Diagnosis, Comorbidity, and the Question of What Makes Us Who We Are Before discussing autistic identity, it is necessary to clarify several terms that will be used throughout this article. Identity refers to the qualities, beliefs, personality traits, social roles, and affiliations that define a person or a group. It may include characteristics such as nationality, sex, profession, values, political or religious beliefs, and membership in particular communities. For example,

Pressure on Diagnostic Services In recent years, adult autism diagnostic services have come under exceptional pressure. Referral rates have surged, far outpacing clinical capacity, and exposing systemic limitations in provision. The consequences are stark. An NHS-funded diagnostic service in Oxfordshire, for example, recently closed its waiting list after estimating that it could take until 2043 to process its backlog of over 2,000 patients. For individuals referred before 20

Over the past decade, mental health awareness campaigns have expanded significantly across the Western world. These efforts, ranging from school-based interventions to high-profile celebrity disclosures, have reduced stigma, improved mental health literacy, and encouraged help-seeking (Sampogna et al. 2017; Schomerus et al. 2012; Henderson et al. 2017). At the same time, however, reported rates of mental health conditions—including anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and s