Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi All
As my user name suggests I am a frustrated dad with a son who has just turned 5 and have been told he has ASD by the paediatrician but have to wait up to a year to get an official diagnosis.
This is just the start of my frustrations,anger,sadness for my beautiful little boy.
My frustration is having to wait so long before he can get any help (although he did get to see a speech therapist for the first time today).
My anger at my in laws for passing this gene on (his uncle and first cousin both have it but don't seem to care) I can't talk to my wife about my feelings about this as she gets all defensive and I am left to bottle up my anger.
And my sadness that my little boy probably won't grow up to live the normal life that others take for granted.
His uncle as mentioned above is 22 had never had a job ,a girlfriend or any sort of life whatsoever he just stays indoors 24/7 doing absolutely nothing, my fear that my son's life will mirror his uncles fills me with nothing but sadness,dread and fear for his future years.
My son is glued to my side and at times it feels like I am a single parent as he only wants to do everything with me and not my wife which upsets her immensely and no matter how hard we try for him to interact more with his mum he's just not interested.
Appologies for the ramble but it just seems as I'm the dad I should be strong, aloof almost and on the outside I am but on the inside it's turmoil and my frustration is about to burst
Hi, you will adjust bit by bit in your own time, as will your wife. As that happens you may be able to become closer + discuss your child's autism more. If she feels you blame her side of the family, then she's obviously going to be upset by that. There are lots of posts on here from parents trying to learn/adjust to their child's diagnosis. Do a search . Each autistic person is an individual with their own strengths + weaknesses. Just like non-autistic people, autistic people all all unique. So by learning about how autism affects your child as an individual you can have a positive influence on how he develops. That includes making sure he gets in to the best school you can find, a school that may be autism-specific or a school that has staff well trained in autism. Also he needs to have the relevant support to help him make the most of himself at school. Check things out via the home pg and/or the ipsea site. As you learn more about autism you can be a great help to your child pre-diagnosis + post diagnosis, so go to the home pg again. Come back here whenever you want, ask whatever you want. The posters on here understand.