Mama What Is He Doing?

What’s the best way to respond when kids ask about children with special needs?

Integrated International School’s Founding Principal and Clinical Psychologist DR VANESSA VON AUER shares six tips on how parents can best address children’s natural curiosity about people with differences or disabilities.

#1 Act normally

It’s a normal part of our human experience to interact with people who are different from us. If your child asks you about a physically challenged person in a wheelchair, take a casual and explanatory tone by saying, “Some people use their legs to walk, and some use a wheelchair to get around.” If a child asks about another child’s self-stimulatory behaviours, such as hand-flapping, parroting sentences or spinning exhibited by some children on the Autism Spectrum, take the same approach and say, “Some children show their excitement by flapping their hands.” Keep the information simple at first, so your child can process the discussion and follow up with questions later.

#2 Read together