I'm really tired of people "self-diagnosing" or mistaking their narcissism or social anxiety disorder for ASD. I'm also tired of people saying it's not a disability. Those are clearly misdiagnosed or confused individuals.

I seriously respect you and your whole family for putting yourselves out there, especially in this time where autism is, unfortunately, commonly faked on sites like TikTok. It's so hard to explain that yes, autism is a spectrum, but even spectrums have boundaries and you can't go around labelling everyone as autistic just because they show some minor signs. One of my old friends after finding out I had an ASD diagnosis started copying my behavior, which kind of backfired because my behavior was masking my actual symptoms. It's really sad how a lot of teenagers and young adults feel the need to label themselves with something, not realizing that when they throw around diagnoses like ASD and ADHD and OCD and Tourette's, it actually hurts people.

The problem with the stereotypical "signs" of autism, is they they are all _descriptive_. They describe the outside. They are also created from a neurotypical perspective. Now, there is a connection between the autistic perception of reality and how it manifests itself in actions of autistic individuals, but it is not hard link. We are human after all, and our behaviours are not pre-programmed into us. So how to know if a person is autistic? As far as we know right now, neurodiverse brains light up differently on the scans. This seems like a good starting point for developing a set of objective criteria.

My little brother also named Ian was diagnosed with severe autism when he was 5yrs old. He had all of the classic signs of Autism. He would have really bad meltdowns, stim a lot, and he is nonverbal. I was just recently diagnosed with Autism as well. I think that my brother having more symptoms than I did made our parents look at his issues more than mine. I am not saying that they did this on purpose but when Ian was put into an adult treatment center and I started to go to therapy we as a family started to notice my symptoms though less severe were still prevalent. I do think that it is a mixture of both people being over diagnosed and under diagnosed. My family has gone through both. When I was diagnosed my parents thought it was a good idea to get my other siblings tested as well. They were diagnosed with high functioning Autism by my family and friends. They all thought that if my brother and I had Autism than my other siblings would have it too. When they, on their own, went to get formally diagnosed the professionals said that they do not have Autism. So I think it is interesting how genetics work and I would be interested if anyone knows any sources that talk about why it effects some in the family and not others.

I don't think people are being officially overdiagnosed with how thorough the process is, but there are definitely a lot of people who self-diagnose themselves with lots of things with no good reason, or just don't take disorders seriously and just say they have them to be special

I think that it mostly has to do with more understanding of females on the spectrum, as well as Asperger’s. In the past, Asperger’s was a separate diagnosis from autism. In the past, little was know about females on the spectrum. I was diagnosed at 29, but have had very significant social and sensory issues my whole life, even as a baby. Doctors didn’t know how to look for autism in females back then unless a child was non verbal. I wasn’t even diagnosed with ADHD until I was 19. I think what we are seeing is a lot of people who have suffered addiction, abuse, and social rejection from their families due to misdiagnosis or lack of dx. Many “aspie” females were DX with bipolar, bpd, and other stigmatized disorders, that sometimes led to more trauma. Sure, there are some attention seekers and confused kids out their misdiagnosing themselves. But more importantly, there are a lot of people learning how and why their experience has been what it has been. This understanding is saving lives and changing things for future generations.

Thank you for the insight. Your message has been clear from the beginning, me being a parent of an autistic child (5y.o. son) can tell you're honest, transparent and well-wishing people and your advice is helpful. Your videos are proffessional, interesting, and I'm very grateful for the advice you give, it proved right every time. Keep up the good work, God bless you Autism family.

It is absolutely severely over-diagnosed. ADHD was the trend in 90’s and 2000’s. Now the new trend is autism. It’s kind of insulting to those who actually have it and their parents who have to be their life long caregivers… I have talked to many parents with children who truly have autism how mad they are about people saying their children who are completely self-sufficient have autism. Meanwhile, they will be their child’s lifelong caregiver. It seems these days everyone has some kind of mental illness diagnosis. Like it’s kool. 🙄

I agree so much with this video. I went my whole childhood without being diagnosed because I’m younger than my peers. My parents believed my social awkwardness, meltdowns and other things were the result of my maturity. I was diagnosed at 18, and suddenly everything made sense. But the thing is, I notice nowadays everyone is so eager to self diagnose or play up symptoms. I’ve seen people say they’re scared that they don’t have autism. I’m lucky that I don’t have super debilitating autism, and that’s why it went years before anyone noticed. I’m glad you all are noticing this pattern too, because as someone with autism, it’s getting quite frustrating to see what I and so many others deal with made into some sort of quirky pop culture trend.

I was diagnosed with autism and learning disabilities by two different doctors as a very young child. After the first doctor diagnosed me with autism my mom was like you in denial. Even my grandmother could see I had autism which caused my mom and grandma to fight for a while. My mom was in denial for months. But she told me after the second doctor diagnosed me with autism and learning disabilities she came around to accept that I was not like other boys. But she tried to raise me to where they didn't rub it in my face that I was different. They didn't treat me different. She said it was hard for me to learn stuff but I did. Even after growing up people think I am normal till I talk to them. Then they say they know that something is really wrong with me. But I don't care this is normal to me and it's the only normal I know. I am proud of who I am.

