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Exhausted balancing my AuADHD and NT child's needs?

38 replies

CoffeeandCakeEnvy · 10/06/2026 11:04

Hi all,

I am posting here for traffic. I have a year 4 high functioning AuADHD dc with PDA, and rejection sensitivity disorder.

I am finding his behaviour progressively exhausting. I know he cannot help it. We are currently waiting for the medication to reach a therapeutic effect after numerous trials of others. Mornings are horrendous and his NT younger sibling struggles with the behaviour, so I am finding myself pulled in both directions to try to please both of them. I am utterly drained before I even leave the house, then I see all of the parents with their NT kids strolling on, I feel terrible for being envious. Some really do not understand fully either, but I wouldn't either if the shoe was on the other foot. How can you truly understand anything unless you're actively living it.

My youngest has a club after school, and walking home one to one he said, "Mummy, it is so lovely and quiet, I am really pleased X isn't here shouting and talking over me." It was heartbreaking to hear him say that .
I also realise what a doddle it is with NT child, and dealing with behaviour. I adore dc1 and wouldn't change him personality wise for the world, but I would take his struggles away in a heartbeat; it is painful to see. I dread pickups, waiting to see how his day was, if a member of staff will come out with him. I dread when the school ring, thinking what has happened now. The kind of profile he has can be extremely demanding, and I feel I have ran out of energy after years of it.
The things I am also finding challenging to navigate is that he can do a 360 on tasks e.g, he is okay for a task at school then majorly dysregulated, and vice versa. The school must think I'm crazy, as I will ask them to make a reasonable adjustment then suddenly he is fine now to do it. He is highly intelligent, above average which I feel is complicating the situation even more.
I am not sure what I am really looking for from this thread, maybe some similar experiences.

Thank you.

OP posts:
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LetaLestrange · 11/06/2026 21:39

@CoffeeandCakeEnvy - BertieBotts talks a lot of sense and gives great advice! We know each other in real life (hiii @BertieBotts!) and she really knows her stuff.

IMHO the biggest thing to take away from the thread is that you’re not alone and your feelings are valid. UnMumsnetty hugs to you ❤️

Cheesecakeisnotforme · 11/06/2026 20:31

I feel for you. PDA can be brutal, both for the PDAer and for those around them.

Are you on any PDA-specific support groups? For a lot of us, that is the difference between vaguely functioning family and not.

Have you had any PDA-specific training? Well worth doing if you've not.

I'd second the recommendations of Ross Greene - but only if your child is fairly well-regulated - and Robyn Gobbel's work, Ns the Declararive Language Handbook. Reading stuff from PDAers can really help - Kristy Forbes is a great place to start and her training is very good.

You are probably already aware of this but standard autism approaches typically make PDA worse, and almost any type of traditional parenting methods are likely to have the same effect so working well with your child will likely involve relearning everything you thought you knew.

For a lot of PDA children, school is the biggest problem. The PDA Society did research that found that about 80% of PDA children are unable to manage conventional education.

People upthread have talked about setting clear boundaries. This is something that helps some PDAers, but for many PDA children, any boundary setting immediately causes dysregulation (it's a loss of autonomy/equality) so you have to get very good at holding the essentials (here those are safety-related issues) and be willing to be flexible as much as you can about everything else.

The PDA Community on Facebook is a really good group.

Good luck. I have a teen PDAer in burnout plus an AuDHD demand avoidant (not PDA) child with violent & challenging behaviour. I'm ADHD plus major fatigue and DH is autistic. Our lives are a million times better for applying low demand, high connection strategies for the last few years.

CoffeeandCakeEnvy · 11/06/2026 13:41

whatonearthdoidoz · 11/06/2026 12:12

I don't think your use of the term selfish brat is helpful. This is a little child that you don't know that you're talking about.

Caring for a disabled child, regardless of the disability, takes up more time and energy than caring for a non-disabled child. That's just how it is.

It requires thought and creativity to manage this balance in a way that doesn't leave the non-disabled child out in the cold. I hope the OP finds a balance that works but there's no point blaming the other child.

Thank you for your kindness, I didn't take it to heart, at one time I might have. I responded to the poster as best as I could. Ds1 can be selfish, but he certainly is not a brat, and his ND does not excuse everything. As you said it is certainly difficult caring for disabled dc, and I think we all just do our best in the moment, and I strive to do better for both of them; I suppose what more can you do.

OP posts:
CoffeeandCakeEnvy · 11/06/2026 13:34

Cioccoholic · 11/06/2026 11:54

Wow it sounds like dc1 rules the house, perhaps a tad of “selfish brat disorder” has kicked in there too! Easily done with a ND child; you work so hard to regulate them; the clever ones are very good at manipulating situations to their advantage.

You might need to consider dh reducing his hours as it’s really the only route you have left to create more safe space for dc2 to have a chance at a relatively normal childhood.

