I am stepmother to a 9 year old. Her mother has taken steps to have her assessed for ASD and she has recently been successfully referred. However due to waiting times the assessment could be as much as 2 years from now. My concern is that her mother already seems to have told her that she thinks she might be autistic, and she has become quite attached to the idea. She seems to have been given enough information to start labeling herself and her behaviours but not enough to have a fully rounded understanding of autism and how complex and varied it can be. Myself I don't know if she is autistic or not, but let's say I have strong reason to think it very possible that she is not, and that the specific behaviours and difficulties she does have are caused by other factors. I've tried to gently remind her that the autism diagnosis is just possibility we are looking into, not a definite, while still validating her experiences, but she becomes a bit angry and upset when I remind her of this. It worries me that she may spend the next two years integrating ASD into her personal identity only to find out she is not autistic. Does anyone else have experience or advice on how to handle this?
