How to tell 8yr old about his ASD assessment beforehand?

hello, brand new here!

I'm looking for advice about how, or if, to tell our 8 yr old son that he's having an autism assessment in 10 days. My feeling is that we're better off telling him, given his personality and comfort in knowing what's happening in advance.

He has no learning difficulties so would be able to understand as well as any smart neurotypical 8 yr old. I'm just worried about him feeling 'different' (though I don't think he's too bothered about fitting in in general) or feeling like there's something 'wrong' with him.

His grandfather is most likely autistic and I'm also waiting for an assessment so maybe those are good things to bring up?. I also have EDS (I suspect he has the gene too) and we talk about that a lot and the benefits of understanding how you work so you can look after yourself properly - does that sound like a good tack to take?

I don't know anyone else in quite the same situation as us to ask, so any advice or thoughts are very welcome.

thank you!

Parents
  • Yes, I would tell him, and keep it factual. You know, just mention that you think it will be good to know, especially at school if he may need small changes to work even more effectively….Say many people don’t know they are autistic until they are ‘old’, so it would be nice to know nice and early. I’m sure you’ll find the right words, and not what I’ve spouted lol.

    (8 is a lovely age, and for most autistic people, the teen years are hard. It will be good for him to start learning his boundaries and exhaustion levels so he can manage them better when school stress starts creeping in.)

  • thank you catlover, were telling him this weekend so fingers crossed we'll find the right words. thanks for the support!

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