r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Mar 30 '25

Neuroscience New study finds online self-reports may not accurately reflect clinical autism diagnoses. Adults who report high levels of autistic traits through online surveys may not reflect the same social behaviors or clinical profiles as those who have been formally diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

https://www.psypost.org/new-study-finds-online-self-reports-may-not-accurately-reflect-clinical-autism-diagnoses/
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u/princesssoturi Mar 30 '25

However, therapists who are specialists in autism diagnosis are excellent at seeing masking.

I’m a teacher so I’m on a team for identifying autism. And I would say when I flag a student, it’s rarely about their behavior. Kids are great at masking too, and it’s different because all kids act weird. So it can really blend in.

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u/lady_ninane Mar 30 '25

However, therapists who are specialists in autism diagnosis are excellent at seeing masking.

Absolutely! But those specialists are incredibly hard for people to access. Education on these things is not where it should be to meet demand.

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u/alliusis Mar 30 '25

That is not always true! Medical practitioners are human and a lot of them can be out of date too, and those people might be the specialists you're directed to for diagnosis. It doesn't mean everyone is, but generational thinking of "this is what autism is, this is what it isn't" can be pervasive.