I agree with a lot of what you're saying in this video, but I just can't denounce "self-diagnosing" as an inherently bad choice. I was professionally diagnosed with ASD at the age of 19, but I actually realized I was autistic years before that, at the age of 16. Before this realization not only did I feel like a failure and terribly inadequate, but I also had no clue why despite my high IQ did I seem completely unable to be even remotely functional, why did I feel like an alien all the time, why there was this constant conflict between me and the world itself in all its facets is settled. This lack of an explanation was the most dangerous aspect of it: the only thing I could come up with was that there was something terribly wrong with who I was as a person; in other words, it was my fault. But all that changed when I realized I was autistic at 16. Suddenly, I did know why. It all made sense, for the first time ever. And since I finally knew, I also knew it wasn't my fault: there wasn't anything wrong with who I was as a person, and there was everything wrong with how miserably I had been wronged by the medical and educational institutions for the last 16 years. I could start making peace with myself, treating myself fairly, completely rejecting the totally unreasonable neurotypical expectations that had been forced upon me, in a way neither me nor other people had ever treated me before. If starting to conceptualize oneself and one's traits through the framework and lenses of autism despite lacking a diagnosis (I didn't start coming out to people as autistic though until three years later when I finally was professionally diagnosed at the age of 19, completely terrified nobody would take me even remotely seriously until I had a professional diagnosis to back it up) is "self-diagnosis", then I totally did "self-diagnose" myself. And I have no regrets. If I had had to wait other three years (until finally being diagnosed) to embrace myself as autistic, I totally would had ended crushed by the self-deprecation, the alienation and the bewilderment and sense of being a failure produced by my inability to handle most tasks, even the simplest ones, and socially conform. I agree many people "self-diagnose" for the complete wrong reasons and/or in a very risky way. But these kinds of realizations can also say lives; it might have saved mine. I don't think people in these situations should wait for months or years until managing to receive a diagnosis to start validating all this to themselves and make sense of their lives for the first time ever.

Hi family! Thanks for the nice video! I have the diagnose of autism for two years now. I'm diagnosed at the Leo Kannerhuis here in the Netherlands. ( Huis is a Dutch word and it means home) . I have OCD, sensory processing disorder and meltdown's. There is a possebility that my father had autism also. And I think more " yes, he had" and "no, he hasn't autism ". My father is passed away. I follow your channel for many years and learn a lot about autism. Thank you for sharing your life and keep going with what you do. A big hug from the Netherlands! 🇳🇱😃❤🇺🇲

These days, people think that if you self diagnose yourself with autism, then you have the right to be autistic. Anxiety is now autism. Social anxiety is now autism. Dopamine addiction due to constant cell phone use is now autism.

Until root causes (genetic, epigenetic, developmental, and situational) for Autism--and other neurodiversity conditions and their "symptoms"--are better defined and diagnosable without simply using subjective, external behavioral criteria, the mental health professionals are going to have continuing confusion. Until the mental health professionals figure out things better, families & individuals on or near "the spectrum" will continue to struggle with problems of even getting accurate diagnoses. Until mental health is taken as seriously as physical health by society as large, we'll all be stuck with the dualistic viewpoint that you either are diagnosable--or you "don't meet the DSM" criteria. I'm in the 99th percentile for height for males in the US. I can reach things easier on top shelves than on bottom cupboards. Some clothes are sometimes hard to find in my size, most car seats slightly uncomfortable to fit in, etc. But most Big & Tall selections don't work for me, I can't dunk a basketball, and I doubt that I'm the tallest person anyone has ever met. I wasn't even the tallest in any class year I was in. Am I "tall?" Depends on your criteria. Can you "see" into everyone's brain to tell if the "have" "Autism" like you can measure height? Not yet.

Hi there. I'm glad you made a video about this topic. I've suspected that I have autism for about 4 years now and the curiosity "peaked" I guess when I was in high school. I struggled with eye contact, making friends, knowing when to leave a conversation, I hated the commons area because of noise sensitivity and didn't know how to carry small talk with others. I still struggle with these issues now but, because of this "mass label seeking" behavior happening I'm kind of afraid to see a professional. My anxiety says "what if I'm doing the same thing as them?" and I don't want to take away the significance of an autism diagnosis. if that makes sense. My parents used to yell at me to stop talking with a flat tone, to stop being "so sensitive" in response to sarcasm, to look at them when I talked to them, and to stop covering my ears and stop crying at loud noises. Out of fear, I mostly did what they said and artificially changed my behaviors so that they wouldn't get mad at me. For social interactions I cycle through a mental "script" to figure out what I need to say. The scripting was more prevalent up until high school and it has gotten easier in the last 2 years. I assume this is "masking." My parents have tons of videos from my childhood. This is where I get confused. I talked a *ton* as a 3 year old. But I always used a flat tone of voice, used idiosyncratic speech and made up words to describe what I wanted to say. For example, I said "I hunna jump" instead of "I'm going to jump." The video of you talking to Alistair and him not entirely answering the question or not recognizing what you were saying is also how I'd talk at times. I vocally stimmed, physically stimmed with my blankie (I still stim with it and I'm in college now haha) and spun in circles to music. I lined up my toys in a certain way and imagined scenes with them in my head when they were lined up. The "talking a lot" part confuses me the most though because I always thought that speech regression was a defining trait of autism. Also, talking a lot implies that I was very interactive with my family and not self-absorbed. Are these just autism stereotypes that I'm thinking of? Diagnosis or not, I'm learning to love myself and I'm also learning friendship skills from my boyfriend. Easier said than done of course haha. Anyways, thank you for reading this, if you did. I appreciate the content you create about autism and I hope your kiddos are doing well.

