Episode 6 feedback from an autistic

 wanderee:

@IMYourOnlyOne I have a question. Is it common for a neurotypical parent or guardian to adapt some of the habits (like fixing things) of his autistic child?

Oooh, that is a very good question.

While at home with their autistic child? It may become natural at home because they already knew how their child would react.

In other areas of their life? Maybe, maybe not. Some would, naturally, some would still do it because they miss their child who probably is on a vacation somewhere or have grown up and moved out. Some would not.

It does not mean that they are suddenly autistic too. If there is one generally accepted information about autism is that a person is born autistic, it is not acquired.

Today, more and more parents are also getting diagnosed as autistics because they are resonating with their autistic child. They got curious, got a diagnosis, and confirmed their hunches.

This is one reason why the possibility that autism is genetics is getting more plausible. (Other than the actual genetics of course.)

It also gives credence why resonating with an autistic is acceptable within the autistic community. There are countless of reasons why an adult never got a diagnosis, and more often than not, their discovery starts with resonating with an autistic. Unfortunately, outside of the autistic community, there are people who are gatekeeping autism and invalidating these people.

If you are a parent who is resonating with your autistic child, join autistic communities, learn more about autism in adults. Maybe you are. Maybe not. If an official diagnosis is important for you, then find one specializing in autism in adults. Diagnosing autism in adults is different from diagnosing a kid. Autistics, be it undetected or not, learns to mask as they grow up. This is why it is hard for adults to get proper diagnosis … there are already a lot of masks.

But again, going back, if just acquiring "fixing" things, it's 50-50. Some do it for reason, some do it naturally, beyond that they're still just them.