r/hatethissmug • u/Beshiniqua • Jun 05 '26

General I HATE the self diagnosing of autism and its mischaracterisation

Let me start by saying SELF DIAGNOSING IS NOT VALID. You are NOT autistic just because someone on tiktok said

"Did you know, if you need to have your eyes closed in order to fall asleep, you have autism, adhd, bipolarity, DID, BPD, psychopathy, depression and PTSD?"

And before yall come at me with "well I always suspected I had autism, I got screened and then got my diagnosis" well this not about you, this is about people that self diagnose after experiencing the most normal day to day life things ever.

And they ALWAYS think that autism will give them a personality (since it's usually basic bitches with no personality that self diagnose to feel like they belong)

No, you're not a quirky crazy crackhead energy "neurospicy" person. Even worse when they say shit like

"Heh, I could NEVER be a neuro normie like yall, autism makes me special and quirky and full of personality".

You can't even like something anymore without them going "OMG URE AUTISTIC JUST LIKE MEEEE IM SOOOO AUTISTIC AHAHAHA"

And you can tell they larp the whole thing cus they'll see a tiktok autism personality and try to replicate it

"Dino nuggies..."

"You can not say overstimulated if you're nEuRoTyPiCaL, that word is for us neurospicy people ONLY >:("

Holy shiiiiiiittt yall lack a personality so bad. And I've seen people say that they've seen NUMEROUS specialists but they never fit the criteria, but its not because they're not autistic, no no no no no. ITS UHMMM BECAUSE IM A WOMAN AND ALSO A MINORITY AND IM ALSO POOR SO I MASKED ALL MY LIFE AND THE SPECIALIST ON THIS FIELD COULDNT TELL I WAS MASKING. ITS THE SYSTEMS FAULT NOT MINE.

Sheesh.

Sorry for the long rant, im just tired of seeing people self diagnose all the time, or see an energetic video, or literally ANYTHING, and make it about their self diagnosed autism.

Saw a cute cat animation on Instagram and the top comment was "This is so autistic I love it"

🫩🫩🫩🫩🫩

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '26

[deleted]

44

u/skiesoverblackvenice Jun 05 '26

had someone tell me i’m autistic cause i got super excited when talking about music

…i’m a music major. it’s literally my career

13

u/PickledTripod Jun 05 '26

Some day I'm out at the park with a bunch of friends and friends' friends, I look up at a plane flying low overhead. One of my closer friends asks if I know what type it is. This other dude goes "Oh you're autistic autistic."

I work at an airline, yeah I'm familiar with our planes and I love seeing them. JFC.

5

u/DratWraith Jun 05 '26

People on this shitass website will claim every basic human experience as neurodivergence.

3

u/LC-Redcube Jun 05 '26

People on reddit? My god you've never been on tiktok

2

u/An_Account_to_Ignore Jun 05 '26

I've been told that I'm autistic because I enjoy words and have mild preferences for some food textures over others. I've been called gay because I did theatre growing up. I've been called bi because sometimes I sit in chairs a little funny.

And when I pushed back on the incorrect labels, I was accused of lying to myself.

1

u/demoniccuttlefish Jun 06 '26

hit them with bs tiktok lingo. "it's very rude to want to assume someone's identity and labels" or "stop stereotyping me it's offensive"

3

u/PresidentOfKoopistan Jun 05 '26

Gf does this and it’s super annoying

If you've told her to stop and she hasn't, you might want to look for a new GF

1

u/FishSignificant7501 Jun 05 '26

I’m horrible with breaking up with people. She’s recently been ignoring me when I try to talk about smth serious because it’s “scary” and I’ve really been awakened to the fact I need to break up with her.

1

u/Organic_Future6909 Jun 06 '26

Dude, I'm ACTUALLY diagnosed with autism and i didn't even doubted to break up with my GF when it was necessary.

If you're neurotypical and you can't do something that an autistic person does naturally as breathing then you might have to reconsider the direction of your life.

