Autism

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Raemond Nov 2023 6:47pm, 16 Nov 2023 11,091 posts	0 Raemond FWIW I feel that things definitely got harder for me in the FCDO after I 'came out' as autistic, and ultimately it was realising that I would be punished much more severely for ever letting my masking slip than any NT person would for exhibiting exactly the same behaviour, all the time, that made me quit. Allistics can fuck the fuck off with their irrational, hypocritical, bullshit.
Flatlander Nov 2023 6:55pm, 16 Nov 2023 2,967 posts	0 Flatlander A Rae in a manger that's what I fear would have happened to me if I had been diagnosed while I was still at work, as I mentioned on the last page. As I also wrote, there are some places which treat autistic people very well. It seems to be very variable as to which place is which.
Raemond Nov 2023 6:59pm, 16 Nov 2023 11,092 posts	0 Raemond Yeah, I suspect even other branches of the civil service would have been better, and emerging tech might even go the other way and be as difficult sector for allistics folks. Truly, from the very heart of my bottom, though: fuck the FCDO and the unicron they rode in on.
Mandymoo Nov 2023 8:55am, 18 Nov 2023 17,753 posts	0 Mandymoo Do any of you have any experience with violence with autistic teenagers?
Raemond Nov 2023 9:19am, 18 Nov 2023 11,107 posts	0 Raemond Only my older sibling beating me up a lot, but a) we didn't know autism was a factor at the time and b) my mother's way of handling it was to say it must have been my own fault for winding them up, so nothing helpful to offer there I'm afraid. There were occasional incidents involving non family members as well, but not often and not as serious, so I don't think anyone considered there was a particular violence problem beyond all the other issues they clearly had (my sibling was horribly bullied at school, the violent incidents were in response to being picked on) and started having counselling in their early teens iirc, which I think helped somewhat despite not being autism specific. I don't remember any particular violence issues after they turned 15 or so.
Flatlander Nov 2023 9:57am, 18 Nov 2023 2,970 posts	0 Flatlander Merrymoo Probably not directly relevant - When we were children, my brother (older than me ) often used to punch me hard , and when he was an adult I once witnessed him punch his dog and on another occasion really thump his young son. 4 years ago when I was preparing for my autism diagnosis, I sent him my Childhood Questionnaire to fill in (both parents were dead so he was the only person who knew me as a child) and I included the AQ50 and EQ60 forms to give him an idea of what the examiners would be looking for. He replied that he had answered both forms for himself and scored very highly, and subsequently has said that he thinks he could be autistic but is not going to get tested. ** He has some noise sensitivities (but volume related than type of noise) so I suspect his punching me was partially a result of that. I don't think our mother knew how much, if at all, he used to punch me, because he always did it when no one else was around. Mind you, one day I was so sick of his punching that I threw a knife at him intending to injure him. Fortunately for him, my aim was so bad I missed and broke the window behind him. Of course, he gave me a real beating for that. My mother would have noticed the broken window so known something had happened - I guess my brother blamed it on me (correct, I did do it) but omitted what he was doing to me. It could well be that all that was just older sibling bullying rather than autistic related.
halfpint Nov 2023 10:05am, 18 Nov 2023 40,296 posts	0 halfpint We have a website with a range of info/resources that might be helpful Merrymoo. The layout is awful but if you go to A-Z there are sections on behaviour and around teenagers. thepineshighland.com
Mandymoo Nov 2023 10:18am, 18 Nov 2023 17,755 posts	0 Mandymoo Thank you - will take a look
jelly Nov 2023 6:03pm, 18 Nov 2023 5,860 posts	0 jelly My eldest was very violent, most of it directed at me. He’s 20 now and less turbulent.
Homeless Kodo Nov 2023 3:32pm, 21 Nov 2023 2,126 posts	0 Homeless Kodo Just had a screening assessment. The Psychologist had enough information & enough of an impression that it took half an hour instead of an hour. Now waiting on the next assessment which could take 18-20 months as they’re so busy. I refused to have my parents involved in the next assessment stage because they were violent, which he accepted without question, he then said childhood trauma can look a lot like autism. That’s made my head spin a bit.