I think that more people are doing research and connecting the dots, as well as diagnostic criteria changing, as well as doctors being less black and white when it comes to diagnosis autism (especially in people who are born female) so it may seem like person after person is getting diagnosed but I don’t think it’s many of the attention seekers but rather a combination of specialist opening up and becoming less black and white and people putting in the research. I would also like to mention that a diagnosis is a privilege, and not everyone can get a professional diagnosis, which is where most of the self diagnosis comes in.

Do you think you could do a video on autism and trauma? I don’t think there’s a lot being talked about when it comes to ASD and trauma. I was diagnosed with autism by my school when I was 10, and then I was diagnosed again professionally when I was 19. And then I was diagnosed with complex PTSD a couple years later. I wasn’t traumatized by my autism. I won’t go into detail about my trauma, but people who are on the autism spectrum are more vulnerable to trauma.

This is a subject I am VERY passionate about!. Thanks to social media, I very much agree the label of diagnosis of Autism is getting not only diluted, but highly corrupted. It has gotten so bad that I think the only solution is to retire the term Autism. IMPORTANT PREFACE: I very much like this channel (and a few others). Simply put; reality is shown, no spins or unsupported "opinions" are preached as "answers", there is always the footnote to seek professional advice. More importantly, there is a presentation of things that have worked, things that have not, and sometimes solicitation for feedback on thing that may help the family. This is a true sharing environment who's mantra is sharing, caring, and helping. Any channel, blog, or site with such content I fully embrace. MY COMENTARY: Sadly, a huge portion of people with a diagnosis for some reason feel, just because they "have something" they are an EXPERT. That's nice, for those people, if they ever need surgery, I hope it is performed not by a Doctor, but by only a person who has the same medical emergency! Obviously that is very stupid and that is why the massive amount of Autistic people saturating the internet with their "EXPERT" (unqualified opinions) are doing a large amount of damage. There is a person in the U.K. that declares he "has Autism, ADHD, OCD, and Dyslexia" and runs a channel called "A......W...." (or now called TAW) For several years he has put out videos of "5 things YOU MUST KNOW......." content and other sensationalized titles, all insisting knowing these things you will know YOU are Autistic.......OR..... YOU CAN DIAGNOSIS someone else. He even made several videos in which he wanted his "followers" to use "These things to diagnosis others...." This person and this type of behavior is dangerous. Due to his financial success with his "Expert advice", others seek to follow in his footsteps. This activity has lead to a large amount of people to self declare they are Autistic. Even here in California, I have personally met two people that declared they have "Female Aspergers" based exclusively on that mans channel. SO the effects are real and the damage being done is real. My diagnosis would now be classified as ASD Level 1 (my diagnosis has evolved from 1972 to present as the DSM's have evolved) I try to champion those who are Level 3 and the families associated. WHY? Because there has been SO much false information, twists, and distortion's by Autistics, the public is starting to think the face of Autism is ONLY what is seen in "high functioning" (or Level 1) people. The self-serving egotistical people inflating their ego with their false or distorted information is sad and dangerous! I have met several families with members with more severe challenges that are disgusted and frustrated by those who try to make ALL Autistics appear to be "High Functioning". Lets get real, both the DSM-5 and the ICD (International Classification of Deceases) lay out the criteria for the diagnosis of Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder. Yet, the vast majority of these "EXPERTS" seldom direct people to the actual documentation, but instead spin their own interpretations so much as to make much of it flat out lies or highly distorted. Few suggest you seek professional advice. The VAST MAGORITY of these "EXPERTS" will tell you they post and blog to "Help other people." It this were true, they would be sharing things they have experienced, things they have done that have made their life better, and things that did not work out. There would be open exchange where things that could make a life a litter better would be shared. Instead, the blogs and channels become a sill pit of people complaining how terrible their life is. So YES, Autism is being watered down by the very people who proclaim to be Autistic, and to great harm to those who honestly seek feedback and positive help. The "Face of Autism" has been hijacked by far too many who only seek a "Label" and "Sympathy." Hence, the term "Autism" should be retired and terms more descriptive attached to the varying degrees of challenges. And that is the key here. "We" are "Socially Challenged", yet most of our mix of challenges are unique to the individual. The "Spectrum" has been stretched so far as to distort what "needs" need to be addressed. As (some) of us know, Autistics and Neurotypicals can have similar challenges, but on the Autistic side, it is both intensity and context that separates us. So it is no wonder so many "Neurotypicals" buy into "A....W..." channels spins and say "Gee, I do that, therefor I must be Autistic!" AND YES, most of my comments are VERY long........As an Autistic, I have almost no "filters", my Executive Functions are shot, and short response are very difficult for me to put together!

nowdays everyone who's not fit the mainstream narrative is labeled as "autistic". this guy elon musk the most rich person on earth and called himself autistic, give me a break

There is one thing I don't like about having autism. Its when people saying I don't have autism or I don't look autistic. Its a spectrum. Some people you can tell if their autistic and other people like me, people don't really know in till they get to know me and are around me a lot

Thank you for opening up the topic to discussion. There is certainly alot to discuss and we are very thankful that there are tools that Doctors can use for this diagnosis. Back in the 70's, there were very few options around and it could take years to get properly diagnosed, if at all. We agree with you, that folks, Parents and care givers should seek out professional tests and not online ones for a proper Diagnosis. Its the only way to start getting whatever therapies may be needed.