I was dc2 in the situation and it was deeply damaging to my self esteem and I spent a lot of my childhood frightened of triggering my sibling’s outbursts. Being scared and intimidated and feeling “second” is no way to grow up, and has had lasting negative consequences for me.

Haha, I agree, and hold my hands up to that. I have certainly found it difficult to separate what he can and can't help. He has lovely traits such as being the first one to notice when people are upset, he comforts kids at school, comes and hugs you, can be so sweet and loving. He feels deeply, very deeply though which is heartbreaking at times. He isn't a greedy child when it comes to toys/food/possessions, he would be over the moon with that one thing he wants more than anything in the world tjan a huge stack of presents at Christmas for example. I always remember a Christmas morning when he was about 7, and he checked to see if Santa had been to dh, and I first, I had to remind him to look at his own gifts! He hates clapping and fuss on his birthdays which is difficult because I want more than anything to celebrate my child, but I now do it in the quiet calm way he likes, no songs and no huge excitement, (difficult for me, as I have natural bubbly energy), so I reign it in!

However, the latter being said, yes dc1 has selfishness in another way. It is difficult to get him to do things for others, eg. picking out cards, acknowledgement of others needs being just as valid as his own even if they're different etc. He is also highly manipulative, and struggles to accept it is okay to make mistakes and take accountability for them. He also struggles with tone of voice and perceives a firm tone as "shouting."

I was also dc2, and grew up with the needs of my sibling being put above my own. Similarly to you, it affects me to this day, and has caused a huge rift with dm, and an estrangement from my sibling. I am sorry you had a similar experience, because it really affects your confidence, well it did mine anyway.
I am determined to break the chain. I had a little one to one chat with dc2 just last night using the words I needed to hear growing up. We are taking a trip on Saturday just the two of us which he is looking forward to.

OP posts:
CoffeeandCakeEnvy · 11/06/2026 13:18

BertieBotts · 11/06/2026 11:47

This is brilliant! I love your example about taking turns. Because DS2 (and actually DS1 used to before he entered teenage grunting mode) tends to monologue for ages and my ADHD-ish communication style which is common between me and certain friends and family members is that we just talk at/over each other at the same time and sort of manage to follow the conversation anyway, I noticed that both me and DH had got into the habit of letting both younger DC talk at once and that this wasn't really conducive to either letting DS3 talk, because he is the most NT-acting of all of us and tends to just give up, but also, DS2 would get frustrated that people are "interrupting him" - so I started to actively ask them each to wait and take turns, and it has really helped. But what I love especially about your example is your recognition that it is a work in progress. It's not perfect all the time, nobody remembers the new thing 100% of the time, the children don't always respond well, but recognising that it's OK because it's progress and we are new at this and it's not going to go smoothly straight away is so important.

Sorry to add another resource, but I was on instagram this morning and there is a poster I follow there called theteachermomma, and she has some great practical examples of this kind of thing and I have found her really helpful as well.

Thanks for saying it sounds like we are doing well 😅most of this is the benefit of having several years of research, knowledge and experience already before DS2 came along. DS1 was challenging (ADHD) and I had no idea why and was operating in the dark a lot, especially as I was undiagnosed myself then. By the time DS2 was here I already had a solid foundation of what helps and what doesn't help but there is always more to learn and understand as well, because they are all so different.

Thank you so much for this reply, you have no idea how much I needed to read it today. It is such a massive relief to talk to someone who just completely gets it. Your validation about this being a work in progress, and the reminder to give ourselves grace when things don't go smoothly, resonates with me so much, as I am very much a person where it is 'okay to not be okay" for everybody else, I definitely struggle to apply that same rule to myself (apologise for the cliché saying)!
Your words caught me at a moment where it feels like everything has hit me like a ton of bricks, and I've been feeling like I'm completely floundering and a bit lost! Age 9 is proving to be such a difficult stage to navigate; my usual "cheering up" techniques I used when he was younger just aren't working anymore. Plus, my youngest is so much more aware now, so just trying to balance the two of them is exhausting. I honestly don't know how you manage it with three!

It is incredibly eye opening when you suddenly start seeing ND traits within yourself I feel, and possibly older family members as well; suddenly your whole life makes sense, and the pieces of the puzzle sort of come together. Like you, I haven't been formally diagnosed, but I have very strong ADHD traits that I've just had to mask and suppress as an adult as best I can. I tell myself, "wait, don't jump in", before I blurt something out! 😳 Due to this I find I gravitate to other Mums with ND dcs, because they just understand more.

DS's profile feels like a constant, difficult tug of war between the autism and the ADHD so a lot mroe difficult for him, and I struggle with the autism side, and honestly, we are just a family of neurological differences in general! It’s a lot to balance as you know well. Right now, I'm trying to find techniques to encourage my go with the flow 6 year old to actually express his needs in amongst this craziness, because I really don't want him internalising everything and going into himself the way I did as a child. At the same time, dh and I feel that dc1's accountability has been sliding a bit due to his profile, and we need to work on that because it won't do him any favours down the road.

