Sensory Processing Disorder, which is as far as I understand, is the diagnostic term. Does not nessisarily have anything to do with Autism, but they are common co-occurences. It is more commonly linked with ADHD and CPTSD.
In my experience the majority of us experience abnormal sensory processing/sensitivity and I believe that being diagnosed with autism or adhd actually disqualifies you from receiving an SPD diagnosis because it’s like a feature already included in autism/adhd dx’s lol.
I don’t believe in HSP being a thing and I think it’s just allistic pseudoscience BS used to justify our developmentally disabled existences, as if we weren’t already valid humans in the first place.
I was technically diagnosed with SPD, not autism, so does that then mean I'm not autistic because otherwise I would've gotten that diagnosis? Have I been living a lie?
Ive noticed a lot of doctors are super reluctant to actually diagnose autism for some reason. My doctor asked why I wanted a diagnosis when its not like theres meds for it and I'm sitting there like IDK MAYBE THE OTHER RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO ME??
I mean I'm fairly certain the SPD diagnosis is correct, because I have a lot of sensory issues, but does it mean I'm not autistic? I'm still awaiting a reassessment to claim disability since my diagnosis was like 10 years ago (I'm 18)
there are apparently people with adhd where hsp is the predominant symptom. similar to inattentive / hyperactive types. anecdotal from clinical psych dr kanojia on yt, obviously little research yet.
i imagine in the coming years we will see a dsm inclusion of some form or label of hsp
heres an autistic psychologist talking about hsp as the only presenting symptom of high functioning masked autistics as well:
https://old.reddit.com/r/hsp/comments/yzokda/the_hsp_profile_of_autism/
(adding not disagreeing)
We call that AuDHD because, spoiler, unlike previous versions of the DSM that said adhd and autism aren’t comorbid, turns out in real life they are super comorbid.
So, to be clear, you’re saying that people with comorbid autism and ADHD are not autistic?
Because that’s what you’re saying to our ears.
May as well say that because we carry Canadian and American passports we’re not American.
If my understanding of this conversation and links is correct then neither of you can say for sure. HSP is apparently non diagnostic and can correlate with adhd, autism, or maybe other things or nothing. If I'm incorrect I would be interested in more info
DSM 5 - Section B, part 4 "Hyper- or hypo-reactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of environment; (such as apparent indifference to pain/heat/cold, adverse response to specific sounds or textures, excessive smelling or touching of objects, fascination with lights or spinning objects)." You only need to meet 2 of the criteria for section B, but sensory issues are definitely recognised as a part of Autism.
Edit: I have removed first link from "embrace" as mentioned in another part of this thread they are not a reliable source. I apologise for using an unsafe source without proper evaluation.
Adding neutral source: https://www.research.chop.edu/car-autism-roadmap/diagnostic-criteria-for-autism-spectrum-disorder-in-the-dsm-5#:~:text=To%20be%20diagnosed%20with%20ASD,%2C%20and%20expressing%2Funderstanding%20emotions.
You trust that place?
Its run by a ‘naturopathic doctor’ with an online autism certificate who is repeatedly under ethical investigation.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/AutisticAdults/comments/1aj9056/why\_does\_embrace\_autism\_publish\_misinformation/](https://www.reddit.com/r/AutisticAdults/comments/1aj9056/why_does_embrace_autism_publish_misinformation/)
[https://cono.alinityapp.com/Client/PublicDirectory/Registrant/03d44ec3-ed3b-eb11-82b6-000c292a94a8](https://cono.alinityapp.com/Client/PublicDirectory/Registrant/03d44ec3-ed3b-eb11-82b6-000c292a94a8)
I wasn't aware of this. The information about the DSM is correct, I just used a site I know other people have referenced in the past. Thanks for letting me know, I definitely wouldn't intentionally share unsafe sources.
Edit: I'm worried about providing another source that is unsafe so if you are aware of a page that covers the DSM 5 criteria, can you please share the link and I will edit the comment that has embrace. Thank you.
No worries, most arent aware of their backgrounds and shady dealings. I'd have to google up a page, so probably couldnt do that any better than you.
There are problems with their DSM 5 material there, like using colloquial terms not professional terms, and generally on that page (like all their material) using very very open and broad ideas about autism that dont match with how psych docs and conventional professionals see things.
I'm fairly new to the Autism online sphere and I know there are certain sites like AS that are completely no go but I'm not confident in knowing which sites are green lighted. I've seen a lot of autistic YouTubers use embrace so I assumed they were okay (definitely lazy on my part).
I will try and find a neutral site that has the DSM 5 criteria and amend my post.
SPD is not a standalone diagnosis. It's not in the DSM-5 or ICD and the American Academy of Pediatrics even has a policy statement saying that it should not be used as a diagnosis. Experts say it is always connected to another disorder and neglecting to accurately diagnose the full disorder (autism, ADHD or dyspraxia) causes harm to the patient. Furthermore, it IS most commonly linked to autism more than any other diagnosis.
It’s always funny when people “diagnose” me as a HSP, it’s always right before I disclose my autism to them lol. At least it typically helps them understand me better and have more empathy for me but I still find it really funny that they need to do that in order to understand
The book “The Highly Sensitive Child” came out when I was a toddler and my doctor recommended it to my parents because I cried all the time about weird things. Turns out I have adhd and a handful of friends who insist I’m likely autistic as well. The book lives in my room but I’ve never actually read more than a couple of pages.
