Telling my child he has aspergers?

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My child is 7 years old and was diagnosed with Aspergers when he was 5 and a half. Lately I've finally gotten involved with an autism society and signed him up 4 disbility. He's been asking me where I'm going and what I'm doing and we try very hard to always tell the truth. I dont think he'll really understand what he has, but I'm torn because he is so smart and I think he might like to know why he does the things he does. What does someone think?

Tell him straight. He deserves to know why he's different. If he found out on his own, he could get angry and hold a grudge later on.

You'd be surprised how aware a 7 year old is.

My son was diagnosed when he was 7 years old, and I told him a few months later when an opportunity presented itself. Your son is giving you that opportunity, and I think you should take it.

Try to explain it to him at his level. It may not be the most pleasant conversation, but in the long run it will be the right thing to do. My mother didn't tell me until years after my diagnosis, and only because I overheard her talking about it with someone else. I kept wondering why she didn't tell me sooner.

Thank you so much for your input. I have no one to talk to about his disorder but my husband and he is resistant to discuss things too much.

Does your child realize that he is different? In my opinion that is the time to tell them.

If not and you (or your husband) aren't sure, maybe try and approach it from the angle that your going somewhere to learn more about being a good Mom to him because he's such and amazing kid and see if this satisfies him or if he pushes it any further. If he pushes it further then I'd say he was ready.

DISCLAIMER: I am an adult on the spectrum who was formally diagnosed as an adult and do not have spectrum kids of my own.

There are tons of other parents in the parenting forum that would be happy to chat with you about it. (I would offer, but I doubt you would want to talk to a 15 year old girl with Aspergers.)

You should tell him right away. I wish that I was told when I was a child, instead of at the age of 15. I knew that I was different as a child, though I didn't know why. I was convinced that I had more serious problems than just AS. I was convinced that I was Mentally Challenged because the regular kids kept on asking me if I was. I also thought that I was put into Special ED as a punishment for not reaching my milestones on time. If I would have known the truth at a young age, I would have lived my childhood and early adolescence differently.