Published on 12, July, 2020
Over the last few weeks and months, I have been asking my self the question. Why my parents didn't seek diagnosis while I was a child. I saw many educational psychologists and other professionals.
I got through so many pencils, because I used to chew them, my concentration levels at school was poor (it still is). I started school in the late 70's, even at an early age i was struggling, from what i can remember even before I started school there were problems.
I remember having the struggles of being singled out because my work wasn't up to scratch.
I'm now 47 and stuck on a waiting list that is making me feel anxious.
Similar experience here. Coming from a working class background growing up in the 80s and 90s, the best defence I can put up for my parents is that they simply didn't know about autism. We didn't have internet back then, and it's not like they were going to pick up a book on a subject they probably wouldn't understand anyway.
That being said, I remember struggling to read the blackboard in school from a very young age. I needed glasses obviously, but I just didn't understand why or even have the vocabulary to explain to anyone at that time. I think I must have been 15 or 16 when I got my first pair of glasses. It's odd because I remember very vividly there were periodic eye exams in primary school, you'd think they would have picked up my short sightedness and informed my parents.
I also needed braces as my adult teeth came in at age 9-10, didn't get those until I was a young adult and took it upon myself to get it sorted. I was never pushed academically either, I suppose they (parents and teachers) thought I was just stupid and not worth the effort. I think that I could have done much better in school and in life had these obstacles been taken care of by a responsible parent. It's no wonder I'm depressed.