I lost my dad very recently - last week. It was all very sudden and I'm struggling to come to terms with it, I feel very number at the moment while I try and sort his estate etc.
My 16-year-old came home on Tuesday after spending the summer with her BF's family. Since she's been home my anxiety has taken hold again as she uses me as a way to take out her moods, it's exhausting.
Being autistic for her means she has absolutely no empathy and is still using me as a verbal punchbag. I told her last night, after a shopping trip where she couldn't get her own way that I don't want to argue and she just said, 'I'm not speaking to you!' I was so deflated, i just walked out of the supermarket to the car. She was still being curt and sharp when we got home and was the same this morning.
I know shes a teen which is a huge struggle but added to that the autism and it's so tough. How do I not take it personally and how do I get across to her that I need time to grieve and not to argue?
She didn't have a relationship with my dad as he lived 4 hours away and she never saw or spoke to him. He had very complex needs, mentally and physically.