I was recently diagnosed with AS.

[walkerbretm]

As it says I was recently diagnosed. I am 34 and currently the only one who knows is my wife. How did or did you tell your parents, kids, siblings?

 

[Ste11aeres]

Hi,
my parents and one of my siblings had already figured it out.
Do you have kids? How old?

 

[walkerbretm]

I have a 9 year old and a 22 month old. My problem is my family is very much in disbelief over mental and neurological health issues. Nothing a good spanking won't fix type people with the exception of a sister who hates me anyway.

 

[Sander]

if your son or daughter is 9 years old, he or she might not understand, and for him/her you are normal. I would wait a few years untill he/she is more grown up. So they understand it better.
Anyway that is my opinoin.

 

[Ereth]

Actually, I think kids are often more understanding of these things than adults. You just have to frame the discussion with the right language.

 

[nowwhat]

It sounds as though you are high functioning and doing all the things you need to in order to provide a stable functioning home for your children. In that case, your kids don't know labels and don't need to. Your job is to love and teach them by example. It will be a long time before they have any framework enabling them to understand anything you could tell them about your condition. All they care about is that you love them. Whether your succeed or fail at that is what matters. Explanations and terms will not change a thing. As your kids get older, they will figure "Dad' a little different", but if the loving connection is there, however you can create it, it won't matter to them. This job is the most important one you'll do in your life, and supercedes your aspie troubles. Be a Dad. By the time the matter comes up, the point will be mostly moot. I have two NT teens who are incredible people, and thankfully are off to a much better start in life than I managed.

What you could do is drop hints like,

"Dad gets nervous in situations like this."
"Dad doesn't like crowds."
etc. etc.

That over time describe, in practical terms, what matters about you and your AS. Terminology, brain scans and the limbic system are best left out of it, maybe until they can read up on it themselves.

 

[Turk]

Gotta agree with nowwhat on this one. As long as they are loved, and they know, the rest doesnt matter for now. The thing about kids is they blurt out things at the most inappropriate momments and out of context. Its not that I would mind having a label, but id rather it on my own terms. Unfortunately the uneducated can be cruel and judgemental and the last thing id want is someone else pumping my kids for information, cos they heard a phycologicol term. Yes they need to know but when there old enough to process it. As nowwhat says all they need to know for now is that your different and maybe a few example
Cheers
Turk