Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello everyone,
I am new to this forum. I have a 7yo boy who is on the spectrum. We received a formal diagnosis a couple of months ago. It's been though on me and I have been in denial for a while as he has always been bright academically. He is very smart, has a bubbly personality and wants to makes friends but lacks in social skills. He doesn't have many friends at school, is not invited to his peers birthday parties and is sad about it. We haven't discussed the diagnosis with him yet and his classmates are not aware.
When did you share the news with your child? with his/her classmates? Is 7yo not too early?
Also what do you do after a diagnosis? I have enrolled in a course to get a better understanding on the asd but I am clueless on the help that is available around. Do your children see psychologists regularly? Any information, suggestion would be very much appreciated!
Looking forward to your replies. Thank you!
Would he like to try an organised group, maybe one of the uniformed groups, a sports club or other activity-based programme? Several autistic kids that I know locally are involved with uniformed youth groups. One older lad (15) is about to finish his Duke of Edinburgh's Bronze Award with the local Boys Brigade. Last year we had two autistic brothers, a Beaver Scout (7) and a Cub Scout (9), taking an active part in our church Remembrance Day service, one laying a cross on a war grave in the churchyard, and his older brother reading the Kohima epitaph very confidently.
I was in both Scouts and Cadets as a kid and learned a lot of useful soft skills. The first few nights camping away from my parents were a bit daunting but made me a lot more independent and self-reliant. You need to find a group with a Leader who is autism-aware or prepared to find out, maybe one where there are other neurodiverse kids.