• Replies 5 replies
  • Subscribers 83 subscribers
  • Views 757 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Related
Hints and tips
  • To quote someone's message, first select/highlight the relevant text, and then use the Quote button that appears
  • To "mention" someone, type @ followed by the start of the forum name, and choose from the list; that person will get a notification of being mentioned

Diagnosis and parents

Jay

Hi, 

I am an adult considering seeking a diagnosis but I can’t imagine feeling able to talk to my parents about it. We pretty much never discuss personal things and I feel it might upset them too. Out of interest, my wife is certain my father is autistic.

My question is whether people have gone through the diagnosis without involvement of their family as that is part of it from what I’ve read, as they want to know about how the person was as a child. 

Thanks for any advice. 

J

  • in reply to battybats

    Thank you for replying. I’m not sure how much I remember but hopefully enough. It’s reassuring to hear that it didn’t cause you any issues. 

  • in reply to Roy

    Thank you, that’s really helpful. I’m going to look out some school reports. I do remember a comment like ‘we thought nothing was going in then he actually passed his exams’!

  • Hi,  I’m going through an nhs assessment without parental help. I did inform my mother that i strongly suspect I’m autistic, my late father and his mother I really think we’re autistic. My mother stated that autistic people don’t talk and stare at walls, I had forms for a parent to fill in, I emailed the mental health team and explained, my mother is 76 and really not receptive to autism. I was told to not complete the form, my memory is very good and I can recall pre school years. There has to be provision for people with no reliable parents. I have school reports that show a lack of engagement, things like,” not a team player,” don’t let parents stop you, the only person that fully knows what goes on inside your head is you.

  • My mum is aware that I've been going through the diagnostic process but hasn't been involved, and I don't really speak to my dad. Their lack of involvement doesn't seem to have caused any problems at all- there were a few questions that my assessors would have asked my parents if I was still a child, but they told me what the questions were and allowed me to answer them myself.

    I think as long as you're able to remember a decent chunk of your childhood yourself then it's less of an issue to have minimal parental input.

  • Since writing this, I’ve had some old related posts flagged up and I’m glad to see that there have been diagnoses without parents involvement. It makes sense as some people’s parents are of course dead or estranged entirely. 

    I am seeing mine later, so might surreptitiously drop in some questions. I always forget when I started talking etc (think two and a half).