Published on 12, July, 2020
I have a 19 yr old daughter whom I think may have HFA. There have been many quirks to her personality over the years, but most importantly and disabling is her inability to manage social situations. She has lost all but two friends from her school and college years, she tried to start uni this year, and this resulted in one panic/meltdown when she tried to move into her student digs. We came home and she continued to insist she would go, but a week later after attempting the first day she had another almighty panic/ meltdown. We brought her home, there has been no backlash to this, no emotion, disappointment, frustration anything!!! i truly believe she does not know how to understand herself and her feelings, as there was little conversation about going away, just a build up of anxiety a few weeks before ( but this was only evident by a few panic attacks). She has been put on AD for her anxiety, she watched the Chris Packham docu, and told me two days later that she felt she connected with everything he spoke about. I did my research, and feel she has many traits and the GP asked her to complete a questionnaire.We go back to GP tomorrow, and I'm just lost as to how to pursue this? It's all very new to me, and im worried the GP may dismiss our concerns as we have never raised any issues beforehand. to be honest, I thought many of her traits were things she may just grow out of, or gain confidence once at uni??? is there anything i should be doing that i simply don't know about, anyone out there on this forum who has had a similar experience? if someone thinks we are barking up the wrong tree , please say. The GP test was a score of 40/50 autism spectrum quotient test. Thank you
MOM
Hi,
I echo others advice about you and your daughter putting a document together about how she meets the different diagnostic criteria for autism. It does help to be pushy. I mentioned I thought I had autism to a Dr and 2 psychiatrists and they all said I wouldn't have ASD! Luckily the third one gave me the screener questionnaire which I filled in and sent to the local autism unit, which led to my diagnosis.
In regards to your daughter's transition to uni the good news is it that you have around 10 months to prepare. You could spend this time getting your daughter comfortable with the campus, such as going to their food outlets for lunch occasionally, walking around the campus etc. Have you been in touch with their disability services about your concerns? They may be able to help, such as finding your students lecture rooms in advance so that she can go and sit in them in the summer to familiarize herself with them. you might also be able to join the library as a guest and obtain past papers for any exams for her course.
If your daughter applies for the Disabled Students Allowances, either as a student with MH issues or ASD, she may be entitled to mentoring support.
Thanks. Luckily the uni is one that we visited twice before and that she was accepted into last year , only deciding to have gone for the other option. Your advice on becoming familiar with the building and campus etc is something I have already discussed with her, even trying out the bus route together. I will however investigate the support services on offer and I was not aware of the disabled student allowance, so I shall look into that . My thinking is, that if she isn't given a formal diagnosis for whatever reason, the social issues and the impact of change are still going to be a major barrier. We will definitely need a plan going forward.