Neurodivergent Self-Diagnosis Is Valid | Neurodivergent Magic

Let's be clear: self-diagnosis is NOT seeing a few TikToks and suddenly declaring that you have ADHD. Self-diagnosis includes lots of research, reflection, and self-assessment. But done right, and with intention, self-diagnosis is absolutely valid. And it's time we stop invalidating self-diagnosed neurodivergent folks.

😊 Hi, I'm Megan Griffith, I'm a neurodivergent life coach and content creator on a mission to help neurodivergent folks embrace their strengths, cope with their struggles, and be their true, authentic selves.

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[SunWorshipper]

I feel so guilty even researching. Always hear in my mind this things Ive heard (from parents and acquaintances) even if I say do you think something with me could be like that - "Do NOT self-diagnose, do not even DARE, it's wrong, listen to other, smarter people"

[carold]

I’m self diagnosed, and I don’t like to tell people because they automatically ask “oh, so a doctor diagnosed you?”
But they don’t realize that I’ve been doing research for the last 2 years…. But for the last 30 + years I’ve been wondering what’s wrong with me… why can’t I seem to get it right? Why am I different? At 33 I finally found answers.

[ilovewomenpleasepegmemaam]

I realized I have a hyperfixation on Neurodivergence and I think that’s quite ironic.

[fiercenfluffy]

i've just recently discovered neurodivergence. i haven't done a huge amount of research, but i relate to a decent amount of the things that neurodivergent people experience. it's enough to get me to suspect that maybe i'm adhd or something similar. i told my dad about this and even told him some signs of adhd that i thought i had, and he immediately shut it down. "you're not adhd. your old pediatrician said you didn't act like his adhd patients. people with adhd are bouncing off the walls all the time." im sorry but when was the last time that doctor saw me? what if i'm inattentive and not hyperactive type adhd? i exhibit more inattentive behavior anyway. i'm not saying for sure that i have anything. i'm just saying the signs are there and i want to learn more to see if i should get tested or something

[relentlessrhythm]

Being able to afford an official diagnosis is a privilege!

[starkjr.]

I have always felt not 'normal' but i never knew why, then a friend of mine told me that she saw A LOT of adhd behaviour in me and i spent like a year after that observing everything i do and asking people how they do things and how different i think from others and after alot of reading, watching videos to get better understanding i was confident enough to say i have adhd!

[mysryuza]

As someone who is undiagnosed and might have autism, ADD/ADHD, or both, thank you so much for this video. I’ve always felt this heavy weight of shame whenever people look down at self-diagnosis because of the people deliberately faking it and making it seem trendy. It made me feel scared that I won’t be taken seriously at all when I say I’m undiagnosed but I am 100% sure I have those things because they’re the only things that could explain the way I think and act outside of trauma. It felt like I had to shove in a bunch of money just to get therapy. In my area, it can cost up to at least 20-50 dollars for one session, which can pile up when it comes to therapy and prices are getting higher now, which people who look down on self-diagnosis don’t understand. Plus there are not so good therapists out there too, so there’s a risk of spending your money on nothing in the end.
My point is that people treat diagnosis as a “valid” card and if you don’t have it, you’re seen as some sad joke, which ends in shaming me further for even speaking up at all.

[crowkraehenfrau]

Thanks for this! Half a century of gaslighting by medical professionals is absolutely enough.
Greetings from Germany

[panick_]

first off i wanna say thank you for talking about how useful Self Diagnosis is not just with Nirodivergent people but with mental health in general. from a young age i knew i wasnt normal and that it went beyond the diffrent disabilities i was born with (i was born without hearing in my left ear and probubly alot of other things i cant remember right now because last time i saw a doctor specializing in it was when i was a teenager and we moved away from all of those doctors) i spent alot of my life growing up feeling misunderstood and i didnt know why and i honestly was too scared to ask (which led to some unresolved trauma that im still working through) ive known i had some form of both anxiety and depression since i was at least 13....
it wasnt till i was an adult that i had the lightbulb moment that i was somewhere on the Nirodiverse spectrum (possibly having both ADHD and autism)
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there were asorted reasons why i never got an official diagnosis for any of this even at almost 28 years old.... one of course being that therapy and other related things are just too expensive and second was even growing up my parents shot down any possibility that i might be anything that could possibly mean taking psych drugs (literally my dads words from when i was a kid and i still remember it) so i learned to mask anything i could be going through untill my senior year of high school and still even now i sometimes find it hard opening up to people.

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i have a long history of self diagnosis because i just wanted to understand myself even a little....
im now almost 28 and studying psychology with emphasis on mental health with a minor in creative writing because i want to be a therapist and or counselor and also maybe a published fiction author.... because if its as a patient or as one of my readers i just want to help people who could be like me in any way feel understood or just less alone on this cruel but beautiful planet we live on that begins with understanding myself

[miguelillusion]

I haven't dug TOO deep into researching about it, but I have gotten comments from my friends, such as "Are you autistic?" or something. I already suspect that I could have ADHD, and my mother shows pretty clear signs of ADHD as well. But the whole thing is so confusing sometimes because autism and ADHD/ADD have many overlaps that are hard to distinguish from each other so it makes it a lot harder

[marhki]

I just turned 40, I’m a mental health clinician and I am here for ME! I just came from your what is a neurodivergent brain video, and I had ALL but 4 signs. I definitely have lived experiences and will be taking some self-assessments and following up with a medical provider, as I am sure I am dealing with ADHD.

I also work with men in residential substance abuse disorder treatment and over 90% of my caseload have ADHD diagnosis with a diagnosis of stimulate dependence disorder. I definitely feel as though I now have an ethical, professional and personal responsibility to learn more for my clinical work as well as for my personal self, in order for to ensure the best therapeutic practice for them and life quality for myself!

