Parents..how have you learnt to accept your Son/ daughter’s differences/challenges over the years?

CoffeeFirst

How has this been for you and what have you gone through?
My adult daughter, 22 has been diagnosed with ADHD and on the Autistic Spectrum and as it’s been a recent diagnosis I’ve struggled especially when I see other girls her age get on with life.

Does this get easier with time? Also, I’d love to chat with any other parents who are either going or gone through this. 

Alex_Alumni

Hi @CoffeeFirst thanks for starting this discussion, I'm sure it'll be a great help for anyone going through a similar experience. 

While I can't relate to your experience directly I think it's really positive that you're reaching out. Often with things we're finding difficult, having support can make a really big difference. I'm sure other parents will share their own experiences soon, but in the meantime I've marked your post as unanswered to help our members find it more easily.

If you've got any questions, please don't hesitate to ask, and I hope you're enjoying the festive season!

TheSallyB

Hi, i’m interested to chat with other parents also, my eldest son is teenage has adhd and a more recent diagnosis of asd - we find it particularly hard at times because we don’t know how to help him, who to ask to help us understand him and when you add his diagnoses to ‘usual’ teenage behaviours it can seem impossible, particularly as you said other kids of their age just seem to get on with life

Ross_Alumni

Hello @TheSallyB, welcome to the community. Sorry to hear that you find it challenging at times, but I'm sure that peer support will help you feel better, it's always useful to talk with others going through similar situations.

Scope have services that support families of disabled children, they are Parents Connect and Navigate, and you might find it worthwhile to read a bit more about those.

CoffeeFirst

Hi Alex; thanks for bumping my post, appreciated 😀. Happy New Year!

CoffeeFirst

Hi TheSallyB, you do sound in very similar circumstances as myself. I agree, it can be hard to distinguish between their difficulties and what they go through due to their age. 

As a parent it’s so hard to navigate through it all. I’m really just learning as I go along.
Happy New Year!

CoffeeFirst

Libby_Scope said:

Hello @CoffeeFirst, 

I just wanted to check in to see how you're getting on with things? Did you manage to gain anymore information/advice about parenting and children with ADHD/Autism? I've managed to find this resource on the ADHD Foundation The Neurodiversity Charity website - I hope you find it helpful as it details various guides to parenting children with ADHD etc.

I'm sorry that we couldn't answer your question directly, but if you have any other queries in the meantime, please feel free to reach out, and we will support as best as we can

Libby

Hi Libby,
Thanks so much for your reply and link. My daughter received her ADHD/ASD diagnosis late (20/21 years of age) and I was looking to connect with other parents and how they navigate through life with their young person. I do find lots of interesting things to read on here which does help me 😀. 

Thanks again, 
CF