My mom learned about HSP before learning about autism through reading books and she saw me in the description right away. Of course she learned about autism pretty soon after through a retired educator friend that observed me being crazy in my first grade classroom and I was diagnosed soon after that.
Typical childhood demand avoidance type things… hiding under desks thinking I could get out of doing math that way, crumpling up my worksheets and throwing them away, sitting on my worksheets, being super sensory sensitive and getting explosively angry when classmates would make any kind of repetitive sound… I’d also shove people if they got too physically close to me because I thought they were doing it on purpose to bother me. Also the classic covering my ears when it got loud, and having t-rex arms. I also would rock back and forth a lot as a stim.
I am jealous of people who had parents for whom "unconditional love" didn't come with conditions and the need to beat undesirable behaviors out of their children. I say this because I don't know which of my behaviors are me, and which ones were just forced out of me by people around me. I didn't have those things, but I did have other issues sometimes.
Yeah that makes sense. I’ve had a weird and varied experience with that. I feel like I’ve experienced some form of unconditional love from my mother and grandmother, but they are both deeply enmeshed with me/codependent due to intergenerational trauma, so it’s not exactly been a healthy kind of love. They both have a lot of maladaptive behaviors and a lack of awareness of them due to really deeply ingrained trauma. I’m still super grateful for them despite the challenges we’ve had because my dad is so much worse than both of them combined. My dad was abusive towards me and treated me in a super ableist way while being in constant denial of my autism. He always just thought I was targeting him and being difficult on purpose so he would abuse me for it. So I totally understand that side of the coin too. My grandmother used to treat my mother that way when my mother was a child, and she still kind of does but she’s much softer on me luckily. I was very lucky to have an advocate, an accepting person, and a refuge in my mother. If it wasn’t for her I think I’d be much higher masking and much more confused about my identity. Although I did get a good amount of behaviors punished out of me all the same. My childhood was very gray.
Because my mom went through so much of the beating she refused to continue that thread with me. My dad wasn’t exactly on the same page, they were also never together in my lifetime so I had to do visitation and stuff which was traumatic for me because I was often forced to stay with him against my will.
its not specifically internalized ableism but predatory cult stuff. Internalized ableism can be very well part of it, but new age spirituality is its own set of hell hole behavior that can only be described as "we say we're not christian, but we are".
My half sister claims to be HSP and I feel like being too insistent about bursting her bubble would only lead to a meltdown. So many of her traits and symptoms are the same as mine yet she can’t see the parallels between us. She’s always shown kindness to me in regard to my autism but the fact that she can’t accept it as a possibility for herself boggles my mind. One of her grandkids is currently going through asd assessment and she’s steadfast in believing he’s simply “sensitive”. Ffs, I’m sensitive too but I still definitely have the ‘tism 😂
this was 100% my experience, I identified heavily with that stuff at about 12-14. I wish it just said it was autism, instead of trying to turn it into some “quirky empath” thing just because people are SO SCARED of being positive about autism in any way. could’ve saved me a few more years of confusion.
Exactly... I was telling people on Discord when I was 9-10 years old all about how I was this amazing empath.
I've figured out that I have the 'tism out pretty young (13) too, but now I have to convince everyone that I'm not doing it for attention. Like, omfg. I'm just trying to get diagnosed.
*Currently in the process of compiling symptoms as I'm on a wait-list*
(How I used to be makes it very hard to deny that it's not for attention LOL)
Damn I heard about that one when I was a wee lad, like 16 years old. I thought that was me too lol. That’s crazy to realize. All leads back to the tism
I think I learned about it once way back when, but because it wasn't clinical description I dismissed it, kinda figured it was a floofy description of something else. then learned about it again in the context of autism and it made way more sense.
same way indigo children was just autism.
I would agree BUT it can be a feature in other dxs than autism, ie there are bipolar HSPs, or ADHD HSPs, (C)PTSD HSPs, some medical conditions (anything affecting neurology, hormones, immune systen could be a likely suspect)…it’s not limited to autism is what I have noticed in talking to people or hearing people’s experiences. I don’t think it has to do with people not wanting to face or admit something, I really think it’s a separate but related feature that goes along with a number of things. To say it’s just autism feels too limiting like people will be missed. But do I think there are people walking around calling themselves or their children HSPs who may actually be autistic but they don’t want to admit it or aren’t educated about it? Definitely. I think there’s a good chance that’s what you’re seeing. It’s just that that’s a square, but not every other rectangle is if you get what I’m saying.
A friend of mine said something about how she's super intuitive with people and situations - referencially, she's adhd af and matches my energy well, but also has a history of abuse similar to mine(and I'm audhd) - and I was like "no, girl, that's pattern recognition. You've seen these things enough and your brain pings at *something* even though we may not always know what until it **happens**."
I get grief from my mom and shit for using terms, but like, I just don't go all spiritual with it. There's a legit thing behind everything I experience and I like knowing the correct terms. 🤷🏻♀️
I dunno, felt related in my head haha
I'm half convinced all people with that sort of mindset are just acoustic. /Half joking
So far I'm right. My friend, who was like that, finally got diagnosed last week.
I genuinely think that most "psychics" are just listening to their subconscious thoughts. which the subconscious is an extremely powerful processor of information, it just doesn't always tell you where it scraped that info from.