Thank you again for the incredible solidarity and for sharing your journey. Knowing there are people like you a few steps ahead, navigating the exact same chaotic waters with so much wisdom, makes a world of difference. Oh and thanks again for your references!

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Besidemyselfwithworry · 11/06/2026 12:24

@CoffeeandCakeEnvy
Just wanted to reach out and say although I don’t have this with my children, I have some friends who have this exact same scenario and I do appreciate how difficult and demanding this is.

One thing I would say is from speaking to a really good friend who deals with this, is the importance of building a support network of friends. Friends with ND kids who get it but also like me, friends without who can just be there for the other parents as added support. My youngest son has a friend like this and he can be very difficult but we’ve grown to understand what makes him tick and I would always include them in plans and make sure parents of ND kids aren’t isolated as sadly this sometimes happens if others just deem them as “naughty” and don’t appreciate the issues with this.

Are there any local parents/carers groups you can tap into??

I fully get how you must feel with everyone just coming in/out of school, no issues, plodding along and not aware of the bigger picture and how exhausting this is for you as a Mum and it sounds like you are doing a fantastic job here.

whatonearthdoidoz · 11/06/2026 12:17

CoffeeandCakeEnvy · 10/06/2026 17:49

It's shit isn't it? I feel bad for saying that, and of course I adore my kids but it isn't what I envisioned. It is like to please one, you have to disappoint the other, except one has triple the reaction, and I'm sick of walking on eggshells. I've had a little chat with my 6 year old after school today, and we're going to do something just us on the weekend. I grew up with the needs of a sibling being put above mine, and I won't have this happen to ny youngest. Sometimes I just envision a NT sibling for him who will just be nice and sweet to him, as awful as that sounds.

Edited

You can have that and maybe you still will.

We went through a stage where my youngest had an actual panic room set up because the eldest would attack him so ferociously and with no warning at all.

A lot of therapy later they are now the very very best of friends and adore each other. (They are 10 and 8 now)

whatonearthdoidoz · 11/06/2026 12:14

@CoffeeandCakeEnvy during the darkest days with my two, we separated them entirely, so we'd split the weekends I'd have one child one day, the other the other and husband same so we'd each get a day with each child. Means the eldest always got the 1:1 he needed and youngest didn't miss out. One would usually go out one would stay home (and do playdate or whatever as needs be). We did this for 18 months or so until eldest settled. Was hard but when things are so dysregulated family time is no fun anyway.

whatonearthdoidoz · 11/06/2026 12:12

Cioccoholic · 11/06/2026 11:54

Wow it sounds like dc1 rules the house, perhaps a tad of “selfish brat disorder” has kicked in there too! Easily done with a ND child; you work so hard to regulate them; the clever ones are very good at manipulating situations to their advantage.

You might need to consider dh reducing his hours as it’s really the only route you have left to create more safe space for dc2 to have a chance at a relatively normal childhood.

I was dc2 in the situation and it was deeply damaging to my self esteem and I spent a lot of my childhood frightened of triggering my sibling’s outbursts. Being scared and intimidated and feeling “second” is no way to grow up, and has had lasting negative consequences for me.

I don't think your use of the term selfish brat is helpful. This is a little child that you don't know that you're talking about.

Caring for a disabled child, regardless of the disability, takes up more time and energy than caring for a non-disabled child. That's just how it is.

It requires thought and creativity to manage this balance in a way that doesn't leave the non-disabled child out in the cold. I hope the OP finds a balance that works but there's no point blaming the other child.

whatonearthdoidoz · 11/06/2026 12:10

Very similar experiences. Child is 10.

The thing is with high functioning kids their capabilities intellectually can mask their emotional immaturity. We had a bunch of assessments done with my son when he was around 7 years old and though intellectually he was more like an 11 year old, emotionally they aged him around 2.

We hadn't bothered with a lot of the classical autism stuff like now and next boards because I'd thought that was more for kids who were non verbal. Actually leveraging more of that toolkit was massively helpful.

So we started to make really regimented plans, of an evening we'll pre plan everything like route to school, what we're having for breakfast, what we're wearing, what the day will be. Means there is less anxiety and uncertainty.

I'd really recommend getting speech and language therapy. With higher functioning kids we always ignore it as I thought the point was to teach you to speak. It's not! It can be about learning emotional and behavioral regulation. It's the single most important thing that's changed my son from being totally unmanageable to basically a lovely popular kid.

sunshine244 · 11/06/2026 11:58

Sending you huge sympathy. I have a 12 year old with a very similar profile and similar issues with my 9 year old. Non stimulants have made a big difference but also ultimately a huge battle with the council to get him into a more specialist school.

