How do I tell my son he has Asperger's?

Hello

My son's school suggested our then 9 year old should see a specialist due to suspected asperger's.  We ummed and ahhed about this for a while and then months later decided to initiate proceedings. We had not yet discussed this with our son as we thought the process would take some time.  Coincidentally, his class had started reading "The London Eye Mystery" by Siobhan Dowd - the main narrator has Asperger's - and one evening he asked his dad "What is autism? Do I have autism?"

It completely opened up the conversation with him.  He became quite desperate to know when he could see a specialist (and perhaps, temporarily, related a little too closely to the main character in the book so it became difficult to know if the book was reflecting what my son felt, or if my son was projecting what was in the book iyswim).  We decided to go private and indeed got the diagnosis.  It was like a big relief to him - finally there was an explanation as to why he felt so different from his peers.  

It sounds like you already have a diagnosis, and if so, did your son ask any questions about this?  Perhaps you would like to read The London Eye Mystery first and then see if he would like to read it.  

best regards
S

Hello

My son's school suggested our then 9 year old should see a specialist due to suspected asperger's.  We ummed and ahhed about this for a while and then months later decided to initiate proceedings. We had not yet discussed this with our son as we thought the process would take some time.  Coincidentally, his class had started reading "The London Eye Mystery" by Siobhan Dowd - the main narrator has Asperger's - and one evening he asked his dad "What is autism? Do I have autism?"

It completely opened up the conversation with him.  He became quite desperate to know when he could see a specialist (and perhaps, temporarily, related a little too closely to the main character in the book so it became difficult to know if the book was reflecting what my son felt, or if my son was projecting what was in the book iyswim).  We decided to go private and indeed got the diagnosis.  It was like a big relief to him - finally there was an explanation as to why he felt so different from his peers.  

It sounds like you already have a diagnosis, and if so, did your son ask any questions about this?  Perhaps you would like to read The London Eye Mystery first and then see if he would like to read it.  

best regards
S