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17 year old son finally diagnosed with Autism! But now what??

jane121
over 8 years ago

Hi, my son has finally been diagnosed with Autism at aged 17 ! I knew it all along and finally someone listened. 

Now we have the diagnosis , what happens now? Would like to get him involved with others like himself, so that he is not so isolated. Not sure where to go or who to contact? 

Any advice, greatly apreciated.

Thank you

  • over 8 years ago

    jane121 said:

    He does find social interaction very very difficult, this is not helped by the fact he has a stammer as well ! He has no friends and is with me all the time after school., as he cannot go out alone because he also has learning difficulties and no road sense ect.. ! He does get lonely and bored, i try my best to take him out as much as i can but i also have a 2 year old and a 1 year old at home and they take all my time and attention! 

    Someone mentioned a thing called direct payments, where i could get help in maybe paying someone to take him out.. have you heard of this?

    Direct payments would be from your local council and would be arranged following an assessment by Adult social services.

    If you don't have them involved already, to support you as a carer then I would definately reccomend it.

    I think there are a number of things that can be provided.  Support can be provided for him and paid for by the council if you meet their criteria, or/and you can get a direct payment to you as a carer, which would be under the guise of making your life more manageable.   It could be used to pay for days out or a cleaner or time away...  anything that could be determined as making a positive impact to you.

    Best thing to do is speak to them, ask them to come out to discuss your situation, and take it from there.

    Good luck!

  • over 8 years ago

    I think you should be looking at Personal Independence Payments www.gov.uk/.../overview

    This gets discussed on the forum quite a bit community.autism.org.uk/.../pip

  • over 8 years ago

    He does find social interaction very very difficult, this is not helped by the fact he has a stammer as well ! He has no friends and is with me all the time after school., as he cannot go out alone because he also has learning difficulties and no road sense ect.. ! He does get lonely and bored, i try my best to take him out as much as i can but i also have a 2 year old and a 1 year old at home and they take all my time and attention! 

    Someone mentioned a thing called direct payments, where i could get help in maybe paying someone to take him out.. have you heard of this?

  • over 8 years ago

    I agree that it is really good to meet other people on the spectrum so that he can appreciate that he is not alone. However, autistic people can be really difficult to deal with and social interaction between two or more autistic people can be extremely fraught.

    Whereabouts is he in the process? What assistance has he been offered? Is he still at school or has he left?

  • over 8 years ago

    Thank you, this web site is all new to be and finding it all a bit confusing ..

  • over 8 years ago

    It's a great idea to try to get him invoved with others on the autism spectrum.

    Look at the schools and services part of this website - there is information about local groups, mentoring & befriending services etc. and if you're not sure where to start there is a helpline you can ring.

    Good luck