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Parents of autistic children, what have been your most frightening moments?

10 replies

Wokeuptired · 17/09/2026 21:12

To those who have autistic children, what has been your worst moments?
I have 2, the first was I put my little one to bed he was about 4 and when i went to check on him he had crawled into the duvet cover and then sort of done a crocodile death roll in it, had to rush him to hospital as he was a minute or 2 away from suffocating.
The next one is the worst, we had a Ford galaxy and in the back was the dog crate, the car was parked in the grounds of the house and we had big double gates, i told my DH that I had to go to the shops to get a few bits and Ds was in the lounge playing, anyway I went shopping and it was a hot day and whet I opened the boot our son was trapped in the dog cage, i have no idea how he managed it but you wouldn't of left a dog in the car in that heat, i took him straight to the hospital again as he was non verbal and when I got there I saw loads of messages as my D H had called the police as our son was missing as he thought he went out in the time it took the gates to close, we still beat ourselves up over these 2 incidents that both could of led to his death. Being a parent of an autistic child is bloody hard work as you can never relax or have a good sleep, i just feel so sorry for little Noah and his family, there is no user manual or help guide to help navigate life with an autistic child or children.
What are your OMFG moments?
Our Ds is now 18 and he will never be able to live independently but he is now able to look after himself a bit better.

OP posts:
MrTiddlesTheCat · 17/09/2026 21:22

When DS was 2. We were at the beach in the shallows and I took my eyes off him for max 5 seconds. That's all he needed to bolt. We're in the sea and he's gone. The absolute terror of thinking he was under the water somewhere will never leave me. Spotted him eventually all the way across the beach in the carpark. How he got there so fast I'll never know.

Wokeuptired · 17/09/2026 21:33

@MrTiddlesTheCat they either move slower than a sloth or quicker than a formula one car, i just can't help but feel so bad for noahs grandad, i can't imagine how him and the whole family are coping with this awful tragedy.

OP posts:
wizzywig · 17/09/2026 21:35

Of course i could have scrolled by and not said anything but Op is it really necessary to post your near death of asd childs experiences and seek others stories so soon after such a tragedy?
I too have kids who are on the severe end of the asd spectrum.

Thesearenotthedroidsyouarelookingfor · 17/09/2026 21:38

I have a child with autism but it feels wrong to use the tragedy of little Noah as an opportunity to talk about how hard being a parent to an autistic child is and hijacking this awful event to compare our near misses.

A little boy has died let’s not make threads about him about us.

StressedStudentPara · 17/09/2026 21:39

@wizzywig yes presumably so, as Noah is mentioned in the OP

BringBackTheLight · 17/09/2026 21:40

Stop it. You're being really distasteful.
This is not the time.

Strawberryfruitstarburst · 17/09/2026 21:41

This thread is not in good taste at all.

clapalongnow · 17/09/2026 21:43

Gosh OP. This is poor taste.

Wokeuptired · 17/09/2026 21:44

I just thought with all the negativity I have seen and some bloody awful accusations on social media over the care of little noah is disgusting, i just thought to hilight the fact that looking after an autistic child is hard, harder than anything I have ever encountered. So I just thought that talking about those times and how no one is to blame and it was just a tragic accident, i will keep my thoughts to myself then.

OP posts:
Chunkybabythighs · 17/09/2026 21:47

I think people realise looking after kids can be hard op.

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