Asperger Syndrome: What To Tell Your Child?

It’s never an easy task to raise a child with Asperger Syndrome. But should children know about their Asperger Syndrome? Some parents worry about how to tell their child it has been diagnosed with Asperger and if that is a necessary thing to do. I believe it is important to be open and highly recommend every parent out there to tell their child about Asperger Syndrome and what it involves. I told my son when he was seven and it has brought us nothing but advantages.

Children with Asperger can struggle to understand the world around them. Whenever they feel frustrated people tell them there is nothing wrong, everybody feels like that sometimes or things will go better tomorrow. These remarks are meant to comfort kids and take away their worries. Are those remarks helpful: NO, the child will keep wondering if anything is wrong with him since he is the only one that is bothered by this. No matter what we tell, he feels different and probably has experienced this already through his unsuccessful interactions with others.

In order to prevent the child from thinking: “they don’t play with me because I am not a nice person to be around with” I feel you have to tell them about their inability to interact with others. They have a right to know it’s not their fault. They are not doing anything wrong. You can prevent so much children from struggling with low self-esteem by being open about this as soon as possible.

Off course parents worry about their children being labeled. I did too. But there are several advantages to have a label like Asperger Syndrome. A label will give the child insight in himself. He now knows it’s not his fault, he can not help to be this way. They are no longer alone with those issues, other people have it too and it even has a name to it! Chances of getting support in school will grow when you are open about the help your child needs.

In order for people to feel confident and happy with themselves they need to be aware of their strong points as well as their weaknesses. Filling them in on the characteristics of Asperger Syndrome will help them become more aware.

Do’s and Don’ts

• Being positive is the most important thing

• Talk about your child’s strong points and challenges and your own. Tell your child things you still need to work on that won’t come natural to you and requires effort. Tell him how it can makes you feel frustrated from time to time. It might ring a bell on those issues the child itself has problems with

• Go though some of the characteristics people can have and how they all vary from each other. Name some of the qualities you and your children have and point out there are qualities you don’t have

• Ask the child if he can name any of his qualities

• Ask the child if he can name things he finds hard to do

• Explain there is a name for his specific set of characteristics called Asperger

• Don’t talk about Asperger Syndrome as if it is a disease or something that would prevent the child from reaching its goals

• Don’t ever let anybody use it as an excuse for unacceptable behavior

• Don’t put your child down because of this.


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