How have you guys been I hope you both had a blessed day you’re an amazing family💙

Hello special family, I just discovered your channel. I admire your humility in sharing.

A lot of this makes me think of my daughter who was told by the Neuro Psychologist that she has traits of Autism, but in the end is not Autistic and I can agree with that in the end.

Unfortunately in my experience society is generally not very accommodating of difference (even though there are individuals who are accommodating). The system seems to be that diagnosis or obtaining a label is the only route to interventions, accommodations and support (although again in my experience you still have to fight for it even after diagnosis). So whilst diagnosis is the correct route to obtaining medical interventions, (particularly if there are potential side effects or a risk of harm), I have to ask, do we really need a diagnosis for all the social accommodations? I’m not sure.

unfortunately a lot of us females are just now being diagnosed as adults, so we feel the need to talk about it. i think self diagnosing is fine, as long as it leads someone to get an official diagnosis of either autism, or something else like bpd or adhd, as the two can look very similar. i do believe that it’s not okay to self diagnose and then do nothing about it as far as research and reaching out to doctors. those are the type of people who harm the autistic community. in my case, i’ve struggled with sensory issues, communication, verbalization, non-verbal episodes, sensory meltdowns, shutdowns, eye contact, executive dysfunction, picky eating, etc for my whole life. it just went unnoticed because, for females, pediatricians find these symptoms “attention seeking.” it got to a point where i would cry and hit myself (meltdowns) every other day after school until i GRADUATED high school. so many signs missed, ignored, and abandoned. my parents didn’t care, and neither did my pediatrician. i got into therapy around 13, and it was clear to my therapist that i was struggling with adhd (inattentive) and autism. i got my official diagnosis the day of my 18th birthday. i had to hop through hoops and hurdles to get it, and it wasn’t easy. i wasn’t allowed to have an IEP until senior year of high school because i didn’t get my diagnosis until then. it was wildly expensive, and honestly quite disheartening. i went through the five stages of grief from the years of 13-18 when my feelings were finally validated. of course, i didn’t get my diagnosis till 18, but the fact that a therapist saw and validated my struggle was a good feeling. i wasn’t faking it, and i definitely was not doing it for attention. i. was. struggling. bad. she was the only one who understood. i didn’t and couldn’t tell anyone i was autistic (except for my parents of course) until about 6 months after i turned 18. i didn’t think i was allowed to at 13, because it wasn’t *official*, even though i had already been tested and it was confirmed by a licensed therapist. i hated the fact that i couldn’t get help as a child. i went through so much trauma, that i am just now healing. not having your support needs met when you’re in sensory overload or dealing with a meltdown is traumatic. many times, my parents would hold and restrain me to keep me from hitting myself, and they’d threaten to call the cops or take me to a mental institute. if only they understood what was actually going on. they thought i would give them the “silent treatment,” but in reality my brain was full of static and i was unable to form sentences. i wish people took biological females seriously as kids when the talk to you. i could go on and on about things that happened or conversations i had as an 8 year old with my pediatrician, but i digress. thank you for this video. i encourage anyone who reads this to do their own extensive research and always listen to your children.

So true, I agree with you. I was misdiagnosed when I was younger. I had to mask my autism because I was told that i was not allowed to have it. I've had teachers that said I had dyslexia and I've said no. They said yes I do, I don't mix d and b. She said yeah you do. It's so frustrating when people don't believe you. But cool video guys. Appreciate your content

My daughter feels like she doesn’t fit in. It’s so hard.

I have a student who acts and shows all the symptoms or behaviors you mentioned in another video. In this country that I am in now (but I can't say the name because probably KZfaq will ban me), parents don't accept that their children could have neurological problems, we teachers have to do everything to keep them safe and not hurt other children. Thank you for your videos, they are beneficial.

I work with high school students on the spectrum, and my son (who is in elementary) has high functioning Autism too. I noticed that the higher functioning group in all age groups are a little more aware of social cues and standards and "mask" when around neurotypicals. Autistic children (on all levels) are so capable, unique, and highly intelligent. I wish there were more schools tailored to our community. We might have many students who are on the spectrum and don't even know because they mask, they may struggle socially and academically when it shouldn't be the case. We need a space and learning styles for everyone, inclusion matters.

Some people don't seek a professional diagnosis because it is difficult to get. When I was getting diagnosed there were places that refused to see me because I'm not a toddler. I was lucky to finally get it at sixteen after a year of waiting. I think however that for a diagnosis, whether it is self or professional, the biggest criteria should be if it impacts your life. I think it is underdiagnosed in a lot of kids, especially girls due to the bias.

Stinks now a days you have to worry about everything you say and do. I totally understand what you’re saying and absolutely agree,

Thank you for your video. Thank you for the cautious you’re having when talking. Nice video!

I finally found a video with a comment and all I want to say is taht you are doing a good job at keeping your sons safe and helping with their needs and they don’t know how lucky they are to have people like you and even the community as well helping you with them as some parts of the world like mine treat people with disabilities badly and since I have autism I got into a lot of fights and nobody was their to help me they saw me as a dangerous weapon a ticking time bomb and at any second I could destroy the place So bassicaly I’m glad soem bits of the world can look at people with autism and want to help them Also I’m sorry for not being able to type properly it wasn’t exactly my strong suit in life

Ever since the moovie "Rainman" came out, the condition became over-publicized and over-diagnosed. Before that moovie, I think almost no one knew what autism even was. Today, if you are male and shy, they want to put you "on the spectrum."

