Children not formally diagnosed with ASD

[Notcontent]

This is something I am very interested in. Reading various threads on mumsnet I get the feeling that there are a lot of children who are not formally diagnosed with ASD, but where parents feel pretty sure that the child has Asperger/very high functioning ASD.

I am pretty sure this applies to my DD who is now in secondary school. There have never been any issues at school and no one ever raised any concerns, so nothing to trigger a diagnosis. It’s only over time and educating myself that I have concluded that she must have ASD but at some very high end of the spectrum. I think she herself feels different to other people at times but does not want to be labelled.

Can anyone relate to this?

@OhYouBadBadKitten no problem. If I hear 'but everyone's a bit autistic' one more time i might explode

But you're right, it's when they get older that the problems can start. I know from my experience and that of my friends that puberty and high school are a big issue. To have that diagnosis and an understanding of why they feel like they do is a big help.

@SuperLoudPoppingAction my dd is super resistant to help at the moment. I'm hoping this will change as she gets older.