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Nakoichi [they/them] @hexbear.net

9mo ago

adult autism reality

30 comments

adults with autism
adults living in poverty
all available services are for children only
- Even then "all available" is doing some heavy fucking lifting.
- A couple years ago, when I was on state medicaid, I went to see a psychiatrist. Over the course of the hour I explained to him how life-changing my ADHD diagnosis had been, and how much the medication helped.
  He said that I had no need for medication because I'm an adult with a college degree. "Next patient." It was one of the must frustrating experiences of my life. I had been without my prescription for over a year at that point.
  ~ One Week Later ~
  My loving, working-class parents bleed out exactly $500.00 cash for me to see a private psychiatrist. I told him I had been diagnosed in the past. He listened and gave me a standard assessment. "You do indeed appear to have ADHD. Here is your prescription."
  The daily injustices of class society.
- and we live in a society where most parents believe neurodiversity is just a fancy word for lazy

I hate how true this is. Same for ADHD, though not to this extent.
- ADHD comes with its own little horror in that seeking the most effective treatment instantly makes you a criminal in the eyes of pharmacists, doctors, and lawmakers.
  "Congrats on your ADHD diagnosis! The most effective treatment for this condition is stimulant medication."
  Thanks doc, can I be prescribed stimulant medication to treat my ADHD?
  Doctor types "drug seeker" into your chart, offers SNRI instead, acts like you're faking it a month later when you don't respond well to the treatment
  
  I just don't understand then why they put folks like me on Vyvanse when I was a kid.
  
  Tell me about it. My pharmacy began refusing to fill my prescriptions last year because of asinine new distance regulations. Now I have to waste four hours every month driving to a different pharmacy.
- That's the neat part -- sometimes it's both at the same time!
  
  "I'm sure he'll just outgrow it."

- if it turns out I’m normal and I feel like this I will loose my mind
  well at least then you could go back and get reassessed :)
  
  thinks about conversation between Yossarian and the chaplain from the book, Catch-22

Meanwhile my last psychiatrist was like "Yes you do show many symptoms of ASD, but I do not believe in the usefulness of the medical criteria of the DSM-5 [proceeds to speak about Freud for 5 minutes]"; from what I've heard Freud is still a massive problem for psychiatry in my country (France).
- Deeply unserious psychiatry "professional"

Imagine a future with less fast food workers and more occupational therapists.

What kind of support or services would you like or should be expected for diagnosed adults?
- Adult Autism Support Groups.
  By adults with autism (hopefully ones who were diagnosed young) for adults with autism (ideally those recently diagnosed). Just provide a space where neurodivergent people and specialists can offer their help to other neurodivergent people in their community.

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