Could the future be brighter than we fear

[readyornot2011]

So my DS has no dx yet but he I know he is ASD although everyone who meets him assures me it's mild.

I'm struggling, panicking, anxious and not sleeping worrying about his future.

Here's the thing... I read a post here recently in which most people agreed that autism was genetic and that in retrospect they can see traits in older (non-dx) members of the family....

So is there really an 'autism explosion' or are we just more aware of the signs these days.....

These older ASD sufferers survived and in some cases prospered... with no diagnosis or help.

I think many 'prognosis' are based on cases that had to be pretty severe to get a diagnosis 15/20/30 years ago.

Our little ones with get all the help we can give them and grow up in a more understanding and aware world...

Does this give anyone else hope or am I kidding myself

Following this as I am in the same boat as you readyornot I too constantly worry about DS and his future. He is only 3yoa.

I think the same - maybe I'm also kidding myself ;)
Seriously my family have some quirky people who have done, as well, and often "better" average. They have got into niche special interest areas for a living and have thrived. In my family these people are 60 years + and they were born at/around the time when ASD (in its most extreme form) was first defined as a condition. It was the 1980s before the definition was widened to include Aspies. A couple of generations will have to pass before they get to grips with the whole lifecycle/presentation of ASD.

There isn't an autism explosion, I am very sure it is just improved tools for spotting it. My DS had signs at 15 months (we didn't know it at the time) which research only identified in the last 5 years or so. Skills and technology are improving all of the time, so DC are identified earlier and earlier.

I'm really interested in the link between ASD/Aspergers and Parkinson's. There are movement and social issues/impairments with both conditions. All the quirky oldies in our family have eye and tremor problems. I wonder whether the "ASD" behaviours in the younger members of the family are an early sign of Parkinson's... the incidence of Parkinson's in the older ASD community generally is supposed to be high.... time will tell!

My DS is 8 and diagnosed. I am in my 40s and score highly using online ASD screening tools - I have considered getting a private assessment but there is no real need and it is £££

Dh probably has adhd - undiagnosed, failed through school (he's smart), failed in job after job until he found his niche. He has little self confidence or self worth because of it. We r hoping that teaching our ds to understand himself will give him an easier passage than dh

I'm in the same boat as you OP and have similar hopes. Having said that, we can't think of any obvious ASD people in either of our families, though there is Anxiety on OH's side and mine are not great at socialising, so maybe there is some combination of traits that DD has got the worst of.

Interestingly I was discussing this possibility with my family recently zzzz when we were trying to figure out if we could have any family history. When social rules were more strict and straightforward and involved stiff upper lip rather than elaborate sharing it may have been easier to "learn" them.

So as socialising becomes more nuanced and complex ASD becomes more of a problem, leading to ASD being identified in the first place and then the criteria widened, and finally more people being dx.

Still means that historically dxed relatives may not be a good model for modern outcomes though. Feels like a field where diagnosis and interventions are shifting so fast that it's hard to find data to guide you (even if the social context stayed still, which it doesn't).

zzzzz you recommended Send in the Idiots on another thread ages ago - and I thought that was an excellent read. Interesting to see the progression of the kids who were in special school and how they have got on as adults.

Thank you for these recommendations : I hadn't come across either yet. I have been planning to read Far from the Tree, but some of the cases seem really hard so I'm a but scared of starting there...