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I think I might have autism. Is there a point to seeking a formal diagnosis? Are there any major drawbacks? (Canada)

I've been wondering for quite a while if I have autism or not as I seem to hit a lot of the commonly reported symptoms and experiences. I recently tried some of the self-tests out there, including the ones on Embrace Autism, and yeah, I hit every single one I tried for mild to even moderate autism. Scored 49 on the rbq-2a for example.

Now, I know that none of those tests are conclusive and I could easily be a false positive, so I'm not directly claiming I have autism. But I'm thinking the next step is probably to talk to my primary care doctor, but to be honest I'm really hesitant to/don't completely trust the mental health system in Canada. Genuinely asking because I don't really have anyone in my personal life who has similar experiences or I think would understand: what do people here think about getting a formal diagnosis? Is it always something one should pursue if they suspect they're on the spectrum? Are there any major drawbacks? I'm especially concerned about it affecting my career prospects (which already aren't great tbh, my fault for getting a science degree in an already niche field which I deeply regret but that's a different story) or my ability to take out loans or rent an apartment by myself. I don't personally see my autism (if I have it) as a disability, but unfortunately in Canada it is still very much seen as such. Who am I required to disclose an autism diagnosis if I am diagnosed?

I'm really sorry if any of this comes off as insensitive. I have never really participated in the autism online community and I am in no way trying to put down people with autism, I'm honestly just kind of scared about what this means for me. Anyone else in a similar situation, or were in a similar situation? Care to share your experiences or have any advice?

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  • in practical terms (and im not sure how this works in canada but we both live in western neo-liberal countries so I cant imagine there will be much nuance to this)

    you can likely expect with a formal diagnosis;

    • harder to fire at work
    • considerations will be made and granted to you in an employment setting
    • positive discrimination
    • either harder or easier to find work; in more formal settings easier because of diveresty, in casual settings harder because discrimination
    • extra benefits like disability payments

    I'd say go for it, just dont tell people you have it if you're applying to work in a casual setting like a bar ect.

    Science fields and more professional settings wont discriminate against you for being autistic, at least when it comes to giving you a job, they will want to hire you to inflate statistics that make them look good.

    • Preface to say self diagnosed currently.

      Dumb question but is there any research about people with autism getting fired more frequently?

      E: I totes didn't mean to stear this convo away from OP. Homie get a diag if you are able to. My first therapy session is today and I'm gonna talk to her about doing just that. Solidarity.

      • Dumb question but is there any research about people with autism getting fired more frequently?

        not a dumb question, mostly just vibes on my end but yeah id wager if looked at that people with autism tend to be fired more frequently.

        https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/news/new-data-on-the-autism-employment-gap

        according to this study only 22% of autistic people are in employment, so I would say at a glance yes.

        • So I have a tendency of not holding a job for more than 2 years and then will often have gaps in between. I never considered this as part of the equation.

      • It's not because employers find out and fire you, it's because they place nerotypical expectations on you that might be unrealistic and lead you to "performance" issues that lead to your firing.

        By getting a official diagnosis you become a protected class and they have to reasonably accommodate you. I don't know exactly how it works in Canada. In the US you'll be protected by the ADA.

        It's the difference between getting written up for wearing headphones while you work, to being legally protected for doing so.

        • So the good news, if I got a diag, is that I am in the States(never thought I'd say that is good news lol). Really wish I would have known about this like a decade ago.

          • I feel you. I've been officially diagnosed with ADHD for maybe 10 years now, but only recently learned that having ADHD is explicitly covered under the ADA. It's one of the main reasons why it's still called ADHD even though Attention Deficit Hyperactivity isn't an accurate description of the actual underlying mechanics of the disorder (and disorder is also contested because often there as just as many positive traits as there are negative traits in people with ADHD). If anyone wants to read more opinions on the naming of ADHD, I found these two articles just now that are pretty informative:

            • It’s one of the main reasons why it’s still called ADHD even though Attention Deficit Hyperactivity isn’t an accurate description of the actual underlying mechanics of the disorder

              I really feel you on this aspect. My wife is getting diagnosed with ADHD, and I would haven never pegged her for having it but she's super forgetful and loses her keys and phone all the time. After some TikTokking and talking with her therapist it's pretty much a sure thing that she has it. I have a friend that has pretty severe ADHD and he fidgets a lot and has other traits but wife and friend have virtually no shared traits. I think it's currently assumed that ADHD is also a spectrum, right?

              • It's not considered a spectrum and that's mostly because, when you get down to brass tacks, we all live within a spectrum of behavior. Instead, ADHD is a comingling of interoperating dysfunctions within specific systems of a person's brain that relate to how the brain rewards your behaviors (to my understanding anyway). Ultimately, while everyone can experience moments of forgetfulness, inattention, anxiety, or hyperfocus, what matters most is if those things happen at a frequency enough to become a detriment to your everyday life.

