Issues to consider before diagnosis
For clinical indications only
Please note that my evaluations are completed for clinical indications only. The findings of my reports should be used for the purpose of diagnostic clarity and to inform treatment planning. The findings are not to be interpreted as a psychological evaluation or within the context of forensic decisions.
Confidentiality in other states
- In Colorado, your diagnosis is completely confidential. No one will know about your diagnosis unless you hand your diagnostic report to someone you trust or to the payer that paid for the evaluation.
However, you should know that currently eight states in the USA have a mandatory autism registry. That is, all professionals who diagnose new cases of autism in those states are mandated to report the diagnosis to their Department of Health for data collection on “birth defects.” Those nine states are: Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, North Dakota, Rhode Island (mandatory for under age 5 only), Utah, and West Virginia. Depending on the state, some allow non-identifying entries (no name or full date of birth), and some do not. New Hampshire was on this list, but repealed their registry in 2024.
Colorado is not one of those states. Colorado is participating with the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network with the CDC on prevalence rates, but that is limited to seven counties near Denver, and only for 8 and 4 year olds. It is also not mandated.
If Colorado changes the law to add a mandated autism registry in the future, it would only apply to new diagnoses from that point on.
Difficult emotions
- Some clients report increased dysphoria and self-doubt after diagnosis as they process what the diagnosis means for them. Autism-affirming therapy is highly recommended to help support those times before things get better.
In my clinical experience, an autism identification (or diagnosis) is the most powerful psychotherapeutic tool I have seen to unlock self-compassion in autistic individuals. Realizing and understanding why your brain works the way it does, and that you are not broken, just different, opens the door to a level of profound self-acceptance. It can be like meeting your true self for the first time, and being able to love that self.
But before you get there, there may be internalized prejudice, disappointment, and “imposter syndrome” to sort through. “Imposter syndrome” may show up as doubting your identification / diagnosis and wondering if you’re really autistic after all. Learning to trust yourself, instead of see yourself through the eyes of other people who don’t really know you, is part of the process of healing from a lifetime of being misunderstood. There may be anger to process because no one saw it earlier in your life. There may be anger and feelings of being unseen if the evaluator decides to not diagnose autism. It would be helpful to have therapeutic support during this process.
Additional Reading
Devon Price’s essay on Seeking an Autism Diagnosis? Here’s Why You Might Want to Rethink That
A UK psychology service’s page on Advantages and Disadvantages of an ADHD or Autism Diagnosis
Mont Rose Counseling, LLC 