My younger child is 9 and so different. Calm, cuddly, sleeps better, and so much more content. If you'd asked me age 6 or 7 I'd have confidently told you he was definitely NT.

However.... age 8 it all changed. Retrospectively it had been building for a while but I put it down to stress from his brother. But now I am 100% sure he's also AuDHD. Much more the inattentive side. But as other kids got more socially advanced he didn't in the same way. The gap widened hugely and school stress has led to far more issues at home. I absolutley didn't see this coming as he seemed fine socially etc. I think things were so hugely hard and explosive with his older sibling that I missed the more subtle signs. So with such a big family history I'd be really cautious about dismissing the younger one as NT. He might be but it's too early to say.

I'd ask for a disabikity social worker if you have one. Could you reduce hours at work? Do you have DLA for him?

Cioccoholic · 11/06/2026 11:54

Wow it sounds like dc1 rules the house, perhaps a tad of “selfish brat disorder” has kicked in there too! Easily done with a ND child; you work so hard to regulate them; the clever ones are very good at manipulating situations to their advantage.

You might need to consider dh reducing his hours as it’s really the only route you have left to create more safe space for dc2 to have a chance at a relatively normal childhood.

I was dc2 in the situation and it was deeply damaging to my self esteem and I spent a lot of my childhood frightened of triggering my sibling’s outbursts. Being scared and intimidated and feeling “second” is no way to grow up, and has had lasting negative consequences for me.

BertieBotts · 11/06/2026 11:47

This is brilliant! I love your example about taking turns. Because DS2 (and actually DS1 used to before he entered teenage grunting mode) tends to monologue for ages and my ADHD-ish communication style which is common between me and certain friends and family members is that we just talk at/over each other at the same time and sort of manage to follow the conversation anyway, I noticed that both me and DH had got into the habit of letting both younger DC talk at once and that this wasn't really conducive to either letting DS3 talk, because he is the most NT-acting of all of us and tends to just give up, but also, DS2 would get frustrated that people are "interrupting him" - so I started to actively ask them each to wait and take turns, and it has really helped. But what I love especially about your example is your recognition that it is a work in progress. It's not perfect all the time, nobody remembers the new thing 100% of the time, the children don't always respond well, but recognising that it's OK because it's progress and we are new at this and it's not going to go smoothly straight away is so important.

Sorry to add another resource, but I was on instagram this morning and there is a poster I follow there called theteachermomma, and she has some great practical examples of this kind of thing and I have found her really helpful as well.

Thanks for saying it sounds like we are doing well 😅most of this is the benefit of having several years of research, knowledge and experience already before DS2 came along. DS1 was challenging (ADHD) and I had no idea why and was operating in the dark a lot, especially as I was undiagnosed myself then. By the time DS2 was here I already had a solid foundation of what helps and what doesn't help but there is always more to learn and understand as well, because they are all so different.

CoffeeandCakeEnvy · 11/06/2026 11:38

drspouse · 10/06/2026 18:40

For the "walking on eggshells" feelings I highly recommend ADHD Dude. He's basically turned our family life round. We find that once you remove a trigger, another thing becomes triggering. We try very hard not to remove triggers...
Also is there a reason you aren't trying a stimulant? We started with that and it helped, and it's first line of treatment where there are no medical reasons not to. DS now also takes a non stimulant though it's a very low dose, but it really helps to have both.

That is great, thank you, I will take a look. Stimulants didn't work out for dc, we tried multiple brands and doses and they added fuel to the fire, he had horrendous side effects no matter what we did. The none stimulant seems a better fit, but early days (fingers crossed).

OP posts:
CoffeeandCakeEnvy · 11/06/2026 11:28

LetaLestrange · 10/06/2026 23:05

No advice, just solidarity. I have a 10yo DD who is AuDHD with PDA and an 8yo awaiting ADHD diagnosis.

DD2 puts up with a lot from DD1 and I hate that she has to. DD1 recently went away for 2 nights on school residential. I worried the whole time she was gone (she was actually fine) but just having DD2 was WILD!!

We had dinner together, then at 7pm she brushed her teeth and got ready for bed without complaint. We played a couple of rounds of UNO and by 8pm she was asleep, my house was clean and tidy, and I had no idea what to do 😆😆

DD1 is a terrible sleeper and panics alone. I don’t have to co-sleep, but I have to keep going back to check in on her every 10 mins or so before she falls asleep or she freaks out. Then she’ll probably wake for the day around 3am.

Those 2 nights with just DD2… I was there thinking “shiiiiit is this what it’s like for other people ??”

Haha, yes, this is me! It is crazy when it hits you, this is your "average" parenting and this is your "additional" parenting. A Mum friend at school will get worked up over your usual bringing up children things, like a forgotten lunchbox, or not eating the whole sandwhich etc. Meanwhile I am just extatic if dc1 comes out of school without being escorted by a member of staff giving me an "update."

