My child has recently been diagnosed with autism, it's pretty obvious that he has inherited it from my partner who doesn't have a formal diagnosis but presents as very clearly on the spectrum.
I received a letter today from the paediatricans confirming his diagnosis in writing along with some information sheets.
On one of these sheets there was a paragraph about how siblings of a child with autism have a 1 in 5 chance of having the same condition.
I took this opportunity to tentatively ask my partner whether he has ever considered that his DD (from a previous) relationship may be on the spectrum and explained the statistics. There was a reason I asked, I have long since noticed she has some traits.
He reacted in quite a hostile way, raising his voice and saying "what do you expect me to do about it, I can't force her mum to have her assessed" then went off on a tangent about how he has few rights, not being the resident parent.
I was taken aback and said "hold on, I'm not saying you need to force anybody to assess her, I'm just asking you if you've ever thought it was a possibility"
Cue more ranting from him.
I wondered whether his anger stemmed from guilt but he ruled that out.
There is now a horrible atmosphere.
Was I out of line here?