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Original poster

Inside our autistic minds (documentary)

15 replies

PopGoesTheProsecco · 21/02/2023 22:40

Has anyone else found these two documentaries hugely insightful?

As a mum of a fairly newly diagnosed ASC teenager it’s opened my eyes. ASC in my area is dealt with by CAMHS. I got a diagnosis for my daughter and an email with a few links in it. That was it.

OP posts:
Original poster
PopGoesTheProsecco · 21/02/2023 23:12

There seems to be so little support out there for parents.

OP posts:
snowtrees · 21/02/2023 23:54

What s it on?

Eas1lyd1stracted · 22/02/2023 00:02

I thought it was absolutely amazing. Flo's story helped explain my newly diagnosed wife's perspective to me in a way she didn't have the words for. I cried my eyes out and she had to go to bed with the impact of how it hit. It's the only thing I've ever seen about autism that felt truly led by autistic people despite being a social worker for over 15 years.

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Original poster
PopGoesTheProsecco · 22/02/2023 00:20

snowtrees · 21/02/2023 23:54

What s it on?

It’s on the BBC.

OP posts:
Original poster
PopGoesTheProsecco · 22/02/2023 00:27

Eas1lyd1stracted · 22/02/2023 00:02

I thought it was absolutely amazing. Flo's story helped explain my newly diagnosed wife's perspective to me in a way she didn't have the words for. I cried my eyes out and she had to go to bed with the impact of how it hit. It's the only thing I've ever seen about autism that felt truly led by autistic people despite being a social worker for over 15 years.

Oh wow.

I cried at Flo’s story too. She really reminded me of my autistic daughter, also recently diagnosed who finds it difficult to express how she’s feeling and also often gets sensory overload.

OP posts:
ThisWOMANWontWheesht · 22/02/2023 00:57

Looking forward to watching this with my autistic teen daughter.

Love Chris Packham!

Figrolls14 · 22/02/2023 01:00

loved it, will be watching again for the bits I missed first time round. Thank you Chris!!!

birdling · 22/02/2023 06:43

Would it be suitable for a 12 year old boy to watch, (if he is currently waiting for assessment) to help him understand himself,or is it more for other people to understand him, please?

RampantIvy · 22/02/2023 06:57

I must watch this. Everyone I know who has seen it says how good it is.

Spendonsend · 22/02/2023 06:59

birdling · 22/02/2023 06:43

Would it be suitable for a 12 year old boy to watch, (if he is currently waiting for assessment) to help him understand himself,or is it more for other people to understand him, please?

There is a small section in the first episode where they mention that autistic people are are higher risk of suicide, which might be upsetting to hear. The rest is fine.

HappyAsASandboy · 22/02/2023 07:13

Thank you for this post. I've just watched both of them and found them really helpful.

I am going to see if I can get my 12 year old daughter to watch the first one with me. I hope it will help her to feel less alone in some of her feelings, and maybe even help her to be able to describe some of what she goes through every day.

Thank you OP.

behindanothername · 22/02/2023 07:25

From your 12 year olds perspective (I am autistic/adhd and was late diagnosed) be aware that it is a challenge as someone neurodivergent to realise quite how differently you see the world in comparison to someone neurotypical. It depends on their understanding of themselves. He will likely see himself in at least one or two of their experiences and he may need to process that. It was a generally positive program however some of the views the people in it had of themselves were occasionally negative and he may need support with that.

Similarly to the poster above, my husband and I watched it together, and he and I were both impacted emotionally by the content. We have been together for 12 years, I have been diagnosed for 6 and talk very openly about it yet I had not been able to explain as well as the tv show did, how it impacts me and how truly differently I interact with the world.

I hope they make more, with another selection of people, the other thing to be conscious of is that many of us have more than one ND condition and that means a widely different experience of the world. My autism/adhd combination means I interact with the world and experience the world very differently to my son who is autistic/dyslexic/adhd. We have commonalities of experience over sensory and linear time but he lives in a whole imaginative world at times whereas I am hugely information and fact driven.

I think Chris's statement at the beginning about wanting to change the world or help just one person resonated so well. He did that for so many people I suspect with just those 2 episodes.

BeeBB · 22/02/2023 07:27

Flo’s story to her mum was extremely touching. My Dd 18 doesn’t have a diagnosis and refuses to talk about her feelings, accept affection, has had a few friendship issues over the years and often avoids eye contact and gets easily irritated. So I think their are some ND issues going on. She refuses to see a GP.

She is fairly bright and extremely and fiercely independent and secretive.

We don’t have the best relationship but I love her and try to talk to her.

Eas1lyd1stracted · 22/02/2023 21:53

behindanothername · 22/02/2023 07:25

From your 12 year olds perspective (I am autistic/adhd and was late diagnosed) be aware that it is a challenge as someone neurodivergent to realise quite how differently you see the world in comparison to someone neurotypical. It depends on their understanding of themselves. He will likely see himself in at least one or two of their experiences and he may need to process that. It was a generally positive program however some of the views the people in it had of themselves were occasionally negative and he may need support with that.

Similarly to the poster above, my husband and I watched it together, and he and I were both impacted emotionally by the content. We have been together for 12 years, I have been diagnosed for 6 and talk very openly about it yet I had not been able to explain as well as the tv show did, how it impacts me and how truly differently I interact with the world.

I hope they make more, with another selection of people, the other thing to be conscious of is that many of us have more than one ND condition and that means a widely different experience of the world. My autism/adhd combination means I interact with the world and experience the world very differently to my son who is autistic/dyslexic/adhd. We have commonalities of experience over sensory and linear time but he lives in a whole imaginative world at times whereas I am hugely information and fact driven.

I think Chris's statement at the beginning about wanting to change the world or help just one person resonated so well. He did that for so many people I suspect with just those 2 episodes.

This is definitely a very good point. My wife is 40, recently diagnosed and were both social workers. She's the absolute queen of masking to the point everyone she meets professionally doubts her diagnosis unless they see her in a moment of transition (or get her started on special interests!). But the payoff is a cost to her mental health and the impact on the rest of her day.

Flo's story really resonated to her and some would resonate with other people. But we haven't even watched the whole of one programme as it was so much to process. I think there could be a real challenge to someone who was able to fully understand the whole programme academical but not emotionally process it.

snowtrees · 24/02/2023 09:31

I watched - thx! Very good.

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