I say ALL of that to say I’m so glad to have found this information and your channel! 😊 💕 ❤️‍🩹

[katharinequiricoinmyownwords]

Hello from the UK. Long story short I have always felt different and that I don’t belong anywhere. I found it really hard to make/keep friends when I was younger and as an adult I still do. I identify with a lot of the traits that autistic women have, including meltdown. Over the years I’ve had a lot of mental health issues for which I was hospitalised. Didn’t help. Anyway fast forward to 2021 and I went to my doctor to ask about an assessment. He referred me to the local autism assessment centre and here I am still waiting in 2023. In the UK the waiting list is literally years long. I am doing more and more research, and have completed 4 autism tests online all of which point to the strong possibility that I could have autism/ASD Hearing you and other people on YouTube say that self diagnosis is valid has helped me a lot because I believed that I had to have an official diagnosis for it to be valid. I am now beginning to identify as self diagnosed autistic. I hope this helps you and anyone else reading this. I will still do the assessment if I ever get it but it doesn’t seem quite as important now. By the way I’m 60

[andrewjoyce]

The allure and power of self-diagnosis makes it extremely dangerous. I think at best it's a necessary evil for staying afloat in our inequitable world. Proceed with caution and consider thinking of your self-diagnosis as a tentative placeholder until you can get a professional opinion.

[ElderQueen]

Your voice is so calming and non-confronting. Love it!

[kendallrall]

I never thought about having ADHD or Autism until my friend that is a grad student in psychology was trying to tell me she thinks it would make sense for the way I react and am at work a lot. She gave me two questionnaires and said that she can't officially diagnose because she's not finished with schooling, but I should try to get an eval because my scores rated highly towards Autism w/ comorbid ADHD.
After months of waiting and doing my own research, I finally got in with a NeuroPyschiatrist and had an eval that diagnosed me with Inattentive ADHD. The doctor said that I do have autistic tendencies but since I've made it this far in life (I'm 25) and my insurance won't likely pay for the autism evaluation it's not worth doing the test. Regardless of how this man feels about how I've gotten "this far in life" without a diagnosis, I still struggle DAILY with life.
It took a while for me to decide I don't care what the middle-aged white man who likely knows very little about for adult females on the spectrum feels. All my therapists/counselors and most of my family and friends can acknowledge that being on the spectrum makes much more sense for me than a previous (mis)diagnosis of borderline personality disorder.
I don't like to use the term self-diagnosed because my whole life my immediate family was always very mean to me about me being a "hypochondriac". My friend said that it's not like I'm self-diagnosing myself with autism... It was brought up to me by someone with education relating to this and I also score highly on numerous different questionnaires.
My whole life I always felt like something was "wrong" with me. The other girls in elementary school didn't want to play with me or be my friend. I struggled with school and reading. Sensory issues, auditory processing delays, stuttering and speech issues, special interests that people didn't understand, meltdowns, shutdowns, and many more things... The reality that is everything involved with having ASD was the missing puzzle piece to my entire life. I'm still learning about how to manage my struggles, but now I understand that nothing is WRONG with me, my brain just works differently and that's okay!
Love yourself, people. We are different, which makes us unique and adds some color to this world. <3

[tehKapw]

i was one of those 'resonated with social media' people who started down the rabbit hole of reading and self assessment. When i went in for an evaluation, the very first thing the PMHNP asked me was, "aren't you a little old for ADD?" (i was 47).

after several self-assessments, i just tell people that "i probably have undiagnosed ADHD, " when i need just a little bit of grace because i don't want to get into the argument of self-diagnosis.

Even with insurance, access to healthcare is still a thing because they don't like to pay for mental health.

[dimpsthealien]

The medical community has totally dropped the ball with my mental health for DECADES! Nobody knows you more than you know yourself. And as a middle aged woman, it's no wonder that I was misdiagnosed and fell through the cracks.

[randomness]

Thank you. I grew up in a family who refused to take me to any sort of mental health professional even when I was acting out in very serious ways (self harm). I couldn't afford doctors who would actually diagnose people, but I wasn't supported at home. I self diagnosed with depression, anxiety, or bipolar. I had to get a job that wrecked my mental health and sent me to the hospital before I got a professional diagnosis as bipolar.
I was on a separate community where I was invalidated for this self diagnosis. I needed to hear someone validate my story.

[imperfectanimal]

This is very comforting to me. I’m 19 years old and my mom finally came out to me and said that she always thought I was autistic (and also ADHD). In Texas, it is so difficult to get a proper diagnosis where I live. I live in a suburban lower middle class neighborhood and in order to meet with psychiatrist or a neuropsychologist, my dad would have to take a day off just so he could take me downtown to said appointment. I think I’m going to a 4 year college soon which is scary because I don’t have said disabilities written in my paperwork Which sucks. I’m going to try my best in college to get a proper diagnosis but for now, I have to stay strong with what I believe.

[smagpie]

Hi, person with professionally diagnosed ADHD since I was 7.

You cannot self diagnose, and go out and tell people you have ADHD. You can have suspicion, but you cannot say you have it. If you really belive you have it, just go out and get a diagnosis.

You don't have ADHD if you're hyper, move around a lot, or are giddy. ADHD comes in about 3 forms, and is way more then just being jumpy and easily distracted. It comes with serious social issues, being unable to pick up on social cues and such. It would usually come with other mental health issues, like anxiety, or depression.

You have awful short term memory, and struggle with planning out life in general.


ADHD is not this Cool and quirky, its an everyday struggle.