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.

[u/mvea]

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

[u/lonewolf210]

I don't think it's entirely just because it's trendy. I think a lot of people just don't understand the difference between "I like my room to be clean so I sometimes more time then I should cleaning" and "I feel so compelled to clean that I couldn't leave the house to pick up my kids because I found something out of place".

A lot of people miss the key aspect of diagnosis for mental health problems which are that the problems/behavior persists despite extensive negative consequences in your life. Which go beyond I didn't do my homework I am so ADD

[u/r0ck0 → u/lonewolf210]

Yeah, I guess some people forget the "disorder" part of the names.

And they might sometimes soften it down more to simply "traits", which might even be "orderly" sometimes, haha.

When people say stuff like "everyone has a little ADHD / OCD in them"... they're kinda right if you're ignoring the "disorder" part, and you just mean "traits".

But when it needs to be simplified down to a binary diagnosis per individual... "disorder" is generally the deciding factor / threshold on these spectrums.

[u/faetpls → u/lonewolf210]

So, I've heard and made the jokes about myself with ADD for twenty years. Just jokes, never really thought too much about them. I saw it more as oh, I kinda struggle with those things too but not so bad as those with a real disorder. I went to a doctor and mentioned it once and they laughed it off with me.

COVID destroyed all of my routines. I couldn't do anything I wanted to do. That was the biggest tip off for me, and things added to the can't do list as I spiraled. The trendyness and quizzes gave me the confidence to seek professional help again. This time receiving it.

My life, my childhood, everything has a more stable context to my thoughts feelings and actions now. So, with everything that goes mainstream, there's pros and cons to it. If it hadn't gone so mainstream though, I don't think I would have gotten past the shame and denial to seek help again.

[u/00owl → u/lonewolf210]

As a gamer and someone who was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 32 (4 years ago), it drives me up the wall when someone says "oh this game really triggers my ADHD!"

Prior to my diagnosis I couldn't play a game like factorio because it would give me an anxiety attack.

I have days at work where I will be typing an email and forget the next word I was going to type mid-thought. I type at 100+ wpm.

Prior to the meds I would wake up in the morning and begin my day with a healthy helping of anxiety as I couldn't decide whether to feed the dog or the cat first and would often get halfway through feeding one only to set it down and start on feeding the other all without making an actual decision.

Having my ADHD triggered isn't a fun experience.

[u/cortesoft → u/00owl]

Sure, but not everyone with ADHD is going to be triggered by the same things as you.

[u/lonewolf210 → u/[deleted]]

I have been clinically diagnosed with ADD since I was in kindergarten and I also was in all the gifted classes. I'm sorry your health problems weren't treated but I think you are missing the point that the person I was replying to and I are making. People take these quizzes and are asked questions like are you easily distracted and answer yes because everyone can be distracted. They don't understand the difference between normal behavior and detrimental to your health behaviors

The vast majority of self diagnosis are not people with actual health problems