Daughter doesn’t like me

My daughter is 14 and has high functioning  ASD. I feel quite deflated at the moment as she often puts me down and says quite mean things to me and if I challenge her on it she  says that I am being

horrible to her and gets upset.  She told me that  our personality’s are to different and  that I have a bad attitude and that she doesn’t like me.  I literally tiptoe around her and will do anything to make her happy. I show her so much love and attention but I’m worried that she will always feel this way regardless . Has anyone else experienced this?

Parents
  • Ohhh, I have, from the other side of things.
    I was the same with my mum at that age and trust me, it's not that she actually hates you. :/ 

    She's at the age when, especially for us women, being autistic gets HARD. Really hard. Social expectations have changed, other children are getting very involved in social politics (especially the girls) and as the autistic girl I guarantee you she's getting the short end of that particular stick. This is the time at which it becomes very obvious that you are different and that "different" is generally perceived by your peers as "wrong". School work's harder too, just to make things really overwhelming.

    Oh, and puberty kicks completely in so not even your body is reliable and consistent. Literally everything is 'change' at 14 and that's one of the big autistic difficulties. This is where a lot of us get diagnosed in the first place (my autism got flagged up at 14 years old exactly, though it took 3 years to diagnose me) because this is when it becomes impossible to cope

    So where's the safe place to let loose all that frustration? Who won't attack back or react in a way you can't handle? Who won't socially ostracise you and make your life even more difficult? Mum! That's who!

    Doesn't help that it's also the age at which your brain is saying "push boundaries" (hormones again) and mum also happens to be the main purveyor of boundaries. (That's what your "bad attitude" is code for, if you were wondering)

    It gets better, but it might take a long time. Into her 20s. Until she actually grows up. She won't listen and she'll make her own mistakes whatever you tell her and it will break your heart, plus you'll be trying to pick up the pieces every time, but eventually she'll realise you're on her side and be generally nice again.

    (I say generally, there may always be minor episodes of lashing out, because you will never stop being the source of 'good advice that she doesn't want to hear').

    Also she's never going to admit any of this, except to strangers on the internet, so don't even try asking.

    Hope that helps. ^^' 

  • Oh, and a lot of this won't be conscious. She'll have no idea why she suddenly can't cope or why she lashes out at you in particular. She might work it out when she grows up. 

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