My now 20-year-old son was diagnosed with autism at age 4, but I didn’t share that diagnosis with the school district until he was 8 years old.
Why? Fear. Ignorance. Fear. Unawareness. Fear. My fear, my ignorance, my unawareness. Eventually, I understood that by keeping my son’s diagnosis a “secret,” not only was I depriving him of services and supports that could help him be successful, but I was also teaching him that being different, that being autistic was something to hide.
Yes, I know at 8 he may not have fully understood that, but I did… eventually. It took me longer than I would like to admit, but eventually, in time I understood, because he taught me.
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