Parent's reaction to diagnosis of child?

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I was wondering about the different reactions parents have concerning their children's diagnoses on the autism spectrum. Did anyone's parents react badly? I'm going to tell my mom, but I'm afraid. Advice and stories?

Your mom doesn't know?

I found out that I might have aspergers a year before my mom thought of looking into it, I didn't tell her. She reached the conclusion separately. She has helped get 2 kids diagnosed so she didn't make to big of a deal out of it.

My parents were the ones who seeked out a diagnosis and when they got it they weren't surprised and were kinda releaved. I was only seven years old at the time and too in my own world to care. To me, I was just fine. It was everyone else who had the problem and I believed that most people were just stupid.

Now that I am older and can talk to my dad about my disorder he seems to have opened up more concerning it. Like before when I was little, he had the belief he could "love" it all out of me and that I would be fine just as long as he loved me, fed me, and what not. But now he seems to want to try and help me and to learn all he can about it. In the last few months our relationship has grown exponentially and we are much much closer due to our long discussions about autism and how difficult certain things are for me. He wants to be there for me.

By the time my son was assessed and diagnosed I had already worked it put for myself. I was taken aback when he was referred for assessment, but I borrowed a book about Aspergers/Autism and children from the university library and it all made sense.

I'm surprised that you've been diagnosed at 15 years old without your parents' knowledge. Usually, even for people much older than you, some kind of parental input is sought.

Well, my mom's reaction was fairly positive. She's even been considering that she may have it (fairly likely, though she is too old for a diagnosis). My dad was in denial up until last summer. All together I say it went fairly well.

My parents were both saddened and relieved. They were sad because they knew I would never completely fit in and continue to struggle with different things, but relieved that we all finally had a name for why I had such odd behavior and could never fit in at school.

My Mom became more accepting of the way I am. My Dad didn't understand and wouldn't acknowledge it. I think my Mom was relieved because she had spend a lot of time trying to get help for me when it wasn't available. Although, I know she still gets frustrated with me.

They were the ones who referred me for diagnoses, so naturally they weren't very surprised. They were (and still are) very accepting of my condition.

I am not sure how mine reacted. My dad had always seemed neutral about it and acted like it was all normal. My mom never made a big deal about it either but did at times because she felt the need to tell everyone she has a daughter with a disability and it was so important to tell people. Now she doesn't seem to make a big fuss about it anymore like she used to. They were the ones that took me in for a diagnoses because I needed it for school. None of the other labels I had worked for me because they knew I had something else going on and none of those labels explained everything. I am sure they felt relieved and my parents never told me I couldn't do this or that because of my AS.

I was shocked but not surprised. It went a long way to explaining DS's 'quirky' behaviour, why he had trouble making friends, why he is so good in some areas and lacking in others.. I worry about him all day, every day. If one day he comes to me and says I am content with my life, I will stop worrying.

I was glad when my son was diagnoses with autism at the age of 5. Before the diagnosis, I would occasionally wonder, "What am I doing wrong as a parent?" After he had the diagnosis of autism, I could tell people that he has autism and they would understand that his behaviors were not naughtiness.

After he received the diagnosis, I started looking at my relatives behaviors. The autism is clearly genetic in nature for my son.

I guess I'm lucky that my brother has it and that my parents have told me that they suspect I have it. Unlike a few years ago where I had to tell them over the phone that I have some rare disorder (less than 200 in the UK with it, apparently) and I had no idea what it was - it was never explained to me at the hospital and the information out there is confusing.

Mum does know that I'm getting tested and has said nothing yet.