To the people on the autism spectrum

[Meteora]

Is there other cases of autism in your family? Siblings?
Are you the first born or middle child etc.?

 

[sserafim]

My mom thinks that my dad might have Asperger's. I'm the first born and I also have ADHD. My sister has ADHD, no ASD

 

[MangoTea]

Im the first (or at least the first to be diagnosed)

 

[cantthinkofusername]

idk if im autistic but my sibling says so and theyre autistic so if so its genetic probably

 

[Dliena]

I don't think so but I know one of my older sisters has Selective Mutism and I'm the youngest of the family or last born.

 

[sserafim]

idk if im autistic but my sibling says so and theyre autistic so if so its genetic probably

Are your parents autistic as well?

 

[dragonofenvy]

As far as I know, I'm the first and only person in my family with it.

 

[cantthinkofusername]

Are your parents autistic as well?

i dont think so

 

[Meteora]

I believed for a long time only men can have Aspergers.



Why so surprised @sserafim ?

 

[HereTomorrow]

Am Asian, 2nd child.

I believe my parents are somewhere on the autism spectrum but I am the only one officially marked with Aspergers. They have their own special interests and overall a bit socially awkward but not as bad as me, probably undiagnosed cases because Autism is more diagnosed in the past 20 years compared to the 70's and 80's.

I'm the only one in the whole family who keeps being openly discussed as having Aspergers, no one else, so I get partially alienated by everyone in social gatherings. Being Asian with Aspergers is a death wish.

 

[sserafim]

Am Asian, 2nd child.

I believe my parents are somewhere on the autism spectrum but I am the only one officially marked with Aspergers. They have their own special interests and overall a bit socially awkward but not as bad as me, probably undiagnosed cases because Autism is more diagnosed in the past 20 years compared to the 70's and 80's.

I'm the only one in the whole family who keeps being openly discussed as having Aspergers, no one else, so I get partially alienated by everyone in social gatherings. Being Asian with Aspergers is a death wish.

I'm Asian with Asperger's as well. I'm a girl though, I don't know about you. The weird thing is that my dad is super social, he has a lot of friends even though my mom suspects that he has it as well. He's probably masking right?

I believed for a long time only men can have Aspergers.



Why so surprised @sserafim ?

Why did you think that only men could have Asperger's? Women can have it too

 

[HereTomorrow]

I'm Asian with Asperger's as well. I'm a girl though, I don't know about you. The weird thing is that my dad is super social, he has a lot of friends even though my mom suspects that he has it as well. He's probably masking right?

I'm a woman. I was diagnosed at 3 but I was oblivious to all my treatments (speech therapy, IEPs, etc.) until I was formally told by a psychologist at 18 upon graduating.
Intentionally masking is temporary and doing it too much can lead to burnout. But with proper support and especially early intervention some people can minimilize the symptoms to have active lives, or, that's how it's intended to work. They both lead to the same outward expressions anyway.

 

[sserafim]

I'm a woman. I was diagnosed at 3 but I was oblivious to all my treatments (speech therapy, IEPs, etc.) until I was formally told by a psychologist at 18 upon graduating.
Intentionally masking is temporary and doing it too much can lead to burnout. But with proper support and especially early intervention some people can minimilize the symptoms to have active lives, or, that's how it's intended to work. They both lead to the same outward expressions anyway.

It's good that you were diagnosed early. I had speech therapy to learn how to talk. I only started talking at like 26 months or something. I had to go to a physical therapist for hand eye coordination too. It was clear that something was wrong with me (I was a difficult child and my mom took me to a lot of different specialists to try and figure out what exactly was wrong), but my mom said that the pediatrician didn't mention autism. I even had to go to this person who would put wires on my head to map my brain activity, they made my hair really sticky. I think I had oppositional defiant disorder for a while, I disobeyed and talked back to teachers in elementary school, and I think my mom sent me to a therapist for it. It was like my rebellious phase lol. I was diagnosed with autism level 1 and ADHD in high school, and I got an IEP for it. I think I'm burnt out from masking all my life, I've failed to launch after college and been in a state of burnout and freeze. What proper support? I wish I had had early intervention for it.

 

[penguinl0v3s]

It would not be surprising for older generations to be undiagnosed. I notice autistic traits from my parent. And I'm pretty sure I have it, but have not ruled out other possibilities like ADHD.

 

[Meteora]

I'm the only one in the whole family who keeps being openly discussed as having Aspergers, no one else, so I get partially alienated by everyone in social gatherings. Being Asian with Aspergers is a death wish.

I m so sorry to hear.... and I can imagine.... I m not yet diagnosed but honestly, I highly suspect I am.
My fathers side is Italian..... being Italian and Aspergers.... same... death sentence almost.

Why did you think that only men could have Asperger's? Women can have it too

It was considered a male problem for quite long. Women apparently mask differently or "better".

