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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

Estranged from my autistic university daughter after years of conflict

187 replies

YAdaughter · Yesterday 19:22

YA daughter is 20 and at university.

She is autistic as am I. I would say the relationship hasn’t been good for about 5 years.
She was highly controlling of home life. What channel we could watch, and it steadily got worse as teenage years kicked in.

We tried to put in boundaries and basic rules and it just got really bad. Most of the really nasty stuff was directed towards me and not her Dad - he’s a quiet gentle giant.

She would call me a Karen, Terf, even a Tory (I voted labour) and any insult she could think of - I’ve been called mental, controlling, bitch and I’ve even been punched. She was failing at university socially (not academically) and no self care so GP recommended she move back home. It was vile.

Daily insults. No basic rules following. She literally used to say ‘what you looking at bitch? ‘ if I came downstairs in my own home. I’m a Headteacher in my day to day job. I hope I’m a good one and kind and empathetic. She would tell me I was stupid on a daily basis and to chill.

She would leave used sanitary towels left on the floor in the bathroom etc and she just treated us like an ATM. She went out late (3 am) and then phoned as she was on the street in city centre at night etc it wasn’t just what she said it me but how she said it and I kicked her out the following day and offered to book a hotel or something but that I couldn’t do it anymore - I had high blood pressure, panic attacks, and I was very ill. She agreed to leave and go to a friend but wouldn’t tell us which one. And this was a month ago. She said she is safe and won’t tell us where. She says at the moment we haven’t supported her and that we need to understand she wants space and if she wants money or a relationship she will phone. We did contact wellbeing and she had lied as she had said they were supporting her but the university had no record on her.

I lurch from loving her and missing her one minute to wanting to scream at her and hate her the next.

I’m having counselling but it’s not helping. She wanted a huge holiday and back in September we agreed and are due to go on a once in a lifetime safari next week. (She has a younger sister). She has emailed us to say she is 100% not coming as she needs to heal. I’m furious, sad, angry but I’m also glad she isn’t coming and I feel conflicted by that. She won’t talk to my lovely DH or respond to her sibling or grandmother etc DH says I need to focus on me and we need to focus on each other and our family. I’m so angry about the holiday we booked it for her mental health as it was the one she wanted. I feel so angry I’m such a shit mum and I failed to raise a nice person - it’s all on me isn’t it? I tried over the years to get support, diagnosis etc and no one really helped us as she was so clever and masked so heavily out of the home

OP posts:
BeSnugEagle · Today 16:55

You are not a bad mum. Concentrate on having a lovely holiday with your other daughter and husband. One day she may change, but until then look after yourself

YAdaughter · Today 17:04

deeahgwitch · Today 16:46

I can’t see your reply @YAdaughterwhen I asked if your dh was her biological Dad.
Is her sister a full sibling ?

Yes and yes.

OP posts:
TheSunBeatsDown · Today 17:06

ExtraOnions · Today 15:16

My ASD DD is 20 now, we’ve been through done very tough times. Her Mental Health was a mess, she was rude abusive, would physically assault me, smashed stuff up - just awful.

I told her every day that I loved her, I told her I was on her side, I didn’t retaliate, didn’t take things off her, I spoke on her terms, gave her space when she needed it, recognised it was the ASD and anxiety that was behind a lot of this, and was always - regardless of how shit the day - her cheerleader

She’s 20 now, we have a great relationship, she’s a couple of years behind at college, and a couple of years behind emotionally / socially.

Screaming back at a struggling teenager won’t work, punishing someone with ASD / MH problems for doing something they probably had little control over doesn’t work, gentle, patient patenting is sometimes what is needed.

This is the counsel of perfection. If someone referred to me as 'bitch' or 'Karen' or derogatory names in my own home, I wouldn't be able to live with them. I might still love them but not live with them, I (like the OP) am also a human. Mum's aren't just sponges for other people's emotional shit, no-one suggest men should sit around being called names all day, but mums are supposed to listen, answer the phone, never react, be calm, walk away. There was too much shouting in my household during adolescence and I am sorry for it, but it's pretty obvious that where there's one neurodivergent person, there's another, and the OP who has her own neurodivergence has been bullied, picked on and generally very psychologically damaged by this, perhaps understandable as a phase in the early teens but not as a way to live your life on an ongoing basis.

