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ASD diagnosis (reactions from those around you)

RuthTaylor

Hello All,

I got diagnosed with Aspergers earlier this month and have been surprised by people's reactions to my diagnosis (not that I've told a lot of people but close friends, family, employer and a few medical professionals) and these are the responses that I've had:

  • You don't look autistic
  • Oh no I'm sorry to hear that
  • You don't act autistic
  • Don't people get diagnosed as children (A Pharmacist said this)
  • You seem normal to me
  • Oh but you're intelligent (My dad)
  • Is that a learning disability (My dad)
  • I've never seen you being violent or screaming

Just wondered what responses you got from those around you when you told them that you were diagnosed with ASD?

Thanks 

Ruth 

Parents

  • Yes.. most of the above. It is such a complex thing, people have none or stereotypical ideas of autism.. Where I work they have tried to support me .. but haven’t invested in getting autism training for management and policy makers.. I work in education as a teacher of.. ironically.. young adults with SEND.. many I teach have autism diagnosis too.. yet the management lack the sensitivity or knowledge to adequately support me. I had been asked to find training for them and assured it would be especially for the management and HR.. I chose NAS autism awareness training.. was told it was booked for July. then.. things went quiet at work .. when a colleague asked about when things were going to take place, he was told the autism training wouldn’t be happening until September because that’s when the Teaching assistance would be in .. I thought ‘but they aren’t the ones setting policies and procedures. They aren’t the ones to understand about reasonable adjustments’ They aren’t the people you’d told me would be getting the training  it gets worse .. they then didn’t tell me that the NAS training wasn’t going to happen (finances wouldn’t fund it) so they allocated some in house “Autism strategist” to do the training.. and hadn’t even informed me of the changes.  So from the NAS autism awareness training.. they decided to do their own .. calling it “supporting an autistic colleague in the workplace”.., guess what? I am the only autistic colleague in that workplace.. and the management and HR won’t be doing the training.. talk about shifting the target audience. Plus imagine I was the only Black colleague.. would they have be reconsidered the name of the training “supporting a Black colleague in the workplace “.. I’m totally burnout from their lack of support and lack of implementing all the reasonable adjustments that were in my occupational health report from nearly three years ago.. so understanding even in areas you’d expect to have a good basic understanding sadly in my experience are not there.

Reply

  • Yes.. most of the above. It is such a complex thing, people have none or stereotypical ideas of autism.. Where I work they have tried to support me .. but haven’t invested in getting autism training for management and policy makers.. I work in education as a teacher of.. ironically.. young adults with SEND.. many I teach have autism diagnosis too.. yet the management lack the sensitivity or knowledge to adequately support me. I had been asked to find training for them and assured it would be especially for the management and HR.. I chose NAS autism awareness training.. was told it was booked for July. then.. things went quiet at work .. when a colleague asked about when things were going to take place, he was told the autism training wouldn’t be happening until September because that’s when the Teaching assistance would be in .. I thought ‘but they aren’t the ones setting policies and procedures. They aren’t the ones to understand about reasonable adjustments’ They aren’t the people you’d told me would be getting the training  it gets worse .. they then didn’t tell me that the NAS training wasn’t going to happen (finances wouldn’t fund it) so they allocated some in house “Autism strategist” to do the training.. and hadn’t even informed me of the changes.  So from the NAS autism awareness training.. they decided to do their own .. calling it “supporting an autistic colleague in the workplace”.., guess what? I am the only autistic colleague in that workplace.. and the management and HR won’t be doing the training.. talk about shifting the target audience. Plus imagine I was the only Black colleague.. would they have be reconsidered the name of the training “supporting a Black colleague in the workplace “.. I’m totally burnout from their lack of support and lack of implementing all the reasonable adjustments that were in my occupational health report from nearly three years ago.. so understanding even in areas you’d expect to have a good basic understanding sadly in my experience are not there.

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