10 year DS with ASD

[cheekymonk]

Hi all DS is 11 in Jan. He has been diagnosed with HFA and is currently on 30mg propranolol for his anxiety. He is rigid with his food choices, very aggressive, isolates himself for hours on his Xbox but is talking with friends, and is generally very unhappy at home and so unbearable to be around. He loves to provoke his younger sister and despite giving him an hour's bedtime routine was still hysterical about going to bed and refuses to go to bed unless dh or I go to bed. Life is so miserable. He will be seeing camhs in Jan but I'm just finding it hard to have the never ending patience and understanding I need. Dh and I went out for anniversary meal last night but came back after 90 mins as he was upset at is going even though he was with his Nan who he always used to be close with, O don't know what to do

I dont know anything about medication sorry but has he become worse recently?

It could be hormones kicking in or maybe he needs his meds looking at?

It sounds difficult though! Try to be kind to yourself

It is heart-breaking seeing your child so unhappy and not knowing how to help.

How long has he been on the medication for? For ds2, admittedly, a different medication it made matters worse whether directly or indirectly through side effects of sleeplessness and frequent urge to go the loo. It is tough - I hope CAMHS will give you some strategies to help. We are currently trying to reengage with them for ds2 although I know he is unlikely to cooperate.

How much support does he get at school? For ds1 being at a specialist school has worked wonders although this did not help ds2 ( perhaps because the school was not as specialist as they thought they were ). If he doesn't have an EHCP already then it would be worth applying for one.

We have had a bit of help in the past from social services and might be worth asking them for an assessment to give you a bit of respite. One thing they did for ds2 was to give a "buddy" although with ds2's typical bad luck he rapidly broke his foot so couldn't come for a while destroying the relationship which never recovered.

Our experience with ds1 shows that with appropriate support things can improve and I can genuinely say he is happy most of the time and has good prospects of living independently as an adult. Knowing this gives us just that glimmer of hope that eventually we will be able to give ds2 the support that he needs too.

Thank you for your replies. DS is always worse at home and so on the holidays. He masks at school and they see him as a happy child. He is always most anxious at holiday time because we are all annoying apparently.
He has been on propranolol since Jan. We noticed a positive difference at first but now nothing. I have thought about social services and will apply for an assessment.
Thank you x

Hi there, you can get further support from behavioural specialists that use Autism specific teaching techniques with years of research proving it's success with ASD kids. There is a charity called Cadweel (I think but might have this wrong). My friend got £2000 to have a specialist advise I think the lady was from Daisy Chain educational services - heres the link www.daisychaineducationalservices.com they are really friendly and will help show you where to get the support. I think she got some who consults in behavioural therapies Vicky Boots I believe, she has lots and lots of experience with children with ASD
Good Luck
Lynne

I'd suggest being wary of posters who point you to specific companies.

The charity is real it's Caldwell not sure about the other stuff though.