Introduction (2)

New to Carers Connect
1

Hi.

My name is Paula and I live in Cheshire :wave:

I’ve looked after my daughter all her life through many ups and downs. She finally got a diagnosis of autism last December and is also being checked for bipolar. It’s a relief, but also a massive learning curve. Only recently have I realised I’m a carer and registered as one with my GP.

Would love to chat with others in a similar situation as it can be very stressful at times.

Thanks :blush:

2

Hi Paula, how old is your daughter? There are a number of people here who are in a fairly similar situation.

3

Hello Paula

Welcome

I’m a carer for my two sons one autistic and one with a learning disability. One is school age and one older. One of mine was diagnosed quite late and it was a relief as we had felt it for quite some time.

Always happy to chat or listen as well.

It’s a minefield having to fight for every scrap of support.

4

Hi Paula,

welcome to the forum. I care for S he has autism and related learning difficulties. The good thing about autism is that there are lots of strategies that can really make a difference. Girl’s with autism often present differently to boys, which is why it’s not always diagnoses until later. The National Autistic society has lots of useful resources and advice.

Does your daughter accept her diagnosis? If so, it might really help her to do some research to help her better understand her autism side.

Is your daughter an adult? If so she might enjoy reading The Subtle Spectrum: An Honest Account of Autistic Discovery, Relationships and Identity by Joanna Grace, who is herself autistic and had a late diagnosis too.

I don’t know much about caring for someone with bi-polar but others on here do. The Mind and Youngminds website have some good information though.

Melly1

5

Hi. My daughter is 27. It’s been a long process

…
Thanks Melly 1. I will certainly look into the book you suggest. She does accept her diagnosis, is almost grateful for it! So I think she is willing to research it.

6

Hi
She’s 27. It’s been a long time before we got a diagnosis! Just glad we have one now!

7

it’s a relief getting the diagnosis isn’t it Paula? I always felt my daughter might be autistic but nobody listened to me and was finally diagnosed when she was about 30.

My daughter also has learning difficulties but comes across as very able. She is quite small so people still assume she is much younger.

I am sure you will get a lot of support on here. :+1:

8

Hi Penny. Thanks :blush: It is a relief! She’s spent her life thinking she was ‘weird’ and finding it hard to mix with others.

9

Hi Cloudygal

It is a minefield. I’m still battling for psychologist appointments to assess bpd/bipolar. Everything takes sooo long!

10

Thanks for your replies everyone. My daughter is 27 and only got a diagnosis last December, so we’ve waited a long time! Still battling for follow up appointments from mental health team. Hopefully get some advice on here from everyone.

Thanks :blush:

11

Paula,

we are out here in cyber space to offer support, share experiences and signpost you to information we know about.

Melly1

12

Hi Paula,

Just wanted to give you a warm welcome to the forum. if you do find that sharing your own experiences and hearing the experiences of similarly situated individuals makes you feel better, Carers UK are running online weekly meet ups for unpaid carers to take some time for themselves and chat to other carers. Feel free to join if you’d like to and there’s no pressure to share anything you don’t want to.
https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/get-support/share-and-learn-online-sessions