Of course, and as you can see from my other posts, I am seeking an autism diagnosis for myself. However, one of my major motivations in doing so is to find a key to what has been going on within my whole family for some considerable time - across generations, I would say.
There have been major issues with social skills, chronic anxiety, poor self care etc plus also some very strong traits like academic aptitude, perceptiveness and a different perspective to bring to situations. Some traits also, that bring both positives and negatives - stubbornness (great if you're on the right track, otherwise potentially problematic) and heightened sensitivity (seemingly linked to intelligence and awareness but also to feeling things very acutely and being easily wounded).
Within my family I have also noticed repeating problems such as difficulty holding down a job, problems coping with courses leading to a high drop-out rate and poor financial management.
Of course, much of what I've noticed applies to a large number of the general population, but it feels more entrenched and predictable within my family. And, whilst some of it could be attributable to family patterns and parenting styles, some issues have remained remarkably similar for individuals born in the 1920s and much more recently, plus also in spite of very different times and geographical locations (e.g. a branch of the family in Australia).
Whilst it would be wrong to impose a diagnosis on others, I really want to understand and to try to help with some of the more negative aspects. It devastates me to see history repeating itself. And to do this I need to feel confident I'm in the right groups and accessing the right resources.
So, assuming I get a diagnosis, does that say anything about the likelihood of autism being in the rest of the family, especially my children?
