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Talking with Your Child about Their Autism Diagnosis: A Guide for Parents
Telling your child about their autism diagnosis can be daunting. Will they be better off for knowing? What's the right way to tell them? Should you inform anyone else too?As a mother of two children on the spectrum, with over ten years' experience as a psychologist specialising in childhood autism, Raelene Dundon has all the tips you'll need. In this concise book, she sets out case studies, examples and resources that will equip you to make your own informed choices and help your whole family to live well with autism. Part One provides ways to tell children of different ages and development levels about their diagnosis, including photocopiable and downloadable worksheets designed to help diagnosed children understand autism, and gives advice on what to do if they react in a negative or unexpected way to the news. Part Two explores the pros and cons of sharing the diagnosis with others, including family, friends, school staff and your child's classmates, and guides you through what to do if others don't understand or accept the diagnosis.
162 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 21, 2017
10 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
Raelene Dundon
11 books6 followersRaelene is the Director of Okey Dokey Childhood Psychology in Melbourne, Australia. She is a registered Psychologist and holds a Masters Degree in Educational and Developmental Psychology. Raelene has extensive experience working with children with developmental disabilities and their families, as well as typically developing children, providing educational, social/emotional and behavioural support.
Raelene has worked extensively in early childhood intervention settings, schools and private practice, and works with preschools and schools to provide individual student and staff support, as well as running social skills groups for students. She regularly presents workshops for parents and professionals on topics related to supporting children with special needs in the classroom and in other settings, and has recently presented at an International Autism Conference in Edinburgh, as well as conferences in Brisbane, Sydney, Cairns and Melbourne.
Raelene is also the mother of three children, two of whom are on the Autism Spectrum, and draws on both her personal and professional experience to provide support and guidance to families and carers.
Raelene has worked extensively in early childhood intervention settings, schools and private practice, and works with preschools and schools to provide individual student and staff support, as well as running social skills groups for students. She regularly presents workshops for parents and professionals on topics related to supporting children with special needs in the classroom and in other settings, and has recently presented at an International Autism Conference in Edinburgh, as well as conferences in Brisbane, Sydney, Cairns and Melbourne.
Raelene is also the mother of three children, two of whom are on the Autism Spectrum, and draws on both her personal and professional experience to provide support and guidance to families and carers.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 20, 2017
Having 2 daughters on the spectrum I jumped at the chance to check this book out; my daughters are still young enough that we haven’t had that conversation but I know the day will come.
I truly appreciated this book and felt the advice it contained was helpful, healing and straightforward. The author obviously put tremendous effort into the research and poured her heart into creating a tome that is both educational and uplifting. She went beyond just telling you what to say and how to say it.
You get to start at the beginning with those words that seem so incredibly hard to hear – the diagnosis, the end to one path and the beginning of another. You have to accept the truth and new reality that will be your child’s life when those seemingly simple yet heavy words are spoken and what your new responsibilities will be as a parent.
Autism can be such a hot button issue that depending on where your child fits on the spectrum you will have to decide who needs to know, what effect letting others know has, what kind of people will be involved in their lives or not and most important of all how are you even going to start that conversation?
When my girls were first diagnosed at 4 (my oldest) and 3 (my youngest) it was so obvious we had to offer explanations if only just so people would back off.
I had a father stand by while his children bullied my oldest for not understanding the ‘social rules’ of the games they were playing on the playground.
At another time a mother went off on my youngest in a Barnes & Noble for not sharing legos with her daughter when her child ask mine for them; my youngest at the time was non-verbal and didn’t understand what the child was asking and personally I didn’t see the need to explain as there were TONS of legos on the table so there was no need for my daughter to turn over the ones she had to the other.
In both instances I let the parents know they were bullying a special needs child and explained that being on the spectrum meant my children didn’t understand what theirs were wanting.
I admittedly began isolating my kids from neurotypicals for a few years in order to protect them not just from other children but their parents.
One of the things I loved is that the author point blank stated that autism cannot be cured which is a belief I share; I do not think it can be cured any more than down syndrome yet you don’t hear people touting cures for that. She also provides worksheets, questions, illustrations and a great fill in the blank that allows your child to take an interactive part in your discussion.
It was easier for me to want to read and take her advice because she has a son on the spectrum and this is her personal journey along with his. I’m more apt to listen to a fellow mom who has walked in my shoes than someone who has just spent time researching it.
At its most basic this is just an intimate guide that tells you how, when, why and what to do if problems come up but it’s also more than that; it’s a story, a journey, a life many of us lead and we are all just trying our best.
I truly appreciated this book and felt the advice it contained was helpful, healing and straightforward. The author obviously put tremendous effort into the research and poured her heart into creating a tome that is both educational and uplifting. She went beyond just telling you what to say and how to say it.
You get to start at the beginning with those words that seem so incredibly hard to hear – the diagnosis, the end to one path and the beginning of another. You have to accept the truth and new reality that will be your child’s life when those seemingly simple yet heavy words are spoken and what your new responsibilities will be as a parent.