I was diagnosed when I was around two and they said I was selectively mute. My wife, not on the spectrum, but she does have generalized anxiety disorder and is possible she might be bipolar but we don't know.

My son has ADHD and autism. Some kids are able to "mask" or deal with some of the symptoms of Autism but still have sensory issues, meltdowns, and social challenges.

Nobody 'has autism', autism is an abstract concept. The person is Autistic, it is not something that can be carried, treated or cured. It is not something you 'have', it is a neurological difference. Language matters. Positive Autistic identity matters.

I have high functioning autism but I make noises at home and stim in private like I have classical autism. People in my dorm in college 16 years ago frequently asked me to stop 🛑 yelling and/or keep it down!

Amazing parents with amazing kids.stay blessed.love you😘😘😘😘😘

I guess it all depends on who you’re asking. At the end of the day someone is diagnosed with an ailment that is going to affect them and everyone else for the rest of their lives. I’m saying that in a general manner not in a negative way.

I think people are self diagnosing!

Getting diagnosis has been a really long struggle. When I was 2 years old is was completely non-verbal and struggled to understand and keep up with anything anyone was talking about or an activity they was doing. My momma had to fight for me to get diagnosed and now at 15 years old I finally took a vigorous three week long test and was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and I now qualify for an IEP which has made it significantly easier for me to learn at school. When people self diagnose it seriously rubs me the wrong way because for me it isn't really fair that I had to go through so much to get diagnosed while they out here diagnosing themself. Then go "I struggle so much" when they haven't gone through what I had to go through. Especially when I was singled out of groups with other kids for being too stupid but when they put me with other special kids they said I wasnt stupid enough. In today 2021 it's so much easier to get diagnosed than when it was 2007 so I sometimes find it hard to understand for people who self diagnose to come up with excuses when they get questioned about it online

Hello I am a mother of three autistic children as well one of my kids haven't been diagnosed I kind of just think he's delayed but he shows really common traits with his brother so it's kind of hard not to throw him in there but only time will tell but I want to give you guys a very important message I want to thank you for everything that you do because there are not enough people that are brave enough to put this type of content out there for people to see and you let us in your home and an invite us into your kid's life and I deeply appreciate that the people that are offended by this just want attention please don't be upset about it and I understand this video is to address certain things of that nature but those are people that are very attention-seeking and if you can't take this content to understand that these are people that are just trying to help other people that are lost about autism because it is a lot to process then you are truly an immature person and you really really need to get off these people's back as a person that is like to subscribe your channel I am absolutely supportive of you and your family and I wish nothing but your family the best you have an amazing family your boys are totally sweet

Without a label there don't get the support they deserve.

I am autistic and was diagnosed at 38. I had a brother who had severe mental disability, but as a family we never new the word Autism. We were just us, and we were a normal family to us. When I was diagnosed I was angry at my parents for letting me struggle through life, wondering why thing happened the way they did. But now I am kind of grateful because I managed to achieve and experience many great things, like having a career as a graphic designer, buying a home and getting married. I wonder if maybe I could not have achieved this if I was labeled autistic as a child. I learned coping strategies because I had no other choice if I wanted to succeed at life. I needed the diagnosis because my mental health was deteriorating, I didn’t know anything about autism until a doctor told me that what I described is because I am autistic. Things are very different now, knowing when I am masking and when I am being me has improved my mental and emotional health in so many ways.

I don't think autism is more common in boy, I think it's 50/50 it's just that girls are underdiagnosed

For example the character of Gregory House, who would have been diagnosed with Autism today, he has a lot of of ASD signs. however like you said their are some people that are just introverted or his background too. Introverted doesn’t mean Autistic.

This video is kinda useless, because you didn't specify whether you are talking about diagnosing children or diagnosing adults, because they are not the same thing. It makes me angry that you and people in the comments are saying that a self-diagnosis is useless and everyone is jumping on the autism bandwagon. Maybe that's the case for children being diagnosed? Idk nor do I care. Is there some club that we have to join to say we are "special"? I don't know anyone in their right mind who would want to claim autism or anything else that makes life difficult to the point you wished you hadn't been born! And the looks people give you if you muster up the courage to tell someone... yeah, it's definitely being over diagnosed at $3000 a test. LOL. That was extreme sarcasm... I learnt it from my dysfunctional family. It's much easier to diagnose a child on the spectrum because they have their parents insurance and parental help. ADULTS, people like me who grew up thinking there was and is something wrong with them, since everyone ridicules and criticizes them their entire lives... we hate attention and want to be left alone, but can't because we need help with certain things... want to withdraw even more when we see these kind of pondering and accusations. It's the same old, "blame the victim" attitude that's rampant in mental health care. Sick of it.

I was like you,wanted to think no my little girl didn't have it,but since she been at her school,they are starting to help her. For which I am glad, hopefully they can help so in the future maybe she can do as much as possible.

