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Telling 9 years old about his diagnosis of autism

NAS81352

hi, my son is 9 years old, he was diagnosed at age of 4, he is low spectrum, high functioning, goes to main stream school, we are puzzled to how and when to discuss his autism with him, we haven't told him until yet as we didn't want him to feel different, will it be good for him to know that he is autistic and will it help him understand and deal with it, or will he be worried about it and make it an excuse if knows that he is autistic for things he can't or doesn't want to do. please share your thoughts and experiences.thanks

  • in reply to Lau

    Thanks, much appreciated . I'll definitely take your advice. 

  • I have always been honest with my son he’s 12 and he was diagnosed at age 7. I have a 4.5 year old that was diagnosed age 3. I am also neurodiverse and always talk about adhd and autism. I take my kids to ASN friendly outings and clubs. I am linked in with our local NAS and my son has carers who help out twice a week. My eldest is attending Autistic unit for high school and my youngest is at ASN nursery and will be attending ASN primary school. In our family it’s not like we can hide it and tbh I don’t think I would hide it if things were any different. It’s who they are. That’s my view for my family. 

    I do believe he has a right to know but what age you tell him at is ultimately your decision. 

  • Thanks Martin, you have made a very valid point, I think you are absolutely right and its definitely going to help us. 

  • Information is always better than ignorance. At your son's age, autism will be exactly what you want it to be for him. I would emphasise the positive aspects - ability to hyper-focus, enhanced problem solving, honesty, kindness and truthfulness, before investigating the more problematic aspects.