Edited to say, I'm pleased you finally got a little sleep! Dc1 usually sleep through the night, so I'm fortunate in that respect. He takes a long time to settle, but after that is usually okay. He however cannot go on residentials as isn't self sufficient enough. He won't shower unassisted, and gets overwhelmed dressing in a timely manner, esp socks!

OP posts:
CoffeeandCakeEnvy · 11/06/2026 11:18

@BertieBotts thank you so so much for taking the time to provide such helpful and insightful information. I am going to look up all of your suggestions, and appreciate all of the amazing tips, and to hear what has worked for you, because it is such a tricky balance! I have definitely found it to be very much trial and error, and a constant learning curve.

I loved when you said that walking on eggshells isn't productive for anybody. I agree with this completely and I simply cannot do it anymore;I it is exhausting, and I need to breathe! Your point about avoidant behavior playing a game of "reverse whack-a-mole" where you don't even have a mallet really struck a chord wirh me. It's too costly and unproductive to the rest of the family, so true, and especially siblings. I notice DC2 go into himself when DC1 talks over everybody else, and I am now taking him aside and having little 1 to 1 chats more to encourage him to express his feelings, which he has been doing a lot more. He told me that DC1 shouts all of the time, won't let him speak, and then he forgets what he wants to say. School, DH, and I have been reminding DC1 about taking turns in conversation, but he is struggling currently with this still. He shouted at DC2 this morning to take turns at a random moment that did not link to what was happening, and DC2 understandably said back, "you never take turns!" So it is definitely a work in progress.

I actually had a chance to put the not pandering to DC1 into practice before breakfast this morning. I have noticed he often can be unkind to make himself feel better when he's feeling insecure. I gently corrected DS1, and he immediately started his usual deflective looping. Instead of getting sucked into it, I just said: "DC1, we don't speak to people like that. It was just a correction, everyone makes mistakes, I'm an adult and I need correcting as well, let's reset." It worked! I refused to engage in the usual back and forth. Normally, it would escalate to, "You love DC2 better, I'm stupid, etc etc." and all the attention goes to him. I realise now that DC1 has sort of manipulated us out of making him take accountability and instead showing him with yet more attention through that emotional escalation. It has been so difficult to separate the ND traits from the behavior he can help, if that makes sense, so your recommendations on holding boundaries safely are fantastic.
It was also great to hear your view on RSD, and it did make me wonder if some of his sensitivity was caused by a mixture of bullying and rejection from peers in school because of his ND differences, rather than a fixed, unchangeable trait. I am very thankful that he now has a lovely friend who shares his intense tech passion. They've connected on a much deeper level and this boy is completely on his wavelength. He is NT and accepts DC1 for all of his quirks, and they just have a really lovely friendship. I really hope it lasts! He had previously been friends with a little girl (they're still friends, but she apparently used to "boss" him about, which I suspect was a clash of strong personalities to be honest, and dc1 not liking being challenged!).
I also just wanted to say it sounds like you are doing a fantastic job with your own DCs. It was so lovely to read about your happy 7yr old, and the boundary you set around your children deciding what they do but not controlling what others do is such a brilliant, practical rule for a family. It’s clear you’ve built a wonderfully supportive, sensible environment for them to thrive. I related to it so much, because DC1 wants to control every single detail, telling people not to speak even, so this aspect has been a real struggle for us.
Thank you again for such thoughtful, lengthy posts. It has given me a lot of clarity and the support to stop walking on eggshells!

OP posts:
BertieBotts · 11/06/2026 10:04

The Stuart Shanker stuff is especially interesting about triggers actually.

He has this model that we have five domains in which we can experience stress - that is everyone, not just ND children/people. The five domains are cognitive, biological, emotional, social and prosocial - if you google this you can get more info about what is covered under each of them, but briefly, prosocial is more empathy or a sense of loyalty/duty to other people whereas social is more about people's demands or judgement of you and understanding their intentions and communication and so on. Biological includes sensory processing.

Some stress is absolutely normal and we can handle this. For example in the biological domain is temperature regulation. In a hot or cold environment, our bodies activate heating or cooling procedures (blood flow, fat/calorie burning, sweating etc) to keep our bodies at a safe and healthy temperature. If the environment is too hot or too cold for too long, our bodies' temperature regulatory functions can become overwhelmed and we will start to experience hyperthermia (heatstroke) or hypothermia (freezing). And sometimes babies when they are first born cannot do this effectively. DS2 was also in SCBU when he was born for about 48 hours because he became distressed during birth and needed oxygen supplementation. Because he was not independently maintaining his body temperature, they had him in an incubator and then when he was moved to a normal ward with me, he had a heated mattress in his cot. I also did a lot of skin-to-skin with him because I had read that kangaroo care can help babies stabilise their own body temperature (I have since learnt that this is one of the earliest examples of co-regulation supporting development of self-regulation, which I absolutely love.)

