Prisoners in our own home

[Spinkle]

DS'(6, ASD) anxiety is now getting out of control.

He doesn't like to leave the house and isn't keen on either of us going out. OH went to football (lucky him, I only get to go to the supermarket ) and DS mithered, paced and grizzled the whole time.

He cries non-stop from the end of school until we collect him from the childminder (who has aged years since all this started)

He objects to leaving the house even for stuff he likes.

OH says it's a battle worth fighting but I feel like waving the white flag...

Spinkle he sounds just like my ds. When I saw your thread title I thought immediately of my ds. He got so bad that he refused to even go in the garden or go swimming (something he had previously adored. The only thing that has helped my ds is medication after our paed said he was the most anxious autistic child she had ever seen! We were also having extreme sadness and crying for no reason and then very excited happy behaviour. Eventually it was decided he also has a mood disorder and was put on risperidone. Whilst we still have problems going out with him, he is much calmer and less anxious than before. He was also becoming aggressive with me and this has totally disappeared. This might not be the right path for your ds but I really sympathise with the feelings you're having. I still feel guilty about giving up the fight with ds as I now never take him to shops or anything normal. He only goes out when it is specifically for him and we have to choose our places v carefully. I don't know if being more persistant would have had a different outcome or not.

Hello ladies.

Welcome to my world.........and that of my now 9 yr old autistic son. He's never been good at being out and about in typically ASD fashion but, in the past year or so, it's become so very very much worse. His dad, my ex, pushed and pushed him on his daddy weekends and the result is that our son is now so anxiety ridden that he does not leave the house. Ever. Unless he absolutely has to for school (in the car only) and rarely with his dad to a little cafe where he lives.

He has been diagnosed with OCD and is on Sertraline 50mg.

I could cry. I do cry. Push them? Don't push them? I don't know. What I do know is that with even gentle encouragement and time lines and social stories etc etc, our son has now gone over the edge. He will need careful handling at this stage, to coax him back.

He's bright, articulate and getting further and further away from us.