Autism's confusing cousins

Do you think neurotypical people often go, "I would like to spend significant time and money to get an autism diagnosis"?

I don't think it's particularly common. When I went through my dx, I was really hoping for adhd because then I could get meds, but my doc and all my screenings were like, "definitely not adhd, definitely autism".

So, maybe you are seeing rising diagnosis rates and considering that too easy? If encourage you to think about why you feel this way.

How do I know if I'm neurotypical? I have some challenges, I've done a few tests, but I could just be a lazy neurotypical bastard. I think if you go to therapy you can get to take yourself more seriously, look at the signs, self reflections and process that. Now that can easily lead to "I need to get diagnosed with XYZ". Just to be sure.

It's not about the rising rates, that could be explained in other ways.

You go to a testing center, not a therapist, to get a diagnosis. The online tests don't count. A thorough test will take a half-day or more, with tests ranging from conversations to Q&A to visual to a battery of multiple choice questions.

Yep. For some extra anecdata, mine included a 2 hour introductory session (briefly covering the many forms and [official] online tests she had me do ahead of time), and then two 4-hour test sessions, each of which left me utterly exhausted.

> Do you think neurotypical people often go, "I would like to spend significant time and money to get an autism diagnosis"?

The diagnosis is a road to help. I doubt many people travel down that road without there being some merit to their ideas, but even if it is the case that lots of people travel down that road, that doesn't say great things either. That just means we have a giant group of people screaming out for help and they are using one of few outlets to try and get it. I'd rather they get that help through travelling down that road than blocking off the road to anyone isn't 'actually ill', whatever we define that as.