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.
I didn’t get any support at all as a child or teenager because I come from a family where either my behaviour was just accepted as okay or they really were just embarrassed by me and not bothered to help me when distressed. Suspect they are all on the same spectrum really. So to doctors who ask parents about development and believe ‘just normal’ actually means the same as their ‘normal’ I could either scream or give up. Of what use is parental input when they actually have a different mindset themselves? If the parents are undiagnosed ASD for instance, ASD behaviours are normal for that family. It’s only a lot more recently that teachers can have more of an input. It was my brother becoming a teacher and receiving training to spot autism that led to me going for diagnosis.