#supports

What if autism is ones primary disability that, well, disables them? What if the only thing that will allow you to pay for, and sometimes qualify for, the type of help you need is covered by wavers for people with developmental disabilities, which you can't get without a diagnosis of one? (Here's an example from my state: people with I/DD's have access to dental care coverage that the general population does not under Medicaid!) People do have terrible health outcomes and sometimes die without these supports, especially if they've been getting help to survive up to that point from family, friends, or partners - and suddenly end up alone.

It's a damn bandaid to try to turn people away from it full stop, no matter the situation. People should be educated on the risks involved and what legitimate help is available to them in their area that they may be entitled to, not scared off it entirely or forced to use more ephemeral supports that have no legal protections or entitlements.

More often than not the people saying this make wild assumptions about the abilities of those seeking out diagnosis, too - as if nobody whose been to special ed, dropped out of/never been to school, never worked a job, never lived alone, or is chronically unhoused, has ever had to make the "choice" between barely surviving (or dying slowly to poor hygiene, nutrition, awareness of danger, and inability to manage the demands of running a household or living alone, etc) and getting some help and legal recognition at the cost of possibly losing independence. Hell, for some, this may be an actual path to independence, compared to how they were living before.

Supports urbains / Urban supports par Mario Castonguay