Hi all, would appreciate your opinions

Hello!  My names Sarah and I have a question for you all.  Could someone be autistic and not recognise it?  My son (he's in his late 20's) definitely shows traits.  He fixates on things and is meticulous about facts, he will look up words you use and quote you the dictionary definition in the middle of a conversation especially when trying to prove a point.   He has a massive capacity for learning and absorbing information, he can quote back to you a conversation word for word.  He doesn't recognise social prompts or body language, even when told clearly to go away and stop talking he will ignore it and continue to 'quote' fact at you.  I have mentioned to him that I think he needs to go to the GP as I feel he may be on the spectrum, three days later he came back to me with so much information as to why he definitely isn't on the spectrum but has ignored everything I have pointed out about why I feel he is!!

There are problems at work with his work mates who continuously run out of patience with him and make snide comments about him.  I don't know how to move forward from here as he is adamant there is nothing wrong!  Advise please :)  Thank you in advance and sorry for waffling!!    

Parents
  • Just got diagnosed at 31. Only really thought seriously about it for about the past year and a bit, before that only really vaguely on and off because the images I had in my head of someone autistic didn't seem to fit me at all (and most of it was probably wrong anyway). It's also very difficult to be self aware of a lot of the traits when that's just how you are, and to associate the things that have become just 'things I do' with the criteria for autism, and it isn't always easy to pinpoint why you might have problems in a particular area-to pinpoint that it's because you're not picking up on social cues, or not understanding what someone is saying well, etc. I'm still finding things I didn't realise I did, or had trouble with, and having 'lightbulb moments' where it suddenly occurs why I have trouble with a particular situation.

    It's also a common misconception for people to assume you have to have all the criteria, and therefore to think not having trouble with certain individual things means they can't possibly be autistic (e.g. 'I can't be autistic because I don't have problems with sarcasm'), and that's not the case. Everyone experiences it slightly differently-that's why it's a spectrum.

  • I guess that's the biggest problem, so many different traits.  My son doesn't have any friends because of how he is again I find this heart breaking.

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