So a couple of weeks ago I had a phone chat with my oldest sister, someone I’ve always admired and think is pretty awesome. When I was a kid she was my idol, so artistic and clever, rebellious and political. She told me about her recent autism and ADHD diagnosis (I was pretty surprised). She knows our father’s side of the family better than I do, and pointed out a pretty strong case for ASDs running on dad’s side of the family. We ended up talking for over 4 hours. Some of the things she said seemed oddly familiar, in a way that played on my mind up until last night, when I did an online Autism Spectrum Quotient self assessment and landed right in the mid zone for Asperger’s. Some of the questions were almost creepy in a "how did they know?" kind of way. I told the kids and Elder asked if they (the kids) had ever been assessed. I had to admit no, they hadn’t, because nobody has ever suggested it. If your kids are well behaved and do the right things when required without meltdowns and ostentatious or eccentric behaviour then they generally won’t suggest it. Now I’m thinking about it for Elder, because from what I’ve been reading he and I have a lot of parallels with it. My sister welcomed her diagnosis and said it felt like, for most of her life, she’d been operating a complex piece of equipment without a manual and then was finally given one. If he doesn’t have an ASD, fine; but if he does then this knowledge may help him in his further development and understanding of himself, and assist his school with modes of delivery for his education. I figure if it’s a good idea (given the revelations about my family) then better sooner rather than later to be of most use to him. Otherwise I’m feeling a bit weird about the whole thing, like you’re feeling like there’s going to be a knock at the door and then there is.
There are a ton of resources at https://www.reddit.com/r/aspergirls/wiki That you might find varying degrees of useful. I had my “holy shit!” Moment after 40 and so much stuff just made more sense
Mine was when my kid was diagnosed as a teenager so I did a heap of research, including on how it presents differently in girls. It was like, ohhhh, that explains a lot!
I had put much of my social stuff down to having attended a very weird primary school and never having learned early enough because of the restriction. Still could be a factor, but ASD makes broader sense.
Trigger warning: ASD, ADHD
So a couple of weeks ago I had a phone chat with my oldest sister, someone I’ve always admired and think is pretty awesome. When I was a kid she was my idol, so artistic and clever, rebellious and political. She told me about her recent autism and ADHD diagnosis (I was pretty surprised). She knows our father’s side of the family better than I do, and pointed out a pretty strong case for ASDs running on dad’s side of the family. We ended up talking for over 4 hours. Some of the things she said seemed oddly familiar, in a way that played on my mind up until last night, when I did an online Autism Spectrum Quotient self assessment and landed right in the mid zone for Asperger’s. Some of the questions were almost creepy in a "how did they know?" kind of way. I told the kids and Elder asked if they (the kids) had ever been assessed. I had to admit no, they hadn’t, because nobody has ever suggested it. If your kids are well behaved and do the right things when required without meltdowns and ostentatious or eccentric behaviour then they generally won’t suggest it. Now I’m thinking about it for Elder, because from what I’ve been reading he and I have a lot of parallels with it. My sister welcomed her diagnosis and said it felt like, for most of her life, she’d been operating a complex piece of equipment without a manual and then was finally given one. If he doesn’t have an ASD, fine; but if he does then this knowledge may help him in his further development and understanding of himself, and assist his school with modes of delivery for his education. I figure if it’s a good idea (given the revelations about my family) then better sooner rather than later to be of most use to him. Otherwise I’m feeling a bit weird about the whole thing, like you’re feeling like there’s going to be a knock at the door and then there is.
It is super common for women and girls to not receive a diagnosis and be left to struggle. And it is genetic.
Might be good to know if it’s the case so he doesn’t blame himself for being different
There are a ton of resources at https://www.reddit.com/r/aspergirls/wiki That you might find varying degrees of useful. I had my “holy shit!” Moment after 40 and so much stuff just made more sense
Thanks for this!
Mine was when my kid was diagnosed as a teenager so I did a heap of research, including on how it presents differently in girls. It was like, ohhhh, that explains a lot!
I had put much of my social stuff down to having attended a very weird primary school and never having learned early enough because of the restriction. Still could be a factor, but ASD makes broader sense.