Autism Self-Diagnosis in a Digital World
Jewel Leopard
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, which involves delays and challenges in social communication as well as the presence of repetitive behaviors and restricted interests. Roughly 1% of people are diagnosed with ASD, but others have the disorder although they have not been professionally evaluated. With the rise of social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and other online forums, engaging with a virtual community is appealing to many. As well, opinions and information, both accurate and inaccurate, circulates among users of social media platforms. With such widespread misinformation and the desire to relate with others, self-diagnosis of ASD has become popular. To identify prominent lay beliefs about why people self-diagnose, a thematic analysis was conducted using the online forum Reddit. Twenty-six comments across six different forums were analyzed. Comments were made by those who reportedly engage in self-diagnosis as well as those who are evaluating others who self-diagnose. Two overarching themes were identified: 1) Finding a reason why, defined by seeking explanations and coping mechanisms for their particular traits. 2) Emphasizing the good and de-emphasizing the bad, characterized by biases in exclusively seeing the desired aspects of ASD or possibly being unaware of the negative aspects. Multiple sub-themes were also identified for each theme. This research could be valuable in improving accessibility in mental health services. With an improved understanding of why people engage in self-diagnosis, such information can help people pursue a professional diagnosis or, at least, lead to a more accurate self-diagnosis.
Jewel Leopard is from Greenwood, S.C., and a current senior psychology major. She plans to attend graduate school in Spring 2024 to obtain a master’s degree in applied behavior analysis in order to work with children on the autism spectrum.