As an absolutely autistic person whose parents didn’t bother to get it diagnosed, I really do disagree. Diagnoses are basically just descriptive labels that can help identify potentially useful treatments, that’s it; they’re not some magical blame receptacle.
I think my greatest issue with this post is it implies that if you DON’T have a diagnosable mental condition, but still struggle, then it must inherently mean that you’re stupid, weak annoying, unloveable etc.
But I also think a child will conclude that they’re stupid … unloveable etc, if that’s how they’re taught to feel, with or without a diagnosis. I had many struggles, but my parents never ‘expected’ me to be “normal”, they just supported me and we worked out shit as it happened - my struggles were a result of a variety of behaviours specific to me, my personality, my flavour of autism, etc.
But this is the same for every human being to ever live. A diagnosis might’ve described some of those behaviours, but what would that have changed? I’ll be honest - I’m glad my parents didn’t get me diagnosed, they feared that would just place a wholly new unhelpful expectation on me, and I think they were right.
Obviously a lot of people absolutely benefit from diagnosis, not knocking it, but I also don’t think they’re automatically helpful in all circumstances.
That’s very true. Maybe their real use is to change other peoples’ perception. But that’s very… sad to need a diagnosis to do.