Hello,
Our 9 year old son was recently diagnosed with autism and we're in the process of telling him.
Can anyone recommend a fact sheet, leaflet or something similar we can give to him to help him understand it better? Something that's not too negative and doesn't lead with how it's a disability or disorder that can cause people to have poor life outcomes (I know that is true but it might not be a good place to start!).
Obviously we will sit down with him and explain what we know (which isn't loads!) but it would be nice if he could have something he could read at his leisure?
I've looked at books but they are all quite heavy in terms of explaining the worst case scenarios of life on the spectrum. I don't want to overwhelm or scare him so soon.
He really liked the results from a personality test (16 Personalities) he did (unrelated to autism) and found that helpful in understanding himself a bit more.
Something like that, which focuses more on the positives or just explains a bit of what it's like to be autistic, rather than going into the negative aspects as most books seem to.
When he's older he can learn about that, but to begin with, something a bit more light and neutral would be better.
Sort of like, some people with autism love talking about their special interests, but aren't always interested in small talk. They find it fun to talk about topics in depth but can sometimes find it hard to express their emotions. They don't always understand sarcasm but can love jokes.
Thanks for reading.
