Telling a child that they have Autism is always going to be hard. There is no "set way", or set age to do it. in fact, some parents choose not to tell their children anything out of fear that the child will simply not comprehend the diagnosis.
When I told my son he had Autism, he seemed confused. I explained it by saying that people with Autism are very good at some things, but find other things hard. they may also get angry easily.
He latched onto the "very good" part and didn't seem to process the rest!
Now, when he does something well, he says it is because he has Autism and he is very clever.
It's a start, I suppose.
Another issue I will have to tackle with him at some point concerns the Action for Children Group. He does not really understand why he goes there, but I know he is going to ask questions at some point. Only yesterday, I realised that he thought his brother and sister were in the "siblings group" because they were older than him and that he thought when he got older, he could join them in the siblings group too. Some of the children in his own group exhibit extreme behaviour and I wonder if he will ask me why he is in a group with them, because he doesn't see himself as different.
Am I even doing the right thing "labelling him" like this and sending him on trips with kids with challenging behaviour? His needs seem quite mild in comparison with some of the other kids that go to the group. One of the moms I spoke to who had a daughter with Autism refused to send her daughter to a special school because she was worried that the girl would see the other kids behaviour and regress herself.
There are no easy decisions here. I suppose the key is good communication and monitoring how he reacts to the group. At the moment he loves it. he went to the zoo with them yesterday and had a great time, so maybe I am worrying over nothing.
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