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Parents of anxious kids/teens support thread(part 2)

991 replies

Stilllivinginazoo · 29/04/2019 19:54

Hi everyone
Our original thread filled up fairly fast so I'm offering a second one
Anyone who cares for a child/teen with anxiety can join us as a comment,or hang around
Post your worries,your tips,ask for advice,rant about your day -we understand
Also feel free to share any small victories

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Thread gallery
19
AnneOfAvonlea · 08/01/2020 08:24

The cats are lovely.
Sounds like great progress bigbus

Stilllivinginazoo · 09/01/2020 20:12

Dd2 had horrendous anxiety going back to school toda
I walked her in shaking and gasp for air
Had ho reception and ask HOY to come down.he eventually got her in by taking her up to art deptand she sat up there with best friend for tutor time
Terrible day,doesn't remember any lessons was in.couldnt eat too stressed and throat "closes up" and reflux was v bad by time got home.couple hrs anger and tears til finally mamage get bit toast in,then had few grapes and she's bit better tempered now
Hoping tomorrow's not as stressful
School are being very good tho

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AnneOfAvonlea · 09/01/2020 21:30

Sorry to hear that zoo :(
Hopefully she can get back in tomorrow. Sounds like school supportive.

I have meeting with senco week after next. Dd has been in the last two days so good progress for us.

1stepforward2back · 09/01/2020 21:56

I'm sorry DD2 is so anxious Zoo. Did you ask the GP to ask CAMHS to reconsider their decision to reject the referral or speak to the OT/mention it at the TAF? I'm glad school are supportive though.

Hope the meeting goes well Anne.

I have spent far too long on here tonight since DS' bedtime when I have other things that I should be doing. I am glad it is DH's turn to do bedtime tonight, DS1 isn't sleeping. That makes me sound selfish but I am mentally exhausted. Really need to find someone to help us with bedtime.

Stilllivinginazoo · 10/01/2020 16:48

Lack of sleep is soul destroyingly hard one-step
I miscalculated tag.its not til later in the month.one of dd2 teachers has agree poke camhs see if that'll help

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Bigbus · 10/01/2020 19:04

Zoo I’m sorry to hear things are tough for DD2 at the moment. When DD1 hasn’t eaten or had a drink for ages she gets into a bit of a state. I find getting her to drink something like ice tea helps to hydrate her enough to calm her down and then she will eat. DD1 finds polos help too.

I hope things get better soon. I think I’m heading for a difficult night because DD1 has a particular actress she loves and this actress is going to be in a play that is only going to be performed once but it’s during school hours and it’s 16+ age recommendation so obviously she can’t go. She says she knows she can’t go but at some point I think she’ll ask and I’ll have to say no and then she gets embarrassed and then she loses it!

I hope everyone has better weekends Flowers

katalex · 13/01/2020 12:35

Last week was pretty awful. DD only managed to go to two lessons all week. We saw the GP, who was struggling to understand what DD's issues are. She has trouble articulating how she feels. He kept asking her why she feels this way but she doesn't know. He wants her to write down how she feels and then go back in a couple of weeks. I asked for a referral to CAMHS for an autism assessment and he said it was pointless at this point because it will take two years to get an assessment. I assume he meant that it's not going to help the current situation. I felt very demoralised.

We had a good meeting with the school on Friday though. It was with student support and the deputy head, who is also one of DD's teachers (who she likes). They have started her on a temporary (official) part-time timetable, doing 2 lessons every day. There were lots of tears over the weekend and in the hour before we left to go to school today. She kept trying to tell herself that it would be ok but she was just so anxious about it. She emailed the deputy head this morning asking if she could stay in student support instead of going to lessons for today and she agreed. At least she's there. She's got a couple of school trips this week, which should help to break it up a bit and she chose the two lessons either side of lunch, so she gets to spend some time with her friends. It's going to be a tough few weeks I think.

Here are a couple of pictures of Gary. He seems to be helping DD when she's upset or stressed. He is also a good distraction.

Parents of anxious kids/teens support thread(part 2)
Parents of anxious kids/teens support thread(part 2)
Stilllivinginazoo · 13/01/2020 13:25

katalex Gary's GORGEOUS😍😍
Im sorry you have had a stressful week.good that school are still working with you.i don't understand the "pointless" remark,why would it be pointless?
Will trips be easier or harder?

dd2 finds trips twice as hard as there is less structure and unfamiliarity to add into the mix.shes not coping at all well.i spoke to D's OT asking I can challenge camhs decision to defer to local counselling.she said I need g.p to write another note,and if school will add their twopenneth it may help.no guarantees though as because she's at schooland eating SOMETHING

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katalex · 13/01/2020 14:25

Thanks zoo. We love him already. He's quite noisy and keeps waking us up in the night but he's fine after you stroke him a couple of minutes. Maybe he just needs to know that we're still there.

