Other than things like dementia and vision loss, narcoleptics (like me) experience hallucinations and apparently much more vividly than schizophrenics typically do, but without the delusion that it's real.

But I agree with your general point, unfortunately it does also extend to hallucinations not being a big deal to doctors. They genuinely only care if you're actively dying, a threat to yourself/others, or have something normal like diabetes. If you casually tell them you hallucinate, most of them will just look at you weird and move on.

I've never gotten tested for autism, but I imagine many doctors will do the same based on their preconceived notions of autism (e.g., oh you're physically capable of making eye contact and not visibly stimming without a meltdown? Why are you even here?)

Edit: I just realized this is slightly off-topic from sub-clinical vs clinical. Moreso my experience of doctors using their personal beliefs rather than actual clinical criteria to check off if someone meets the threshold for a diagnosis.

[โ€“] schipelblorp@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Yes, thank you for clarifying about hallucinations.

I was thinking about schizophrenia in this context because it does seem to be treated completely regardless of whether it significantly impairs a person's life or not. I've heard this from plenty of people with schizophrenia diagnoses who had to fight their way out of the medical cage they were put in.