Published on 12, July, 2020
Hey :)
My son who is 11 was diagnosed with ASD about 3 weeks ago, we have been waiting for this for 9 years its been such a long journey.
the struggle i am facing is telling my son about his diagnosis, he have heard medical professional, family interventions teams, teachers, doctors pointed toward ADHD and my son have fixed on that now after my self and his father explained it may not be that etc and we need to wait whilst the ND team done their thing. Anyways for him to get support ready and the ball rolling for when he goes to year 7 comprehensive school we need to tell him about his diagnosis.
my question is, how did you tell your children or family member who had their diagnosis?
thanks in advance. x
Also I will say as someone who was diagnosed age 9 but not told the official diagnosis until I was almost leaving secondary, the sooner the better to tell your kids tbh, you don't want it to be this clandestine secretive thing leading him to believe he has something broken or shameful about himself. Or have him resent you for keeping it a secret. Just sit him down and give him the short version, with the emphasis on loving him all the same and being open to any questions he may have. You can't go too wrong with that. And tbh it is better because as social lives get more complicated in the teen years if you don't tell him he will wonder why he doesn't always "get it" like his peers which can lead to feelings of alienation, but if you do tell him he can at least know the reason and be more assured of himself, the key phrase here being "different not less than".(editted for typos and dyslexia)