Identifying Autistic Boomers and Gen X

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This video blew me away.

It's about identifying neurodivergent seniors, particularly Boomers.
It speaks for our parents and grandparents in generations gone by.

I thought I'd heard it all before about ND, but I love how this person explains it.

I've always considered my dad's side as autistic.
Now I can see it for sure in my mother's -- and even her parents.

Number 16 made me cry my eyes out for my mum.
I think that's EXACTLY why we've always had a difficult relationship.

I hope you all find this helpful when considering your parents in new ways.





https://youtu.be/tG4Ul6dKzt4?si=3oIDfgVXiv4VUiZz

This was a lot to take in. It made me think of my dad and his brother. When I was being diagnosed at 11 years old, my dad was in a couple of the appointments. My psychologist suggested some resources for him to be diagnosed or get therapy. He was "unofficially" diagnosed. But he isn't the only one on his side. His brother and two of his brothers' children were diagnosed with ASD shortly after me.

I study agriculture in university right now and I stumbled upon articles showing how exposure to agricultural chemicals to mothers around conception and during pregnancy increases the chance autism in children and grandchildren of those mothers. It hit me close because my grandmother and grandfather, my father's parents, were migrant workers in the 60s (when my dad and uncle were born) and were exposed to a lot of chemicals, sometimes even getting sprayed or walking in puddles of these chemicals.

My father and his brother were sent off to the military right after high school to be "fixed" with a routine and strict rules. When I was showing signs of the "lastname gene" as my family calls it, my father and uncle were the first to recommend military type schooling because it helped them. My father got into computer programming specifically because his job requires working with people less. And his brother is in data analysis for the government, also because he gets to interact with people less. They both have specific interest in their field.

I can't imagine what it was like for them as children. I know they were beaten a lot and had a lot of trouble in K-12 but besides that, things must have been so hard, especially since the environment they were in here in Texas was hostile to mexican immigrants.

Most of what she discussed I have experienced in one way or another.

I'm 69. I found out I was ASD-1 when I was 64. So I fit under the ND Baby-boomer umbrella.

I'm not sure how useful I'd be for a young Autie. I relied on perseverance and accepting lots of unhappiness.

How do you teach: You will be unhappy but keep going, don't give up?


.

I honestly have heard so many stories about my grandmother and how strange she was, I have often thought she might have been ND

My grandmother was pre-boomer

I'm an older Gen X and it all applies to me, but I'm already diagnosed.
I also knew there was a strong likelihood of neurodiversity in my family tree.
Now I see it in all of my elders.
I can't think of anyone other than some cousins who wouldn't have been ND.

I've watched the video now.

Most of the elders that come to mind with her list of signs are my bio dad and older brother.

Bio dad was diagnosed with ADHD in the 70s. (Before the ADHD label was officially adopted, apparently? But that's what my grandmother said, he was diagnosed at age 6.)
Older brother was diagnosed with.... a lot of things, among them ADHD though there's some tossup over whether he actually has it or not. He's in his 40s. Most definitely ND in any case.

I didn't know my maternal grandmother well enough to recognize the stuff they mentioned.

diagnosed at 68 and recognized my mothers' and her mother's autism, once i was able to see my own, even though they were both "long gone" finally my past made sense. This video is a great find, I plan to steal the link and share it, thanks for the post!

I'm another late-diagnosed Boomer who appreciates this video, thanks. I recognize not only myself but also a lot of women in my mother's family.

I couldn't get past the 'Boomers' and 'Gen X' stuff.

Maybe it's because I spent my whole life being called 'weird', and now that I have a diagnosed condition which defines and describes my personal situation, I'm naturally averse to being casually categorised into another convenient pigeonhole.

Just call me an 'old person'. Or an 'older person'. Even an 'old git' is acceptable. But I'm out of the box now, and I'm not being put back into another one.

I'm 100% convinced my grandmother was autistic and my mother is autistic. I think my dad was too. My dad went no contact with his parents ever since I could remember. He never talked about them and we never saw them. We just didn't talk about my father's parents. My mother's father passed away when she was very young so I never knew him. Just her mother who probably was autistic.

This is the difference v disability debate.

Lots of NTs including family relatives may display autistic like traits or BAP (broad autism phenotype) but they are not to the level of autism or where it is a serious problem impacting independent life or employment prospects, this is particularly true for male relatives and less so for female ones as traditionally less expectations were placed on them.

We see the undiagnosed labelling of those with BAP as autistic with celebrities and historical figures forgetting these people were not disabled at all by their so called personality type in the same way most autistic people are.

How do you know they weren't disabled by their neurotype?

My grandfather held a job and did the best he could before going AWOL and eventually shooting himself in the head. My grandmother had considerable depression from the social requirements of masking, acting neurotypical around other women, wearing uncomfortable clothing, raising children without a moment to herself, and dealing with sensory overload in a house with 24/7 babies and pregnancy despite her sensitivities.

Many people of those generations (including my own) developed considerable mental health struggles which they dealt with in private lest they be shut up in psychiatric care.

* Glances at The Bell Jar with longing *