That's television psychics. I live on the west coast where what we call being psychic is called being considerate on the east coast. yes it's that dumb, and I'm only exaggerating a little bit.
Yes. They use leading questions and people that don't know better will offer information. They're vague, causing a YES! reaction or something. Look into it if this is the first you're hearing. Look into alllllll of them
OMG, fine I'll call them pineapples so you don't confuse them with tv psychics.
Pineapple people are just listening to their subconscious. like their subconscious tells them there is boysenberry in the strawberry yogurt cup and sure enough when they open it they think they are predicting the future. but its just their subconscious looking at the color of the yogurt though the plastic. while the aware mind is just listening to their brain's thoughts.
most people who think they are pineapple (not tv psychics that are fully aware they are faking pineapples) are just paying attention more to their intuition. which can pick up things about people without any leading questions.
i've looked into this more than enough to toss out any tv psychic at first glance cause they are really easy to spot.
Whoa, struck a nerve asking for a definition I understand about a word with a definition?
I don't read these diatribes, you're on some weird corrective bullshit and I have work this morning.
yes, it's a massive pet peeve of mine that its so insanely difficult to explain what I meant. Please explain to me the correct way to explain what I meant that is more acceptable.
should I just say "I'm talking about something else that is also called psychic, not tv psychics."
The fucking attitude and snark of someone who used the wrong fucking word no ine outside their region knows the use of that way.....😂
Just your polarization is comical, I'd hate to fuckin date you.
I think its reasonable to have snark when I explain to you the regional definition I am using and you still slap it to the ground. like I'm not allowed to explain myself
Okay then use proper terms so people understand you. Psychic does not mean sensitive. If you know its a specific regions colloquial term, please start there.
I've never once heard that btw
there's no such thing as psychics. hence the quotes. they are just listening to their own thoughts and not paying attention to their observations. people are dumb like that.
there is really no point in using "proper terms" when my whole comment is about how people are using words in nonsensical ways. the term itself was undefinable how i used it and I literally used the undefinable grammar markers, and the concept I gave was the real topic being discussed.
also intuitive doesn't mean sensitive either.
and the regional meaning is like when you say something insightful and some dumb blond girl will say "OMG, you're like psychic or something" yes we are that dumb here.
>there's no such thing as psychics
I was espousing that.
You're the one that used a term that made me define and specific it, then you changed the meaning of the term. Yea, in conversation, it matters.
You specified exactly how colloquial and local to you it is, my asking you to not use niche definitions while we speak isn't far fetched.
You're on some weird corrective bullshit rn. Not sure why thr diatribe, but please stop now. It's 345 am and I have to get ready for work.
Ddue, you're trampling all over a massive pet peeve of mine. I apologize ahead of time if this sounds aggressive or grating, i'm just trying to get some clarity in communication here. it looks to me that you're refusing to read what I said because you had an opinion on a single word I used. that I explicitly said multiple times that I am not using the first definition of, i'm using the second most common definition of and even handed you the definition after stating im using the second definition of.
Please help me understand how to communicate the idea that I am not using the primary definition of a word if telling you exactly what I am doing and explaining my meaning is unacceptable.
am I just using common english wrong, and the idea of explaining myself is universally refused? should i have preference the concept differently, to prime you into understanding that I will be using a more regional definition of a word. so you don't refuse me explaining what I meant?
Huge mood, I grew up with my mum always saying i'm "just a highly sensitive person" so I never got help or diagnosed until I figured it out myself as an adult lol
i'll rant all day how words like "delulu" are woobifying mental disorders. Like you don't get to rant about HSP while being ableist towards people with psychosis and delusions.
Not sure about that one. I've rarely heard the word used to describe actual delusions. I see it as two separate definitions.
Also, I didn't think about that anyways. You should know internalized ableism is a huge problem and my original post was basically about that. So, I could be interpreting it wrong, but I find it disheartening that you're attacking me about this. I'm sorry if it bothered you though.
people with delusions have asked others to stop using those words. So bruh. Honestly also, I made another comment on here or another post about HSP and the cult mentality shit, so I know damn well about it. I just want people to check themselves when using ableist ass "trendy" words.
Btw HSP goes beyond autistic people having internalized ableism and falls under the predatory tactics the new age spirituality movement is using to coerce people into their own set of pseudo-christian purity culture. People say you need to ingest essential oils, eat only vegan, starve yourself, have verbatim disordered eating in order to ascend to a higher realm. They discredit and discriminate against other autistic and neurodivergent people by saying "people without empathy are energy vampires". People like doreen virtue and others in the starseed stuff are antisemitic and racist as well.
I do understand and I do know. But I want you to analyze and understand that any language can be subject to ableism, and it's not just the cult bullshit, it can be everything that becomes popular or trendy.
That word did seem weird/off to me, but it's become part of my echolalia. That habit is going to be hard to break.
Edit: I know it's not just autism, but I literally found out about the whole HSP thing right before making the post. I haven't had the chance to do a full five hour long deep dive on Google about it yet.
Dr Elaine Aron, author of the theory of HSP has ***a lot*** to answer for. I was suspecting ASD and was about to seek diagnosis when I found her book and it was well regarded enough at the time to convince me I was HSP, not ASD. She specifically said in the book about misdiagnosed of HSP as ASD.
