How did you tell your child about their Diagnosis?

Hi.  We had a book written from a child's perspective...something called What is Aspergers Syndrome...soRory I can't remember the title but we got it on Amazon.I had been reading it and showed it to mdaughter and as she read the recognition of herself struck and she kept saying 'that's just like me!'. And then she said 'i have Aspergers syndrome!'. I asked her why she thought that was the case and she told me it was because she was like the boy in the book which was a positive thing for her because she had been complaining for so long that she felt different to everyone else in her class and had no friends.

We deliberately gave her the book immediately before we visited her clinical psychologist to discuss the diagnosis.  We wanted her to be mentally prepared but also to have access to a professional person with whom to ask any questions.  We framed it as an extremely positive thing.  Everyone has strengths and weaknesses and as someone with As there may be certain things that she would find easiediff ore difficult, but  this was just like everyone else in the world.  

By the time we'd finished her younger sister said she wanted to have Aspergers too!  

Mdaughter goes through times when she is upset she has it and other times when she feels like it is an 'unfair advantage' o er others because of her astonishing memory or advanced musical skills.  Nonetheless, a year after diagnosis she seems to accept it as just one part of what makes her herself and she is able to communicate openly about who she wants to know and who she doesn't, when she is happy or when she wishes she didn't have it.

Good luck with breaking the news!

Hi.  We had a book written from a child's perspective...something called What is Aspergers Syndrome...soRory I can't remember the title but we got it on Amazon.I had been reading it and showed it to mdaughter and as she read the recognition of herself struck and she kept saying 'that's just like me!'. And then she said 'i have Aspergers syndrome!'. I asked her why she thought that was the case and she told me it was because she was like the boy in the book which was a positive thing for her because she had been complaining for so long that she felt different to everyone else in her class and had no friends.

We deliberately gave her the book immediately before we visited her clinical psychologist to discuss the diagnosis.  We wanted her to be mentally prepared but also to have access to a professional person with whom to ask any questions.  We framed it as an extremely positive thing.  Everyone has strengths and weaknesses and as someone with As there may be certain things that she would find easiediff ore difficult, but  this was just like everyone else in the world.  

By the time we'd finished her younger sister said she wanted to have Aspergers too!  

Mdaughter goes through times when she is upset she has it and other times when she feels like it is an 'unfair advantage' o er others because of her astonishing memory or advanced musical skills.  Nonetheless, a year after diagnosis she seems to accept it as just one part of what makes her herself and she is able to communicate openly about who she wants to know and who she doesn't, when she is happy or when she wishes she didn't have it.

Good luck with breaking the news!