A quick post on what is one of the first really warm spring days of the year here in Connecticut. A very welcome development.

My latest column for Skeptical Inquirer magazine, “Skip the Doctor, Just Diagnose Yourself,” is about the growing trend of self-diagnosis in autism and other psychiatric conditions. One of the features of the neurodiversity movement is the rising popularity of self-diagnosis, a new do-it-yourself movement that dismisses the need for professional opinion. As a very famous example, Elon Musk makes the claim that he has Asperger’s syndrome (now part of autism spectrum disorder), but his biographer reported that he was never formally diagnosed. I outline the extent of self-diagnosis, the role of social media in spreading it, and several potential drawbacks.

As mentioned in my last message, in April I gave a talk entitled “Identity, Advocacy, and  Autism Pseudoscience” at the annual convention of the Texas Association for Behavior Analysis in Houston. The talk was livestreamed and recorded, however, the video is not publicly accessible. I hope it does become public at some future point, and I will let you know if that happens. In the meantime, here is a screen shot of me at TxABA in Houston. 

Also mentioned last time, I will be speaking at the annual convention of the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) in Philadelphia at the end of May. It happens to be the 50th anniversary of ABAI. I will be participating in a panel discussion entitled “Strategies for Effective Public Engagement and Outreach” and I will make brief remarks at another session at the convention. I will have more to say about this in a future message. It has been years since I attened the ABAI convention, so I am looking forward to connecting with some old friends.

That’s it! More news as it develops. In the meantime, I hope the weather is as wonderful where you are as it is here. Happy spring!

SV