B1D: Social Media, Self-Diagnosis, and Criterion Validity of Autism Measures

Social media has become a source of information and misinformation regarding Autism Spectrum Disorders. Since the pandemic, an ever-increasing number of influencers have been discussing symptoms of autism and promoting self-diagnosis. We will discuss the implications of self-diagnosis to the field, provide information regarding why a comprehensive evaluation for autism is recommended, discuss gold-standard autism measures, and discuss the criterion validity of questionnaires for autism symptoms.

Classification statistics (i.e., sensitivity, specificity, positive/negative predictive values) including the Social Responsiveness Scale-2, Autism Spectrum Rating Scales 2-5/6-18, and Gilliam Autism Rating Scales-3 will be discussed.

Learning Outcomes:

Define neurodiversity and the implications of this and other terms developed and reified outside of the academic literature

Discuss the practical effects of social medial information on the mental health field and laypersons

Describe best practices for autism diagnosis and barriers to obtaining these evaluations

Be aware of criterion validity, specifically what a gold-standard measure is and why questionnaires are not an adequate substitute for comprehensive assessment

Speakers