Proud of my daughter after such a difficult few years

[Heysham1]

My 16 year old daughter has never been to secondary school due to her overwhelming anxiety. Officially she has been homeschooled by me for 3 years, but the reality is that she has been at home whilst I had to work (never home alone though).

She attended the local college last year (the 14-16 initiative) but really struggled with her attendance.

She has just started a new course this week at the same college and the change in her has been incredible. She’s already sleeping better, looking better, eating better. She’s moving to a more advanced class and most importantly, she’s made a friend.

It’s been so hard the last few years for both of us.
I have felt so helpless that I couldn’t help her, but I can now see her future in front of her. I’m so proud of her, I could cry.

This is so amazing to read, I'm so happy for you both. We are in this exact situation and it's horrendous. My daughter is 14 and we are trying everything to get her engaged with learning again. Thankyou for the hope

@Heysham1 that's fantastic news. Its really difficult for teenagers sometimes to cope with every day stuff but it sounds like she's doing great
💐🙏💕 To you both x

How is this helpful??? Terrible things can happen to any one of us at any time

Aww that's amazing! Well done to you both xx

Sorry you’re right

good on you and your daughter

I wish you all the luck and love. We just want the best for them don’t we. Just having something to talk to her about has been amazing

Perhaps I should be grateful I didn’t read your first message!

Thankyou. We are trying to keep positive and taking the small wins along the way, in the hope that eventually something gives her enough strength and confidence to start again.

This is so lovely to read. I hope this is the new start she needs. This success will be down to the support you have given her so be proud of yourself too!

My DD18 has had a terrible few years so I totally understand that feeling of
wanting to celebrate a win and to feel proud of them.

My DD is having her induction day at a local uni today - If you knew what she's been through these past 6 years you just wouldn't believe it was possible. I still can't get my head around how she managed it.

I am taking each day she gets through without a breakdown as a win. I just want her to find some nice new friends and feel part of something again. I want her to feel proud of herself more than anything.

That is an incredible effort and result on your daughter's part, good on her. A fantastic achievement!

That really resonated with me. Just a couple of decent friends and suddenly the world doesn’t seem as daunting. Wishing you and daughter all the happiness x

I completely and utterly understand! My dd refused school for the final 2 years, nothing could get her to go, we had every department possible working to try. She wasn’t out living it up or being confrontational about it, she simply shut down, it was horrendous to watch and ultimately led to my marriage breaking down due to the stress it out on us. My dd went to college sporadically but she worked hard at any assignments she was given, in her room. She got what she needed for university and us now at an RG university just starting her second year. She still has crushing anxiety a lot of the time but she is hard working, conscientious and bloody brave!
DH and I are back together after years apart, which is amazing, I never thought we’d recover and I thought life would be hard for all 3 of us, but it’s going so great. After years of utter stress, I’m now trying hard to consider myself too.

Another amazing story. So pleased for you all

That’s great news for you both

That’s amazing. Well done to your DD and to you for supporting her to get to this point. Thank you for posting a positive story, it gives me hope for my DD.

Well done to all of you. I’m sure your daughter will have a wonderful future ahead of her. I understand your comments about your relationship. My husband (step-dad to my daughter) never really ‘got it’. In fact, unless you’ve walked in our shoes, it’s hard to understand why tough love, for example, doesn’t work. Wishing you all the very best

How long has she had them?

Fabulous news! So pleased for you DD and you!

I absolutely can relate. My AuDHD/Anxious 16 yr old DS missed nearly 2 years of secondary and did 4 GCSEs at home through the council’s outreach programme (a godsend!). He has just started college and my goodness the change is already noticeable! Leaving the flat on his own, keen to go to college, talking to other students - it’s incredible.

school is just awful for so many kids isn’t it?

That’s amazing. I know this isn’t the situation for some teens, but I always felt that she would work it out for herself in her own time without the pressure of high school. So many kids can’t cope with school and I was very fortunate that i could make the decision to keep her at home.
I wish your son every success