PSA Stop self diagnosing your Disability it's actually kind of offensive.

 

 I was asked today about something that I had put some thought into and I am now going to go into my thoughts a lot more, due to the fact that it’s something that really annoys me when I hear it. Its calling someone Neurotypical and forcing langue on them. 

I am all for softer langue but to put it into context this person was self diagnosed and had not  sought out a diagnosis and this seems to be playing into  tropes and this is the danger of self diagnosis due to the fact that some people will start to treat the “ symptoms” but make it much worse due to the fact that people need a proper diagnosis be able to  move forward and for some folks with neurodivergent  brains that have a “proper diagnosis”  often mask this is when  a person who is ADHD or Autistic will hide their personality or stims, but if you get to know the person we will see that they will start to unmask.  So this would be wearing headphones due to  noise overload, or sensory issues wearing the same thing. It would be a ADHD person talking about their current hyper fixation and  seeking accessibility’s this might be flexibility in work.

It's also dangerous to self-diagnosis as it leads to  not only stereotypical behaviour, but it can lead to harm in the wider community, as this then promotes tropes that might not be accurate or even offensive.  I am also finding it “ trendy” to be diagnosed and there is also the possibility of people getting diagnosed to be able to access  care, but they are finding that a diagnosis doesn’t equal automatic access to care programs.

 But it goes into wider disability  discussion  around  disability etiquette and  the first rule of being in the community is to not ‘gate keep” every one is welcome, but there is a few unwritten rules being that

·       Respect  the lived experience of others

·       Get a diagnosis so you can be treated and have the accommodations that are appropriate to you.  In AUS this can be bulk billed and you can go though your local outpatient mental health facility so money isn’t an issue.

·       Don’t use your disability as an excuse to have bad behaviour.

·       Don’t gate keep or force langue on to people who don’t understand what it means

·       Don’t make it apart of your whole personality its only one facet of your life.

·       Educate yourself on your condition and this includes talking to others with the same condition but also joining online support groups.

·       Realizing that you need to be able to help yourself and if you do have care to know it has limits.

·       Understanding that not everyone is going to accept that you have a disability as ADHD can be a disability but it’s also very treatable and by using technology and medication this is where it’s so important to have a proper diagnosis and to go though the appropriate treatment pathways to be able to seek out what treatment you need. ( People who say well that is just me don’t understand how getting treatment can improve quality of life in many  ways)

 

It’s great that we are seeing more people being open about their struggles but when it becomes a massive part of your personality and how you interact with the world you need to be able to accept that it’s  1 in 5 that has a disability but there is often a  large part of the community that even in open communities that have care programs, it may not be safe for them to disclose that you have a disability as people are still losing jobs and business options due to this, and being so open about it in a work place is a flag that someone may be faking it and yes masking is a thing but with the rise of the internet we need to have some media discretion and get a medical diagnosis to be able to access care and treatment and the disability does affect people in very different ways and this is where  the stereotypical behaviour comes into play in that people seem to want to play to the stereotypes and this creates harm in people believing these tropes. 

 

We now have the technology to brain map and to have targeted treatment in ADHD and you can see the  underdevelopment of the areas of the brain, and over stimulation of  the others as well. It is also targeted for treatment and improvement in thinking and flexibility.

 

While there is a lot of understanding and acceptance of this community there is also like in any community diversity but one thing we need to accept is getting a formal diagnosis to be able to prevent foreseeable harm to not only yourself and to others as well, as harm is something that your disability can cause to others weather that be family friends or support workers.