I agree with you, OP, about the phone; keep paying that so your daughter can access her friends and help.

I don't think you can be together at the moment; stop trying to fix all this with safari holidays, paying for her accommodation or anything. Just step back.

Work on your own emotional regulation and in therapy to try to make your life happier.

Your daughter will find her way, she's 20 now, and even allowing for immaturity, she's not a child and no-one but no-one will want to live with someone who lashes out and emotionally and physically punches them, so I expect her behaviour will improve, or she will prove so disturbed that in fact she will come to the attention of psychiatric services, which may be the best way for her.

You haven't failed, some young people are highly disturbed, I have the odd one that I encounter in my work, and any amount of parenting can't seem to fix it, in fact, they usually trail their loving, patient and possibly too understanding parents behind them as they wreak havoc at university as well.

Your daughter can change; she can take medication, have therapy, make friendships that are a support, go in a different direction in life, but you will not be able to faciliate this, it's too tangled and emotional for you to fix this from here; let her go at this point, and keep a line of communication open if you can, just the odd text for now.

Look up 'loving detachment' from AA, it's about loving the person but detaching from the outcomes of their destructiveness, this was originally about dealing with someone with an alcohol problem, but it works well to take a step back from people who are just very difficult as well.

deeahgwitch · Today 17:08

Thank you.
Well bang goes my theory so that perhaps she felt sidelined at some stage - that there was just you and dd and then your dh and dd2 came along and she was no longer No1 and so she took her unhappiness out on you.
But that’s not the scenario in your home.

allthingsinmoderation · Today 17:11

You are not a shit mum.
The best thing you can do for you and your adult DD is let her go.....
Go on holiday with your family .
Perhaps time will heal .

ALovelyPinkUnicorn · Today 17:15

BallerinaFall · Today 12:57

@YAdaughter is there any reason you havent responded in regards to

"told her how she had destroyed my love for her and how I actually hated her being home etc I was broken and I literally screamed at her that she was a nasty abuser and she had to leave and I never wanted to see her again"

Because you came here wondering about your daughter and her estrangement choice not to speak with you, her saying that to the university youve thrown her out, which you disagree with, her choice not to join you all and play happy families on a stressful family holiday

As I said, I had a volatile relationship with my owny mother, and I agree that some—perhaps most—of what you've shared about your relationship with your daughter isn't okay. There is no sugar-coating that.

However, if I, as an autistic daughter who had lived through years of mental health struggles and a difficult relationship with my mother, had heard those words, this would have been my "okay, we've gone past the point of no return" moment.

Mine was my other screaming what the fuck is wrong with you when I misunderstood something once again. For further context id recently moved home due to a struggle with mental health i had no friends nearby and was struggling in fact when I approached the gp they said I was significantly/clinically depressed.

I used to say to people that perhaps I had to accept that my relationship with my mother had become toxic for both of us, and that eventually one of us would have to be the one to leave. So, hearing words like that may well have been your daughter's breaking point.

I'm not excusing everything else that has happened. You asked why she hasn't been in touch, and we talked about the holiday she isn't coming on, but I think this is the real crux of why you are becoming estranged.
I'm now five years into my own estrangement.

I was always willing to talk through the issues with my mother and even go to therapy together, but she wasn't. That doesn't mean estrangement was what I wanted. Sometimes relationships reach a point where one or both people no longer feel emotionally safe, and unless both people are willing and able to rebuild that safety, the distance simply grows.

I think it's important to consider what you actually want from this relationship. Is reconciliation what you want? Is it what your daughter wants? And are you both willing and able to do the work needed to rebuild trust? Those are difficult questions, but they matter.

Yes, I think an apology is important. Those words would deeply hurt anyone. But if your daughter is autistic, she may not simply have heard, "My mum was angry." She may instead have heard, "My mum doesn't love me anymore. I'm no longer wanted. I no longer have a secure place in this relationship."

Many autistic people process language very literally, especially during moments of intense emotion. Words spoken in anger can become stored as facts rather than temporary expressions of distress. If rejection sensitivity is also present, those words can reinforce a deep fear of being fundamentally too much, too difficult, or ultimately unlovable.