DD will find trips easier than being in school. It's the lessons that she finds stressful. DD told them that she panics and can't do anything when the teacher says something like 'get all 30 questions done by lunchtime or you can't go to lunch', so one thing they have done to try and make her relax a bit more is to tell the teachers that, if she doesn't finish her work by the end of the lesson, she can take it home and finish it. I don't know if it will help. Nothing else has so far. She's always been like this to some extent though. When she was in year 3, if there was any sort of writing task to do, she would write the learning objective at the top of the page and then she would panic and her mind would go blank. Her teacher wasn't interested in finding out why she wasn't writing anything and helping her work through it, she just used to tell her off every day and then keep her in at break and lunch time. She ended up in therapy that year.

vikingwoman · 14/01/2020 00:14

Happy New Year to all Flowers. Sorry for being awol lately - we’ve had some difficult periods. DS1 (now 17) spent the last week in hospital- he tried to harm himself after an altercation with police, where he was cautioned. He was discharged today from the in-patient MH unit (child and adolescent). It was all very difficult, but we were given some positive (private) treatment options, and he has started taking Zoloft.
I was barely able to function through it all whilst also trying to protect DS2 from the drama.
I have skimmed through the recent posts on here and sympathize so much with everyone. Anxiety is an epidemic amongst young people, and unfortunately (according to one psychiatrist we spoke to at the discharge meeting) treatment options are lagging. He said the increase of cases in just the last 6-7 years is huge.
I’m sorry to sound so pessimistic, but perhaps there is comfort in knowing we aren’t alone. Heck I already see DS2 with his school refusal having anxiety issues - sigh xx

1hopforward2back · 14/01/2020 11:04

Viking, I'm sorry to hear of DS1's admission, and that it's antecedent was contact with the police.

I hope you and DS1 now get more support. Or is that wishful thinking? I don't know what discharge care is like where you are, or indeed inpatient CAMHS care. Do you have a care coordinator and suitable aftercare? Here after being admitted to hospital under some sections there are legal rights to ongoing support under another section. Hopefully the antidepressants don't cause a worsening of symptoms prior to helping.

Make sure you are taking care of yourself too, you can't help DS' if you are not.

1hopforward2back · 14/01/2020 11:09

Big I hope the weekend wasn't as bad as you feared.

Zoo, what week are you at with the EHCP? You must be at least at week 14 now, so have you had a draft? I'd definitely get GP and school to write to CAMHS re DD, but in the meantime have you tried to local counselling service you were directed to?

Katalex Writing down how DD feels sounds like a good plan. When you see the GP again insist on an ASD referral - it may not be via CAMHS, in some areas it is via community paediatrics, though a CAMHS referral as well sounds like it's needed.

What other support are school providing? If DD can not access school even with support then you should apply for an EHCNA. If the part time timetable becomes anything other than a time limited short term strategy working towards reintergration then it is illegal whether or not parents agree.

Slight NC. DS1 had the dentist this morning and frustratingly he needs another baby tooth taking out because of how the adult ones are erupting. He's previously had a couple taken out for the same reason. Dentist is really good, doesn't bat an eyelid at DS1's refusal to sit on the chair etc. We discussed trying to get DS1 (and I mentioned DS2&3 too) to brush independently and their opinion is not to force the matter if it's not working. Though they did give me some disclosing tablets free.

Stilllivinginazoo · 14/01/2020 17:11

onehop I had text the ECHP has been agreed with ESMH as primary as he hasn't got full statement yetno other word than that at present
The counselling service said they can't help at all if she's already been accepted for counselling with school as they cannot run concurrently

Your dentist sounds brilliant

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Stilllivinginazoo · 14/01/2020 17:12

Viking sending huge hugs lovely.im sorry things have deteriorated so badlyFlowers

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Stilllivinginazoo · 14/01/2020 17:31

Forgot to add D's did wellbeing today at church end our rd.we agreed he would stay by himself as long as there was a familiar person to sit with.senior church member was there with grandchild

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Merlinite · 14/01/2020 17:52