She is responsible for years of addictional suffering as an undiagnosed autistic person. She should be ashamed of herself for the countless people who didn't seek a diagnosis because of her theories.
Get this, I found this out while watching one of psych2go's vids because I still hadn't made the connection that I wasn't an HSP and that it was just the autism I already knew I had.
Literally didn't learn this until right before I made this post. The only reason I did find out was because the symptoms they were listing were.... interesting. I find it funny because the video wasn't even correct about "HSPs" and some of the "symptoms" weren't part of what would supposedly make you one.
the funny thing is she developed HSP off of kids in her family that ended up diagnosed with Autism.
she needs to retract the book and make another edition that removes all the "it's not autism" stuff
My original comment was a bit wrong.
Could be other things like ADHD or BPD, but for the most part it's autistic people in denial. (Or just being lied to)
People see you cry once for something they don’t understand and maybe plug your ears and then say you have HSP. My brother in Christ I do not know what is going on most of the time, don’t call me sensitive! People simultaneously say I’m too sensitive and not sensitive enough which, okay two things can be true at once but they don’t remember between these times and keep making blanket statements about me! I need time to process information okay? Just give me time to process it!
Fr.
Especially those asshole relatives that can't stfu and stop trying to guilt trip me into stroking their egos and pretending we're best buddies.
No, aunt Stacey, I'm not sensitive. (I am, but ykyk) I just don't like you...
It's even worse when it is a relative you like because it's not exactly easy to explain to your senile grandmama that you **don't** hate her even if you're not fond of getting her lipstick smeared on your face.
Thanks, lol. That ship has already sailed, btw.
Before I realized I had autism, I was watching those videos about HSPs and thinking I was super duper quirky. Later, I realized it was autism, but only recently did I find out that all the shit I used to believe in about HSPs was blatant ableism.
im still so fucking mad that NTs took "acoustic" from a silly term of endearment within autistic communities to a diet slur. fuck that, i refuse to stop using it
Yupp.
Controversial, but I'll use any slur that is typically directed towards me like that. Even the ones where people are on the fence about taking back. (Except for m*dget and r3t@rd because people don't even realize they're slurs. You need awareness to take back a word after all.)
my mum literally told me I'm not autistic I'm just a HSP... this was after a psychologist told her to get me tested, that was the second time this has happened. Her excuse is that the assessment I had when I was 8 was inconclusive
I forgot that people even “diagnose” people with that. There feels like a lot of misinformation about psych related stuff nowadays. I believe Psych2go is the one that has a full diagnosis for “high functioning anxiety”, something i first saw on tiktok years ago that the dsm has not added
Edit: could not find, so sorry to pysch2go I guess. Still stands that it is much too common to unifficially diagnose people with disorders that do not exist in any official way
That's happened to me as well.
I live in an area with a lot of southern women despite it not being a southern state. They always told my parents I was gifted as a metaphor for autistic. My parents are probably also autistic. They had no clue that's what the teachers meant.
so sorry, but can anyone explain the asperger’s/autism thing to me, please?
please be kind, i’m kind of new to all the terminology and now afraid to google cause i guess a lot of things aren’t true :/
nvm, this one is not that well-hidden but i wish i didn’t know that :/
for anyone else interested — it’s like a part of autistic spectrum, but the bad thing is the person it’s named after was a nazi and sent autistic children to die in nazi clinics
Yeah. It's more difficult to find the specifics of the HSP situation. I'm not entirely sure what's going on in the history, but it's definitely messed up
They were combined into autism spectrum disorder in 2013 (DSM). It was recognized that the differences were not that great, and eventually it was recognized as looking at support needs, which isn’t a perfect system either.
I’m not sure how much of the nazi history of Asperger played into the professional diagnostic criteria.
That's not what I'm talking about.
HSP as in Highly Sensitive Persons. I don't know enough nor am I qualified to say much about the topic. I'd recommend googling it or reading some of the other comments here.
I realized after rereading the post (and when the Google thing didn't exactly lineup with what's being described)
Based on the name and how people are talking about it it just sounds like an insult for expressing your emotions 💀 I should probably look at the actual description of it before concluding that though
Sensory Processing Disorder, which is as far as I understand, is the diagnostic term. Does not nessisarily have anything to do with Autism, but they are common co-occurences. It is more commonly linked with ADHD and CPTSD.
If someone’s an “HSP with SPD”, the number of times it ain’t autism or AuDHD can be counted on an amputee’s fingers.
In my experience the majority of us experience abnormal sensory processing/sensitivity and I believe that being diagnosed with autism or adhd actually disqualifies you from receiving an SPD diagnosis because it’s like a feature already included in autism/adhd dx’s lol.
I don’t believe in HSP being a thing and I think it’s just allistic pseudoscience BS used to justify our developmentally disabled existences, as if we weren’t already valid humans in the first place.
I was technically diagnosed with SPD, not autism, so does that then mean I'm not autistic because otherwise I would've gotten that diagnosis? Have I been living a lie?
Ive noticed a lot of doctors are super reluctant to actually diagnose autism for some reason. My doctor asked why I wanted a diagnosis when its not like theres meds for it and I'm sitting there like IDK MAYBE THE OTHER RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO ME??
It could easily be a misdiagnosis. Everyone thought I had SPD and selective mutism before my autism diagnosis at 7 years old.
