Published on 12, July, 2020
I'm an autistic mum, both ways it seems as my son is autistic, just been formally diagnosed this week, and now we think I might be as well, as both my counsellor and a mental health nurse have mentioned it. I'm in the process of being referred for assessment so I'm working through everything to support that, which has been a bit of a shock as I'd never thought of everything together before and I do seems to have quite a few traits, that by themselves are relatively minor, but all together make it seem quite obvious.
So, I'm just trying to learn at the moment, for me, and for my son!
Oh wow, finding out about your son and you at the same time must be quite overwhelming!
It's a lot to process, just take your time and do it at your pace not anyone else's. dont feel you have to figure it all out at once, it will take time. Just be kind to yourself
My son is 3 and a half. I found out about me first and then as my son developed in the last year or so we saw the same things in him and the Health Visitor did some visits and observed him and did some questionaires and things. He is now on the waiting list for the formal diagnosis but it is very obvious if that makes sense
Thank you! It does sound like we have quite a similar experience and I really appreciate the offer to talk. I'm still processing really as we only got my son's diagnosis this week, I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions when it all sinks in properly, just like he will as well.
How old is your son? Mine is 9 and he's so bright it can be scary sometimes lol.
Hi Becky, if you would like someone to talk to I'm definitley here anytime! I am also an autistic person who has an autistic son as well. It is a joy and a challenge as, first and foremost, it means we can understand our kids and what is going on in their heads in a way no one else can. However, it can also be tough because the same things tend to affect us both
Would love to chat if you need a friend. I know its scary and confusing finding out you may be autistic after all these years. It certainly was to me when I found it out 3 years ago! But a wonderful world where you finally understand yourself and everything you have been through in life awaits. The more you go down this journey the more your life will make sense I promise
Yes, masking is definitely something I do from the looks of it, so I've been trying to work out what things are things I force myself to do and what things are things I actually want to do. One of my jobs for next week is to write it all down and I think when I do that I'm going to be quite surprised by it all.
Hello BeckyThump,
Thank you for sharing your story and welcome to the community! I hope you feel well supported here.
Please do have a look at our 'advice and guidance' page if you need to seek any information on autism:
https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance
All the best,
ChloeMod
Hi and welcome, it may not suprise you then when you learn about masking, you may recognise a lot of it and think "oh I've done that quite a long time". It can be quite a revelation once you know what's been going on.