We have recently found out that our 9 yr old daughter has autism,to add to her epilepsy,adhd and learning difficulties and speech and language problems.
When i told my mum that Sophie has autism all i got was 'oh well' and that was it the subject was dropped,this shocked and disgusted me and made me very angry that my own mum could have that attitude towards her grandchild.
Has anybody else had this kind of response from there parents,if yes how did it make you feel.

sorry to hear that, i have 2 son's with a very rare bone disorder, and feeding problems, i dont think some of my fmily know how to deal with it sometimes, they would help me in anyway but sometimes its like they dont know how to be with my eldest son

Maybe it'll take a while for the news to sink in with them, my daughter has Global Developmental Delay and it did take a while for her dad/her dad's parents to accept it and that it IS a condition she has, and she does have disabilities and no, all her vocabulary and mobility issues WEREN'T going to just resolve themselves overnight. Things are better with them now but sometimes they say something that makes me want to scream "You just don't GET it, do you?"

I hope they come round in time, hun. Maybe to them a "label" doesn't make a difference, it doesn't to some people, to me getting Maddie a proper diagnosis has definitely helped matters, it's definitely helped get her the help she needs.

Grandparents are odd! All those things they used to come down on you for, now seem like nothing. They mellow with age and definitely when there Grand children are involved they seem even more relaxed. My dad asked who we had to go and see to get my daughters Cerebral Palsy fixed. They want to make things better for you, but it seems if it is not something they can fix then ignoring it or making out that it makes no difference is a defence mechanism.
I have no doubt there are a lot of conversations that go on behind closed doors that they just don't want you to see. Think of it as they love her no matter what, and it wont change the way they see her or behave with her.

Hi Helen,
I was just wondering if your parents knew what actual autism was?
Older people have many misconceptions about many medical conditions including autism.
Older people dealt with disabilities in a whole new way to our generations and because of this many seem quite distant about things.
Maybe you could approach the subject again one day and ask them what they know about autism and then try and fill them in with more details