Likewise. "No, doc, I read the actual research publications, not pop medicine articles."
The first time I went to a psych professional, I told them up front that I believed I was autistic, and why. They were so put off by this, with their professional pride offended, that I left with 5 different diagnoses (they wanted to give me 7 but I argued) instead of ASD. They covered my autistic traits with a patchwork quilt of other diagnoses rather than acknowledge that maybe, just maybe, the patient might know what's up. Thankfully, I got that corrected, much much later, but I spent 13 years full of self-doubt, questioning whether I truly belonged among my peers in the autistic community, because of that first doctor's pride.
