Officially Diagnosed

Hi TysNusMom,

I read your message and it is exactly the same situation I been facing, my son Samuel is 5 and we will havethe diagnosis on the 14th of April, I can't wait for this date after such a long time ,I'm anxious at the same time but happy to finally find out how to help my son.

Can you tell me what to expect from that day,how the doctor will tell us and what's the next step after the diagnosis. 

Thanks a lot 

Claudia 

I think it different when children are diagnosed to when adults are diagnosed. It was a huge relief for me that there is something 'official' happening. I wasn't making it up, I wasn't just being plain awkward, I wasn't just being a wet blanket growing up. There were official reasons.  So it a relief when finally diagnosed. For a child, he will be happier once you have worked out parenting skills with him. You will find out in time what are his triggers and learn to avoid them by saying it in a way don't make him angry.  It a learning curve for you both but at least now you have a diagnosis so you can begin to assess things for yourselves.  He can't tell you how it affects him. That will still be like that all the way through may be. I still can't tell you how it affects me. I can repeat the phrases said to me at the diagnosis and with a little bit more understanding 15 month down the line. But I can't actually tell you how it affects me. Just hope those who are around me realise now there is a reason. I a good network of people around at the moment I don't have agrression and meltdowns to what written here. I do get angry but not aggression. It a tight knot anger as i explained to my occupational thereapist the other week and go very cold with it even though am warm.  I do have tears and ashamedly in public sometimes when too much but don't get go into the full rage thing.  You might have to do some research on here to find some answers. But hey at least you have something definate now. It was suggested to me by a psychologist when I refered myself for cognitive Behavioural Therapy. She did a detailed history and had no inkling what so ever. She even specialist in Asperger's and that why I was sent to her, not that I knew that at the time.  At least somone finally heard me but did help i was being supported by what you may think as a suprising source of support. It meant feelings were finally being untangled into words so could take them to the history gathering. 

Things do look up because you know that there is a reason.

Hi TysMom,

Welcome to the community. There are plenty of people in your position with lots of experience and advice to share. The community has members from right across the spectrum from people who are severely disabled to others who are not disabled by autism and for whom autism is a label of their psychological type. I hope we can help you to see how your son's autism can be regarded as an understandable part of who he is rather than thinking of it as an illness or disorder that can be treated and fixed.

It might help if you tell us a bit about your son, what he does, what he struggles with so that we can give the best advice. Also, how do you currently think his autism will affect him and his life, what does autism mean to you? I would also encourage you to look at (and complete your own) community profile as it can be useful to look at how people have arrived in the forum before jumping in with advice or reacting to someone else with a post that might not be appropriate for the individual.

(The website is a bit old and cranky so you have to be very patient and avoid submitting twice!)