Oct. 16, 2015
Quick Chat: Sharing an ASD Diagnosis with Your Child
Adam McCrimmon discusses his research project into when and how to tell a child he or she has ASD.
As adults, when we have an ailment and we visit a doctor to find out what’s wrong, we expect to be given a diagnosis.
This is true whether the symptoms point towards a physical or psychological problem.
But what about telling a child they have a disorder?
On the one hand, knowing that something is actually wrong can go a long way to helping a child understand why they feel the way they do. On the other, many children may not be capable of accepting a diagnosis.
So, should parents share the information of a diagnosis with their young child, and if so, how can a parent know when the time is right?
For Adam McCrimmon, this is a topic that comes up frequently. As an associate professor in the Werklund School of Education, he specializes in the area of Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD. McCrimmon, who is a member of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute’s Owerko Centre for Neurodevelopment and Child Mental Health, part of the Brain and Mental Health research theme at the ²ÝÝ®ÎÛÊÓƵµ¼º½, says one of the big challenges parents face is knowing when and how to share the information of a diagnosis of ASD with their child.
Audio:
- Quick Chat (4:31)