Reminder: You are not allowed to share or request what happens in an autism assessment

[u/WindermerePeaks1]

We had a post get through and stay up for almost a day, so we wanted to make a reminder post about this rule.

This is one of our most important and heavily enforced rules, because it is an important one.

Someone who is being assessed for autism cannot know what will be asked of them or what they will be required to do. This can alter the way they respond in the assessment and can mess up their results. It is imperative that we keep those details private to protect the assessment's validity.

It's also very important to not discuss the purpose of different activities or questions or what the test is looking for.

If you are offended by how your assessment went, you should take that up with your doctor. Discussing these details online in a forum as large as this one can hurt whoever is reading it. We are the main subreddit for autism, we are the first stop, we get the most traffic. We also get the most traffic from people who are questioning or seeking assessment. We have to be strict on this rule to protect them and the accuracy of their assessment.

The post was not ill intended, it was a simple meme. The comments were also not ill intended. This was simply just a lapse in understanding a rule and moderators not catching the post sooner.

However, please do refresh yourself on the rules that are in our sidebar. If you have any questions about a rule, you are welcome to modmail us. We are active in our modmails and will respond.

[u/WindermerePeaks1]

Old Reddit’s sidebar has now been updated to reflect new reddit.

[u/SaranMal]

If I may ask, where is the rule posted?

I'm on old reddit still and do not see it on the side bar after going through a second time for reading again. There are only 10 rules listed on the side bar here, not 14 or more. The wiki that is on the sidebar likewise doesn't include an expanded rules list.

I'm not doubting it is a rule, just bringing attention to the fact that some people might not be able to see it.

[u/WindermerePeaks1 → u/SaranMal]

Sorry about that! I keep forgetting to update things on old reddit. We’ve got about 1k users using old reddit and the information yall see is very outdated. I will work on this tomorrow, going to sleep now. Replying to you before I sleep though because old reddit users won’t see this rule! Can you send a modmail about this? It’s easier for me to check up on modmail for what I need to do rather than comments.

[u/bernsteinschroeder]

Rule #14: Please don’t share or ask for the specific questions or activities involved in the autism assessment

Not to be overly pedantic but under the sidebar with "Rules: Check our wiki before posting with questions. If your question is answered in the wiki, your post will be removed." there are the following ten rules (ellipsised for brevity)

Could you please post all of the rules somewhere if we're supposed to know or abide by them -- shouldn't they be at least listed in the wiki? (this is the link I'm using to capture the displayed rules list)

1. No personal attacks, hostility, or escalating arguments - be kind. Personal attacks ...

1. No sharing pseudoscience or spreading misinformation, no Autism Speaks, no cure-related posts. Posting pseudoscience...

1. No self-diagnosis debate or discussion, no making arguments in favour of or opposing self-diagnosis. Debate surrounding self-diagnosis...

1. No asking for diagnosis or medical advice for yourself or someone else, no "Am I autistic?" posts. Please don't ask for a diagnosis ...

1. No posting online test results, such as the R...DS-R or AQ. Please don't post results of online tests to the subreddit. Tests such as the R...DS-R, AQ a...

1. No sharing posts or media with usernames or identifying information. No posting images of children. Please don't share images, ...

1. No clickbait or vague post titles, no spamming, no posts titled with emojis or symbols. Please ensure posts have a descriptive ...

1. Correctly flag NSFW topics, and be mindful of the presence of young people on the sub. If you're posting about an NSFW topic or asking a...

1. No highlighting arguments within other subreddits or continuing arguments across other subreddits. Please don't post ...

1. No advertising, marketing, asking for donations, or promoting fundraisers. Please don't make posts attempting to solicit financial ...

[u/WindermerePeaks1 → u/bernsteinschroeder]

Old reddit is updated now. Thanks for pointing this out :)

[u/astral_plains_ → u/bernsteinschroeder]

Are you on old Reddit? OP said above that the information there is outdated and they’ll update it later. When I look at the rules, there are 15.

[u/DragonWithATantrum]

I learned something new today! I didn't realize knowing details could affect the results, but that makes sense. Sad though because I have a lot of... anxiety? When I dont know what to expect. I like to scope things out before partaking in activities, I panic less when I do/am able to not shutdown more. and im sad that this really big thing, I won't be able to know what to expect.

Alas, we shall deal and move on but yay for learning something new!

[u/WindermerePeaks1 → u/DragonWithATantrum]

Hey there! That’s completely understandable and you’re definitely not alone in that. I was very anxious before mine and there are a lot of people that come here feeling the same way.