Autism can be such a hot button issue that depending on where your child fits on the spectrum you will have to decide who needs to know, what effect letting others know has, what kind of people will be involved in their lives or not and most important of all how are you even going to start that conversation?
When my girls were first diagnosed at 4 (my oldest) and 3 (my youngest) it was so obvious we had to offer explanations if only just so people would back off.
I had a father stand by while his children bullied my oldest for not understanding the ‘social rules’ of the games they were playing on the playground.
At another time a mother went off on my youngest in a Barnes & Noble for not sharing legos with her daughter when her child ask mine for them; my youngest at the time was non-verbal and didn’t understand what the child was asking and personally I didn’t see the need to explain as there were TONS of legos on the table so there was no need for my daughter to turn over the ones she had to the other.
In both instances I let the parents know they were bullying a special needs child and explained that being on the spectrum meant my children didn’t understand what theirs were wanting.
I admittedly began isolating my kids from neurotypicals for a few years in order to protect them not just from other children but their parents.
One of the things I loved is that the author point blank stated that autism cannot be cured which is a belief I share; I do not think it can be cured any more than down syndrome yet you don’t hear people touting cures for that. She also provides worksheets, questions, illustrations and a great fill in the blank that allows your child to take an interactive part in your discussion.
It was easier for me to want to read and take her advice because she has a son on the spectrum and this is her personal journey along with his. I’m more apt to listen to a fellow mom who has walked in my shoes than someone who has just spent time researching it.
At its most basic this is just an intimate guide that tells you how, when, why and what to do if problems come up but it’s also more than that; it’s a story, a journey, a life many of us lead and we are all just trying our best.
October 29, 2017
I received an advanced copy in exchange for my honest, unbiased opinion. Thank you to the publisher, author, and Edelweiss, for allowing me to review.
Talking With Your Child About Their Autism Diagnosis is an informational book that highlights why, how, when, and what to tell your child about their Autism diagnosis. Dundon shares common parental reactions to a diagnosis (and how to deal with feelings), what to do if a child uses Autism as an excuse, and also what to tell family, friends, and teachers about their child’s diagnosis. She includes an abundance of resources, such as downloadable worksheets and a list of helpful books, videos, and websites.
I highly recommend this short book to EVERYONE, not just parents of children who have been diagnosed with Autism. I believe that the more we all know about it, the better we can share facts and provide support to children we know.
Talking With Your Child About Their Autism Diagnosis is an informational book that highlights why, how, when, and what to tell your child about their Autism diagnosis. Dundon shares common parental reactions to a diagnosis (and how to deal with feelings), what to do if a child uses Autism as an excuse, and also what to tell family, friends, and teachers about their child’s diagnosis. She includes an abundance of resources, such as downloadable worksheets and a list of helpful books, videos, and websites.
I highly recommend this short book to EVERYONE, not just parents of children who have been diagnosed with Autism. I believe that the more we all know about it, the better we can share facts and provide support to children we know.
August 3, 2017
This was a wonderfully informative book that covered so much more than just discussing an autism diagnosis with a child. It was full of excellent advice about coming to grips with the diagnosis as a parent, working out who needs to know, what needs to be said and ways of approaching the subject. I particularly liked the trouble shooting sections of the book and it was clear the author has a lot of experience in the area of autism. A great resource!
Thanks kindly to Netgalley, Jessica
Kingsley Publishers and Raelene Dundon for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Thanks kindly to Netgalley, Jessica
Kingsley Publishers and Raelene Dundon for the opportunity to read and review this book.
September 11, 2017
Finally! A book that gave me the language, insight and confidence I needed to start the conversation with my son that I knew I had to have but had no clear understanding of why, when or how to do it. It is written with such intelligence and compassion by someone who is living the autism journey both personally and professionally. I read this book from cover to cover and am so relieved to have this guide and companion to help me and my son talk about his autism. I knew it would not be a single or simple discussion and I desperately wanted a how-to guide telling me what words to use, when to say them, and who to say them to...and here it is! There are so many books out there with all sorts of advice about autism but this is the one that has been missing. Whatever stage of diagnosis, discussion or disclosure you are at, there is something in this book for everyone. From my heart I am so grateful to this author for her clarity, candor and wisdom.
July 1, 2021
Very, very helpful.
February 14, 2019
I am reviewing this book for Raelene Dundon, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, and NetGalley who gave me a copy of their book for an honest review.
This is one of the best books explaining autism that I have come across. It is set out very clearly and covers everything … and more. It comes up with questions you might not even have considered. As all children are different it doesn’t say ‘this is how it must be done’ ….. Lots of examples are thrown in from the authors own life so you do feel she knows what she is talking about. The book also includes numerous worksheets which can be used with children and their parents to work through some of the issues raised.
This is one of the best books explaining autism that I have come across. It is set out very clearly and covers everything … and more. It comes up with questions you might not even have considered. As all children are different it doesn’t say ‘this is how it must be done’ ….. Lots of examples are thrown in from the authors own life so you do feel she knows what she is talking about. The book also includes numerous worksheets which can be used with children and their parents to work through some of the issues raised.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews