r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • 5d ago

Neuroscience New study finds online self-reports may not accurately reflect clinical autism diagnoses. Adults who report high levels of autistic traits through online surveys may not reflect the same social behaviors or clinical profiles as those who have been formally diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

https://www.psypost.org/new-study-finds-online-self-reports-may-not-accurately-reflect-clinical-autism-diagnoses/
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u/solidtangent 5d ago

Ya don’t say. I’m a clinical psychologist specializing in ASD, and I thank TikTok for the increased business, but I have a lot of disappointed people.

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u/diescheide 5d ago

Thank you for everything you do. I hate the idea of "gatekeeping" ASD but, it's difficult being taken seriously as someone who struggles with it, when everyone who's "quirky" defines themselves as autistic. ASD tests/screeners online are certainly a way to gauge if you might need to see a professional. It's not an official diagnostic tool by any means. I'm tired of people pretending it is.

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u/solidtangent 5d ago

Agreed. And I read a ton of psych reports from lazy psychologists that list the justification for ASD diagnosis as: “didn’t hold eye contact”. I guess they never heard of anxiety.

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u/paradoxaimee 5d ago

I have the same issue. I am so beyond sick and tired of people claiming self-diagnosis is valid because they’ve “done the research”. I guarantee 95% of these people don’t actually know what goes into research and how to research effectively and most importantly, impartially. They assume because they’ve taken some online screening questionnaires and one of their formally diagnosed friends has told them they have it, then they must. I have no issue with people saying “I suspect I might have autism” but it grinds my gears when they say they do have it without any actual diagnosis. Imagine going around telling people you have cancer and when they ask when you were diagnosed you tell them you actually haven’t been tested because doctors are expensive but you’ve done some online health questionnaires and all your symptoms align with cancer.

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u/Smee76 5d ago

Good for you for not just going with it.

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u/needlesandfibres 5d ago

Why do you think they’re disappointed?

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u/solidtangent 5d ago edited 5d ago

They want their difficulties to be autism, often it’s just lack of social development or disordered personality.

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u/BicornOnEdge 5d ago

I hope any psychologist I see doesn't talk about me this judgementally. Yikers.

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

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u/BicornOnEdge 5d ago

Don't k ow what country you are operating in. So maybe there is a culture bias or language barrier at play, but where I am, these phrases would be considered judgemental.

Here, We don't say malformed (inherent quality) personality, we talk about personality disorders (behavioral deficit). And people don't lack development (what does that even mean? It's so vague), they may have developmental disabilities or disorders. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder. So how you differentiate that from a "lack of development" I don't know. Surely it would fall under the "lack of development" umbrella.

Your words seem strange and judgemental to me. I've done a bit of therapy, and all the counselors, psychologists, and psychiatrists talked very differently about development disorders and personality disorders. The few mental health providers I talk to casually as friends or acquaintances also speak very differently from how you do.

So I think maybe you aren't a psychiatrist, or where you practice has a very different culture, there is a translation barrier, or maybe you are just a judgemental person. IDC which it is really. You're an Internet stranger. You could say anything.

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u/solidtangent 5d ago

I’m not a psychiatrist. I’m a clinical psychologist. What I said is clinical talk, it’s about theory and personality development.

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u/needlesandfibres 4d ago

Yeah. What you edited your comment to certainly is. 

What you said initially, “they want their failure to thrive to be autism”, certainly wasn’t. And the very fact that you edited it so egregiously points to the fact that you are aware of that fact. 

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u/needlesandfibres 5d ago

If I heard a doctor talking like this in real life, I would report them. Both to their place of work and the licensing board. 

It very well may be normal for psychologists to talk like this amongst themselves, though I very much doubt it, but it is absolutely unacceptable and should not be considered normal by anyone’s standards. 

It’s disgusting and dehumanizing. 

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u/solidtangent 5d ago

It’s clinical. Short hand for theories about disorders. Not what I would say to a patient.

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u/camellia980 5d ago

How do you know if someone really has autism? I have an autism diagnosis from a neuropsychologist, but I kind of wonder if he just thought I was weird.

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u/solidtangent 5d ago

“Neuro” ha. That’s a fancy add on for nothing. They can’t see autism with a brain scan. To diagnose correctly, the psychologist needs to be trained in autism, collect a lot of family, work, and developmental reports, because self report is inaccurate. Then they can add it all up and have an “opinion”. Too many lazy psychologists just look for eye gaze. But because it’s a developmental disorder the symptoms have to be present since birth. So many reports I read forget this part.