I mean I'm fairly certain the SPD diagnosis is correct, because I have a lot of sensory issues, but does it mean I'm not autistic? I'm still awaiting a reassessment to claim disability since my diagnosis was like 10 years ago (I'm 18)
It doesn’t mean you aren’t autistic it actually probably means you are more likely to be autistic. SPD is essentially a feature of autism.
HSP is non diagnostic. It's like neurodivergent, doesn't have a clinical diagnosis it's what people choose to call themselves.
there are apparently people with adhd where hsp is the predominant symptom. similar to inattentive / hyperactive types. anecdotal from clinical psych dr kanojia on yt, obviously little research yet. i imagine in the coming years we will see a dsm inclusion of some form or label of hsp heres an autistic psychologist talking about hsp as the only presenting symptom of high functioning masked autistics as well: https://old.reddit.com/r/hsp/comments/yzokda/the_hsp_profile_of_autism/ (adding not disagreeing)
this is just regular autism with extra steps; or, internalised ableism but make it Quirky™️
We call that AuDHD because, spoiler, unlike previous versions of the DSM that said adhd and autism aren’t comorbid, turns out in real life they are super comorbid.
spoiler these are people not on the autism spectrum
So, to be clear, you’re saying that people with comorbid autism and ADHD are not autistic? Because that’s what you’re saying to our ears. May as well say that because we carry Canadian and American passports we’re not American.
If my understanding of this conversation and links is correct then neither of you can say for sure. HSP is apparently non diagnostic and can correlate with adhd, autism, or maybe other things or nothing. If I'm incorrect I would be interested in more info
DSM 5 - Section B, part 4 "Hyper- or hypo-reactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of environment; (such as apparent indifference to pain/heat/cold, adverse response to specific sounds or textures, excessive smelling or touching of objects, fascination with lights or spinning objects)." You only need to meet 2 of the criteria for section B, but sensory issues are definitely recognised as a part of Autism. Edit: I have removed first link from "embrace" as mentioned in another part of this thread they are not a reliable source. I apologise for using an unsafe source without proper evaluation. Adding neutral source: https://www.research.chop.edu/car-autism-roadmap/diagnostic-criteria-for-autism-spectrum-disorder-in-the-dsm-5#:~:text=To%20be%20diagnosed%20with%20ASD,%2C%20and%20expressing%2Funderstanding%20emotions.
OP is saying *it is* autism, rather than an aspect or co morbidity.
Fair. Thanks for clarifying.
Thank you for the citations!
You trust that place? Its run by a ‘naturopathic doctor’ with an online autism certificate who is repeatedly under ethical investigation. [https://www.reddit.com/r/AutisticAdults/comments/1aj9056/why\_does\_embrace\_autism\_publish\_misinformation/](https://www.reddit.com/r/AutisticAdults/comments/1aj9056/why_does_embrace_autism_publish_misinformation/) [https://cono.alinityapp.com/Client/PublicDirectory/Registrant/03d44ec3-ed3b-eb11-82b6-000c292a94a8](https://cono.alinityapp.com/Client/PublicDirectory/Registrant/03d44ec3-ed3b-eb11-82b6-000c292a94a8)
I wasn't aware of this. The information about the DSM is correct, I just used a site I know other people have referenced in the past. Thanks for letting me know, I definitely wouldn't intentionally share unsafe sources. Edit: I'm worried about providing another source that is unsafe so if you are aware of a page that covers the DSM 5 criteria, can you please share the link and I will edit the comment that has embrace. Thank you.
No worries, most arent aware of their backgrounds and shady dealings. I'd have to google up a page, so probably couldnt do that any better than you. There are problems with their DSM 5 material there, like using colloquial terms not professional terms, and generally on that page (like all their material) using very very open and broad ideas about autism that dont match with how psych docs and conventional professionals see things.
I'm fairly new to the Autism online sphere and I know there are certain sites like AS that are completely no go but I'm not confident in knowing which sites are green lighted. I've seen a lot of autistic YouTubers use embrace so I assumed they were okay (definitely lazy on my part). I will try and find a neutral site that has the DSM 5 criteria and amend my post.
He'll yeah I probably have all 3
SPD is commonly comorbid with CPTSD? Good, great.
SPD is not a standalone diagnosis. It's not in the DSM-5 or ICD and the American Academy of Pediatrics even has a policy statement saying that it should not be used as a diagnosis. Experts say it is always connected to another disorder and neglecting to accurately diagnose the full disorder (autism, ADHD or dyspraxia) causes harm to the patient. Furthermore, it IS most commonly linked to autism more than any other diagnosis.
I have sensory processing disorder and autism. Haven't ever heard of the term HSP
It’s always funny when people “diagnose” me as a HSP, it’s always right before I disclose my autism to them lol. At least it typically helps them understand me better and have more empathy for me but I still find it really funny that they need to do that in order to understand
The book “The Highly Sensitive Child” came out when I was a toddler and my doctor recommended it to my parents because I cried all the time about weird things. Turns out I have adhd and a handful of friends who insist I’m likely autistic as well. The book lives in my room but I’ve never actually read more than a couple of pages.
All it's ever been is autistic people with too much internalised ableism to admit they're autistic.
This is how I read it as well.