It would not be surprising for older generations to be undiagnosed

Yes, that s maybe me. Being older and being a woman no one ever mentioned autism, got a shit lot of other diagnosis though and was in treatment since age 17. Going through an ordeal never understandig why ppl enjoy life.

 

[ijustwishtodie]

I have autism and I was diagnosed with it from an extremely young age. I couldn't speak until when I was 5 years old. In my case, I'm the only autistic person in my family unfortunately. My parents are both neurotypicals or, well, my entire family is neurotypical though some parts of my family have weird genetic related issues that aren't a part of autism. I'm a middle child with two other siblings who are both neurotypical. I guess I just got shitty luck unfortunately

What about you @Meteora? Are any of your family members autistic or are you the first?

 

[Meteora]

@ijustwishtodie I m the middle child, too! That alone is shitty. I can't tell if anyone in my family is autistic, for sure they are not "normal", that I know. I m worried... what if I m autistic, what if they mistake me for an autist as they mistook me for a borderliner? I m very confuesd, anxoius, very sad, I know that my life is a living hell but it seems there's no mercy for me.
Best would ve been if I was never born.

 

[Final_Choice]

My younger and older sibling aren't in the spectrum, neither are my parents. Though a lot of stuff happened to my mom when she was pregnant with me and while I was young which likely resulted in me being in the spectrum and getting the other illnesses I have.

 

[Meteora]

Though a lot of stuff happened to my mom when she was pregnant with me and while I was young which likely resulted in me being in the spectrum and getting the other illnesses I have.

May I ask what?

 

[Kit1]

I am autistic and the youngest in the family. I suspect that my mother might be autistic.

 

[ijustwishtodie]

@ijustwishtodie I m the middle child, too! That alone is shitty. I can't tell if anyone in my family is autistic, for sure they are not "normal", that I know. I m worried... what if I m autistic, what if they mistake me for an autist as they mistook me for a borderliner? I m very confuesd, anxoius, very sad, I know that my life is a living hell but it seems there's no mercy for me.
Best would ve been if I was never born.

What do you mean when you say your family isn't normal? As in, are they diagnosed with other issues? Also, I personally think that it's harder to find autism in females than it is for males or at least it seems that way due to how it seems less likely for females to get diagnosed with autism. Also, another thing about autism imo is that it's far easier to diagnose a child with autism as opposed to an adult due to how the latter has probably spent most of their life masking their neurotype to appear more normal which makes autism harder to spot. This could be the case for some of your family members and perhaps even yourself, who knows

Also, I'm sorry for what you've been through overall. Your last two sentences indicates that you've been through a lot. I hope you find peace soon

 

[Final_Choice]

May I ask what?

You mean what happened or the illnesses? I'll answer both just in case. Father abused and raped my mother, because of religion she saw it wrong to get an abortion and continued to endure his abuse before, during, and after my birth. When I was born he eventually also began abusing me as well when he got drunk. I could go more specifics but it's not required unless you want to know and I could tell you in PMs. Also, both parents had some illnesses which I inherited and I also developed some as well, a head tumor, auto dysfunctions, nonverbal autism, some heart problems, and some immune system problems.

 

[Meteora]

What do you mean when you say your family isn't normal? As in, are they diagnosed with other issues.

I think my mother is a severe borderliner, manipulative, selfish, plays the victim......... twists the truth so it suits her. My father seems narcissistic too, maybe autistic, I can't tell. My two brothers have zero empathy and blame others for they re shit.

I personally think that it's harder to find autism in females than it is for males or at least it seems that way due to how harder it seems for females to get diagnosed with autism.

Yeah I think so too. Are you a female?

Also, I'm sorry for what you've been through overall. Your last two sentences indicates that you've been through a lot. I hope you find peace soon

Thank you.... I feel so extremely low. Just wished I knew what's wrong with me . This society is so cruel, people so selfish.

You mean what happened or the illnesses? I'll answer both just in case. Father abused and raped my mother, because of religion she saw it wrong to get an abortion and continued to endure his abuse before, during, and after my birth. When I was born he eventually also began abusing me as well when he got drunk. I could go more specifics but it's not required unless you want to know and I could tell you in PMs. Also, both parents had some illnesses which I inherited and I also developed some as well, a head tumor, auto dysfunctions, nonverbal autism, some heart problems, and some immune system problems.

I m so sorry.... I have no words....... that's just horrible........

 

[sserafim]

I have autism and I was diagnosed with it from an extremely young age. I couldn't speak until when I was 5 years old. In my case, I'm the only autistic person in my family unfortunately. My parents are both neurotypicals or, well, my entire family is neurotypical though some parts of my family have weird genetic related issues that aren't a part of autism. I'm a middle child with two other siblings who are both neurotypical. I guess I just got shitty luck unfortunately

Do you speak Pakistani (wait actually it's called Urdu) too? I grew up with people speaking English and Mandarin and maybe I got confused so that's why I spoke so late, or maybe they weren't my primary language in my past life.

