@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 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.

@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.

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.