Hi there!

[star.stuff]

Hi everyone,

(disclosure) - I would like to apologize in advance if anything I say is offensive. I don't mean that at all and I am still new to all of this

My name is Danielle. I am 26 years old. I guess I am just starting my journey to see if I am living with ASD. I always felt like an alien - I never really wanted to play with other kids, and it seemed like the whole world overwhelmed me. However, even though I have a masters degree in social work, I never suspected I could be living with ASD. Ignorantly, when I thought of someone with autism, I always pictured a young boy rocking back and forth. I thought that was the only form that autism could take. After doing extensive research, I believe I am on the spectrum. I am currently seeking to get formally evaluated, but I wanted to ask a question of those who have been there before:

How do you go about asking your parents if they saw any signs when you were a toddler/child?

I want to ask my mom, as I feel like this would be helpful in the evaluation. I remember some things, such as sensitivity to stimulus, stimming to calm myself, and the aforementioned introversion, but I've always had trouble remembering my childhood. I don't know if I had delayed speech, if I made eye contact as a child, if I had any abnormal obsessions, if I repeated myself, etc.

What are some questions that would be helpful to get information from my mom? I feel so odd just coming out and asking, "hey mom, was I super weird as a kid? Why didn't you do anything about that?"

Thank you so much in advance, and I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

 

[tree]

 

[Tom]

I never had that conversation. I only realized it late in life and didn't feel the need to go there. I have shared it with most my siblings. Their reaction was vague or 'I think we all are'. It has shown in at least 2 of mine and my siblings children as well.

With a parent I would tread lightly. They have a tendency to go into denial.

Is that your dog in the Avatar? He/she looks like a great one. Dogs are a special interest of mine. We have 4 Mixed & full Chihuahuas. They are I think actually lesser demons, but very dog like.

 

[Nitro]

Hi Danielle

 

[star.stuff]

Hi Tom,

Thank you for your response. I only want to approach my mom because honestly I’m worried that the evaluator won’t give me a diagnosis unless he or she can see that I had signs even as a child. Maybe it’s just me overthinking things

And yes! That is my boy, Ike. He is my best friend. He’s definitely a great one. That’s great that you have 4 of them so they have each other. I’m thinking of getting Ike a friend

 

[Tom]

Hi Tom,

Thank you for your response. I only want to approach my mom because honestly I’m worried that the evaluator won’t give me a diagnosis unless he or she can see that I had signs even as a child. Maybe it’s just me overthinking things

And yes! That is my boy, Ike. He is my best friend. He’s definitely a great one. That’s great that you have 4 of them so they have each other. I’m thinking of getting Ike a friend

Childhood observations are pretty significant with medical professionals, so it makes sense. Though in that way I believe they are behind the reality curve. I don't believe it always shows early on. It didn't with me. The 'Spectrum' is wide and full of variation. I meant it more as a heads up to be ready for some resistance. Hopefully it will go well.

Two is a good number of dogs and like you say having another dog companion very good for a dog. Especially when your not around. I would stop there however unless you really want to up you time commitment and costs. And handling more then you have arms just gets pretty crazy. Its not quite as bad with small ones.

 

[Progster]

I just asked my mum, "do you think that I might have Asperger's?" She didn't know what Asperger's was, so I sent her some links to read up on it. She came back later with "Yes, I think you do."

It took a lot of courage to ask, but turned out ok in the end.

 

[clg114]

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