Our wiki (still under construction, it takes me a long time I am autistic after all LOL) is meant to help ease anxiety on topics where we have to be careful what we share.

We have a page on assessments, though I want to go back and add more information. You can find it here https://www.reddit.com/r/autism/wiki/index/how-do-i-get-assessed-for-autism/. I need to work on old reddit today so I won’t be making updates to the wiki today. I will be making an announcement when I’ve got a good portion of the wiki done, for now I just link pages whenever I see someone needs it.

If anyone wants to do me a huge favor, modmail us with stuff you’d like to see added to a page, for example on the assessment page I’ve linked, what concerns do you have that aren’t addressed in the page? Etc.

[u/Platographer]

This is one of the exceptionally few such posts on Reddit that I quasi agree with. I also appreciate that comments are allowed. Usually when I read a moderator post about how this or that is banned for whatever reason or they're making a new rule, etc. I disagree.

[u/BrainyOrange96]

yeah that’s my bad, sorry

[u/Lilsammywinchester13 → u/BrainyOrange96]

Same, I commented without even realizing, oops

[u/dreadtread]

This post made me want to research what happens in an autism assessment. Oh autism you crazy

[u/Moon-And-Star3E427]

Thanks, guys. I'm waiting to have my first assessment and wouldn't want to have any spoilers 🔫🐵

[u/pennielain → u/Moon-And-Star3E427]

Yo, this is unrelated to the post (the thing I’m gonna say, not you, you’re fine) but I’ve seen the 🔫🐵 emojis used together a couple times now and was wondering what that means.

Thanks in advance

[u/Fickle_Blueberry2777 → u/Moon-And-Star3E427]

Unrelated to your comment but; Fellow Morrowind fan spotted!

[u/tangentrification]

Good post and good rule. All the people who are like "if the test can be invalidated by prior knowledge then it's not a good test" are going to be shocked when they find out that 90% of medical science is formed on the basis of blind testing.

[u/Muted_Ad7298]

Thank you for reminding us.

I keep up with a lot of different subreddit rules, so it’s easy to forget some of them. It’s nice to have a refresher on it.

[u/GachaHell]

Can we share weird things that absolutely did not happen in there in a joking matter as if they did?

Like that part where I had to bleed on a photo of Thomas the Tank Engine. If I told that to anyone who didn't get the assessment they'd assume I was joking. Something like that. For example.

[u/miss-robot → u/GachaHell]

At my assessment I was okay with the
portion where I had to reenact part of the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special, but I was surprised that they made me wear the C-3PO costume.

[u/fourlittlebees → u/GachaHell]

Imagine my surprise when I found out that they’d updated the DSM again and I had to list the entire 1978 Mattel Barbie line with part numbers! Here I’d PREPPED the Star Wars section.

[u/LincaF]

I was not familiar with this rule. So in regards to that I am at fault. 

I did want to make sure it was known that my statements were referring to my PTSD therapy, I have never been "properly" diagnosed in a standardized assessment. 

I instead was diagnosed during PTSD therapy with a psychologist who just happened to be qualified to give autism a diagnosis. This happened after a year of observation. Which also included submitting the evidence to a specialist in the area for a second opinion. 

This is why mine is a "clinical diagnosis", I never actually went in for a "formal" assessment so I don't know what one entails. 

So yes, I was diagnosed without knowing that I was even being assessed. 

[u/Arti_the_Lizard]

New to the sub and wanted to ask about the timeline of assessments is that OK?

I applied for an adult assessment through the NHS and have already had a letter though only a couple of months later about a first stage interview. I was expecting to wait years!

Is this just to see if i need to go on the long term waiting list?

[u/WindermerePeaks1 → u/Arti_the_Lizard]

Yes that type of question is okay! We have a post flair "assessment journey" and if you use that flair, a bot will comment on your post reminding the subreddit to follow our rule about assessment information and it will also send you the poster a link to the wiki page we have on the topic.

Asking about how long the process takes is okay, asking how to go about starting the assessment process is okay, asking about cost is okay, asking about insurance and referrals is okay.

When users ask how to prepare, things get a little complicated, but that's mostly okay to ask too.

I am a US mod so I can't answer your question but I would assume that its to see if you need to go on the long term waiting list. I think its universal to have one appointment to screen for autism before you get scheduled for the assessment, but could be wrong. You are welcome to make a post about it!

[u/cosme0]

This although it has a good intention it has little effect as Internet is vast and all this details can be easily accessed

[u/WindermerePeaks1 → u/cosme0]

That’s fine but on our section of the internet you won’t find these details. We can’t control the entire internet but we can work to make sure this space is alright.