I can’t believe that autism was 1 in 10,000 in the 70s and now it’s skyrocketed to about 1 in 40 (the CDC is wrong, no surprise there), yet the medical establishment in this country is always scratching their heads and has no answers. If this trend continues, everyone in the future will have autism. And there are some very important environmental factors that need to be looked at. We are unwell because our environment is unwell. If you look into the history of Monsanto, you will see that they were a chemical weapons manufacturer. We literally allowed a chemical weapons manufacturer to seize control of our food supply. And that’s just one of so many problems. The greed and corruption are plaguing this planet and we are unwell because our environment is unwell. We gotta get the chemicals out of our bodies and out of our kids.

That reminds me, I need to go talk to a doctor...now if only that didn't involve phone calls

I tried really hard to hide my autism for 15 years going undiagnosed and I never fit in with the other people until I was properly diagnosed, but even after the diagnosis I only had some close friends. Hopefully I will accomplish some things that NTs accomplish in life such as marriage, children 👦, and a high paying career but if not it is okay ✅ since everyone is unique in their own way.

I love what you are doing for the 🌎. Ifno is power Power is STREANTH .Keep spreading the LUV & MESSAGE 😇🙏👍💯

I agree with some of the comments…we took the Asperger’s diagnosis away and people do not understand the new ASD dx. I feel like if I said my son has an Asperger’s diagnosis, they would say oh yeah that makes sense but since I say he has an Autism diagnosis I get a lot of push back and people telling me he’s not autistic since he is so high functioning. These people do not live with us and see his/our struggles. It it very hurtful to not feel validated and for my son just to be looked at as a bratty child.

I'm 58 years old and was tested and properly diagnosed only recently, in late 2017. I think that some of us older people who fell through the cracks are finding out very late in life.

How can such understanding parents exist 💙 love you guys and videos

I wish you could make this video with subtitles in Spanish to share it with the Hispanic community, A lot of misinformation coming from self-diagnosed autistics.

Couldn't agree more with this video.

I like chewing on things and stimming it is calming so ye very calming sorry if I'm making this sound weird because I really cant talk rn real well but it's really calming for me because I have adhd and anxiety

I'm a woman in my 20s and I was recently officially diagnosed , and in my opinion i was misdiagnosed.Professionals suddenly started pushing me to get evaluated, and I got put on waiting lists TWICE (first time i showed up and told them I did not consent and wanted to leave, so they just put me on another list). My diagnosis "papers" say i fulfill all of the criteria in the DSM-5, but don't motivate why on most of them, or refer to circumstatial "evidence" they think they've found. I am somehow a totally unique high functioning woman on the spectrum with NO EXPERIENCE of having trouble interpreting social cues or debilitating sensory problems. I just experience severe exhaustion and eye contact began to hurt/take a lot of energy in my teens.Nothing i said or my family reported could change their mind. I'm considering having my medical journal wiped clean at this point.

A good read on this question is www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-real-reasons-autism-rates-are-up-in-the-u-s/. That's from 2017 and things have changed even more since then. Certainly how we think about and label autism has changed a lot over time. I think a lot of people still have not internalized that the term "autism" includes what used to be called "Asperger's". Combine that with women being wildly under-recognized (recent research suggests the gender ratio may even be 1:1). I recommend the SquarePeg podcast to hear testimonials from people discovering they are autistic in adulthood. No one is taking it lightly. It is usually based on a suspicion, followed by years of research, followed by learning the stories of other autistic people and seeing how it makes a whole lifetime make sense. It really wasn't until there were self-advocates on the internet that it was possible to find large numbers of other autistic people to learn from. That's the thing that has really changed the most. Either way, consider the impact of a self-diagnosis. This assumes someone managed to reach adulthood without it being obvious that they were autistic. In most places, a formal diagnosis gets you nothing in adulthood, or can even cause you harm (examples like www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/people-with-autism-intellectual-disabilities-fight-bias-in-transplants/2017/03/04/756ff5b8-feb2-11e6-8f41-ea6ed597e4ca_story.html). Is there a downside if some small percentage (let's say 1% which is a huge overestimate) of self-dx adults are wrong? This just means 1% of people basically attending online meetup support groups would not get a clinical diagnosis but in every other way identify with everyone else there, and everyone there identifies with them. Maybe at some point they figure it out or change their mind. The "downside" of someone being wrong is... more connection.

I didn't have any signs in your videos but got diagnosed with autism but it was very low and the people who diagnosed me were confused I'm 12

I got diagnosed with autism when I was 12 shows a lot that people didn’t think I had anything for 12 years I actually got diagnosed for stress but they found out I had stress and and autism

Hi! Is there a way I can send a private message and ask about my sons diagnosis to you both. My son has 5 diagnoses.

LOVE how you throw the "preferred pronouns" thing in a video about autism, how are those things related?, god, would love to understand why mormons and conservatives in general are like that. Just as there are so many videos trying to understand autism, we should really study the conservative brain, because, it actually causes harms to others, unlike autism.

