Published on 12, July, 2020
I have very recently being diagnosed autistic and adhd aged 37 I have waited over 2 years for my assessment and before this took a year to even speak to my doctor about it as I find it hard to open up and talk about myself. I felt a sense of relief when I was diagnosed as I finally realised I'm not broken or a failure my brain just works differently. I told my mum which I was worried about and she just said nah I would ask for a second opinion you just struggled more when you moved out as you had more responsibilities and how could I have a job and kids if I was autistic and then she just ignored my messages all night. I just don't know how to feel about it I feel is it my fault that I didn't open up more or speak more about my difficulties or should I have told her differently or beforehand. I just feel a bit lost with it all
Hi, sorry your mother isn’t very receptive, older parents often don’t understand autism. Their idea of an autistic person is basically ‘Rain Man’. They also often see it as an attack on their parenting. I tried to explain to my family but none of its accepted. My mother can’t say the words autistic / autism. I now never mention it to any family. My wife sort of accepts it as long as I don’t talk about it too much. I hope your mother does accept your diagnosis, maybe try ‘bite size’ pieces when talking about it.