I agree that we all need to be more empathetic and understanding to a formal diagnosis isn’t always available or desired. However, I think the sort of gatekeeping we see here is much different from the sort of gatekeeping we see in other areas of social life. There are most assuredly some assholes out there, but it seems that much of the gatekeeping going on within the autism community is coming from people that feel their lived experiences and identities are being minimized by a swell of new people identifying as autistic after seeing a TickTock. I see the growing awareness of autism as a great positive. A greater number of people are learning more about themselves and communities are becoming more understanding. There are plenty of self-misdiagnoses too and I think those are motivating the gatekeeping. The need for being more empathetic has to be all around. I do appreciate that the tone of your post comes off more educational and not scornful. This is the appropriate approach to reach folks that likely aren’t trying to be malicious, they’re just hurt.