Social anxiety misdiagnosed as autism nowadays??
This might be a hot take, but I've seen an uptick in tweens, teens, and young adults asking me about an autism diagnosis in session. I don't believe I have the authority or specialization to diagnose autism anyway, so take this with a grain of salt because I'm not super well educated on the topic, but most of them seem more congruent with social anxiety to me. Before anyone comes for me, I have been encouraging them to seek professional diagnosis from someone more specialized/able to diagnose, rather than steering them one way or another. I make sure to keep all of this to myself so it doesn't bleed out to my clients.
Not only have I seen this with clients, but also colleagues and other acquaintances in my life. I'm aware that autism has historically been more underdiagnosed, especially amongst females, and I do embrace the benefits it can bring to those who truly need it. But I wonder if more people are gravitating towards an autism diagnosis to help write off their quirks and/or anxieties and sensitivities that come up in social situations? Or even to write off their overall sensitivity to energies around them, the world, stimulation, etc, that might just indicate that they're sensitive/intuitive rather than autistic? It also makes me wonder if it helps people feel like they can be less accountable for their own growth; for example, instead of learning coping skills for their anxiety and practicing being social, exposing themselves to different situations, etc, they just kind of stay stagnant or stuck with the excuse of "Well I'm autistic" or "It's just my 'tism."
This might be part of my own bias, but I felt like something was wrong with me when I was a teenager. There was a period where eye contact was hard for me and I would turn beat red if anyone looked at me. I felt terribly awkward in social situations which caused me to have hyperhydrosis and sweat a lot. I've always been very sensitive to the world around me and people's emotions, which I now see as a strength rather than a limitation. Maybe if I was younger now, especially with everything that circulates on social media, I would have wanted an autism diagnosis too. But my therapist at the time diagnosed me with social anxiety, which gave me a sense of relief and a direction to move towards in treatment. It felt more able to be resolved, whereas I know autism is a lifelong condition that you can learn how to manage overtime, but ultimately have to live with. Basically, it felt like something I had that can be worked on, rather than all of who I am as a person that I just need to accept. As an adult, who still has social anxiety crop up every once in awhile, I'm thankful I was never diagnosed with autism because I truly don't feel like I have it.
TLDR: Are more people nowadays leaning towards wanting a diagnosis of autism or self diagnosing it as a way to write off being quirky, anxious, and sensitive?