Is ignorance bliss or repugnant?

Autism, negative mental health bias, and feeling stuck.

Unfortunately, one of my kiddos’ new therapists was either influenced by ashamed neurotypical parents of Autistic kids, or she's negatively biased against Autistic people.

Either way, it’s a sucky situation.

Photo by Ksenia Chernaya

As soon as the second session started, the therapist immediately said that—after one, single hour with our child, mind you—that she didn’t believe Kiddo was autistic. Based on my husband being unable to answer specific, stereotypical-to-autistic-boys¹ questions in Kiddo's first 1-hour session, the therapist "denied" Autism diagnosis.

I tried to keep my annoyance and skepticism at bay. (Although I still blurted out, “We didn’t come here for an Autism diagnosis. She’s already clinically diagnosed.”) But I couldn’t believe that someone who supposedly specialized in Autism would box autistic people into such a rigid stereotype. Again, by a supposed autism-specializing LMFT....

(To note: That’s a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist—credentials of someone unqualified to clinically diagnose Autism.)

After a little prying, the therapist explained that an Autism diagnosis would follow my child for the rest of her life. It will affect how she’s treated by schools, and how she’s treated by her peers. And that it may hurt her in the future.

As she spoke, my brain sorted through all my research, life experience, plus interactions with and understanding of fellow autists’ shared experiences.

And I politely called bullshit.

Before stumbling through any potential rant, I decided to ask a question:

“Why is being diagnosed Autistic such a ‘bad’ thing?”