Published on 12, July, 2020
I've recently been diagnosed as autistic and it's been an up and down experience since I found out for sure even though I was certain myself before it was official. I'm a man with kids of my own but I thought I'd share the news with my parents to let them know why I've struggled in life but all I got was ' oh right at least you know, how are the kids?.' These people have been less then supportive throughout my whole life and that's putting it mildly. Should I just cut them off now because I was never happier then when I didn't speak to them for years.
all I got was ' oh right at least you know, how are the kids?.
How was your level of knowledge of autism up to say a year before your diagnosis?
If, like the vast majority of the population, it was sketchy at best, what kind of response were you realistically expecting?
We are a nich group of about 2% of the population and it is a relatively newly diagnosed "condition" so knowledge is pretty sparse and a lot of the older people have the likes of the film Rain Man as their exposure to autism.
Things are getting steadily better and the knowledge is slowly getting out there but we suffer a great deal of this sort of reaction still, especially as late diagnosed autists.
Personally I think this is just a symptom of society and rather than push back on these people it is more helpful to take the small wins of then acknowledging it then drip feeding info to them over time to educate them - if they are open to it.
On the plus side you now know your status so can educate yourself and work on it.
Other people are still more likely to say quietly between themselves "he's another one that is wrong in the head" if they are over about 50.
Showing that you are not the stereotype can make a difference.
For what it's worth I had a similar experience - the family didn't want to know, especially when I pointed out it is hereditary and that several of them are displaying classic traits. I became a bit of a Judas after that.
Thankyou.