how do I prepare asd siblings for brother going off to uni

[eatyourveg]

ds1 has been away for 5 nights now on holiday (back Tues). ds2 and ds3 (both asd) are missing him badly. He has often been away for one night but only twice for longer when on school trips and then he's been back within a week. They are use to their older brother playing with them, reading to them at bedtime and generally being a huge part of their lives.

It has made me realise how hard it is going to be for them come the autumn when ds1 goes off to uni and the family dynamics change drastically (he's going to be 6 hours away)

We are going to set up skype but I wondered how other families have coped with this sort of situation and how can I help my younger two

Not had this experience, but can you do one of those scrap books, so they can look at pictures of him, of where his uni is, his bedroom in the new place etc, so they can visualise him there. Can he maybe buy them each a cuddly toy or similar which they can hold at night when you read to them instead, so they have something of him there. Not sure if these ideas will help but may be worth a shot.

We are in a similar situation eyv We have taken Dd3 to look around the college campus where Dd3 is going for her residential 6th form.

I have warned the SN staff at her school that there are going to be big changes at home because she often cant cope at school when she is ver anxious.

You might get more advice on the SN childrens board, it tends to be busier than this one.

Great ideas from racing though

My ASD DC found it really hard (and so did I, as I missed the extra help!)

On the day we dropped the eldest at uni, we bought a new family pet....

My top tip is don't tell them that their brother will be back for holidays. I made that mistake, but it didn't work out that way as most of the holiday jobs were close to uni so the most we had was short visits back.

Thanks all - its not going to be an easy ride for any of us