Published on 12, July, 2020
How did people react to you telling them you have autism?
For me personally my family were mostly accepting and happy for me. My dad wasn't very supportive, he's never liked me much, always thought I was fussy and didn't try hard enough in things I do. At school I used to have meltdowns because of how stressful it was and I struggled with processing but my dad said I was overreacting and attention seeking. He's never understood.
My grandparents weren't very supportive either, though my Gramps was unbelievably supportive and happy for me which did surprise me. Gramps is now my best friend, my rock, I know I can turn to him no matter what about absolutely anything. We are so close. He's more of a dad to me than my own dad is, sad but true.
When I was attempting work I decided to tell one of my colleagues that I have autism. Her reply "you don't look autistic..." After that day I found my mind constantly trying to figure out what autism actually looks like. Me, apparently.
Overall telling people of my diagnosis was well received but there have been a few people who didn't unfortunately understand, or didn't try to understand. Most people though were supportive and happy for me.
I always seem to find it hard to tell people that I am autistic.
My family are very happy for me and proud, I have two sisters who are also autistic which is nice
When I told my best friend after recently getting a diagnosis, she said she was really sorry for me that I have problems (I was confused because my mum had told me autism was a superpower)
I have told quite a few other people at my school and most of them have said 'Really? Wait, what actually is autism?' and then I have to quickly explain it to them which is kind of a nightmare when you are bad at explaining things.
I have also told a few other people and it turns out they are autistic too and i am good friends with them now.
I'm sorry your best friend didn't understand but it's possible she might come round and better understand it better in the future. My cousin read up on it and is now better understanding of autism.
It's really positive to hear your family happy for you - must be nice having relatives who are also autistic. In my family I'm the only one who has autism.