This is one simple example of a regulatory function of our bodies. But we are doing this all the time, with everything. It is largely an unconscious process.

The way Shanker explains the 5 domains is that if you imagine they are each a balloon placed in a circle surrounding a person and there is a string around all of the 5 balloons. So each domain in itself has a certain capacity to handle stress in that domain - like our bodies can cope with some level of external temperature fluctuation. And the domains also have capacity to push back, to compensate, to work, if you like, in order to handle that stress. Just like on a hot day our bodies can sweat to help regulate our temperature. In the balloon metaphor, imagine that a domain which is working is inflating. There is some slack in the string, so each of the balloons can inflate some way and the string is still OK, it's not restricting the others. But if one or more of the balloons is being used intensely, it can inflate to a point that the string starts to pull on and restrict the other balloons.

How that looks is that when one or more domains is under high stress load, it actually reduces capacity in the other loads. So for example if you find maths difficult, maths will place a higher stress load in the cognitive domain, and public speaking will often cause stress in the social domain. So if you struggle with maths, it might be even more difficult to do a tricky maths problem out loud in front of the whole class than it is to do it privately at home or at your own desk with nobody watching you struggle and falter.

Or an example many people can relate to - when you need to concentrate on a tricky junction or find a parking space (cognitive) many people turn down the music or ask passengers to stop talking (biological/sensory) in order to increase space in the cognitive domain and improve focus/concentration. When you are in a state of high emotion e.g. anxiety, it can be difficult to focus on work (cognitive.) When you are tired (biological) emotions can more quickly overwhelm you. etc etc.

The difficulty for a lot of ND children is that they have a higher level of stress in some or all of the domains all of the time. They might have differences in cognitive development, emotional regulation, sensory processing, social understanding. This can both reduce capacity in the domains but it can also mean that they end up much closer to breaking point. When all the domains are straining against the string, either because they are at capacity generally or because their capacity has been reduced by another domain so they are at their temporarily reduced capacity, the body is going into a more emergency kind of mode where the autonomic nervous system is very activated. This is where you get fight, flight, freeze (and all the other f-word) responses, aka meltdowns, or the "silly" dysregulation, or shutdown.

This whole thing makes so much sense to me and I have found it really helpful both for myself, because I also have ADHD and I don't have perfect coping mechanisms even though I am an adult, but also to help my children. It explains the concept of fluctuating capacity much better, IME, than looking for specific triggers, which might make sense in terms of a trauma response but don't seem to apply consistently for day to day interactions - sometimes my child can cope with affectionate, familial teasing because he has the capacity to recognise it as a joke, but if he was in a more strained place then he absolutely wouldn't, he would hear it literally and be very hurt by it and his capacity for accepting hurt might be very low at that point.

AnythingNotEverything · 11/06/2026 07:29

BoyMum20192 · 10/06/2026 22:51

Nothing really to add, apart from I could have written your first post pretty much word for word. Sounds exactly like my situation. It is exhausting both physically and mentally, and other parents just don’t get it at all. The phrase “you’re only as happy as your unhappiest child!” is so true.
I spend so much time worrying about my eldest - our youngest as you say, is NT and an absolute joy and a breeze in comparison. It’s so hard to balance their needs, as everything does revolve around trying to level the eldest one out, and not trigger anything.
So no advice really I’m afraid. Just an acknowledgment that it’s really bloody exhausting and I’m sure you’re doing a fantastic job.

Do you experience RSD yourself?

LetaLestrange · 10/06/2026 23:05

No advice, just solidarity. I have a 10yo DD who is AuDHD with PDA and an 8yo awaiting ADHD diagnosis.

DD2 puts up with a lot from DD1 and I hate that she has to. DD1 recently went away for 2 nights on school residential. I worried the whole time she was gone (she was actually fine) but just having DD2 was WILD!!

We had dinner together, then at 7pm she brushed her teeth and got ready for bed without complaint. We played a couple of rounds of UNO and by 8pm she was asleep, my house was clean and tidy, and I had no idea what to do 😆😆

DD1 is a terrible sleeper and panics alone. I don’t have to co-sleep, but I have to keep going back to check in on her every 10 mins or so before she falls asleep or she freaks out. Then she’ll probably wake for the day around 3am.

Those 2 nights with just DD2… I was there thinking “shiiiiit is this what it’s like for other people ??”

BoyMum20192 · 10/06/2026 22:51

Nothing really to add, apart from I could have written your first post pretty much word for word. Sounds exactly like my situation. It is exhausting both physically and mentally, and other parents just don’t get it at all. The phrase “you’re only as happy as your unhappiest child!” is so true.
I spend so much time worrying about my eldest - our youngest as you say, is NT and an absolute joy and a breeze in comparison. It’s so hard to balance their needs, as everything does revolve around trying to level the eldest one out, and not trigger anything.
So no advice really I’m afraid. Just an acknowledgment that it’s really bloody exhausting and I’m sure you’re doing a fantastic job.