In my experience in three different schools, Autism and ADHD are vastly underdiagnosed. Like you, my wife and I were both in denial for months after our daughter entered kindergarten. Once I realized these LD teachers had no idea what they were doing, my denial turned to ... well... rage. It was embarrassing. My wife had to take over. That was six years ago. I've been in another/MMS comment section, and there are so many people saying I'm autistic, and it's no big deal. We just think differently. That made me think they may have been misdiagnosed. But it's more likely they just don't like being judged. Then there are these trigger words you aren't allowed to say. I've lost track of how many. Any disorder or syndrome diagnosed by a doctor is a disease. It doesn't matter what you want to name it. They are the same thing. That said: My daughter is twelve. And I've never said the word autism in front of her. She asked me what it was once years ago, and I quickly changed the subject. But for god's sake, what's going on here? Watered down is an understatement. Einstein was not autistic. We need to find the cause before we're all on the spectrum, literally. It's obviously some drug or pesticide or combination thereof. I'm not going to say another trigger word, but we can find better treatments than are currently commonplace. Have you heard of BBBE? Do you know anyone who's tried it? Thank you for this video, even if it was a little clickbaity.

I think autism is being watered down b/c autism high functioning and Asperger’s are very different along with low or moderate functioning autism some are more challenged then others that bothers me just a bit it’s becoming a one solution fits all. I think the critique should be broken down into high functioning low functioning or moderate functioning so that the treatment can be specific when it comes to getting specific therapies.

❤️ So true. People in my opinion are getting under diagnosed.

my adopted parents were very much in denial for me. i was diagnosed non verbal level 3 autistic when i was 4 . my adopted parents go second and third and 4th opinions all up to age 10. i did feel they didjt eant a child with disabilities as i have other too. but maybe it was for their own self idk i dont under. i did loadsof soeech theorahy and aac devices and start to talk at age 8. not well but enough to not be non verbal autistic anymore. but still low functioning autism. i don't understand the switching if levles or anything. but u think it's normal for parents to be in denial? tik tok is faking autism and doing some self diagnosed stuff. i dont think its right. i am trying to fit in as well trying to copy other idk if im masking or at least well .i been watching u guys for a bit now. great videos

Thanks for the video. I m honestly struggling with this on my child. He is turning 3. Non verbal. Understands alot though. Doesn't have any problems on crowds. Doesn't have any sensory issues. He is definitely on his own little world sometimes. Diagnosis seems far away because professionals are swamped. Just kind of isolated honestly

I've been waiting for 3 years to get an autism diagnoses ☹ I live in the UK and it takes a long time to get a diagnoses, my step dad has been waiting 4 years

I feel like in a way you HAVE to stereotype conditions

I wish diagnose went I was childhood I diagnose 42year old

This was an awesome video!

Many self-diagnose due to lack of access!! In our state there are just 3 state-certified neuropsychiatrists that take medicaid. THREE!!!

THIS. the other is that there is few if any resoruces for adults who are Autistic. People often think it is a childhood disorder that you grow out of. not knowing that as one grows older the better then mask their symptoms.

Do you have any advice for an adult who likely has undiagnosed autism? I have had multiple Psychologists say that I likely have autism, but as a 29 year old, I don't know how to get an official diagnosis. My Doctors have observed it, but I have not been officially tested.

I was professionally diagnosed with autism at age 16. My diagnosis at the time was referred to as Asperger syndrome. I have since heard that Diagnosis is not being used anymore and it is just autism or ASD. I heard of levels but I think that not being use either. I just simply say now that I have a form of autism. I did not know what scale that used to diagnose me but I do know that it fits. I myself tried to mask at school because not many people in my class know that I have autism only my two friends and one other student that told know that I have it in my class. I'm in college in the semester is almost over that I'm NOT going to even mention it.

I had to insist for more than a year with my therapist and even longer with my parents to get assessed. I finally got diagnosed but just after 10 years (15, I knew something was wrong with me since I was 5) of thinking I was wrong and just different. People still say oh but she's not autistic, she never has meltdowns oh but she doesn't stim,when actually I do stim a lot, just not in front of people. I mask a lot and so the conclusion people make is... Well if she can mask then she knows what is appropriate then it's not hard for her then she doesn't have hf autism. It's so annoying when people do that, as if mit making were just me being lazy.

Great video, I think people getting underdiagnoised, I didnt get diagnoised with Autism until this May at age 27. so wish been diagnoised when I was a child. When I was 8 my parents got me tested for dyslexia which I didnt have and in that report that said I didnt have dyslexia there was alot of stuff be related to my autism the physcologist at the time didnt see that and suggest a autism assesment they just said give me remedial in hand writing and maths. Also they wasent much about girls and autism back then and because us girls tend to he better maskers than men thats what props also I went under the radar. I came to an age where I said to myself I dont see anyone else doing this, why do I think different than everyone else etc and I started doing research and I came accross Autism and it clicked everything made sense and I ticked alot of the traits, then said it to my cousin and parents and then got referal from our doctor to phycologist for an Assesment and got diagnoised with Autism. I always did feel different but didnt know why but now I do. if I had been diagnoised sooner I could have got the help and support I needed in college, I only got ordinary degree in the end I failed my final year as it was to tough some assignments where to vaige, I barley got to the word count but was a struggle, lots of other difficult things to in college but I am so glad I have a diagnosis now it helps alot. I have a friend in canada im from ireland. My freimd is waiting on his Autism assesment and diagnoises, it was because of me he getting assesment etc, I noticed stuff in him same as me on video chats and stuff, he did lots of research to and realised he also fit autism, hopefully he get his diagnoises soon he be 43 getting it, he was miss diagnoised with skitsofrinia at 16 which he doesnt realte to at all doesnt fit that critieria. 😊

I'm not sure if people are being over diagnosed or not. I agree with another comment I saw there is more understanding for diagnosing females. But also Autism is still a fairly new term in our history and the understanding has become wider and the spectrum as a whole is alot broader now as well. I do think this is something that must be diagnosed by professionals and don't believe in self diagnosis being valid.