That doesn't mean those words reflected how you truly feel. Intent and impact are not always the same. But if you're trying to understand why she hasn't been in touch, I think it's important to consider how those words may have been received. She may not have walked away thinking, "Mum was overwhelmed." She may have walked away believing, "My mum no longer loves me, no longer wants me, and our relationship is over."

Whether that belief is accurate or not, it can profoundly affect how safe someone feels to reconnect. From her perspective, she may believe she is respecting what you told her. If she took your words literally, she may think that contacting you would be going against your wishes rather than rebuilding your relationship.

One of the reason I continue my estrangement is because I cant control my autism, I can mask heavily outside but when im home I seriously struggle living alone makes that easier but living with someone especially my mother meant I never got tk remove my mask and when I did it was during seriously unhappy periods of time/overwhelm. I can now lie on the floor in the dark and seriously be overwhelmed and maxed out with my mother asking repetitively what i want for dinner and if needing an answer and my perfect self to reply. I miss my family but its for everyone's peace and benefit.

so basically the daughter is basically an abusive completely self centred individual, who on the one instance of her mother responding with shouting to her abusive, vile behaviour is “wahhh poor me! Poor me!! Why on earth am I being treated so badly?!” But totally discounting all the shite that’s only directed at the mum?

TheSunBeatsDown · Today 17:18

This pattern is becoming quite common. I've noticed mums in particular sucking up what I think is critical and nasty behaviour beyond the teen years into the twenties; I even know of a thirty-year-old like this with his mum, and someone else bullied in their 70's by their 40-plus-year-old daughter with anxiety and an eating disorder and thinks it's ok to bully her mum in her own home.

I think it's ok for mums to not put up with abuse (the odd nastiness is understandable in a teen, but not as a permanent way to speak to parents), not to accept being something akin to a cash machine, and not ok for children to still be blaming them or being mean when these 'children' are adults with jobs and lives and are still taking it out on their mums.

I love my children, I have an amazing relationship with them, but it is built on the idea now that it's a choice we all have to be in this relationship. I won't let them turn into nasty adults kicking their mum to get their own emotional needs met. I'm disturbed by this trend; I've seen it a lot lately in my own friends' lives.

BruFord · Today 17:19

Look up 'loving detachment' from AA, it's about loving the person but detaching from the outcomes of their destructiveness, this was originally about dealing with someone with an alcohol problem, but it works well to take a step back from people who are just very difficult as well.

@TheSunBeatsDown I've never heard the phrase "loving detachment" but it perfectly describes how I've learnt to handle my Dad who's had lifelong MH issues. Sometimes, the only way to cope is to emotionally detach from the person, while still being there for them. When he's having a bad day and blames me for everything wrong in his life, I let it wash over me as a form of self-protection. Sometimes I need a couple of days of no contact to recover from his behavior too, and that's OK, we have to look after ourselves.

@YAdaughter That's why I'm saying that you need to let your DH handle interactions with your DD right now, you need to heal and get away from the abuse. Flowers

YAdaughter · Today 17:21

allthingsinmoderation · Today 17:11

You are not a shit mum.
The best thing you can do for you and your adult DD is let her go.....
Go on holiday with your family .
Perhaps time will heal .

DH has just sat me down with my carry on and said look at your reading material - it’s all stuff relevant to her and books on female autism and PDD etc he has said she has occupied every waking moment of my thoughts and worries for over a decade. He said - look at your to be read pile and I’ve just changed all my reading material. He is right. Cozy murder mysteries here we come!

My younger one has snuck a cuddly snow leopard into her case and has said- Mum it’s going to be magical this trip and she’s right it is!

OP posts:
TheSunBeatsDown · Today 17:23

YAdaughter · Today 17:21

DH has just sat me down with my carry on and said look at your reading material - it’s all stuff relevant to her and books on female autism and PDD etc he has said she has occupied every waking moment of my thoughts and worries for over a decade. He said - look at your to be read pile and I’ve just changed all my reading material. He is right. Cozy murder mysteries here we come!

My younger one has snuck a cuddly snow leopard into her case and has said- Mum it’s going to be magical this trip and she’s right it is!