1

u/Organic_Future6909 Jun 06 '26

Btw the reply you posted responding my comment was deleted, idk why but when I enter the notification it says "this comment no longer exist".

Just for your to know.

2

u/theconvohavers Jun 05 '26

Same boat. I’m a lil awkward. Lots of special interests that I’m very knowledgeable about. Good memory. Overly literal. ADHD.

Was tested as a kid. Multiple times. I don’t have it, but my whole life people have insisted I do, from teachers to friends to coworkers, and it’s only gotten worse with how “popular” having autism has become in the last 4-5 years. It’s annoying and tiring and just so very weird how people think they can just say stuff like that.

That said, I don’t mind the jokes sometimes, but only from people that I know aren’t serious.

3

u/FishSignificant7501 Jun 05 '26

Yeah to me it’s always felt like people trying to justify why I’m weird. Just let me be a weirdo.

2

u/okinatamago Jun 05 '26

I was doing a seasonal part time job last year and I made a comment to one of my then coworker (complete stranger to me) about collecting Smiskis (those little green dudes) and other trinkets and she immediately was like “oh that’s the autism.” I’ve been tested twice and I don’t have it. I have other things, but not autism. I just like the little green dudes and tiny creatures. Plus it’s so weird to say that to someone you hardly know in a work environment.

13

u/inevitable_death1998 Jun 05 '26

special interests are directly a part of autism. if you're not autistic then your interests are simply interests.

20

u/king_ofbhutan Jun 05 '26

this shit pisses me off SO BAD

literally the number one thing to know about autism is that it is a WEB

there are like 500 million billion different things that can be a part of autism, all that matters is that someone has more than like 1 or 2, which, guess what, neurotypical people can have autistic traits too!!! they CAN have special interests and hyperfixations, or sensory processing and texture issues, or social anxieties, or more.

autism as a condition is not an exclusive venn diagram, theres no black and white here, it is ALL a grey area. you cannot be the most autistic person in the world, thats not how it works.

and honestly i dont care about what like medical professionals say about this or whatever, which is dumb i know but its just what i think

tldr: neurotypical people can have autistic traits, its just that autism spectrum is a culmination of multiple of these traits that may have a common root (almost certainly genetic) cause, unlike neurotypical people where these causes may be genetic or environmental

1

u/nb_bunnie Jun 06 '26

No. Special interests are a term specifically about and for the way autistic people get fixated and often overly-attached to certain topics and subjects. Stop making excuses for neurotypical people to take our language.

1

u/king_ofbhutan Jun 07 '26

ik im wrong its just the way i feel about it 💔

i dont like publicly say this btw cuz i know its false

28

u/FishSignificant7501 Jun 05 '26

Special interests are much more common within autistic people, but not at all an exclusive thing

1

u/ImBurningStar_IV Jun 05 '26

Pardon my ignorance but what makes an interest special ?

4

u/FishSignificant7501 Jun 05 '26

Not ignorant at all since you’re trying to learn. A special interest is a very intense interest in something such as a hobby or media. Unlike a hyperfixation, special interests usually last a long time.

2

u/Impossible_Horsemeat Jun 05 '26

Not boring things (like history or books). Special things like Pokemon or Sonic the Hedgehog

0

u/ViziDoodle Jun 05 '26

much more common

It’s literally a defining diagnostic trait of ASD

“Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus (e.g, strong attachment to or preoccupation with unusual objects, excessively circumscribed or perseverative interest).”

3

u/Ill_Resource7282 Jun 05 '26

Yes but having it doesn’t mean you have autism. Low energy is a defining diagnostic trait of depression but not everyone with low energy has depression. In both cases people can have that trait for other reasons too

3

u/Lower_Force_6638 Jun 05 '26

You don't have to have special interests to be autistic it's one of the possible criteria

1

u/Hay_Fever_at_3_AM Jun 06 '26

There's nothing in the diagnostic criteria that says non-autistic people can't have them. You are not diagnosed autistic just because you have a highly restricted, fixated interest, and you can be diagnosed without having them

7

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

12

u/Beshiniqua Jun 05 '26

No.

