Autism and ADHD
Hello again everyone.
I said I would write a bit more about my experiences with autism.
Did you know that autism and ADHD are very closely related?
I have three children and two grandchildren. All of them have autism and two of them also have ADHD.
My eldest child Liam is now 33 years old and only in the last few years we have realised he is autistic. I hear you asking how did he get to be this age and we’ve only just realised.
When he was a young child I knew he had his own ways of needing to know things. If we went out shopping for example he needed to know which shops we needed and which order we would go into them. He couldn’t cope if they were done in the wrong order or I realised I needed other shops too.
I had no experience of children or adults with autism so it never occurred to me that he was different. I just thought he had his little quirks!
I had my daughter Kirstey when Liam was 3 years old. She was a dare devil for want of a better description! If she could climb it she did! She had zero sense of danger. When she was 5 she was diagnosed with ADHD which explained why I had to always be on high alert to make sure she was kept safe. I avoided her being put on medication till her sister Jade was born. At that point I had to use medication to help keep her grounded and as safe as possible. This is where ADHD and autism are so closely linked. It was only a couple of months ago that the Drs said she is also autistic, but the ADHD hides most of her autistic traits due to it being more prevalent.
When I realised that Jade also had something the professionals kept insisting that it was learned behaviour from Kirstey. No matter how many times we said she is totally different to Kirstey.
Apparently they knew best! Jade is now 22 and finally going through the process of getting an official diagnosis of autism. She was late in talking and had to have speech therapy,. Then there’s the obsessions! She was obsessed with lightning McQueen and all things cars. She still is! Now she is obsessed with Stitch. He is her spirit animal as she says. She named her car Stitch!
Both my grandsons are autistic. The eldest one lives with me and has done since he was born. It took 8 years of fighting to get his diagnosis! Thankfully as Connor had his diagnosis his little brother got his quickly. He also has ADHD like their mum. Like his mum before him if he can climb it he does! He is always on the go!
A final thought!
Remember you are not alone! Reach out and a listening ear is there to just listen or help you.
Clare