• BOMBS@lemmy.worldM
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    9
    ·
    1 year ago

    “You can’t be autistic because you have a PhD.”

    Excuse me, PhD is just a special interest that’s been officialized via an academic process.

    “You can’t be ADHD because you have a PhD.”

    Excuse me, it took me 7 years of anxiety due to feeling like I was going to let down my dissertation committee and finished it in spurts of working on it intensely for days at a time with weeks/months in-between while depending on someone else to manage all my ADLs. I also paid someone to edit the format because I was not capable of setting that up within a reasonable time period.

    The more helpful comment, if they have to say anything at all, would be, “Wow, you earned a PhD despite all of the difficulties you had to overcome!” Or…we could talk about whatever historical fact I’m obsessed with at the moment 🤷‍♂️

    • Deestan@lemmy.worldOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      Excuse me, PhD is just a special interest that’s been officialized via an academic process.

      Yes!

      But hilariously (not really), this is against the definition of ICD-10. A special interest must be problematic.

      Had a frustrating discussion with my child’s psychiatrist about this in a followup session recently. She was adamant that my daughter now had less ASD symptoms because instead of Pokemon (which was special interest at original diagnosis) she is now really REALLY into makeup. And makeup is socially conformant. So she has no special interests.

      • Globeparasite@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        1 year ago

        isn’t pokemon also socially conformant nowadays. Does that doctor has the super power to give diagnosis that expirate after 10 years ? GREAT !

        • Deestan@lemmy.worldOP
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          Pokemon is more conformant in boys, less in girls.

          I wonder why girls are historically underdiagnosed. /s

          Fuck deficiency based criteria.

          • Globeparasite@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            1 year ago

            Ah yes my very neurotypical boy is absolutely normal when he can list all the pokemon of all the generation by order of appearance and can devise the most efficient tactic for fight in mere seconds lol