Published on 12, July, 2020
My little boy was diagnosed at the end of August and I’m not sure what the best way to deal with things are or where to get help and advice.
my son is only mildly autistic and I find when I tell people about his diagnosis I get ‘yer but he’s fine’ or ‘they diagnose everyone these days’ and I find I can’t talk about it with anyone.
did anyone else have people act the same way?
i find as my little boy get a bit older he seems to show more signs of autism or that they have more sensory things affect them. My little man is 3. 4 in April. Is this normal?
Tia
Welcome to the forum, Tia.
"But you seem fine", "It's all in your head", "everyone's on the autistic spectrum these days", "everyone does that sometimes", etc. Yes, I have heard them many, many times about my own autism, and I doubt that there is anyone here with less obvious forms of autism, or who cares for someone who has them, who hasn't got thoroughly sick and tired of hearing them.
Autistic traits seeming to get worse is not unusual at all. As children, autistic people have no way to know how their minds work differently to other people's, so we do our best to adapt to the world around us as any other child would. We have no idea that we are adapting by doing things which are far more hard work than is usual for other people. Whenever the world around us confronts us with new things to adapt to, it gets harder still, until our ways of adapting simply aren't effective any more or tire us out too much. When this happens, our autistic traits often become much more visible, or might be triggered more easily, though in reality, they were always there lurking beneath the surface. This can happen at any age from pre-school through to well into adulthood. So your impression is almost certainly correct, and in terms of looking for support, it's good that you are noticing it.
Coming to a forum like this one is a great way to find some understanding and some good advice which has been won by other people's real experiences. I hope you find the forum as welcoming and useful as I have.
Thank you so much for your reply I started to question whether or not my little boy had been wrongly diagnosed as so many peoples response to me telling them he was autistic was oh but he is fine. And all children do that.
i feel people’s perception of it is that unless they are really high on the spectrum then the diagnosis doesn’t mean anything and that they don’t need support.
My little boy is due to start school in September and I view the school starting next month but I’m so worried about how he will cope with school and friendships and the change but feel like no one wants to hear about his problems because he’s quote not that bad.
Hi
Speak to the school before he starts especially the senco just because he doesn't “seem that bad” does not mean he won't require support as you already have a diagnosis the school should be more open to listening (some are not though) keep on top of them and trust your instincts if you think he is struggling or will struggle talk to them.
My daughter is not diagnosed at present and is nearly 8 when she started she had severe sleep problems but functioned well during the day unless you tried to make her eat certain foods or it got to crowded then she got very upset, her teachers described her as quirky but as each year progressed she got worse never in class just repetitive behaviour at play and explosive meltdowns at home school continued to support me, they sent a referral to school nursing team to have her seen when her paediatrician messed it up despite her not having problems in school she is now awaiting diagnosis and gets support during playtime if she wants it.
My rambling point is that yes they can appear to worsen we also have days that other than the sleep she seems completely fine but you never know the support that is available until you ask