is it really worth having a diagnosis ?? what affect will it have later on ??

[Anonymous]

#4706

Hi my son is 6 years old we have been wondering about some kind of autism with him for a while now and we are now thinking we do need to get things checked out for him but we do have a couple of nagging questions we can not really find an answer to so i was hoping someone may be able to help. if we get a diagnosis what sort of impact will it have on him in the future? will it affect his job prospects just because he has a label? would anyone say they would of been better off without the diagnosis because the label is what people see instead of seeing you for the person you are?thank you Claire

[Anonymous]

#5698

As a 31 year old man who only got diagnosed a few years ago… I would have to say there is no easy or straight forward answer to your question.We are all different, have different past experiences that mould us and as a result respond differently to life.Personally, I believe there is good to both an early and late diagnosis. I struggled for many years and as the old cliche goes, those experiences that did not kill me, made me stronger, the lack of support I had through those hardships made me a stronger man today... I went from housebound to running 840 miles of the Wales coastal path in 6 weeks, over 30 marathons in 6 weeks for charity. How, because my past experiences has enabled growth.If I was diagnosed earlier, I may have received a lot more support and not have been given those opportunities to grow through hardship, we learn most not from ease but from adversity, in my opinion.However, I do feel that if have a well balanced home life and personal life, you could nurture your child appropriately whether they have a diagnosis or not. Behaviourally speaking there is such a thing as "Self Fulfilling prophecy", simply thinking we have something can change our behaviour, if we think our disabilities limit us, they will end up limiting us, but if we acknowledge our disabilities but do not see them as limitations then we can continue to grow, so if you get a diagnosis, do not moddy coddle and allow the child to believe they have weaknesses and limitations, because moddy coddling makes people less strong, less independent and the limitations will become real, as the quote goes, "he who thinks he can and he who thinks he can't are both right".So, it depends, what do you think a diagnosis will bring... financial benefit and support? Help at school? Maybe then it could be worth while... however I failed school due to my issues and have since spent years self educating and have now spent 3 years at higher education and hoping to progress through to a doctorate, I study Computer Science and Maths, so struggling at school while young is not a indicator of future educational capabilities.If you feel capable of providing the extra educational support, and financial support it not a necessity, then maybe diagnosis isn't a necessity, labelling can cause changes in your behaviour toward the child and the child's own perspective of themselves (Self fulfilling prophercy). I did struggle for many years due to the lack of knowing, what was wrong with me, why I was the way I was; the diagnosis did nothing for me as an adult, I did not want financial support or educational support, I am working and studying at higher education, what my diagnosis did for me is provide an answer to something that had plagued me all my life, why I was the way I was, so I appreciate that piece of mind, but wouldn't change the way it played out.Sorry this does not answer but there is no answer, no one knows how your child in particular will respond, but it depends on what you hope to achieve, as I said, if they are having problems in life and you don't feel equipped to support them and help them become a well balanced individual then get a diagnosis and see what support may be out there for you, but be aware of moddy coddling and self limiting behaviour, make sure they know they are capable of anything, if they put their minds to it, support them and encourage them to independence, education, self discipline and most importantly happiness; through emotional and other forms of support, encouragement and helping self development.If you feel capable of providing all your child needs and they are not suffering in particular in life, maybe a diagnosis at this stage won't achieve much, labels are just that, labels, they don't technically change anything, your child will still be the same person they were before and after, the only use to having that label is if they are in need of the kinds of support your family can't provide, then the label is important.

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