BertieBotts · 10/06/2026 22:21

Also very reactive ADHD kid (no ASD dx but traits) here. We live somewhere PDA is not diagnosed at all, though I do find some PDA resources helpful. Stimulant medication has been absolutely like magic. I have a very happy, very autistic-leaning 7yo who has about 3 interests and 2 friends (one of whom is his sibling), can be rigid and can get hung up on things being done right and still doesn't recognise that he is a child and adults have a different social status to him, but we don't mind this, and he seems to begrudgingly accept that it is the way at school so we are all (tentatively!) surviving for now.

I would be cautious about walking on eggshells. I do understand this, and sometimes it makes sense, but I second another poster who said sometimes avoiding triggers just leads to you playing some kind of reverse whack-a-mole where you don't even have a mallet - more triggers will always come up because it's not actually that the thing itself is an especially damaging or difficult thing for them, it's just that they are feeling like an eggshell and any small force can cause them to crack in that way, and plus because it can be self-feeding and grow in the same way that anxiety can. The thing is that it is so costly to the rest of the family to do this, especially siblings, and it is not always actually helpful to the ND child to have it reinforced that everyone else has to bend around them at all times. It is true that ND children often need accommodation that NT children may not, but I think it's important also to uphold the rights of e.g. other children. For example, even when DS2 was exploding a lot of the time, we always had a rule that he could decide what he did, but he could not control what other people do. He could make a request, and the other person could choose to follow it or not. The only exception we would make was where he was e.g. asking for space (even if he was doing it in a non-ideal or outright rude way) but if his request was totally unreasonable (e.g. if you colour with me you can only use the pink crayon) then we would lay out the actual terms (You can decide if it's OK for DS3 to sit with you and colour, but if you're colouring together, then he can use whichever colour he likes. If you're colouring apart, you can divide the crayons, but you need to give him more than one.) If he was finding it hard to cope with this, then we would take him away from where he could cause any damage to e.g. the crayons, DS3, the drawings and try to co-regulate with him to help him calm down and work through it.

RSD I think is a particularly sticky concept - I think this can be helpful for adults, but for children I don't know that it is especially useful, particularly the way it gets used in some online ND parenting spaces. The D does not stand for disorder BTW, but dysphoria, which is a more temporary experience than a permanent thing. The term was originally coined (by Dr. William Dobson) to describe an experience many people with ADHD relate to, not a standalone diagnosis, and it is not considered a diagnosable condition, although there is research on the concept of "rejection sensitivity" (which is not unique to ADHD).

It is most likely that a combination of repeated experience of social rejection (making it associated with painful or sometimes traumatic memories) plus emotional dysregulation (which means the person's emotions don't have a "volume control") is what is behind the adult experience of RSD. I feel like the way it is presented online is more like something which is inbuilt into a person and will always be present, and I just do not believe that is likely to be the case. It reads much more, to me, like the way that e.g. someone who is dyslexic and struggles with reading and spelling might find insults relating to their intelligence to be especially difficult because it brings up painful memories or touches on an aspect of self-esteem which is especially fragile.

ie, it is a completely valid and understandable response, particularly in an adult or older child who has experienced some combination of peer rejection, bullying, harsh parenting/criticism from other adults, repeated job loss, etc, often in the context of not knowing they have ADHD and not knowing how to change those patterns - I get that, it's a really horrible thing to experience, it likely mounts up to almost a sort of trauma response and automatic, self-protective reaction. However, I think it absolutely is something which can be overcome, this would be twofold - basically the emotional regulation skills on the one hand, to try and help the child/person to recognise when they are getting pulled into an overwhelming emotion and then some self-soothing/self-regulating strategies to ramp back down or even just something as simple as giving it time before taking any action. Then the other side of it would be seeking out and supporting any positive social relationships/experiences, working on social skills and communication, ideally within the environment with other children, and ideally increasing support for the child in places they will have social experiences (e.g. school, clubs) in order that they are less likely to end up having an experience where their behaviour upsets other children.

