Published on 12, July, 2020
I'm 18 years old and I had my diagnosis of ASD a few years ago. It seems as though ever since my diagnosis my family does not wish to acknowledge it. They openly admit I'm autistic but expect me to behave normally, and they say I can't use autism as an excuse, and say "you're not that autistic" whenever I try and explain that the reason why I do certain things is because of my autism. They treat every action I do as an attack on them when I just want to be comfortable at home. They have made it so that at home I cannot be myself and have to mask. It tires me and has made it so that I can't remember not being depressed. I can handle bullying by my peers and people generally not understanding it. But I can't stand when due to my masking people, family included, say that I don't "seem autistic". I just want my family to understand.
I'm sorry for the mess of a post. It is my first time ever using a forum as they've always been too scary.
Hi, It looks like you have a major task of education on your hands. Many parents of autistic people feel constrained to minimise the severity of its impact on their children because they believe that having an autistic child is somehow a reflection on their ability as parents. Of course autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that is there from birth and parenting styles have no, or minimal, effect.