Could this be autism..

[wondering133]

Or normal parenting stress?

My son is awaiting an autism assessment.. since being told he may be autistic I've been told wondering if I could be too and thinking maybe I should get assessed too.. only because I think if I am it may help knowing??

For example (and forgive me as this could just be normal parenting stress) but I find it affects me more than others?? I get very overstimulated and overwhelmed easily and especially when caring for my children...

For example doing multiple things at once - I.e getting myself ready in the morning can make me feel very overwhelmed, stressed and angry.. like there's too many things to do at once within a time limit.. noise is very stressful for me- things banging and dropping makes me feel angry..

Sometimes I feel so stressed with too much noise from the kids that I have the urge to hit myself in the head. I am currently on sertraline fo generalized anxiety and OCD. I'm just wondering after all the things I've read for my son if this could possibly be high functioning autism in anyone else's experience (I've read it can be hereditary) ...and if it's worth me getting it checked out too or is this just normal parenting stress...?

Thankyou so much in advance. X

It could be but you wouldn’t gain anything from a diagnosis anyway as there is no treatment or aftercare. Some people say it helps then psychologically to know the reason for their issues but I can’t really see the point in adult diagnosis if you’ve managed to get this far in life

For any parent of a child who's been accepted for assessment, it is worth considering.

You can read up on it and take steps to help yourself alongside pursuing diagnosis. Look at getting loop earplugs, set a norm in your family that mum is stepping out for 10 mins' quiet time to regulate herself. You may find mindfulness helps, some people swear by it. I listen to rainforest noises for 10 mins with closed eyes. You don't need a diagnosis or permission from anyone and a diagnosis doesn't come with someone telling you/giving you this stuff. You're allowed to JFDI. I hope you do - you deserve to feel more regulated and grounded too.

Autism can be mistaken for OCD/anxiety or can sit alongside it. Finding anything wildly irritating can "just" be anxiety but the world might make more sense if you see the irritant through the lens of autism. It is worth discussing with your GP at your next medical review. In a sense it doesn't much matter where the anxiety ends and the autism starts, or vice versa. You are who you are and you should be kind to yourself in whatever ways you find helpful. But reading up about autism might give you some ideas to try to get to the heart of the problem and help you find life a bit easier .

I disagree very strongly. Having a diagnosis allows you to recognise what’s going on in your mind. To put in place strategies to prevent/alleviate burnout. I coped relatively well until I had children but the mental overload causes repeated breakdowns/burnout.

A diagnosis also allows for reasonable accommodations in the workplace.

I'm in a similar place as you. My daughter was diagnosed this year and it has shown me that I don't just suffer with anxiety and mood swings, that there is much more going on with me. I don't think I will go for diagnosis right now, but as I'm learning what helps my daughter I'm also learning about what helps me.

I very strongly disagree with this! It is absolutely worth pursuing a diagnosis if you think you might be on the spectrum.

Following on from a pp, what would make me go for a diagnosis would be if I was struggling at work and they weren't open to reasonable adjustments without a diagnosis. I'm lucky I have been able to reduce my hours and work flexibly during the week (just to help work life balance, they didn't need any further reason).

But alot of people can so that anyway although I appreciate a diagnosis may be useful for some if they do need adjustments at work depending on the job. I’m in my 50s and would say I’m most probably autistic, i have a son that was diagnosed 10 years ago and is in a specialist school and it does tend to run in families. I have got to this point in my life and most of my friends are probably more on a neuro diverse side, I have a job where a can quite a number of neurodiverse people who work with us, no idea if they are diagnosed or not. I don’t need a diagnosis to tell me I struggle and need loop earphones, or that I hate talking to people on the phone etc. and I think that people getting a diagnosis and thinking it is suddenly going to solve any issues they have are going to be disappointed. I appreciate that for some people the validation of why they have struggled through life etc is useful but i just think the vast majority of people that would probably be diagnosed as autistic if they were to seek a diagnosis don’t actually need one.

It could be autism, but also may not be. Is there anything else you struggle with, or any other traits that you’ve always had? I was diagnosed with ASD and ADHD in my 30s, and whilst I do recognize what you say about parenting your DCs, my traits and issues were very apparent before I had DCs too , right from childhood. You probably wouldn’t get a diagnosis if it’s just the parenting you struggle with, but if there are other things from childhood onwards then it’s worth perusing.