Posted by Daniel on October 22, 203 at 21:25:00:
In Reply to: Telling my child about NLD posted by Tim on October 06, 203 at 15:43:49:
: I have an 11 year old that has NLD. He knows he is differnt but I don’t know how much to tell him. He suffers from a good amount of fear. I would like to hear about others experences with telling their children about NLD.
I am a college student with NLD. I cannot give any kind of clinical answer, but I can give you advice based on my own experience. The first thing that I would say is don’t beat around the bush. Since he has NLD, he’s smart, and he’s going to understand just about everything you say, assuming it’s phrased clearly. He probably knows better than anyone that he’s been fighting something. Remember that for as frustrated as anyone is working with him, he’s ten times as frustrated. When you let him know about his NLD, this is finally an explanation for why things have been going the way they have. I would say that even if he tries to deny it, let him know that this is a biological thing, and that he’s not nuts. Most importantly I would say to let him know that he hasn’t done anything wrong (regardless of what teachers and peers say).
My parents never really came out and told me, because they never really knew. When I discovered the diagnosis (recently) it was such a relief because I finally had some proof that I wasn’t lazy. Let your son know that you believe in him, and that you’re in this together
Good luck, and I hope my experiences might help a little…