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Talking about your autism

Wombles

I am recently diagnosed but I have suspected I was autistic for a while.  From the outset, I adopted a policy of being completely open with people about my autism as it felt like the right thing to do, because I thought that if people knew what it was like, it would help them to understand me.

Now, I am starting to wonder if I am oversharing with people.  I have noticed people try to change the subject whenever I start speaking about it and I do wonder if it is starting to annoy people. That then makes me anxious and I spend hours after spending time with colleagues and friends agonising over whether I have made an idiot of myself.  I would be interested to hear people's experiences of what they did post diagnosis and any strategies you have around oversharing stuff.  Thanks.

Parents

  • This is a really interesting question. Speaking personally when I realised I was autistic i told my wife straight away and i didnt tell anyone else for several months,then I told my parents, then my work collegeus and then I put it on facebook as I thought it was an easy way of telling everyone I knew and not hiding the real me anymore.

    This week I opened up to the vicar of my church about it for the first time

    Its worth remembering that NT people will never "get it". No matter how hard they try to understand they are not in our heads and their brains are not wired like ours so they will never truly understand what we are telling them.

    However, this does not mean that they cant be supportive and understanding and helpful. My family for example cant truly understand but they are supportive of my autism and do their best to learn about it and give me the encouragement and support I need.

    Sometimes when I explain it to people they look at me blankly for a while, like I am speaking a foreign language and I know that what I am saying doesnt make sense to them

    I think sometimes people feel awkward talking about it because they dont understand it, perhaps thats why people are changing the subject when you talk about it. Its good that you are open about it though, its easy to act ashamed or embarressed cos thats how society makes us feel but its good that you are unafraid to talk about it

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  • This is a really interesting question. Speaking personally when I realised I was autistic i told my wife straight away and i didnt tell anyone else for several months,then I told my parents, then my work collegeus and then I put it on facebook as I thought it was an easy way of telling everyone I knew and not hiding the real me anymore.

    This week I opened up to the vicar of my church about it for the first time

    Its worth remembering that NT people will never "get it". No matter how hard they try to understand they are not in our heads and their brains are not wired like ours so they will never truly understand what we are telling them.

    However, this does not mean that they cant be supportive and understanding and helpful. My family for example cant truly understand but they are supportive of my autism and do their best to learn about it and give me the encouragement and support I need.

    Sometimes when I explain it to people they look at me blankly for a while, like I am speaking a foreign language and I know that what I am saying doesnt make sense to them

    I think sometimes people feel awkward talking about it because they dont understand it, perhaps thats why people are changing the subject when you talk about it. Its good that you are open about it though, its easy to act ashamed or embarressed cos thats how society makes us feel but its good that you are unafraid to talk about it

Children
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