My therapist told me its the cool thing to have autism?

I guess the new trend is to have autism. Thats what my therapist told me on Wednesday. I'd love "not" to have it myself. Plus people faking stuff is not cool. I know this girl with bad BPD who is faking autism and it makes my blood boil. I know you get treated very well by the medical and mental health field if you have it, but I honestly find it hell to live with and I worry a lot about my future.

Has anyone else heard that the new thing now is to have autism?

I have never heard of this. It sounds like young people searching for an identity. There's a lot of that in adolescent psychiatry.

I'm 44 years old and was diagnosed as an adult with ASD. This diagnosis was unheard of when I was growing up. Prior to that I was diagnosed with personality disorder which failed to describe my experience and personality. It alienated me and caused me to descend into hell while clinicians suspected I was sexually abused which I wasn't. They also misinterpreted my feelings. All this traumatized me.

Some clinicians did notice autistic traits in the late 1990s, but because they were residents the attending wouldn't consider it. She was convinced I had a personality disorder.

I don't mind the ASD diagnosis. It describes my experience and has validated my feelings and developmental history, but it is not my sole identity.

The only thing I don't like about ASD is the interpersonal struggles especially with social decoding.

I am 51 and was diagnosed at 41 as being on the spectrum. It is definitely NOT cool because I am still vulnerable to emotional manipulation from others. I do my own thing, wear whatever I want and don't care about trends or having friends and other women know it. Therefore, I am alienated. When people think autism, they think we're all genius level mathematicians, musical prodigys, etc... Definitely not me. I have no math skills at all. When I got the diagnosis, I cried for days because it explained so much of what was wrong in my life. Horrible confrontations, arguments, alienation...all of it because I didn't understand their emotions and why I had to empathize and act like them. Did a LOT of masking as a result....never worked very well.
So no...being autistic (depending on your specific gifts and where you're at on the spectrum) is not very cool unless you're one of those people who have the awesome gifts. That's just one opinion though.

That seems an odd thing for your therapist to say (in my perception) were they trying to make you feel positive about your diagnosis?

I think more people are aware of autism these days and people who would previously not have been diagnosed are now. Of course misdiagnosis is always a possibility as is people deliberately trying to mislead such as the person you describe.

I thought the new thing to have is Tourette's. People be tweaking and twitching and ticcing all over TicToc.

There are some advantages (i.e. academical time) but that's about it.

In my opinion, having autism is not a good health condition, as it affects brain development. Autistic people lead a normal life, but can't interact with society.

As your therapist said, having autism is a cool thing. In my opinion, I understood that he wants to build confidence and a positive feeling about autism in you.

I know a Doctor who deals with autism, who said that Autism is a mind-affecting disease that affects a person's ability to speak. It comes to know at some stage in childhood, generally at the age of 1.5 to 2 years old. Autistic youngsters face trouble with social interactions and verbal and non-verbal communication. The treatment taken by people at therapists in a positive manner, their behavior changed in a good way.

I've learned that therapists will say anything to cover things that they don't know anything about. I've been diagnosed on the spectrum by a couple doctors but they don't want to talk about. They don't know how to treat it so they leave it alone. They tell me I have it but won't tell me how to get treatment for it.

I've heard people say that who want to explain away the rise in Autism diagnoses. The fact is that the original diagnostic criteria was based on a small subset of the population so that girls/women and Black, Hispanic, or any other non White race/ethnicity doesn't present the way white boys do. A lot of women and non White people are getting diagnosed now that there is more understanding of what Autism looks like in other demographics.

I think your doctor was being diminutive and dismissive because self diagnosis has been widely accepted in the Autism community since formal diagnosis is so inaccessible, and the Autism community has put forth a lot of resources to help people self assess. Nobody wants to be Autistic. It's not a trend. People who are looking to it for answers are doing so to help them understand themselves, not to be trendy.

I have been working through self assessment and evaluation and research for a couple of years now as diagnosis is not an option for me right now (and not sure it will ever be). I'm not doing it because my life isn't hell. I agree with you: what I experience is hell to live with, but understanding what it is helps me set up the right supports for myself.

Remember that before you can even approach formal diagnosis, most people self diagnosis - that's how they even know to pursue formal diagnosis. It's the same with ANY disorder. We think something is wrong, we do some research, we follow up with a doctor if it's necessary.

But I am guessing that maybe your therapist was being sarcastic and didn't really mean it was the "cool" thing. I'm guessing because I don't understand when others use sarcasm usually. But past experience and rules of engagement tell me it might be so. I am on TikTok and Twitter and participate in these communities and it's absolutely NOT a "cool" trend. The reason it comes about on social media is because people who were scared to ever talk about the things they experience now have a community and feel safe to discuss with others and learn and maybe figure out what they are going through. It is a good thing.

They might not even know how to give treatment to people with NT disorder.
I see NT people as being disordered as well. We all are. We're not perfect! Neither are they or we.