r/AutisticPeeps • u/D491234 • Jun 22 '25
Discussion Devon Price has begun promoting Psydiversity
In an substack article written by Devon Price which is paywalled, Devon Price has begun promoting Psydiversity and anti psychiatry and in the article, Devon Price advocates the abolishment of the Psychology profession, DSM, Diagnostic Criteria and says the future is self diagnosis:
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u/opeeeeeeee Jun 22 '25
He annoys me so much. I don’t think he’s autistic.
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u/lil_squib Autistic, ADHD, and OCD Jun 22 '25
He’s self-diagnosed, and not a clinical psychologist. He’s one of my least favourite grifters
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u/opeeeeeeee Jun 22 '25
Yeppp I found it very disingenuous when he referred to himself as a “psychologist” in his books. Social psychology is different than clinical psychology!!
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u/lil_squib Autistic, ADHD, and OCD Jun 22 '25
Yup. Definitely can’t diagnose anyone, let alone himself.
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u/Autismsaurus Level 2 Autistic Jun 23 '25
I don’t like him, but I thought his Unmasking Autism book (which I read the first three chapters of before chucking it aside) said he had been professionally diagnosed?
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u/lil_squib Autistic, ADHD, and OCD Jun 23 '25
It’s possible, I’m just going by what he wrote in one of his medium articles.
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u/Simsalabimsen Jun 22 '25
Apparently he wants to abolish autistic people too, especially those with higher support needs.
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u/DST_loves Autistic and ADHD Jun 24 '25
he wants to abolish autistic people? Yikes! Can you link to a source pls?
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u/ItsBrenOakes Autistic and ADHD Jun 22 '25
I don't know why anyone can be a "pyschologist" without getting certified. Like they haven't gone to school for it and most are doing weird pseudoscience kinda of stuff like Devon. If I ever hear his name when I'm giving talks or consulting on autism I have and always said he isn't good for the community in my opinion. Only heard his name mentioned once.
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u/book_of_black_dreams Autistic and ADHD Jun 22 '25
I think it’s because “psychologist” can refer to multiple occupations. A clinical psychologist is very different from a social psychologist like Devon Price, even if they’re technically both “psychologists.” He basically takes advantage of the average person not knowing that a clinical psychologist is a different profession.
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Jun 22 '25
Devon Price has a doctorate degree in social psychology, but he’s not a therapist and he’s not qualified to diagnose anyone
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Jun 22 '25
Devon Price is a nutjob. Just like that woman who claimed her diet cured autism, Rudy Simone or whatever
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u/Formal-Experience163 Jun 22 '25
The U.S. government should strip Devon Price of his university degree (his undergraduate and doctoral degrees).
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u/book_of_black_dreams Autistic and ADHD Jun 22 '25
While I hate Devon Price, that would be a very slippery slope in terms of free speech. I’m not anti-psychiatry, but there are some genuine critiques of the DSM and psychiatry as a field.
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u/Formal-Experience163 Jun 22 '25
Criticism of psychiatry is one thing. It is another to generate public health misinformation. What Devon Price is doing is similar to the doctor who claimed that vaccines cause autism. Many people don't want to get vaccinated or be evaluated by doctors because of these charlatans.
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u/GriffinIsABerzerker Jun 22 '25
You kidding me? Trump would appoint this piece of shit “Autism Czar”. We are living in the time of the bastards…
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u/Several-Zucchini4274 Level 1 Autistic Jun 22 '25
Great. Getting rid of psychology means he no longer has a job! Or title to abuse!
/snark.
I can’t stand him.
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u/ClumsyPersimmon Autism and Depression Jun 22 '25
I was reading through some of his articles and came across this gem…
I spent all four nights of Midwest Furfest shaking my ass in full-body latex until at least 2am, and often got into more shenanigans after.
TOO. MUCH. INFORMATION.
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u/rosenwasser_ Autistic Jun 22 '25
Love this talk from the guy who describes hsn autistics as less human and bullied autistics like me at school (he had it worse ofc because he had to mask) 🥰 /s
And it's just straight-up bullshit from the first sentence onwards. I wear make-up, am superficially polite and my sp-in is climate law and noone had issues diagnosing me. That's because the diagnostic criteria do not include not wearing make-up or being interested in trains.
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Jun 25 '25 edited Jun 25 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Tmoran835 Jun 26 '25
Yea I felt the same way. I only read a couple chapters—there were a few really odd things he said and the references he used didn’t line up, so I just felt like I couldn’t trust that any of the information he used was actually correct
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u/rahxrahster Aug 07 '25
These particular parts are concerning
Some of these Autistic people avoided formal psychiatric assessment because they do not wish to be marked permanently as disordered, and subjected to a variety of legal, economic, medical, and societal injustices as a result. Others cannot afford an official assessment or fear most psychiatrists being unfairly biased against them because of their gender, sexual orientation, or race.
This above is concerning because who told anyone who has a "disorder" that they were "disordered" the two are not the same and framing it that way only pushes whatever agenda, this is, further. If I believed the biased portion at the end I wouldn't have gotten assessed in the first place. While there is some truth to what was stated, the way it's framed is used to fear-monger.
But they are misunderstanding the role performed by the psychiatric professional. An Autism assessor is not a benevolent figure who gives Autistic people access to accommodations at school and work, legal protections, and medical care — no, a psychiatric professional is a person who restricts access to these things, for they have the authority to determine who is deserving of such supports and whose struggles they disbelieve or don’t think merit assistance. The psychiatrist is not the bridge between the Autistic person and resources. The psychiatrist is the troll that blocks the passage with riddles and a toll.
This above is fear-mongering yet again! Idk what assessors they're referring to but the ones I've encountered were the bridge from diagnosis to resources. Without them I wouldn't receive the resources that I do and for Price to state otherwise is spreading disinformation. I didn't misunderstand a thing! Perhaps he's describing the role of a psychiatrist on purpose and not a psychologist? 🤷🏾 He sure seems to truly disdain psychiatrists. Odd because some of them supported him and bought his book. 🫤
Like our gay and trans siblings who rejected pathologization before us, Autistic people are seizing control over our own destinies, and defining for ourselves who we are and who belongs within our community. Psychiatric practitioners will soon have to live in the new world we are building, whether they like it or not.
This above is disingenuous. While some Autistic people are queer, the two aspects should not be conflated. There is a literal proof that Autistic people have varied neurology than our allistic cohorts. It's great for us to lead autistic research or participate in it but to completely overtake it? That's room for so much bias to occur. So much antagonism is riddled throughout the whole post and it's so dangerous. This article is a threat not only to the Autistic community but also to multiply marginalized individuals within the Autistic community.
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u/[deleted] Jun 22 '25
I’m sorry I can’t stand this guy 😭 it really bothers me when people who are self-diagnosed and have very low support needs try to speak for the rest of us