 
Support Wrong Planet Awareness!
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
picklejah
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Joined: May 03, 2008
Posts: 57
Location: New England USA
|
 Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 9:26 pm Post subject: |
 |
|
My son turned 10 years old in May. I just told him today. He has asked lots of questions over the last few months (he said he thought he was retarded or had something wrong with his brain) and it just came up naturally in a conversation today. He is obsessed with cats, so I got him the book All Cat's Have Asperger Syndrome, by Kathy Hoopmann. And I also typed some information about executive brain function and how this impacts Asperger's. He totally got it and understood. And actually, he was excited with all smiles!! "So.... this is a GOOD thing!!!!" In his case, it was a relief to KNOW that there's nothing really wrong with him. He's just different. He actually asked me if he could take the book to school and have his classmates read the book. Then they could maybe understand him.
I also purchased Asperger Syndrome, the Universe and Everything, by Kenneth Hall. I'm sure he will devour that.
What I did tell him is that he should never use Asperger's as an excuse to not do something. If he feels uncomfortable doing something or has a lot of anxiety, then he should talk this out with an adult (all the school staff knows). Because most new things make a lot of people apprehensive, but we all overcome our fears.
I never intended to NOT tell him. I was more afraid that he would feel bad about himself and not have the self esteem to get beyond it. But I knew he was ready for it. And he's fine with it today. Tomorrow may be different, but we will cross that bridge then.
........... now to get through puberty.
_________________
Pickle's Mom
_______________
While we try to teach our children about life,
our children teach us what life is all about.
The greatest need that any child has is the need for unconditional love. |
|
| Back to top |
|
schleppenheimer
Phoenix
Joined: Sep 01, 2006
Posts: 1174
|
| Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 10:19 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I have a somewhat unique perspective on this subject.
When my then five year old was diagnosed as being on the spectrum, all of my research pointed to the fact that my 15 year old was also on the spectrum (but very mildly so). I was going through so many emotions that I didn't edit what I thought back then, and I very openly told my 15 year old that all of this explained him to some degree. I don't think he ever really took this to heart -- in fact, he may very much doubt that he's on the spectrum at all -- but telling him didn't matter much, because we were much more concerned about our five year old.
The 15 year old is now 22, finishing his bachelor's degree, preparing for graduate school, and is married. Life is going very well for him. He is aware of Asperger's Syndrome, can see that it affects many members in our family, and it's not a big deal.
The child who was five when diagnosed is now 13. He is a very sweet, innocent young man, and although he has some social deficits, he is doing relatively well. In his case, I think telling him now would be overwhelming. I don't think he considers himself different from his peers (which could be because more than a few of his peers would be on the spectrum themselves), and he is successful in school and in other aspects of his life. I plan on waiting until he is close to finishing high school before we tell him, because I want to allow him to continue to be successful, and have this "diagnosis" be more of a sidebar rather than the central focus of his life. I do think knowing might help him, but only when he is mature enough to see the whole deal as what it is -- a part of his character, but not the whole shebang. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
|
