Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi, I'm Sarah and I'm struggling to cope with being diagnosed with autism, some days are better than others but I feel that talking to others is hard and I feel that I'm being judged, bored/ not interested. How can I get over this feeling and get along better with people? My son has autism but he has grown up with it, I've been through my whole life struggling and I now think my life would of been better if I knew why I was different. I almost hate who I am.
hey Sarah, my name is May I'm a autistic teenager that was only diagnosed last year at 16yo. I completely get that feeling! I spent most of my life being "the weird kid" and not understanding why, then I started looking into a diagnosis for like two years before actually getting one. And my parents didn't want me to be diagnosed because they had a terrible idea of what autism was.
Social interactions are HARD. I always feel like I don't get what's happening but what I found to help me, strangely is: communication.
that might sound crazy like "yeah it's hard to talk but I get over it by communicating"
But it doesn't need to be verbal communication, I encourage you try to find other ways you're more comfortable with to explain to people how you're feeling and that you're having a hard time to adjust with these changes and how best they can support you.
some examples are texting, writing a letter or even sharing songs, poems or book quotes you identify with.
I really hope things get better for you, I don't know how much my opinion will matter but, I genuinely think you're most probably a great mom just by getting your son his diagnosis at a young age. He's lucky to have you.
@May24 I was diagnosed at 16 too. I was wondering if there was any other people who had been diagnosed at the same age / point in their life as me. I've been thinking if I would have been treated differently in school if the teachers knew I was autistic and just being me, rather than thinking that I was weird and had some sort of problem that needed fixing.
I wish I had read your reply for writing as you said it way better and much clearer. But finding a way to communicate is key indeed and I've slowly come the realistation that it will take time for me to get to a better place with this, but glad that I have this one key area that I can slowly chip away at it. The worst feeling is being in the unknown with this stuff. Thanks for sharing