Do your parents/guardians understand your autism?

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IdahoRose
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12 Nov 2011, 11:41 pm

My mom admits that she doesn't understand me very well. But she is highly supportive, incredibly patient and very kind towards me. We are each other's biggest fans.

My dad has even less of an understanding of me than my mom does, but then again, nobody really understands him either.



dogslife
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12 Nov 2011, 11:41 pm

It's kind of hard to say yet, since I was only diagnosed recently, but one thing that's been annoying me is their mentality of, "Now you know what you need to change!" as if a lot of the traits are things I consciously choose to do rather than the way my brain is wired. I get that there are certain things that I now know I can try to work on, but I don't like that as a general response.



TheTigress
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13 Nov 2011, 12:26 am

My mom was the one who informed me I had it in the first place. I think my my dad understands it for the most part, although after the divorce he no longer saw my behavior on a daily basis. My step mom on the other hand probably thinks I'm full of s**t because her attitude about it is "Well EVERYONE has issues." Spoken like a true NT who has no idea what it really means and what struggles I have. She also thinks I can magically change if I really put effort into it. :roll:



babybird
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13 Nov 2011, 12:12 pm

I don't have any family but I find that most people in my life who are aware that I have AS are quite easy going about it even though some people treat me as though I am more severe and some people treat me like I am less severe, it's nice sometimes though that people are considerate of the fact that I do have difficulties.



SteelMaiden
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13 Nov 2011, 12:21 pm

I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome at the age of 16. Both of my parents (who are now divorced) read up a lot on AS. My mum still didn't understand it, even after spending a day researching it, and whenever I would mention (we don't talk any longer and I don't live with her anymore) Asperger's, she would seethe and tell me off for "making excuses". My dad, thankfully, is very understanding of my AS (he actually has AS characteristics himself, but not enough for a diagnosis). Even if I say something pretty rude, without realising it is rude (I often do this), he doesn't get angry at me, he calmly explains to me why it was rude.


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Eloa
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13 Nov 2011, 12:34 pm

No, not really. They also do not inform about what it actually is.
One reaction I got: "All you've got to do is getting a good job."
At this point I stop talking, because I don't know what to say anymore.
I avoid talking about my problems.


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13 Nov 2011, 2:43 pm

They never mention it. Either they don't know how to talk about it or they're in complete denial.



Kaelynn
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13 Nov 2011, 2:46 pm

My dad doesnt care so no hes not understanding. My mom understands but I dont know that she can ever understand from my piont of view. Like when things are loud or when Im lonely because I dont talk to people. So she does understand but I dont know if shes ever seen it from my piont of view.



Sweetleaf
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13 Nov 2011, 3:06 pm

No they just constantly criticized my behavior, way I reacted to things ect.......I was not diagnosed though so i can't totally blame them I guess since they did not know, even i did not know what was different about me so I just figured I had a massive amount of flaws needing to be corrected so I never really had time to feel good about myself.



chssmstrjk
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13 Nov 2011, 3:16 pm

Yeah, my family understands my diagnosis on the autism spectrum. But I've outgrown it so much (and the fact that I was on the mild side of the autism spectrum) that if you were to meet me in real life, you probably wouldn't even suspect that I was on the autism spectrum at all.