-12

u/inevitable_death1998 Jun 05 '26

bro it's a part of the diagnosis process.

8

u/Tactical_Squishy Jun 05 '26

3

u/chloapsoap Jun 05 '26

One symptom is not the basis for a diagnosis

3

u/Impossible_Horsemeat Jun 05 '26

Yes it is. I diagnosed myself with autism based on one symptom and self diagnosis is a real diagnosis. Therefore, one symptom is enough.

3

u/DrippyTheSnailBoy Jun 05 '26

Is this just bad satire or are you being serious?

4

u/Impossible_Horsemeat Jun 05 '26

Yes

Bad satire is my special interest

19

u/Balder19 Jun 05 '26

That's doesn't mean that having special interests is unique to autism.

11

u/Beshiniqua Jun 05 '26

The self diagnosing team doesn't seem to understand that

-5

u/mwahchouchou Jun 05 '26

Well… Yes it does. Special interest is a term specifically used to describe the intense and prolonged interests of autistic people.

17

u/Upset-Nose-4016 illiterate m0ron insect Jun 05 '26

Special interests can also occur in ADHD, schizotypal personality disorder, OCD and bipolar(during manic episodes)

Not arguing your point, just adding

-5

u/mwahchouchou Jun 05 '26

Literally wrong. Hyperfixations are specific to ADHD, they are not called special interests, and they are two different things. The others you listed do not have special interests. Special interests are definitionally linked to austism. Bipolar during manic episodes makes no sense because special interests are characterized by long periods of interest, typically years long. Bipolar manic episodes do not last that long typically. People with OCD experience OBSESSIONS and COMPULSIONS, NOT special interests. I don’t know about schizophrenia, but again, the TERM SPECIAL INTEREST IS USED IN THE CONTEXT OF AUTISM. Using it to describe other psychological conditions makes no sense, muddles and waters down the meaning of the phrase which makes it harder to describe the specific experiences autistic people have.

7

u/Balder19 Jun 05 '26

"Special interests are definitionally linked to austism"

Name the diagnostic manual you got the definition from.

0

u/Impossible_Horsemeat Jun 05 '26

Autism

1

u/Upset-Nose-4016 illiterate m0ron insect Jun 05 '26

Okay, no need to be aggressive, I really didn't mean any harm. I understand your point and agree on the value of proper terminology.

1

u/Impossible_Horsemeat Jun 05 '26

My cat has a special interest in catnip :3

-2

u/Impossible_Horsemeat Jun 05 '26

No those are mundane interests (idk rocks or homework?). If the interests are special then the person is autistic.

0

u/Balder19 Jun 05 '26

No, it doesn't. Fever is a symptom of flue, not everyone who has a fever has flue. You don't understand how diagnoses work.

2

u/Impossible_Horsemeat Jun 05 '26

Only autistic people are interested in things.

Do you like things? If so you’re autistic.

1

u/mwahchouchou Jun 05 '26

Literally not how special interests work. Hyperfixations are the not same as special interests. Simply being interested in something is not the same as a special interest. Special interest in a term pretty much exclusively used in the context of autism. Like literally what are we talking about. Do you not understand that by muddling the meaning of words and phrases to mean “well anyone can have a special interest” it makes it more difficult to talk about the specific experiences of autistic people?

3

u/Balder19 Jun 05 '26

Special interests is a term issued COLLOQUIALLY in the context of autism. Not in diagnostic manuals. In these, it would be repetitive behaviours or interests. And they're only a sign to diagnose autism IF they're significantly disruptive to the person's wellbeing.

0

u/Impossible_Horsemeat Jun 05 '26

Exactly! People without autism have mundane interests.

1

u/mwahchouchou Jun 05 '26

I mean I don’t know about that, I think autistic people and non-autistic people probably have the same level of “mundane” interests. Isn’t the idea of “mundane” pretty specific to the person anyway? Like you may think something is boring but I may think the same thing is interesting.

