Explaining an autism spectrum diagnosis to your child

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Explaining an autism spectrum diagnosis to your child

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Many parents often ask at what age is my child going to start wondering if he’s different or at what age should I tell my child about his diagnosis? The answer to that is that it really depends. Some children might recognize that they’re different from their peers at a very early age; others might not notice until high school or even beyond. The determination of when the best time to talk to your child about his diagnosis and how to handle that is really an individual decision that a parent should make in collaboration with providers that they’re working with. Generally speaking, when children are between the ages of 8 and 10 it’s usually a good time to start talking to them about their label or diagnosis. Another kind of benchmark for when to talk to your child is if they start asking. It’s important to be honest and also explain the situation and in a developmentally appropriate manner.

See Allison Kawa, PsyD's video on Explaining an autism spectrum diagnosis to your child...

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Allison Kawa, PsyD

Child Psychologist

Alison Kawa is a licensed child psychologist specializing in the evaluation of children and adolescents.  Her pre- and post-doctoral training emphasized child and adolescent testing.  She was a fellow in the UCLA Autism Evaluation Clinic where she acquired extensive training in the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders and a range of other developmental disorders.  During this time, she also obtained certification from the University of Michigan Autism and Communication Disorders Center (UMACC) on the gold standard instruments (i.e., ADI-R and ADOS) used in autism evaluations.  Following her fellowship, she became Senior Assessor at UCLA where she worked for four years.

Alison completed the PsychoEducational Diagnostic Services Program (PEDS) Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Pediatric Assessment at the Reiss Davis Child Study Center at Vista Del Mar.  In this setting, she conducted comprehensive psychoeducational evaluations for children and adolescents with a diverse range of issues including ADHD, Learning Disabilities, mood disorders, and anxiety disorders.  She also completed the Child Therapy in a School Setting program offered by Phillips Graduate Institute, where she gained training and experience in play therapy, social skills groups, and therapeutic interventions appropriate for adolescents. 

While completing her graduate training in psychology, she held a staff position at Working With Autism, Inc., where she worked individually with children with autism, provided case management and supervision, and developed and implemented a staff-training curriculum.  It was through this position that she acquired a love for teaching and training. In addition to her private practice, she teaches pre- and post-doctoral fellows at the Reiss Davis Child Study Center at Vista Del Mar, where she also works as a supervisor and consultant.

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