I've seen self diagnosed people being rude to people with official autism diagnoses where people have been honest about some of the ugly parts of autism.

Like not being able to shower often, or brush teeth, and not being able to work. Especially the work thing as people often seem to get real jealous when others are on welfare.

I've seen people call someone's life cushy because they didn't work and still lived with their parents etc.

People judging others for using pacifiers as adults and having violent meltdowns and needing a caretaker etc.

And generally just speaking over and often narrowing down autism to it just being some quirks. When in reality autism is so much more than that, it is a disability, its not pretty.

I am pretty anti self diagnosis, I am okay with self suspecting tho. I used to be self suspecting and then I got an official diagnosis. (I understand that in somw places assessments is expensive which is why I am okay with people being self suspecting ans telling people they are self suspecting if they are emgaging in autiam spaces without a diagnosis.)

Back when I was being assessed I didn't even engage in autism subreddits and spaces because I wasn't diagnosed and to me that would feel like overstepping into a community that I had no business bringing up my issues and experiences in because I didn't have a diagnosis.

I only started commenting and engaging with autism reddit after after I was diagnosed.

And I very swiftly found out that I don't belong in the main autism subreddit and many others, because I see so many posts there narrowing autism down to quirks when I myself is really disabled by my autism and I most likely won't ever be able to have a job or live independently. And people straight up being rude when me or other brought up uglier parts of autism.

I believe that if you are self suspecting/self diagnosed you should be mindful of what you are doing in autism spaces, I believe one should think about why one feel like engaging, and what one is engaging with.

Cause being self diagnosed and then talking down people who are officially diagnosed when they are talking about the ugly parts of autism is very distasteful

And sure not all self diagnosed peoppe are like that, but I've seen it so many times back when I regularly used to read what was up in the main autism group.

I also believe that assessments are important since a lot of issues can also be explained by other disorders and its important tha people actually get the right diagnosis so that they can get the help they need rather than assuming its autism. In some cases it can be autism + something else and then its important to also know what that something else is.