An Autistic Only Section.

Yes I think it would be good, or maybe a section where NT's can ask questions about ND friends and relatives would be an easier thing to have and would involve more NT to NT discussion as well as NT to ND ones. I've noticed the amount of 'I think my person is autistic what do I do' posts, I do get how frustrating it must be for those NT's in that position, but I think reaching for the ASC option without seeming in discuss things with thier person first is a little suspect. As an exmaple I will tell you of a phone call I recieved from a concerned parent, when I was counselling. The man calling asked me how he could get his teenage son to admit he was on drugs? I asked the man why he thought his son was on drugs and was told that the lad stayed in bed until 11am and grunted a lot instead of having normal conversations and didn't want to do things with his family anymore. I could not convince the caller that this is fairly normal behaviour for a teenager and it was nothing to worry about and would probably wear off in a few months. The caller wouldn't have it, so he probably went to every agency imaginable trying to get confirmation of his fears and quite possibly damaged the relationship between him and his son with his questioning about drug use.

 I would like a section for older people too, say the over 50's, so much attention is place on young people who are ND, I think it's easy to forget that many of us were undiagnosed for years because ASC simply didn't exist in the minds of medics or if it did, high functioning ASC was more or less unknown. I wouldn't want to go back to the days when people were left to struggle and/or told they were thick, but it would be nice to be able to share those experiences without feeling that other readers are waiting for my second head to appear!

I'd also like a high functioning ASC section too, or a rearrangement of rooms to reflect interests rather than have everyting lumped together?

Yes I think it would be good, or maybe a section where NT's can ask questions about ND friends and relatives would be an easier thing to have and would involve more NT to NT discussion as well as NT to ND ones. I've noticed the amount of 'I think my person is autistic what do I do' posts, I do get how frustrating it must be for those NT's in that position, but I think reaching for the ASC option without seeming in discuss things with thier person first is a little suspect. As an exmaple I will tell you of a phone call I recieved from a concerned parent, when I was counselling. The man calling asked me how he could get his teenage son to admit he was on drugs? I asked the man why he thought his son was on drugs and was told that the lad stayed in bed until 11am and grunted a lot instead of having normal conversations and didn't want to do things with his family anymore. I could not convince the caller that this is fairly normal behaviour for a teenager and it was nothing to worry about and would probably wear off in a few months. The caller wouldn't have it, so he probably went to every agency imaginable trying to get confirmation of his fears and quite possibly damaged the relationship between him and his son with his questioning about drug use.

 I would like a section for older people too, say the over 50's, so much attention is place on young people who are ND, I think it's easy to forget that many of us were undiagnosed for years because ASC simply didn't exist in the minds of medics or if it did, high functioning ASC was more or less unknown. I wouldn't want to go back to the days when people were left to struggle and/or told they were thick, but it would be nice to be able to share those experiences without feeling that other readers are waiting for my second head to appear!

I'd also like a high functioning ASC section too, or a rearrangement of rooms to reflect interests rather than have everyting lumped together?