Where I think the way it's talked about online can be unhelpful is that children with ADHD often find it extremely difficult to hear criticism or feedback or accept consequences, and if this is put down to "RSD" and parents are made to feel guilty or that they should not exacerbate this, it can make you feel as though you can never give your child feedback on their behaviour or hold them accountable for anything and that is not usually helpful. It's nuanced obviously because on the one hand no, it isn't helpful to be constantly piling on loads of criticism and consequences for things they might not actually be able to help, and also we're human so it is easy to fall into patterns of complaining about things you notice which are irritating while forgetting to acknowledge the good things you are seeing because you are too stressed to notice them. These are things which it can be helpful for parents to be aware of as patterns which we might easily fall into and want to avoid. There are strategies to follow for all of these things. But OTOH if you are focusing on one thing at a time which is within their grasp and you are getting plenty of positive warm supportive interaction in, then IME it can actually be really helpful to use a very minor, token, boring and temporary consequence to mark certain behaviours, even if only as an exercise in learning that actually, you will make mistakes and it is not the end of the world and nobody thinks you are a terrible person because of it, and your parents can both love you AND be frustrated by something that you do, that your actions have consequences but you can handle them and you always have a chance to try again. That's healthier than keeping your own emotions all hidden away because you are worried that it is going to cause damage to your child or spark off a meltdown. Actually weirdly and tangentially, although it's fiction, a bit outdated and wasn't that realistic when it was written, I think the Tracey Beaker books, especially the character of Cam is quite a good example of a way that adults can speak to children expressing frustration but also love at the same time. I re-read them recently and found it stood out to me - everything online seems to be so divided where it's all either robotically compliance-based (not my thing) or so passively accepting that you are basically supposed to lie down in every puddle because you must not allow your child to experience being wet. I lean towards this one mostly, but I think it just sometimes well-meaningly goes too far. Like if I can't control the rain, then I don't need to protect my child from every metaphorical puddle, either. And honestly they don't melt. My own child's doctor was the one who told me to stop rescuing him so much and I did pull back a bit and I feel like doing that helped me to recognise when he does need me to go in and advocate for him, and when I just need to let him have an experience, even if it's not a nice one, and trust him that he will deal with it in his own way.

I do also really like the Ross Greene stuff in terms of giving a bit more structure to low demand, although I don't think it works for everything. I find listening to podcast interviews with Dr. Greene to be more useful than the FB group which is a bit too rigid for me and swings wildly towards "plan C everything even if it means plan A for everyone else".

Any PDA related stuff which talks about autonomy is fantastic - especially where it gets into the nitty gritty of how to handle/balance when the child's autonomy clashes with another person's autonomy, because although their autonomy is important (so much that I genuinely think this is important for every child, NT or PDA) it does not trump another person's autonomy, but equally nobody else's autonomy trumps theirs.

The Linda K Murphy books are absolutely top notch. I would honestly buy these for school if you think they would read them. Some of the best and most practical without feeling the need to sneak in criticism for the opposite approach.

Something explaining an idea of "levels" of nervous system reactions - Mona Delahooke or Robyn Gobbel are the best for this one, I think. And possibly Stuart Shanker. DS2 does "baby voice" when he is getting overwhelmed as well. I do think it is incredibly helpful to be able to recognise when they are getting close to their limit and to take action before you get there if possible, rather than keep pushing on until they well and truly melt down. If something is important for a sibling, we always try to either make sure that both of us are there, so that one of us can leave with DS2 or take him out for some space if necessary, or we don't take DS2 in the first place. Now that he is on medication this is much less necessary, but before he was medicated it would often be the case that we just wouldn't take him. I felt it was important for DS3 to be able to experience things without DS2 becoming the focus of the only parent's attention. This does have consequences for me - I can't work currently, and we are fortunate that DH's job is fairly flexible and he can WFH as well, which helps a lot. We don't have family nearby.

Notmycircusnotmyotter · 10/06/2026 20:54

Sounds so tough OP and you're doing your best. Please don't let your little child lose out because of his brother's problems, he sounds so so sweet,

desperatemum1234 · 10/06/2026 20:30

Suspected nd here (been trying to get assessed for years). Bit older, 13. Behaviour off the scale. We are being destroyed health-wise - exhausted beyond all imagination, stress, panic attacks, chest pains, headaches, have been living in survival mode for years. Not sure we’ll survive this.

SENMummyto2 · 10/06/2026 20:22

Similar situation here, except we have 2 ND children with very different needs. Both with a PDA profile. As much as I hate to say it, 90% of the time life is utter hell. We have no childcare support as no one can cope with them - separately or together, family or paid - and we find we have to split them up as much as possible meaning family time is very, very rare. I’m sorry I have no advice, but wanted to add that you aren’t alone & I totally agree with others having no idea if they haven’t lived it!

Hamela · 10/06/2026 18:46

I could have written this. Op, I'm twenty years in on the same boat, and I must impress upon you how ABSOLUTELY VITAL it is, that you get some time to yourself. Even if you just do nothing at all in that time. Go to any length to ensure that you get a break.

The dc can and may burn out, and have your support during that awful time. But if you burn out, you can't give that any more, with the double whammy that you are also unable to cope.

Please heed my warning ❤️ I know it's often hard to let go of the reins even temporarily, some of the plates you're spinning to cope every day may fall, but it's so crucial, and it just compounds over the years if you don't (ask me how I know...🫪🙃)

Explain it to school exactly as you have done here. It makes perfect sense. By email or phone or whatevers easiest, bit by bit or all at once.

But seriously, time for yourself is time invested in the kids too. And time with each one individually wherever possible. You cannot pour from an empty cup ❤️

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