Separation anxiety 8 year old ASD

[Ru25]

I’m a single mum and my daughter, 8 years old, audhd used to spend 3 nights a week at her dads and for last 6 weeks is refusing to stay there at all. She gets worked up days before she has to go, repeating over and over she doesn’t want to stay but she seems to have a nice time when she sees him. She says she can’t leave me. I don’t know what to do as I am struggling due to my job and requirements to travel overnight every few months and also my daughters dad is insinuating that I’m encouraging her not to stay and she should be made to go… I hate seeing my daughter so upset but I just don’t know what to do for best. Anyone had this? Any advice appreciated.

Has something happened to trigger the change? Is it just overnights? How is DD with her DF during the day? What about at school?

She’s ok with him for a few hours but not staying. She masks quite heavily around him and I feel like as she’s getting older she is finding this exhausting. He lacks empathy and my daughter needs lots of empathy, patience and reassurance - I think also he breaks promises a lot so the trust has gone… she struggles with sleeping, always has and at his house he would leave her to get to sleep on her own which she hated and now I think she has a bad memory of going to sleep there. She just says she misses me too much too

Does DD take anything to aid sleep?

Is she receiving any support for her anxiety? How is school?

Is her DF willing to learn about autism?