My 16 yo son was recently diagnosed with ASD, ADHD, and anxiety. He got angry at the ASD diagnosis, because “it means all my quirks aren’t really me, it’s the autism.” He has been DEEP in Defense Mode for a long time, so I definitely need to learn more about that. I just heard that term today. Any advice on an approach to take to get him out of Defense Mode when I’m pretty sure the words ‘autism’, ’spectrum’, or ‘Asperger’s’ will trigger Defense Mode?

Posted by trish.little at 2023-03-29 23:12:50 UTC