Telling my son - should I and how do I?

[kazp]

My son is 9, has learning difficulties (nothing drastic hes about a year - 2 years behind his class mates, he is catching up) and has a very slow weak memory (meaning he forgets simple everyday tasks and we need to repeat things constantly) Im just wondering if anyone has, has any ideas as to how i go about this? Should i even be thinking about this?

[Cma9905]

Hi, My daughter was only 5 when I was diagnosed, unfortunately, I was taken into hospital for three weeks where I was diagnosed. So she knew "mummy was ill". My husband and I just sat her down and explained it in simple terms, "the little cells in her body that stop her getting ill have got confused in my body, so mummy now just needs a bit of help from doctors and medicine to help the cells". We was selective with what we said but still kept her involved, she even came to see my heart scan. Every child is different and my daughter is now 14 and it has been hard for her, but I think she has coped pretty well, I am so proud of her. I hope it works out well for your little boy. Let us know how you get on. Hope this helps a little bit.

[Tigerlily4]

It's a moot point Kazp and largely depends on the individual child. Co-incidentally, my son was also aged 9 when I was finally diagnosed. However, immediately admitted to hospital for some weeks, I found it difficult to keep the truth from him and, if there's one thing my boy loathed above all others, it was being lied to. I was well aware of this from his previous reactions to the Santa Claus, Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy fibs, lol! So I told him the bare necessities and arranged for my Rheumatologist to answer any questions he might have, and he did have a few. I'd say be open about it without going into too much detail. Trust your instincts as to how much is too much. Good luck and big hugs x

[saranne]

I would always advise an age appropriate explanation, I never explained what the drugs I take are for and felt very upset for my son who eventually said he was scared they would give me cancer!