Even your name on here is about her.

I agree with your husband.

You can orient your life around you. I hope she heals and works it through. It is not in your control though.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday.

Spaniellover2 · Today 17:24

Do this: contact the provider and ask them if you can change the number. Request a new SIM card be sent to your address - assuming the phone is under contract to you.
Do not blame yourself. We are good at that us mothers…

allthingsinmoderation · Today 17:25

YAdaughter · Today 17:21

DH has just sat me down with my carry on and said look at your reading material - it’s all stuff relevant to her and books on female autism and PDD etc he has said she has occupied every waking moment of my thoughts and worries for over a decade. He said - look at your to be read pile and I’ve just changed all my reading material. He is right. Cozy murder mysteries here we come!

My younger one has snuck a cuddly snow leopard into her case and has said- Mum it’s going to be magical this trip and she’s right it is!

Good, you need a respite from the worry of your DD .
This must affect you ,your husband and your DD2,you all need a respite.
Your DD is an adult and has chosen her path, let her....
Have a wonderful holiday.

TheSunBeatsDown · Today 17:25

I would not cut the phone off myself. The OP is struggling with the relationship and vice versa but I'm pretty sure she wants her daughter to be ok.

Anotheroner · Today 17:27

Please let us know how it went when you are home!

Aidezmo · Today 17:29

Dancingsquirrels · Today 09:44

This latest time I just let rip back though and told her how she had destroyed my love for her and how I actually hated her being home etc I was broken and I literally screamed at her that she was a nasty abuser and she had to leave and I never wanted to see her again

I don't condone daughter's actions, but I'm surprised more people aren't commenting on this. If my mother said this to me, I'm not sure our relationship could recover

You couldn’t find some forgiveness for a woman who had been pushed to the brink after years of vile behaviour? Even if she apologised? I know that I could.

MrsFaustus · Today 17:30

If she can behave around friends and others who simply would ditch her she is capable of behaving better around her family. I’ve never understood people who excuse teenagers’ behaviour if they have a social life and are okay at school. Mums, and to a lesser degree siblings, seem to be a convenient target. Whether the strength and size of dads is a factor which keeps them in line even if in reality the father wouldn’t lay a finger on them, is a possibility I suppose. Have a great holiday and let her stew even if it breaks your heart.

Daygloboo · Today 17:37

PashaMinaMio · Yesterday 19:34

Your daughter sounds like an absolute c0w and you’re not a $hit mum.

Stay calm, step back and let everything level out.
Don’t bank roll her.

Go on the holiday and relax, set your concerns about her to one side and enjoy your husband and DD2. Let the changes of scene totally absorb you.

The holiday will do you good and will help to give you a breathing space.

I think autism is used as an excuse for some really $hit behavior so pick your battles, refer her challenging behavior to your husband from now on to deal with and try to let go a bit. She’s 20 not a kid anymore.

Tough love mother, Tough love.

OP. This is really bad advice from this person, who has no clue about autism. Your daughter needs psychological support from.somewhere because she is cleatly not coping wiyh life. It's not your fault though. It's the autism.. Look on National Autistic Socerty website and website The Autistic Woman ..Also.maybe find a therapist apecialiaing in autism.

ALovelyPinkUnicorn · Today 17:40

Daygloboo · Today 17:37

OP. This is really bad advice from this person, who has no clue about autism. Your daughter needs psychological support from.somewhere because she is cleatly not coping wiyh life. It's not your fault though. It's the autism.. Look on National Autistic Socerty website and website The Autistic Woman ..Also.maybe find a therapist apecialiaing in autism.

So you think the op shouldn’t go on holiday and relax? And needs to remain at home and pander to an abusive, vile adult?

EllaVanerve · Today 18:07

Daygloboo · Today 17:37

OP. This is really bad advice from this person, who has no clue about autism. Your daughter needs psychological support from.somewhere because she is cleatly not coping wiyh life. It's not your fault though. It's the autism.. Look on National Autistic Socerty website and website The Autistic Woman ..Also.maybe find a therapist apecialiaing in autism.

