My DS has suspected AS and is very demand avoidant. His anxiety and need for control has plagued us all summer and shows no sign of easing off now that we're back to school (year 2).
DS (our only child) is driven by a strong desire to have playmates and his sense of fun means he has accumulated quite a few. It's lovely that he wants to have fun with his friends, but unfortunately his need for control and the quirks that come with having AS have made the play dates and brief encounters increasingly difficult with some really awful meltdowns of late (rarely does a play date go smoothly).
Our next door neighbour's son is his current best friend. There's a hole in the back garden hedge so they can go freely between the houses and play (theoretically) at any time of the day. The boy is very patient with my DS and they play reasonably well (although increasingly it's screen-based and noise levels through the roof - they both shout a lot).
We really struggle with the situation because DS is on watch all the time and only wants to play with his friend. We have to manage potential meltdowns when it's time to stop playing. He might hear the neighbour come home late when DS is tucked up in bed and that will throw him off sleep for hours. He refuses to do anything with us when there's a chance the neighbour might be around - which means that all our family time is governed by car movements in the neighbour's driveway.
I'm certain DS needs some quiet time to shake off all the demands of the school day. But our home is just another unpredictable battle ground for him to navigate, he has nowhere to hide - and seemingly doesn't want to!
Does anyone have any advice? I'm spending a lot of time trying to comfort a frustrated and over-wrought child at the moment.
Please or to access all these features
Please
or
to access all these features
Here are some suggested organisations that offer expert advice on special needs.
SN children
6yo DS obsessed with neighbour's son
9 replies
jenjen73 · 10/09/2017 12:55
OP posts:
Please create an account
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.