Hi, I’m posting out of despair. I’ve not posted before so please be gentle.
My dd is 10. She’s a bright girl, very kind and thoughtful. I also have a ds who is 14 who has asd. My dd is becoming extremely anxious. It’s been going on for sometime. It’s lots of little things such as spreading germs. She washes her hands in a ritual way, spends a lot of time doing it. Her hands are raw. I’ve talked to her endlessly about it, tried bribery, creamed her hands a lot. She spends hours on homework, it has to be ‘just right’. She tells me she has mean thought about people and that she might say it - when I pressed her on this she told me she thought I was ugly, then cried as she was upset. These are just a few examples.
I admit I thought it might have been attention seeking but she had an out burst before school today so I told her teacher about it at drop off. Dd was so upset and embarrassed she was hyperventilating. I’ve made an appointment to see the gp although I suspect there won’t be much they can do. I spend a lot of time with her, trying to build her confidence, girls shopping days etc She does karate and is good, a brown belt now, I always watch her lessons to support her.
Any advice is welcome. My ds is not badly affected by asd. Dd has also been assessed for asd and is not. My dh works away a lot and I have no other family or support network, so it’s just me and I’m struggling to help her 