                ADHD can be broken into 3 types from my understanding:

                • Inattentive ADHD (often most diagnosed in girls):
                  • Trouble paying close attention to details, such as making "careless mistakes" in schoolwork, including missing or inaccurate details in work
                  • Has difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or play activities, such as staying focused during lectures, in conversations, or reading lengthy items
                  • Seems not to be listening when spoken to directly and may seem to be daydreaming or not be "in the moment"
                  • Does not follow through on instructions; has trouble finishing tasks such as schoolwork, chores, or other duties; and may start tasks but lose focus and get sidetracked
                  • Often has difficulty with organization, such as managing tasks and keeping work or home spaces neat, as well as problems with time management and missing deadlines
                  • Avoids, dislikes, or is reluctant to engage in tasks that require sustained mental effort, such as schoolwork or homework, preparing reports, and filling out forms
                  • Loses items they need for tasks or activities, such as pencils, books, tools, glasses, and keys
                  • Easily distracted by things around them or by unrelated thoughts
                  • Forgetful in daily activities and may forget to do chores and errands, return phone calls, pay bills, or keep appointments
                • Hyperactive/Impulsive ADHD (often most diagnosed in boys):
                  • Experiencing extreme restlessness, difficulty sitting still for extended periods, and/or wearing others out with one’s activity
                  • Fidgeting with or tapping hands or feet or squirming in the seat
                  • Being unable to engage quietly in leisure activities
                  • Talking excessively
                  • Answering questions before they are asked completely
                  • Having difficulty waiting for one’s turn, such as when waiting in line
                  • Interrupting or intruding on others
                • Combination ADHD (skewed more to boys than girls): This is, as the name suggests, a combination of the two above, where no one of the trait groups is dominant but collectively is still impacting the patients day to day life.

                I definitely suffer from a combination of both. I have intense moments of hyperactivity, and I can be easily wound up into an excited state (It's like an energy feedback loop), but I'm constantly misplacing things, and I'm awful at future sights and sensing the passage of time. I'm very fidgety and can talk excessively, I have to bite my tongue to not interrupt people if I think I know where their question is going. I have reminders for all kinds of daily and weekly tasks to ensure I never forget them. I have a whiteboard in a prominent place where we can place future events so I can mentally prepare for them. Finishing tasks is super hard, once I get through the "interesting" guts of a project, all the "finishing touches" that make it "done" are boring and a real grind to do. Reading is still a very hard task for me, if I'm not medicated it's almost impossible for me to get through several pages of a book at a time.

                Maybe you know all this already, maybe not. For a long time, it was very rare for girls to get an ADHD diagnosis because of how it presents for girls. But this is the first step in understanding how the adhd mind works, which allows you to build around it so you can midgate the bad parts and harness the good parts.

                • I knew quite a few of the traits but wasn't aware of the categorizing of them like you did. The first almost describes my wife to a T but she also has a few from the second one as well.

                  Thanks for the time to write this up and please keep being awesome! Gonna share this with her.

                  • You're welcome comrade! My brain was putting off doing real work at the end of the day, so it was no effort at all 😉. I saw a few sources split those lists in that way so I figured I'd include it. It's not exhaustive or comprehensive, and I'm not a psychologist, just a guy with ADHD lol, so defer to your licensed practitioner for confirmation.

      • Not exactly what you're looking for, but in this report employment is already scarily low (25%). Keep in mind some possible selection biases because the "milder" ones can often live a long time without even knowing they're autistic.

        On personal experience employers also have this weird belief that every autistic person is some Sherlock Holmes savant, so as soon as we disappoint by being mere mortals they change their tune very quickly. I myself am unemployed because I can't work a full time daily office job without getting burnt out, so even quitting might be interesting to account for besides firing.

        • Gonna read the link, but out of curiosity, about how long into a job would you say you burn out at? I will start a job and then after about 6 or so months "the shine wears off" and I always fall back into this going through the motions and day dreaming mode.

          • It usually doesn't last longer than an year, but depends on a couple of factors. I generally hate trying to concentrate while surrounded by other people, so during the pandemic I actually had a way better time due to working from home. It also doesn't help that in the area I'm trying to leave (Machine Learning and Data Science) a lot of the good-paying work is very useless, so keeping any illusion of purpose is very hard.

            I also have ADHD, so I wish it was more normalised to be able to just "take a break" every once in a while instead of having sprint after sprint to appease the Trello Gods. I've been even devising in my head a work routine of "playing support" every once in a while where the worker can reduce their workload and only focus on helping out the other ones during slow weeks.

            I used to be quite a workaholic and to obsess over doing the best work, but right now I'm just looking into freelance gigs and part-time jobs to keep me fed with less effort. I think if I still manage to have time to do something actually interesting by myself on my terms, actually working only to pay rent might be manageable to my mental health.

            • I recently got fired from my software dev job and am really considering going freelance at this point. I'm working on learning Kotlin and wanna build a few small apps over the next year or so to fill out a portfolio and then will go from there. My last job was remote and I thought that wold have fixed the "working with a bunch of people" issue but then my boss put me on support calls and I wasn't able to focus on the programming like I wanted to.

              Also the "playing support" idea is really great and I don't know why people don't consider it. I can see it help especially with junior level developers like myself but also help you as the tutor, so to speak.

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