"I'm glad I'm not autistic..."

This was the reaction of a friend's autistic teenager as he watched the Autism Epidemic series that NBC broadcast last spring. How do you tell him that he is autistic?

As our autistic kids get older, it is one more thing we must all address (along with the birds and the bees and everything else that comes with growing up). But how best to do it?

Bonnie has some thoughts and suggestions at An Impression of Autism from a kid on the Autism Spectrum:

I personally do not believe in keeping the diagnosis a secret from family, school or the child. It is all about awareness and making the person with autism understand more about themselves to help them as they grow and become more independent. This all depends on the level of the child.

She recommends some books, from many perspectives, as well as some other ways in which to raise the issue.

The problem also applies to how we inform siblings about their brother's or sister's autism, and some of the resources Bonnie mentions address that as well.

Good stuff from someone who's gone through it.