Hello I hope you don't mind me joining in. I could do with some advice on teen anxiety,. Bit long sorry Used to post on MN about 9 years ago, glad to see some really supportive threads like this one.
Anyway I'm posting about DD age 16. Long back story, abusive controlling father (verbal/psychological/emotional) & international custody situation, the father is a raging narc who kept all 3 DCs abroad (European country) and obviously now in teen years we're seeing the fallout. DD has 2 younger siblings still with him, friends in a different country. In November DD plucked up courage to ask me to bring her back to the UK, I did, he can't do anything as she's 16 now. But, she knows nobody here, this happened at worst possible time, halfway through GCSE year. So I'm homeschooling.
She has mild to moderate anxiety/depression. GP doesn't want to prescribe antiDs at the moment & said that only treatment available is a local volunteer service where they offer CBT with a mentor, as waiting list for Cahms is massive and even then no guarantee of acceptance.
DD went for 1st CBT session yesterday, went well, hit it off with the mentor who's a psychology student, DD has big interest in the subject and is doing it for GCSE. She's taking 2 GCSEs this year & 4 next, to take pressure off.
Problem is her mood swings, difficulty engaging with routine, hours and hours on phone and in room, reluctant to do anything or take exercise and endless complaining & negativity, which is incredibly draining as I'm trying really hard to keep the routine positive, structured and reasonable. Any suggestions?

1hopforward2back · 14/01/2020 20:16

Welcome Mirlinite. Sorry to hear you are in such a difficult situation and have a need to join this thread. I'm not surprised your DD is struggling.

GPs here don't prescribe antidepressants to under 18's unless they've seen a psychiatrist first. It's a huge positive the CBT went well. Would she take some vitamin D supplements? Low vitamin D won't be helping her mood, and many in the U.K. are deficient in winter.

Some colleges do 1 year programmes of a handful of GCSEs, it might be worth looking into that for September, so she will meet peers. I would prioritise getting out of the house and meeting others. Would she join any groups? Or go for a run/walk with you? Go to HE events? Limiting screen time must be difficult because she will be clinging onto staying in contact with friends in the other country.

Zoo, well done DS. A few months ago he wouldn't have been able to do that.

Work out how many weeks it has been since you first requested an EHCNA in writing. If it has been more than 14 weeks, which I think it must be by now, send the LA the model letter linked to on here. In order for the LA to stick to the legal time limit of finalising by 20 weeks you should have a draft by week 14.

DS1 sees the specialist community dental team - DS3 does too but l don't take them at the same time. They are brilliant, and well accustomed to children with additional needs.

Stilllivinginazoo · 15/01/2020 04:56

Welcome merlinite
I don't really have much more I can add as ,onehop has covered most things
A gratitude jourbal+- setting positive about each day to help counter negative thoughts
We get the fallout as we are their safe space in a storm,and whilst it's very hard to endure the knowledge my DD feels she has someone she trusts enough to release all her feelings comforts me a little

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katalex · 15/01/2020 12:45

After a relatively good couple of days, I'm feeling pretty deflated. When I got dd up to go to school, she said she had a bad headache. I told her to take some ibuprofen and get ready for school. She got upset and said something about forcing a suicidal person to go to school. I don't know if she meant it but, when the GP asked her last week if she was suicidal, she said no. I told her that she had to go to school today because they are now insisting on medical evidence for any further absences. They said that they accept appointment cards but you can't get a doctor's appointment for a headache, and chances are that it would be gone in half an hour. Anyway, she didn't talk to me for about 40 minutes. When we got to school, she said she was going to write down how she feels and give it to her student support contact. She was fine yesterday because she had a school trip in the morning and then drama after lunch (she likes drama). I know she'll be fine tomorrow because she only has a school trip to the theatre but I bet Friday will be similar to today. Even if I wanted to get her signed off school, I don't know if the GP would even agree to it when all he thinks she has is 'worry' and just needs to stop avoiding school. He seemed very reluctant to recognise that she has anxiety.

1hop do you know what else DD's school should be doing to support her? Can I ask them to get the SENCO to assess her? What about an educational psychologist? I've read that schools have access to ed psych but so, far, they have not offered anything. Somehow she's ended up in this terrible state and all the school and GP seem to care about is getting her back to school, without try to find out what the underlying issue is. I'm all for getting her back to school but, what's the point if she spends the whole time in student support? I'm trying to find somewhere local to get her privately assessed for ASD. I'm not waiting around for the NHS.

Also, my dh's cousin has a dd who started to have similar problems at the same age (and has ASD). When I mentioned dd's issues with timed tasks (panicking when e.g. having to answer a certain number of questions in a lesson or having to write a whole story in one lesson) she said that her dd has the same issue and it was caused by difficulties with executive functioning and cognitive processing. Do you know if that sort of thing would be covered under an ASD assessment or would we have to get that looked at separately (and with who)?

Welcome merlinite. Sorry to hear about your dd's issues. You will get some great advice and support here.