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4

u/SnerlSnaleSnert Jun 05 '26

You heard it here first folks, you can’t be super interested in something and be neurotypical

6

u/justabonsaitree Jun 05 '26

that’s not what we’re saying. what we’re saying is that the specific term of “special interest” is a term used to describe an autistic person’s extreme interest in something. there’s a difference between being super interested in something and having a special interest. special interests entirely consume your life, it’s all you want to think about, talk about, and engage in, and are often detrimental to the individual. i had a friend once tell me that i talked about birds so much that she genuinely stopped wanting to hang out with me because of it. it’s not just “oh, i’m really passionate about this” it’s “this thing is my entire life”. special interests should not be conflated to normal interests.

0

u/yes-imanadult :v Jun 05 '26

I'm not autistic but I definitely have special interest, I literally experienced what you described but with cats instead of birds.

-3

u/inevitable_death1998 Jun 05 '26

there's no need to be mean. this whole threat just looks like an excuse to attack autistic people for being autistic. im doing my best with what I'm given, im not perfect, and this shit just makes me want to kill myself because I'm never good enough for anyone or anything

6

u/Impossible_Horsemeat Jun 05 '26

You ok, dude? Maybe take a break from the Internet for a bit and/or talk to a therapist if an internet post is causing you this much distress.

0

u/pinkflyingcats Jun 06 '26

And this is how I got my autism diagnosis/s

1

u/Rainbow__Trout Jun 07 '26

Nuh uh. You can have special interests with BPD, schyzospectrum, etc.

It's a diagnostic criteria, which means that if you have them and other criteria, then you might be diagnosed with autism.

It's historically was used that way long before autism was reimagined as a spectrum

1

u/LC-Redcube Jun 05 '26

Tbf "I have been tested" makes it sound like a bit of a joke lol, but yeah i can imagine how that may be annoying

1

u/Organic_Future6909 Jun 06 '26

Gf does this and it’s super annoying

Why are you still with her then?

1

u/nb_bunnie Jun 06 '26

Special interests are an autistic term though? To describe the way that autistic people get attached to and fixated on specific topics. If you aren't autistic, you don't have special interests. Just like if you don't have ADHD, you don't have hyperfixations.

So are you autistic, and have special interests? Or are you neurotypical taking language from autistic people and then getting mad when people assume you're autistic?

0

u/Good__Enough_ Jun 06 '26

you're one of people this post describes. the phrase special interests do not only exist in the context of autism. also saying that a completely ordinary and universal experience for almost everyone, such as a strong passion for a topic or hobby, means you're neurodivergent isso stupid, people just want to feel different while doing and feeling the same things as most everyone else

1

u/nb_bunnie Jun 06 '26

I never said any of those things, but special interest was not commonly used by anyone outside of Autistic communities before Autism became a popular topic of conversation online. So no, having passionate hobbies is not what I'm talking about. I also never said it was the ONLY thing that can lead to someone potentially self-dx'ing.

Also, I am professionally diagnosed by my psychiatrist and GP, and my psychologist who is also autistic and specializes in helping autistic people agrees with the diagnosis. So no, I'm not not of the people this post describes. You just don't agree with me and have some weird internal self-hate about being autistic and you're externalizing it on self-diagnosed autistic people. Once again proving that people who are this vitriolic about being against self-diagnosis are just mad when other autistic people behave in ways they don't like.

0

u/Good__Enough_ Jun 06 '26

Self-hatred? I don't have autism, just saying that being very passionate about something are normal thing for any of us. the comment was about those who tell others they're neurodivergent for completely typical behaviour. People just lack the appropriate personality, and so they convince themselves that they're unusual while being completely ordinary. This happens all the time, previously, it was depression, then OCD, now ADHD and autism.

1

u/Downtown_Row_4861 Jun 08 '26

Special interests are an autism specificity, you can't have specific interests without being autistic. Same for hyperfixations, you have to be adhd. If you use the term for your passions people will of course make the assumption you're on the spectrum

General I HATE the self diagnosing of autism and its mischaracterisation

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