Anna - posted on 07/12/2011 ( 7 moms have responded )
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My 3 year old son was diagnosed with autism about a year ago. For the first year, we really isolated our family and jumped in beginning early intervention. Now we are all in a good place with his diagnosis and where he is headed. In other words, the sun has come out and the silver lining is showing. But I realize there are still those that don't know of his diagnosis and what we have been through. Now I am wondering how to share this with family and friends, especially after this length of time. How did you tell people?
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Nadine - posted on 07/15/2011
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For my son, it's really difficult because he is so high functioning, and most people don't see any thing "wrong" or different about him, so it seems like I'm being a little intense. At first I was really shy about telling others that he had Asperger's, but after a few meltdowns and uncomfortable situations when friends were visiting our house, I've began a practice of telling everyone I knew. (This also helped with my acceptance of it as well). We recently put him into a program called Brain Balance (www.brainbalancecenters.com), and because people are so interested in it, it usually opens up the door to a good quality conversation around the topic that isn't confined to diagnosis, but more about what he deals with, how he thinks differently than us, and how we're helping him. I've noticed people have responded a lot better when you talk about the action you are taking to help your child and the accomplishments that he has made, rather than just saying that he has this or that diagnosis. Hope this helps a *little* bit. ;)
Judi - posted on 07/15/2011
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I was matter a fact with everyone and I think that all my friends knew that he was different. The people that were the hardest were the professionals like his speechie - she told me he didn't have Autism.
But tell them like you've written your question - which thoughtful, caring and real.
User - posted on 07/13/2011
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Hi Anna,
It was part of the day to day...going to here for his hearing, going here because he's delayed in speech, going here because he seems to have sensory issues. A big net was thrown as we tried to figure out my little guy and his issues. Along the way, I heard a lot of, well...he seems fine to me. Yeah, it's "fine" for a 2 year old to slam his head against the wall...I think I was pretty blunt by the time we were referred for ADOS testing.
He is 7 now, and is a brilliant little guy. I know what you mean about seeing the silver lining. It's a good feeling when the light begins to shine!
Sheila