Stilllivinginazoo · 15/01/2020 15:14

I had a proactive morning..
I contacted the referral team and queried what doctor had put on application.
Turns out was a vague she has anxiety and is sitting GCSE this Summer..no wonder it got us nowhereAngry
I spoke to a camhs consultant.they gave me list things need to add to a referral for herand that school can re refer her.they added if we can get her to see school nurse regarding eating and get a baseline height and weight done as well basic advice for advice on websites for anxiety etc we can add this in and it helps push us towards Camhs as we have then exhausted all other external options we can access independantly
I email head of learning and she's more than happy to do a referral for us,and ask wanted book app with nurse or ask dd2 first.i said I'd run it past her to get her on board it's important and email her tomorrow.i will then add another email giving her all details how did functions at home
I was also given two websites to look at-
Anxiety Canada
Get self help.co.uk for ideas about challenging thoughts

Feels good to be actually able to do something constructive myself

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vikingwoman · 15/01/2020 17:25

Thank you 1hop and zoo Flowers.

1hop We were pleased with the inpatient care. We are very lucky in that we have a hospital within easy walking distance (3 minute drive). As for after care/next steps, we were given recommendations on who to contact for private therapy. DS1's gp has made follow-up appointments, and we were given recommendations on easing him back to school. School principal has been good arranging a return plan. I guess we shall see.
I hope things go well with the dental work. When my DC were younger I also took them to a dentist specializing in SN kids. We have since found once in our neighbourhood who is very gentle and patient - he worked at a snail's pace to earn DS2's trust.

Zoo fingers crossed things start moving for DD2. Well done for having a very proactive day! I propose a nice, big chocolatey reward Smile

1hopforward2back · 15/01/2020 20:08

Viking, its brilliant DS was able to access inpatient care so close to home. In the U.K. children and young people often face being admitted miles away from home. It really hampers progress. Your system sounds just as stretched directing parents to look for private therapy.

Zoo, I'm glad you managed to speak to a CAMHS psychiatrist, and you know how move forward. Monitoring weight/height with the school nurse is a good idea. Do you think it's verging on an eating disorder?

Katalex, If DD talks of suicidal ideation again and you think she is serious you need to take her to A&E. I do partly agree with the GP, there is a difference between feeling anxious and anxiety in the medical sense. Though you could ask again for GP to refer to CAMHS. Long term most LA's want consultant evidence of absence, or at least a CAMHS referral sent.

Yes, ask to meet with SENCO. Schools do have limited access to EP, but to be blunt, it is very, very unlikely they will use their limited hours on your DD. I'm not saying it should be that way, but that is reality. The only way to force an EP assessment would be to apply and be accepted for an EHCNA. Something you should consider applying for if DD really can not manage school lessons. Though I do think student support is preferable to being at home. She is then there, if she isn't in school there is limited support school can offer. And the longer she is absent the harder it will be to go. But when there they could offer a mentor/key worker, do they have a counsellor, do they offer ELSA, social skills or SALT interventions, time out card, early lunch pass, ability to move between lessons 5 mins early, laptop, an IEP, help with organisation, use of 5 point scale, ear defenders/noise cancelling headphones, looking at placement within the classroom, assessing for GCSE access arrangements (though the deadline for those that need applying for is February and needs to be normal way of working so pushing it), pre teaching some subject specific content... the list really depends on why DD is finding certain lessons too much... And they're boring and she doesn't like the teacher/content aren't really acceptable.

Re ASD assessment, make sure whoever you go to privately is a) experienced in diagnosing high functioning females and b) preferably also works in the NHS. The later is because sometimes LAs/schools will question private diagnoses. The Lorna Wing specialise in high functioning women, though they are £££.

Poor executive function and cognitive processing can be part of ASD. Normally this would be assessed by an EP. Depending on how ASD assessments are undertaken in your area it may include an EP assessment, or it may not.

Writing down how she feels for student support is good.

Stilllivinginazoo · 16/01/2020 05:24

onehop she has always loved food and gets very angry when hungry/struggles to eat so I'm hoping not.she ate little and often yesterday and managed to eat a veggie sausage and little veg with bread and butter at teatime
I'd love to think this is a huge leap forward,but experience has taught me one day at a time!

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Still0 · 16/01/2020 12:46

I'm new to this thread but sadly not new to mental health problems. DD has chronic issues with emetophobia, OCD, anxiety and school refusal. The last ten years have been so hard but I always had hope that DD would get better. But I'm losing that hope. She is 18 soon and I don't know if I should just hand over all responsibility to her. I don't know what else to do. She is refusing to do any kind of education. She just says she 'can't' do it at the moment. I am a single parent. And just need to offload. Flowers To all of you in a similar position.

Stilllivinginazoo · 16/01/2020 13:22

Still0welcome.please come anytime and offload,the "door" here is always open.you are more than welcome to just join in with chitchat too.we have no judgement here

In regards to what to do,I'd say you need start small and slowly build her confidence/ability to handle little things building confidence to take over some responsibility for herself

Has she had any kind of education the last ten years?what does she do all day?what does she want to do?

It's a very hard situation,and this is doubly so as a single mum.does dad help out?do you have family or support in RL?

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