Cross-posted from "It does indeed" by @LadyButterfly@piefed.blahaj.zone in !autism@lemmy.world
this post was submitted on 03 Sep 2025
73 points (97.4% liked)
Ausome Memes
595 readers
2 users here now
Ausome Memes
The lighter side of ASD
Rules
Other ND communities
- !adhd@lemmy.dbzer0.com
- !autism@lemmy.dbzer0.com
- !autisticandadhd@lemmy.world
- !neurodivergence@beehaw.org
founded 9 months ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
My kid was diagnosed as autistic at 15 because their therapist suggested getting them evaluated. They asked me recently why we didn't get them evaluated sooner.
After reading up about autism and talking to the therapist and reading the evaluation writeup, I realized that my husband, our other kid, my dad, and I are all definitely autistic, as is my step-father-in-law. A lot of our friends are diagnosed with some variety of neurodivergence (autism, ADHD, severe OCD), and probably some of the undiagnosed ones are also neurodivergent.
I told this to my kid and ended with, "So you seemed normal to us."
Obviously I don't have any insight in your case, but my guess is that a lot of parents don't consider that their kid might be autistic because they don't realize that there's anything unusual.
@kryptonite @QuizzaciousOtter I wasn't diagnosed until my early 40s... and I only thought to be evaluated because of my son, who was diagnosed at age 2. I recognized behavior patterns in him that I'd exhibited myself all my life. Getting the "yes" made so many things make sense. Finally, I was able to accept and love myself for who I am.
@kryptonite @QuizzaciousOtter I sometimes wonder if autism is more disabling if there are too many NTs in your immediate family. It seems people assuming you are exaggerating, or otherwise making you doubt yourself/attempt to mask your sensory overload, actually precipitates a pattern of meltdowns well into adulthood. If your parents understand what is going on you are more likely to know your limits or have a system for dealing with it before reaching a crisis.
@kryptonite @QuizzaciousOtter so many of the diagnosis questions for parents are assuming that parents actually know things like “normal eye contact”. Assuming a subjective baseline that might not exist given the hereditary nature of Autism. A lot of the stuff with my kids seemed normal to me, but then my dad always told my mum that he thought I was normal when she expressed doubts. I never bothered with diagnosis myself (no issues I don’t have a system for), but looking back it is obvious.
Hey, that's a very interesting perspective, thanks for sharing!
After my diagnosis I actually noticed a lot traits similar to mine in my dad. Now I'm almost 100% sure he's on the spectrum as well. The funny thing is, he has absolutely no idea about autism and I'm completely sure he would never believe that either of us has it.
My mom on the other hand... I never considered it but I will have to think about this now. Autism or not, it is possible that she struggled with some similar things as me and thus didn't see it as unusual.