I think it’s a little of both but one thing that bothers me are those who self diagnose and don’t make any real attempts to get an official diagnosis. It’s completely unfair to compare themselves or speak for autistics with official diagnoses. I’m finding this more online and it feels pervasive. ASD is real, no one should play around with that.

Preferred pronouns are not labels.

Well most people have it to varying degrees some are barely noticeable compared to others. They like to use words like introvert whereas it could just be an autistic lifestyle. I might be incorrect btw 💭

I.M.O. AUTISM is still undiagnosed as there are persons doing assessments without sufficient /appropriate training/understanding of the disorder. .

I don't mean to be rude, but what are the odds that all of your children were born with autism? Are there any predispositions we should look out for? Any compatibility issues that can be detected prior to having a baby? Or is it really something in the water? I don't mean to sound ignorant and it's why I am visiting your channel. I wish to be educated more on this subject. There was a study conducted that claimed a connection between autism and unusually high levels of mercury in vaccines which is used as a preservative. Being a huge skeptic, it is not surprising to me that big pharmaceutical companies want to increase the shelf life of vaccines and create more "multi-dose" vaccines. It's hard to know what to believe when anomalies such as your family exist which makes someone question this coincidence. Again, I mean no harm so please don't attack me.

Have you considered that the food is causing these problems of autism to children? Could be something that comes in the genes because the food is causing bad changes in our genes. I am talking about industrialized food, gmo food, which could cause serious damage to our bodies.

It took until my daughter was 10 that she was finally diagnosed. We had suspicions of this since she was 5. Took her to many therapists and they all concluded that she had general anxiety. And she was doing just fine academically in school and had above IQ. But where she was lacking was the social aspect. And it would show up when she came home and had a major meltdown because something happened in school. And it just became more obvious with each passing grade. We finally sought out our own professional and they were able to confirm that she was on the spectrum. I think because girls don't always demonstrate the classic signs that boys have, they do often go undiagnosed.

you should take this to tik tok, there’s a lot of people on there who have autism, me included

Depending on how the scientific research turns out, I'm wondering if there should be a "sub-clinical" autism - or as researchers say broader autistic phenotype. That is people with autistic traits that don't lead to difficulty in their life.

Yes, tons of ID kids are being diagnosed autistic to get more services...

As someone with autism, I suppose I feel like it’s some under diagnosed and some over diagnosed. I think there are a lot of people who probably don’t get diagnosed for many different reasons. And I also think that there are some people who can misdiagnosed themselves for different reasons. And It may just be my perspective as a teen, but I feel like some young people are wrongly diagnosing themselves from things like videos they relate to on tiktok or some for attention or some because they confuse it with something else. On the other hand though, I’ve seen more exposure for autism and that can be really good for helping people understand themselves so more people could be learning about themselves too. That’s just some of what I think I suppose, I honestly don’t know much about people with autism as I haven’t really encountered many, i only know myself. But i think it’s a mix of both.

A lot of people believe Autism is what they see watching "The Good Doctor". They assume that's the "average Autism case", I think the show (that often put the focus on other topics emphasizing them more than needed) actually didn't do so much good to make people understand Autism.

It's an autism moment I gotta get my views on KZfaq about my kid having a stomachache! Honey back me up time to be famous on KZfaq 😂😆😆

No. It is NOT being watered down! A damaging idea. Also, PLEASE, it is very annoying to have your wife, "off camera," chiming in. Both people commenting need to be on camera. ( I work in TV). I am an Aspie, and a parent who had to go to 17 different doctors before my son got a formal diagnosis at UCLA's neuropsychiatric Institute. In those days, the diagnosis of autism was one no doctor wanted to hang on a person. That meant putting a loved one in an institution. I was told because I did not want to do that route, I was in denial and a bad mom. Even so, the late Dr. Bernard Rimbaud, and Dr. Laura Schreibman at UCSD were bickering to the bitter end about the diagnosis. Autism IS a Spectrum disorder. My son had no eye contact or speech til 8 y.o. I put him into professional acting school for 9 years from that point on. To "normalize" him. Haha. That did not happen, but it does allow him great skills to mask when he has to. Labels are certainly important if you want services. Recently my roommate, a Phd molecular geneticist working with CRISPR, asked if I thought he was an Aspie. I said a strong yes because, if it looks like a duck, acts like a duck, and quacks like a duck...I think in his case, he has found his metier, because of his extremely narrowed focus. He only cares about cells. A label would thus not be so important because he only cares about one thing: cells. I also think docs misdiagnose often. Here's a story: I was in La Jolla eating at a restaurant. The man behind me was talking to a young man about wild computer stuff. After awhile I ascertained the man was on the Spectrum. When I was leaving, I saw that it was Bill Gates.

I think it's a little bit of both. Also, I wouldn't compare diagnosis to pronouns at all. Sure you could consider pronouns labels, but it's not the same kind of thing.

Great experience doc, you are a God'sent dr odija on KZfaq, keep up the good work, I am completely free from HIV

oof, that Pinocchio thing hits close to home

Definitely undiagnosed. Because there is a spectrum. And the masking. And the other issues like dyslexia and ADHD.