• Replies 13 replies
  • Subscribers 65 subscribers
  • Views 2377 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Related
Hints and tips
  • To quote someone's message, first select/highlight the relevant text, and then use the Quote button that appears
  • To "mention" someone, type @ followed by the start of the forum name, and choose from the list; that person will get a notification of being mentioned

telling your child their diagnosis

simon

Hi -my son is 8 years old and diagnonsed with high functioning autism 18 months ago. He struggles with social situations, making friends and staying calm as well as managing his immense anxiety. He has a part time LSA at school.  

We have so far not told him his diagnosis as we felt it would not really help him and might be detrimental. We talk in terms of him having difficulties others don't and needing support for this reason.  However, we feel that it may be time to tell him he has ASD and then linked to this maybe to be more open about his diagnosiswith others as well. (we wouldn't do this if he doesn't know himself).

However, we don't want him to feel labelled and for this to have a negative effect. Opinion seems to be divided on whether it is a good idea to tell a child this age when they are high functioning asit is perhaps not so obvious to others with these children.  Not sure if this post makes sense...hope it does! Appreciate thoughts.  Thank you.

Parents

  • I can't believe it was over a year since i posted on this. we did go ahead and tell my son his diagnosis - by showing him an arthur episode about asd and then talked to him about differences. i think he was hugely relieved to know that he was not totally alone and that other people had similar difficulties to him. it has made it easier for all of us being able to talk about it - not as an excuse for his behaviour but to help access support and explain to others what can help him. it also made it easier to talk to his sibilings about how everyone has things they find easy and things they find difficult in life and he has particular ones that have got a name. i think it was good that we didn't try and have a discussion with him when he was 7 and diagnosed but by 8 and a half he could kind of understand what we were telling him.  Hard decision but think it worked okay for us! Good luck...

Reply

  • I can't believe it was over a year since i posted on this. we did go ahead and tell my son his diagnosis - by showing him an arthur episode about asd and then talked to him about differences. i think he was hugely relieved to know that he was not totally alone and that other people had similar difficulties to him. it has made it easier for all of us being able to talk about it - not as an excuse for his behaviour but to help access support and explain to others what can help him. it also made it easier to talk to his sibilings about how everyone has things they find easy and things they find difficult in life and he has particular ones that have got a name. i think it was good that we didn't try and have a discussion with him when he was 7 and diagnosed but by 8 and a half he could kind of understand what we were telling him.  Hard decision but think it worked okay for us! Good luck...

Children
No Data