Been good to hear from any adult ASD diagnosed women in this forum... or does anyone know any good sites for ASD women?
Hello out there......anyone????
Been good to hear from any adult ASD diagnosed women in this forum... or does anyone know any good sites for ASD women?
Hello out there......anyone????
We are in New Zealand and this is an emerging situation also involving the family court as mother resisted diagnosis even when SD16 was asking for assessment.
Her school is useless and because she mostly lives with her mother behaviour has got worse since diagnosis. Were she with us we'd be well down the track of intervention. Her school failings are heading her rapidly to NEAT status.
Her ADHD sister is 20 and arrived in our town 1 year ago underweight and off the scale anxious and acting out. It's been like working with a feral kitten, even loving gestures were seen as threats in the early stages. Breakthrough happened after a significant health scare where SD20 had to get help to get some serious problems addressed.
I'm a health professional and know how to navigate complex systems. SD20 had to trust me to get her over each barrier to access care. This gave me and her Dad observation time (they had been badly alienated since she was 13). I suggested SPELD for dyslexia first and from the results pushed for ADHD screening - damn challenging in a cash strapped health sector with an "adult" patient.
With medication and very soon therapy the difference has been AMAZING. I'm so proud of her. Too many successes to list. Big ones: re-entry into Education, normalised weight and a warm relationship with her Dad (who also has ADHD, so life is fun in my household).
I am fortunate that I come from an alphabet soup family, so my family knows about how to work with diversity. My Mum, bless her, has stepped up on grandparenting for both girls even though SD16 is very unrewarding.
I am also fortunate a good friend is a retired psychiatrist and she keeps me focused on the potential for change even in the face of great adversity for SD16...so I keep pushing (such as learning how to access funding)
