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Parent doesn't believe diagnosis

FlowerFace

I was diagnosed in my thirties. After spending such a long time struggling to fit in to a largely neurotypical world this came as a relief, and allowed me to make more sense of my experiences.

I'm aware that a lot of people in a similar situation are met with cynicism and get the 'you don't look autistic' response, but what I wasn't expecting was such dismissal and disbelief from one of my parents. I also feel like this attitude belittles the struggles of autistic people, because they don't believe they are dealing with anything beyond what is 'normal'. 

Does anyone have advice, or been in a similar situation? 

Parents

  • Many older people have memories of the long period when autism was blamed on 'bad parenting'; a psychotic condition caused by maternal neglect, the so called 'refrigerator mother effect'. This creates a great deal of denial in parents. It might be worth explaining that your autism has nothing to do with the parenting you had, it is due to your brain architecture and function.

    Trying to get your parent to do a little reading, or watching programmes and podcasts, about autism might yield useful results. This is dependent on their ability to be convinced that they are forming an opinion from a place of ignorance, of course.

Reply

  • Many older people have memories of the long period when autism was blamed on 'bad parenting'; a psychotic condition caused by maternal neglect, the so called 'refrigerator mother effect'. This creates a great deal of denial in parents. It might be worth explaining that your autism has nothing to do with the parenting you had, it is due to your brain architecture and function.

    Trying to get your parent to do a little reading, or watching programmes and podcasts, about autism might yield useful results. This is dependent on their ability to be convinced that they are forming an opinion from a place of ignorance, of course.

Children