I wrote the following note https://substack.com/profile/85637482-russell-mcormond/note/c-82220324
In reply to: The Paywalls of Mental Health
I use it to discuss a flawed critique I've seen online of the assessment services from Embrace Autism.
The critique is focused on the fact the service doesn't involve a large expensive team of MD's spending a huge amount of in-person time. That's a financial barrier that only a tiny number of people could pass.
#ActuallyAutistic #EmbraceAutism
#AutismAcceptance #AutismFriendly
@actuallyautistic
Russell McOrmond on Substack
I am bothered by a critique I’ve seen online of the assessment services from Embrace Autism https://embrace-autism.com/autism-assessments/ The critique is focused on the fact that the service doesn't involve a large expensive team of MD's spending a huge amount of in-person time. A financial barrier that only a tiny number of people could pass. Embrace Autism is run by people who are Autistic themselves, and -- well -- will help you Embrace Autism (good company name). At no time during the process did I feel pathologized. And if you do want the "legal" signoff via an MD, that is available as well (I did). There is nothing that should be questioned about the service, and it is a feature (not a bug) that Embrace Autism is run by fellow Autistic people. Yet there are what I feel are trolls trying to gatekeep. While it doesn't mention Embrace Autism services, I believe the following article is useful for understanding the gatekeeping some want to impose. https://autside.substack.com/p/the-paywalls-of-mental-health-why Since I'm well over 18 (over 3 times over), there was no financial or other support offered to me for Autism related assessments or services. My workplace associated health insurances (I was under both my own and my wife's at the time I was being assessed) also didn't cover anything. This is all out of my own pocket -- paying at a time of my life when I'm worried about money as I'm off work because of workplace-induced Autistic Burnout. I know these are trolls, that there is a lack of acceptance of diversity in general within this society (I live under the Dominion of Canada, but the worldviews are common within the Anglosphere), and that I shouldn't logically be upset by this. But I do get upset when I see that crap: that elitist gatekeeping behaviour causes so much harm.


