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We started Know Thy Survey because, on our own self-improvement journeys, we grew tired of everyone wanting our attention and our money with no regard for science, morality, or crafts-person-ship. Many of the "resources" we found online had no real desire to be helpful, and instead served as bait for clicks, likes, and shares. So when it came to trying to find quality, trustworthy information to understand ourselves and seek the help we needed, we had to do the hard work on our own. Know Thy Survey is our way of sharing that work with you, and our "Here's Why We Care" article series is designed to share our journeys and motivations, and those of the practitioners we partner with.
"I'm not just a spokesperson, I'm also a client."
-Every 90s and 2000s hair loss commercial
I was in my kitchen doom-scrolling Instagram, trying to avoid the idea of returning to work the next day (where I had recently been placed on a PIP), when I came across a post telling me I should figure out which flavor of Autism I have. The survey was short, around 20-25 questions, too many of which contained typos and asked questions I knew were unrelated to any sort of formal Autism diagnosis. At they end, they asked for a modest $2.99 to see my "report", which seemed reasonable in the moment (to satisfy my science-nerd curiosity). What I nearly missed was the fine-print, indicating that by purchasing the "report" I would also be signing up for a $30/month membership to their website where the company would, in all of their benevolence, allow me consistent access to their array of other "mental health" surveys.
Given my PhD in Psychology, 13+ years in market research, extensive training in statistics, and proud Autism diagnosis, I was enraged by how completely bullshit their entire platform was. Their advertisement was an optical illusion masquerading as an Autism test, there was no way the "test" measured what it claimed to measure ("test validity"), and likely would have provided different results if I took it in a different mood (lacking "test reliability"). And that's before the sneaky (and expensive) monthly subscription they were charging.
After complaining about this flagrant violation of my attention, intelligence, and resources to the deaf ears of my neurotypical partner, I texted a buddy of mine who shares a similar respect for accurate information, self-improvement, and trustworthy resources (who also has significantly more technical skills than I do).
Within two weeks, we founded Know Thy Survey, hosting free mental wellness reports, and connecting people with providers we believe in.
We hope that if you're on our site you find inspiration to learn more about yourself, new language to talk about the things you're experiencing, and the courage to pursue professional help if you need it (sooner than we did).
Thank you for being here, we hope you find our content helpful, and cheers to better days ahead,
-Tim
Tim Quesnell
Co-founder of Know Thy Survey. Tim holds a Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from DePaul University and has over a decade of experience applying behavioral science and psychological measurement to research and analytics.