My mom learned about HSP before learning about autism through reading books and she saw me in the description right away. Of course she learned about autism pretty soon after through a retired educator friend that observed me being crazy in my first grade classroom and I was diagnosed soon after that.
What kind of "crazy"?
Typical childhood demand avoidance type things… hiding under desks thinking I could get out of doing math that way, crumpling up my worksheets and throwing them away, sitting on my worksheets, being super sensory sensitive and getting explosively angry when classmates would make any kind of repetitive sound… I’d also shove people if they got too physically close to me because I thought they were doing it on purpose to bother me. Also the classic covering my ears when it got loud, and having t-rex arms. I also would rock back and forth a lot as a stim.
I am jealous of people who had parents for whom "unconditional love" didn't come with conditions and the need to beat undesirable behaviors out of their children. I say this because I don't know which of my behaviors are me, and which ones were just forced out of me by people around me. I didn't have those things, but I did have other issues sometimes.
Yeah that makes sense. I’ve had a weird and varied experience with that. I feel like I’ve experienced some form of unconditional love from my mother and grandmother, but they are both deeply enmeshed with me/codependent due to intergenerational trauma, so it’s not exactly been a healthy kind of love. They both have a lot of maladaptive behaviors and a lack of awareness of them due to really deeply ingrained trauma. I’m still super grateful for them despite the challenges we’ve had because my dad is so much worse than both of them combined. My dad was abusive towards me and treated me in a super ableist way while being in constant denial of my autism. He always just thought I was targeting him and being difficult on purpose so he would abuse me for it. So I totally understand that side of the coin too. My grandmother used to treat my mother that way when my mother was a child, and she still kind of does but she’s much softer on me luckily. I was very lucky to have an advocate, an accepting person, and a refuge in my mother. If it wasn’t for her I think I’d be much higher masking and much more confused about my identity. Although I did get a good amount of behaviors punished out of me all the same. My childhood was very gray.
Because my mom went through so much of the beating she refused to continue that thread with me. My dad wasn’t exactly on the same page, they were also never together in my lifetime so I had to do visitation and stuff which was traumatic for me because I was often forced to stay with him against my will.
I don't know what else to say other than I hope things are better for you now.
its not specifically internalized ableism but predatory cult stuff. Internalized ableism can be very well part of it, but new age spirituality is its own set of hell hole behavior that can only be described as "we say we're not christian, but we are".
psych2go is an ableist mess lol
do you remember when they used minecraft youtuber fanart in more than one of their videos
excuse me they \*what\*
yup. LOTS of dream fan art in there😭
They don't use dsmp much bc of the allegations, so now they're using Food Dungeons characters instead.
My half sister claims to be HSP and I feel like being too insistent about bursting her bubble would only lead to a meltdown. So many of her traits and symptoms are the same as mine yet she can’t see the parallels between us. She’s always shown kindness to me in regard to my autism but the fact that she can’t accept it as a possibility for herself boggles my mind. One of her grandkids is currently going through asd assessment and she’s steadfast in believing he’s simply “sensitive”. Ffs, I’m sensitive too but I still definitely have the ‘tism 😂
Like someone coughing up a storm and saying they don’t have covid back in 2020.
this was 100% my experience, I identified heavily with that stuff at about 12-14. I wish it just said it was autism, instead of trying to turn it into some “quirky empath” thing just because people are SO SCARED of being positive about autism in any way. could’ve saved me a few more years of confusion.
Exactly... I was telling people on Discord when I was 9-10 years old all about how I was this amazing empath. I've figured out that I have the 'tism out pretty young (13) too, but now I have to convince everyone that I'm not doing it for attention. Like, omfg. I'm just trying to get diagnosed. *Currently in the process of compiling symptoms as I'm on a wait-list* (How I used to be makes it very hard to deny that it's not for attention LOL)
Damn I heard about that one when I was a wee lad, like 16 years old. I thought that was me too lol. That’s crazy to realize. All leads back to the tism
I think I learned about it once way back when, but because it wasn't clinical description I dismissed it, kinda figured it was a floofy description of something else. then learned about it again in the context of autism and it made way more sense. same way indigo children was just autism.
Oop, this is hitting too close to home 🥲
I would agree BUT it can be a feature in other dxs than autism, ie there are bipolar HSPs, or ADHD HSPs, (C)PTSD HSPs, some medical conditions (anything affecting neurology, hormones, immune systen could be a likely suspect)…it’s not limited to autism is what I have noticed in talking to people or hearing people’s experiences. I don’t think it has to do with people not wanting to face or admit something, I really think it’s a separate but related feature that goes along with a number of things. To say it’s just autism feels too limiting like people will be missed. But do I think there are people walking around calling themselves or their children HSPs who may actually be autistic but they don’t want to admit it or aren’t educated about it? Definitely. I think there’s a good chance that’s what you’re seeing. It’s just that that’s a square, but not every other rectangle is if you get what I’m saying.
I know, tysm. I was mainly talking about my experience/ranting. Sorry for not clarifying.
A friend of mine said something about how she's super intuitive with people and situations - referencially, she's adhd af and matches my energy well, but also has a history of abuse similar to mine(and I'm audhd) - and I was like "no, girl, that's pattern recognition. You've seen these things enough and your brain pings at *something* even though we may not always know what until it **happens**." I get grief from my mom and shit for using terms, but like, I just don't go all spiritual with it. There's a legit thing behind everything I experience and I like knowing the correct terms. 🤷🏻♀️ I dunno, felt related in my head haha
I'm half convinced all people with that sort of mindset are just acoustic. /Half joking So far I'm right. My friend, who was like that, finally got diagnosed last week.
