Friends, Family & Carers Forum

[ivana]

Hi @Unicornsearcher,

Welcome to the forums.

Does your daughters psychiatrist think that Aspergers Syndrome is baloney in general or do they just differ on opinion whether specifically your daughter herself has it?

If it  is the first situation, then this is concerning but not surprising as unfortunately there are some Psychiatrists who still live/operate in the "dark ages" and don't "believe" in Autism spectrum disorders and often don't even have websites etc.

With females,it's been shown to be even more common for them to go undiagnosed for ASD (you probably already are aware of this).

What is your daughters opinion of all this and how is your relationship?

You mentioned your daughter not liking her current Psychiatrist-as she is an adult she has the option of requesting a different one.

How did your sister become involved and who's decision was it to place her as next of kin upon Hospital admission?

[Sissy88]

Thank you very much for that tip @Shaz51

[pip]

Dear @Unicornsearcher. Being told that something you believe to be true, may in fact not be the case, is distressing. Have you researched Asperger's to determine whether in fact your daughter has this condition? You said her diagnosis was determined at the age of 8, she is now 20, that's 18 years after initial diagnosis. Was she ever reviewed after the initial diagnosis? I actually work with someone with this and he often 'disappears' inside himself or will talk out loud. He also cares for an elderly mother. On the other side of the coin, he doesn't interact well with co-workers, but is willing to be there when needed. Having a diagnosis of bipolar is quite a different ball-game to Asperger's and if she does have these personality disorders, she is dealing with many issues. I hear the anxiety in your post and I'm left wondering if perhaps you are too close emotionally to help your daughter. Mothers often feel they know their kids better than anyone, I'm guilty of that myself. Maybe by stepping back for a time and observing how she responds to her psych. You can request a progress report, as her mother, I should imagine you have that right.
Being in denial of having mental health issues is usual. No-one likes to be 'labelled', your daughter is no different to anyone else in that respect. Disregard the label if you can and try to see her from her behaviour, not as your daughter.