26 Year old son has just been diagnosed with ASD, how do I help

Hi,

My 26 year old son has just been diagnosed with ASD,  how do I help him?  how do I make my family understand that he's not "a waste of space? Where can I learn more about adults with Autism?  I just want to help and understand my son as much as I can. Please Help with any advice you have.

Thank you

Parents
  • I'm 25 and currently awaiting my diagnosis. The most important thing is that he knows you love and support him wholeheartedly, which it certainly sounds like you do. In terms of helping family to understand, I'd point them in the direction of some resources to learn more about autism. It's also worth challenging them (in a positive way, to help them understand) if you hear them speaking negatively about autism.

    I find Purple Ella's YouTube videos incredibly helpful - I'd encourage both you and your son to have a look at these. I've also found that reading about autism has helped me to understand it better; 'Odd girl out' by Laura James is really interesting, and was written from James' perspective as a late-diagnosed adult. 

    This website is a good starting point for finding information and resources. This forum, in particular, has been very helpful for me.

    Try and encourage your son to see his diagnosis as a positive thing; he's always been autistic, but now he can get to know himself better and access support if he needs it.

Reply
  • I'm 25 and currently awaiting my diagnosis. The most important thing is that he knows you love and support him wholeheartedly, which it certainly sounds like you do. In terms of helping family to understand, I'd point them in the direction of some resources to learn more about autism. It's also worth challenging them (in a positive way, to help them understand) if you hear them speaking negatively about autism.

    I find Purple Ella's YouTube videos incredibly helpful - I'd encourage both you and your son to have a look at these. I've also found that reading about autism has helped me to understand it better; 'Odd girl out' by Laura James is really interesting, and was written from James' perspective as a late-diagnosed adult. 

    This website is a good starting point for finding information and resources. This forum, in particular, has been very helpful for me.

    Try and encourage your son to see his diagnosis as a positive thing; he's always been autistic, but now he can get to know himself better and access support if he needs it.

Children
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