How Would You Break the News To Your Child?
My name is Jennifer, and my son has Asperger Syndrome. He's not even three years old yet, so it's not like my husband and I can truly explain to him that it is an Autism Spectrum Disorder and something he'll deal with for the rest of his life.
But what about when he finds out and starts asking questions?
My husband and I have two schools of thought on how we should handle this. My point of view is to be honest and upfront from the start, and talk about it like it's not a big deal and that he has a major advantage over other children due to his intellectual capabilities. My husband believes we should not talk about it with him, and pretend like it doesn't exist because he does not want our son to feel like he's different.
I watch the show Parenthood regularly, and I have to say that I can relate to Max's parents in so many ways - even though my child is much younger. In the teaser for this week's episode which airs Tuesday, March 1st, Max finds out that he has Asperger Syndrome by overhearing an argument. Max has no idea that he has Asperger Syndrome, even though he attends a special school for children on the spectrum and has daily therapy. While I find it hard to believe that he wouldn't have found out earlier, I am certainly on edge waiting to see what happens in the next episode.
If I were Max's parents, I wouldn't have kept it a secret from him. Am I silly for thinking that? When my husband and I were discussing how we should handle the topic with our own son last night I tried to explain to him the reasoning behind why I feel it's important to be upfront and honest with him from the get-go. To me, keeping something like this a secret would be far more detrimental to him long term. I likened it to a child finding out years later that they are really adopted and aren't their parent's biological child.
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