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Social Services misinterpretation

MuhWuh
2 days ago

Hey folks,

I'm a 52 year old chap who has successfully navigated life without a formal ASD diagnosis. I recently had to deal with Social Workers and became very confused when they started accusing me of being 'manipulative and controlling' towards them. Having recently lost my wife my two teenage chdren and I have been seeing a therapist who suggested that it was probably my ASD behaviours being misinterpreted. 

Having done some googl'ing I can see how a need for detail and clarity could be misinterpreted so I mentioned this to the social workers.

The social workers refused to accept this idea, demanding a formal diagnosis. Having got the diagnosis they now insist on me providing the research to show the link between ASD and THEM feeling controlled!??! I'm not a specialist or a researcher... has anyone been able to navigate a situation like this???

I'm worried that this could rapidly get out of control and suggestions made that I am 'manipulative and controlling' towards my children!

Any advice will be gratefully received. 

Cheers, 

Mark

Parents
  • 2 days ago

    Hi Mark, and welcome to the community.

    I'm sorry that you're having such struggles with your social workers.

    In addition to 's excellent find, you might like to refer them to this research paper, the conclusions of which include:

    "We examined whether autistic individuals would be perceived as more deceptive and less credible than their neurotypical peers due to their demonstration of unexpected or atypical behaviors that are commonly judged as indicative of deception: specifically, gaze aversion, repetitive body movements, literal interpretation of figurative language, poor reciprocity, and flat affect.

    Autistic individuals were indeed judged as more deceptive and lower on perceived competence and character compared to neurotypical individuals. To the best of our knowledge, this study is among the first to provide empirical evidence for the existence of such a relationship."  

    From: Autistic Adults May Be Erroneously Perceived as Deceptive and Lacking Credibility - 17 March 2021

    You might also like to invite them to read up on Milton's "double empathy problem", a widely recognised psychological and sociological theory that helps to explain why communication and understanding between neurodivergent and neurotypical people can so often go awry:

    Wikipedia - Double Empathy Problem

Reply
  • 2 days ago

    Hi Mark, and welcome to the community.

    I'm sorry that you're having such struggles with your social workers.

    In addition to 's excellent find, you might like to refer them to this research paper, the conclusions of which include:

    "We examined whether autistic individuals would be perceived as more deceptive and less credible than their neurotypical peers due to their demonstration of unexpected or atypical behaviors that are commonly judged as indicative of deception: specifically, gaze aversion, repetitive body movements, literal interpretation of figurative language, poor reciprocity, and flat affect.

    Autistic individuals were indeed judged as more deceptive and lower on perceived competence and character compared to neurotypical individuals. To the best of our knowledge, this study is among the first to provide empirical evidence for the existence of such a relationship."  

    From: Autistic Adults May Be Erroneously Perceived as Deceptive and Lacking Credibility - 17 March 2021

    You might also like to invite them to read up on Milton's "double empathy problem", a widely recognised psychological and sociological theory that helps to explain why communication and understanding between neurodivergent and neurotypical people can so often go awry:

    Wikipedia - Double Empathy Problem

Children
  • 2 days ago in reply to Bunny

    Thanks Bunny!

    It's quite a relief to know that there is scientific backing to the perceived wisdom.

    And great that it is so recent... clearly a burgeoning field!

    I think I have a lot of reading to do.