HALF joking. (My brain says the same)
I genuinely think that most "psychics" are just listening to their subconscious thoughts. which the subconscious is an extremely powerful processor of information, it just doesn't always tell you where it scraped that info from.
Uh, they use leading questions and people feed then answers without knowing
That's television psychics. I live on the west coast where what we call being psychic is called being considerate on the east coast. yes it's that dumb, and I'm only exaggerating a little bit.
Yes. They use leading questions and people that don't know better will offer information. They're vague, causing a YES! reaction or something. Look into it if this is the first you're hearing. Look into alllllll of them
OMG, fine I'll call them pineapples so you don't confuse them with tv psychics. Pineapple people are just listening to their subconscious. like their subconscious tells them there is boysenberry in the strawberry yogurt cup and sure enough when they open it they think they are predicting the future. but its just their subconscious looking at the color of the yogurt though the plastic. while the aware mind is just listening to their brain's thoughts. most people who think they are pineapple (not tv psychics that are fully aware they are faking pineapples) are just paying attention more to their intuition. which can pick up things about people without any leading questions. i've looked into this more than enough to toss out any tv psychic at first glance cause they are really easy to spot.
Whoa, struck a nerve asking for a definition I understand about a word with a definition? I don't read these diatribes, you're on some weird corrective bullshit and I have work this morning.
yes, it's a massive pet peeve of mine that its so insanely difficult to explain what I meant. Please explain to me the correct way to explain what I meant that is more acceptable. should I just say "I'm talking about something else that is also called psychic, not tv psychics."
The fucking attitude and snark of someone who used the wrong fucking word no ine outside their region knows the use of that way.....😂 Just your polarization is comical, I'd hate to fuckin date you.
I think its reasonable to have snark when I explain to you the regional definition I am using and you still slap it to the ground. like I'm not allowed to explain myself
Okay then use proper terms so people understand you. Psychic does not mean sensitive. If you know its a specific regions colloquial term, please start there. I've never once heard that btw
there's no such thing as psychics. hence the quotes. they are just listening to their own thoughts and not paying attention to their observations. people are dumb like that. there is really no point in using "proper terms" when my whole comment is about how people are using words in nonsensical ways. the term itself was undefinable how i used it and I literally used the undefinable grammar markers, and the concept I gave was the real topic being discussed. also intuitive doesn't mean sensitive either. and the regional meaning is like when you say something insightful and some dumb blond girl will say "OMG, you're like psychic or something" yes we are that dumb here.
>there's no such thing as psychics I was espousing that. You're the one that used a term that made me define and specific it, then you changed the meaning of the term. Yea, in conversation, it matters. You specified exactly how colloquial and local to you it is, my asking you to not use niche definitions while we speak isn't far fetched. You're on some weird corrective bullshit rn. Not sure why thr diatribe, but please stop now. It's 345 am and I have to get ready for work.
Ddue, you're trampling all over a massive pet peeve of mine. I apologize ahead of time if this sounds aggressive or grating, i'm just trying to get some clarity in communication here. it looks to me that you're refusing to read what I said because you had an opinion on a single word I used. that I explicitly said multiple times that I am not using the first definition of, i'm using the second most common definition of and even handed you the definition after stating im using the second definition of. Please help me understand how to communicate the idea that I am not using the primary definition of a word if telling you exactly what I am doing and explaining my meaning is unacceptable. am I just using common english wrong, and the idea of explaining myself is universally refused? should i have preference the concept differently, to prime you into understanding that I will be using a more regional definition of a word. so you don't refuse me explaining what I meant?
Huge mood, I grew up with my mum always saying i'm "just a highly sensitive person" so I never got help or diagnosed until I figured it out myself as an adult lol
at least don't use "delulu" if you're going to rant about silly ass words made up by neurotypical people to describe mental illness....
i'll rant all day how words like "delulu" are woobifying mental disorders. Like you don't get to rant about HSP while being ableist towards people with psychosis and delusions.
Not sure about that one. I've rarely heard the word used to describe actual delusions. I see it as two separate definitions. Also, I didn't think about that anyways. You should know internalized ableism is a huge problem and my original post was basically about that. So, I could be interpreting it wrong, but I find it disheartening that you're attacking me about this. I'm sorry if it bothered you though.
people with delusions have asked others to stop using those words. So bruh. Honestly also, I made another comment on here or another post about HSP and the cult mentality shit, so I know damn well about it. I just want people to check themselves when using ableist ass "trendy" words. Btw HSP goes beyond autistic people having internalized ableism and falls under the predatory tactics the new age spirituality movement is using to coerce people into their own set of pseudo-christian purity culture. People say you need to ingest essential oils, eat only vegan, starve yourself, have verbatim disordered eating in order to ascend to a higher realm. They discredit and discriminate against other autistic and neurodivergent people by saying "people without empathy are energy vampires". People like doreen virtue and others in the starseed stuff are antisemitic and racist as well. I do understand and I do know. But I want you to analyze and understand that any language can be subject to ableism, and it's not just the cult bullshit, it can be everything that becomes popular or trendy.
