Sorry if this seems stupid. My kid was diagnosed with type 1 autism, formerly asperger’s. We weren’t even testing them for that (it was adhd), but the doc pointed out a lot of behaviors that are classified as autistic. I never thought of those behaviors that way, because I did a bunch of that stuff when I was a teen, too. I just learned I was weird and figured the rest was due to my super dysfunctional family. I’ve learned to cope. I keep my weirdness to myself and pass for a normal person pretty well. No one would ever guess I’m autistic (again, I’ve no diagnosis but it’s implied).
So, with that context, would there even be a point to getting a diagnosis? What would it benefit me? I’m middle aged, so I don’t need educational accommodations. I’ve learned to adapt, so idk if I’d even be diagnosable.
Idk. I’m still just messed up learning that my kid, who I thought was neurotypical and a LOT like me is considered autistic. How different would my childhood have been if I had been evaluated when I was younger?
Apologies for my intrusion. I saw this topic from the ALL listing on Lemmy.
Irrespective of a childhood evaluation or not, we are all the product of thousands of decisions we made and were made for us growing up. Its interesting to think about alternate realities that could have exists had specific events occurred that didn’t or not occurred that did. In the end, we are a product of all these decisions and experiences. Were you evaluated when you were a child, you may have grown into an adult that didn’t become the amazing person you are today.
However, one benefit of getting diagnosed yourself is that you’ll have firsthand confirmation that the experiences your son is going to encounter may match or resemble your own when you were younger. You’ll have context in understanding where he is and how he is experiencing the world because you yourself likely were the same. You could also give guidance with your years of experience as an adult which may help explain to him the world and his difficulties in processing it. In short, perhaps don’t seek it for yourself and you’re clearly managing well as a functional person in society, but perhaps do it for him to know you’re offering valid guidance.
no worries, i don’t think there’s gatekeeping like that here. If I didn’t want a public response I wouldn’t have posted in a public forum.