I've been wondering for quite a while if I have autism or not as I seem to hit a lot of the commonly reported symptoms and experiences. I recently tried some of the self-tests out there, including the ones on Embrace Autism, and yeah, I hit every single one I tried for mild to even moderate autism. Scored 49 on the rbq-2a for example.
Now, I know that none of those tests are conclusive and I could easily be a false positive, so I'm not directly claiming I have autism. But I'm thinking the next step is probably to talk to my primary care doctor, but to be honest I'm really hesitant to/don't completely trust the mental health system in Canada. Genuinely asking because I don't really have anyone in my personal life who has similar experiences or I think would understand: what do people here think about getting a formal diagnosis? Is it always something one should pursue if they suspect they're on the spectrum? Are there any major drawbacks? I'm especially concerned about it affecting my career prospects (which already aren't great tbh, my fault for getting a science degree in an already niche field which I deeply regret but that's a different story) or my ability to take out loans or rent an apartment by myself. I don't personally see my autism (if I have it) as a disability, but unfortunately in Canada it is still very much seen as such. Who am I required to disclose an autism diagnosis if I am diagnosed?
I'm really sorry if any of this comes off as insensitive. I have never really participated in the autism online community and I am in no way trying to put down people with autism, I'm honestly just kind of scared about what this means for me. Anyone else in a similar situation, or were in a similar situation? Care to share your experiences or have any advice?
That's the norm unfortunately. Immigration is not about the person immigrating, it's about if you're useful to the country. It's also the norm that typically the only real way to be let in on a work permit long term is if they specifically need people in your field (usually highly skilled white collar work and/or jobs that they have trouble filling locally). Speaking from experience as someone that immigrated as a young child from China to Canada with parents that got in through this exact route. There's a reason developing countries are experiencing brain drains, where do you think they're going? Too often do I wonder if our lives would be better if we stayed in China since we're not exactly doing superb over here, but I'm already a Canadian citizen, went through all of high school and university here, barely know how to read and write Chinese and am pretty far removed from the culture back there, so that ship has sailed.
Even though those same countries you mentioned literally frame their immigration programs as "look how much we're doing for those poor people in third world (sic) countries! we're such bastions of niceness and human rights!"
Honestly the economic situation in Canada definitely does not help. It's hard enough for a neurotypical person here to live a good life it seems. I know for a fact that the uncertainty of my future here has aggravated my anxiety disorder (diagnosed, medicated which does help at least to prevent panic attacks, but frankly I don't even know how much is actually anxiety "disorder" and how much is actual reasonable fear for how I'll survive). Probably interacts negatively with my possible autism too.