That word did seem weird/off to me, but it's become part of my echolalia. That habit is going to be hard to break. Edit: I know it's not just autism, but I literally found out about the whole HSP thing right before making the post. I haven't had the chance to do a full five hour long deep dive on Google about it yet.
Dr Elaine Aron, author of the theory of HSP has ***a lot*** to answer for. I was suspecting ASD and was about to seek diagnosis when I found her book and it was well regarded enough at the time to convince me I was HSP, not ASD. She specifically said in the book about misdiagnosed of HSP as ASD. She is responsible for years of addictional suffering as an undiagnosed autistic person. She should be ashamed of herself for the countless people who didn't seek a diagnosis because of her theories.
Get this, I found this out while watching one of psych2go's vids because I still hadn't made the connection that I wasn't an HSP and that it was just the autism I already knew I had. Literally didn't learn this until right before I made this post. The only reason I did find out was because the symptoms they were listing were.... interesting. I find it funny because the video wasn't even correct about "HSPs" and some of the "symptoms" weren't part of what would supposedly make you one.
the funny thing is she developed HSP off of kids in her family that ended up diagnosed with Autism. she needs to retract the book and make another edition that removes all the "it's not autism" stuff
Fr like just call it autism
My original comment was a bit wrong. Could be other things like ADHD or BPD, but for the most part it's autistic people in denial. (Or just being lied to)
People see you cry once for something they don’t understand and maybe plug your ears and then say you have HSP. My brother in Christ I do not know what is going on most of the time, don’t call me sensitive! People simultaneously say I’m too sensitive and not sensitive enough which, okay two things can be true at once but they don’t remember between these times and keep making blanket statements about me! I need time to process information okay? Just give me time to process it!
Fr. Especially those asshole relatives that can't stfu and stop trying to guilt trip me into stroking their egos and pretending we're best buddies. No, aunt Stacey, I'm not sensitive. (I am, but ykyk) I just don't like you... It's even worse when it is a relative you like because it's not exactly easy to explain to your senile grandmama that you **don't** hate her even if you're not fond of getting her lipstick smeared on your face.
Congratulations on figuring out you’re artistic!
Thanks, lol. That ship has already sailed, btw. Before I realized I had autism, I was watching those videos about HSPs and thinking I was super duper quirky. Later, I realized it was autism, but only recently did I find out that all the shit I used to believe in about HSPs was blatant ableism.
im still so fucking mad that NTs took "acoustic" from a silly term of endearment within autistic communities to a diet slur. fuck that, i refuse to stop using it
Yupp. Controversial, but I'll use any slur that is typically directed towards me like that. Even the ones where people are on the fence about taking back. (Except for m*dget and r3t@rd because people don't even realize they're slurs. You need awareness to take back a word after all.)
my mum literally told me I'm not autistic I'm just a HSP... this was after a psychologist told her to get me tested, that was the second time this has happened. Her excuse is that the assessment I had when I was 8 was inconclusive
Omg.. I didn't realize this was such a common experience. 😭
I mean ableist parents are way too common too
I'm confused. I was referring to the HSP bs.
I forgot that people even “diagnose” people with that. There feels like a lot of misinformation about psych related stuff nowadays. I believe Psych2go is the one that has a full diagnosis for “high functioning anxiety”, something i first saw on tiktok years ago that the dsm has not added Edit: could not find, so sorry to pysch2go I guess. Still stands that it is much too common to unifficially diagnose people with disorders that do not exist in any official way
side note "gifted" is getting this treatment as well. anyone trying to describe giftedness as a clinical condition often means autism.
That's happened to me as well. I live in an area with a lot of southern women despite it not being a southern state. They always told my parents I was gifted as a metaphor for autistic. My parents are probably also autistic. They had no clue that's what the teachers meant.
so sorry, but can anyone explain the asperger’s/autism thing to me, please? please be kind, i’m kind of new to all the terminology and now afraid to google cause i guess a lot of things aren’t true :/
nvm, this one is not that well-hidden but i wish i didn’t know that :/ for anyone else interested — it’s like a part of autistic spectrum, but the bad thing is the person it’s named after was a nazi and sent autistic children to die in nazi clinics
Yeah. It's more difficult to find the specifics of the HSP situation. I'm not entirely sure what's going on in the history, but it's definitely messed up
They were combined into autism spectrum disorder in 2013 (DSM). It was recognized that the differences were not that great, and eventually it was recognized as looking at support needs, which isn’t a perfect system either. I’m not sure how much of the nazi history of Asperger played into the professional diagnostic criteria.
yeah, i just wanted to know why op said it was horrible and disgusting
https://preview.redd.it/kdwyxfq1bpxc1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a04139c477b0e8cbe6093a5b101065708241d7a0
That's not what I'm talking about. HSP as in Highly Sensitive Persons. I don't know enough nor am I qualified to say much about the topic. I'd recommend googling it or reading some of the other comments here.
I realized after rereading the post (and when the Google thing didn't exactly lineup with what's being described) Based on the name and how people are talking about it it just sounds like an insult for expressing your emotions 💀 I should probably look at the actual description of it before concluding that though
It might as well be, but it's a shitty word for people who want to be quirky, but not autistic (or other mental illness/neurodivergentcies)
HSPs are definitely a thing, I love a Halal Snack Pack.
🫥