You mean what happened or the illnesses? I'll answer both just in case. Father abused and raped my mother, because of religion she saw it wrong to get an abortion and continued to endure his abuse before, during, and after my birth. When I was born he eventually also began abusing me as well when he got drunk. I could go more specifics but it's not required unless you want to know and I could tell you in PMs. Also, both parents had some illnesses which I inherited and I also developed some as well, a head tumor, auto dysfunctions, nonverbal autism, some heart problems, and some immune system problems.

Sorry to hear that. Btw what's being nonverbal like? You can understand language but can't talk? Maybe if I hadn't gone to the speech language therapist I also would've been nonverbal…

 

[ijustwishtodie]

I think my mother is a severe borderliner, manipulative, selfish, plays the victim......... twists the truth so it suits her. My father seems narcissistic too, maybe autistic, I can't tell. My two brothers have zero empathy and blame others for they re shit.

My parents aren't the best either (though perhaps not as shitty as yours) but my parents are definitely neurotypical. It's hard to tell exactly what condition your parents even have. They could simply be neurotypical and just shitty as some abusive parents are neurotypical

Yeah I think so too. Are you a female?

Nope, I'm a male

Thank you.... I feel so extremely low. Just wished I knew what's wrong with me . This society is so cruel, people so selfish.

Hopefully you find the answer soon. Perhaps the answer is just autism after all, who knows. I don't think I've seen your other threads based on autism so, if I may ask, why exactly do you think you're autistic? I do remember you saying you had an ex boyfriend who was autistic so perhaps that has something to do with it? Either way, yeah, unfortunately people are selfish indeed. You seem like the exception, somebody who is kind and so forth which is good to have here

Do you speak Pakistani (wait actually it's called Urdu) too? I grew up with people speaking English and Mandarin and maybe I got confused so that's why I spoke so late, or maybe they weren't my primary language in my past life.

It is called urdu and, no, I don't speak it. My parents do speak it however and they use it a lot when talking to.. basically the majority of people they talk to. I can only understand certain words of what they're saying because of how I've listened to them speak urdu for my entire life but I can't speak it clearly nor can I write any of it

I don't remember much of my childhood so it's possible that I spoke late because of the language differences but what I don't understand is why I somehow learnt english instead of urdu when my parents have spoken the latter for basically their entire life

 

[Final_Choice]

Sorry to hear that. Btw what's being nonverbal like? You can understand language but can't talk? Maybe if I hadn't gone to the speech language therapist I also would've been nonverbal…

Nowadays it's a lot better than before, but I was completely unable to speak until around 5 or 6 years old, when I did start speaking I learned very slowly and didn't talk right. Childhood is kind of blurry besides specific memories, but I can remember that much at least. I can barely remember anything before I began speaking. Now I can speak relatively normal, though it requires some manual effort so I really only speak when I have to. I'm not sure how to explain it, maybe think of it as manually breathing as opposed to your body automatically breathing. I have to manually think about and prepare every syllable of every word I want to say. Overall I can still pretend to not have nonverbal autism and make it seem that way to people, it's just very difficult.

 

[Meteora]

They could simply be neurotypical and just shitty as some abusive parents are neurotypical

Yeah that s true.

I don't think I've seen your other threads based on autism so, if I may ask, why exactly do you think you're autistic?

I was in a psych ward two years ago where the psychologist recommended evaluations for Aspergers. I thought she must be joking and didnt take it seriously until 6 months ago when I watched a documentary about female autism. I had a first appoinment with a psychologist last December, he said it is very likely that I have it. Next Monday I start the evaluation.

I don't remember much of my childhood so it's possible that I spoke late because of the language differences but what I don't understand is why I somehow learnt english instead of urdu when my parents have spoken the latter for basically their entire life

I dont remember much of my childhood either. Thought autists do....

Are you in the US?

 

[Malaria]

I have no idea. My mother has suspected my father might have had autism though.

 

[ijustwishtodie]

I was in a psych ward two years ago where the psychologist recommended evaluations for Aspergers. I thought she must be joking and didnt take it seriously until 6 months ago when I watched a documentary about female autism. I had a first appoinment with a psychologist last December, he said it is very likely that I have it. Next Monday I start the evaluation.

That makes sense I guess. Good luck with the evaluation. I'm curious as to what results you get from them

I dont remember much of my childhood either. Thought autists do....

Are you in the US?

In my case, I don't think that my lack of memory regarding childhood is specifically an autistic thing. Perhaps I don't remember much of my childhood to avoid trauma? I don't know. Also, no, I'm not in the US. I'm in the UK

 

[J&L383]

Nephew diagnosed at 8, his sister diagnosed at 15. I am self-diagnosed (too much $$ to make it official ). My father had all the signs as well, and now I'm not so sure about my mother. (Both deceased). Definitely runs in families!