The OP is autistic as well. So she knows first hand the issues. This will be the case with many families if there is a genetic component - that an ND parent is parenting their ND child - but doesn't make that parenting any easier.
You can understand the issues whether NT or ND but safe space or not, it is difficult to bear with when a young adult seems to only speak to you in a different way to others.
By the same token, it is difficult to be that safe space, when your own responses are heightened.

Sassylovesbooks · Today 19:13

Everyone has their breaking point OP, and you're at yours. Autism or not, that can't and shouldn't excuse your daughter's behaviour. There has to be some accountability somewhere along the line, she's an adult. If she's capable of being pleasant to other people, but not you, then she is able to control her emotions.

Not everyone is nice, some people, who happen to be Autistic are just very unpleasant, and their unpleasantness has nothing to do with their Autism. It's like the assumption that all elderly people are lovely and sweet, well no actually they're not! Some are bloody awful! Or because someone is disabled, then they are automatically a nice person, nope, not always.

You need to take this time on holiday, to recharge your batteries. Leave all thoughts of your eldest at home. You have to start putting YOU first.

TimeDoesntStandStill · Today 19:20

YAdaughter · Yesterday 20:30

Yes maybe. 🤔 I have said repeatedly she is not allowed back here. We’ve given her over £10 K in the last year alone - she has a job as well. And we paid accommodation. She’s told me she had no money but hey ho - when you spent £2 K on concert tickets in London that is what happens!

Thats a crazy amouny of money to give. Have you been trying to buy positive interaction with her or her respect? Becasue you wont get it bankrolling people I dont think.

I'd cut her off completely and focus on yourself, your husband and your other dc.

Is it a counsellor your seeing or a psychotherpaist? If you dont feel therapy is helping Id switch to someone else. Look on "counselling directory" or "bacp" and go for a psychotherpist who is older age 50/60+ as they'll have more knowledge and tons of life experience.

Look after yourself now, prioritise yourself. Shes pushed you to breaking point and its ok to give in, let her go. She might come back to you in 3-5 years once she has a taste of real life and realises what a c*nt she has been to you. She sounds like a disgrace.

Littlewiseone · Today 19:27

All I can say is you are an amazing woman and have an absolutely wonderful holiday!!! 💕

Nelly44 · Today 20:24

You need to establish some calm boundaries around your relationship with your daughter.. you’re saying you miss her and feel she is ignoring you but then you’ve shouted in her face to never come back! There has to be a happy medium surely! Now you’re gloating about going away without her. You need to work on yourself before you have any chance of repairing your relationship with your daughter.

chatgptmeup · Today 20:40

It's really hard, honestly. She shouldn't be treating you like that, its horrible, and I hope that she is not subjecting anyone else to that. I can see this from both sides though. It took me until my 40s to realise that my mum is autistic (undiagnosed) after my dad made a comment about my mum only seeing the world in black and white. The resentment towards her I feel is awful (I feel bad for feeling resentment, but I can't not feel it). My mum is such hard work, always has been, can't apologise accept blame or be in any way wrong which is just the start of the list of issues which resulted in both of her daughters leaving home with eating disorders. We are on low contact now for my mental health which obviously my parents do not want or like, but sometimes boundaries are placed for a reason. You are entitled to create boundaries, as is she.

If I were you, i'd think about what is going to happen to your daughter in the long run. Does hertaking space from you help or hinder. She has to learn to stand on her own two feet, because you won't be there forever. She clearly needs therapy, some kind of social integration, medication or an outlet for her feelings, probably all of the above. You can't make her do that. She will most likely get there by herself. Maybe write an email or letter explaining your feelings and that you need to step back so that she can learn to be her own person. If she needs help one day you can still be there if you want that.

ALovelyPinkUnicorn · Today 20:43

Nelly44 · Today 20:24

You need to establish some calm boundaries around your relationship with your daughter.. you’re saying you miss her and feel she is ignoring you but then you’ve shouted in her face to never come back! There has to be a happy medium surely! Now you’re gloating about going away without her. You need to work on yourself before you have any chance of repairing your relationship with your daughter.

Op has every right to be happy such a horrible person isn’t coming and ruining yet another thing.
Am wondering now if all those seeing op as being in the wrong behave like the daughter?

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