Sons behaviour getting worse

[AskingForAnEnemy]

My 6 year old son has autism and recently his behaviour is getting really bad. He has started hitting me, urinating in places he shouldn't (empty yoghurt pots, in the clean laundry basket etc) he is having huge meltdowns screaming and shouting and getting himself really frustrated. He won't do anything i tell him. He has always been good at going to bed but recently (and especially since the nights started getting lighter) it's a real fight to get him to bed. He has started throwing insults at me and his dad (calling us stupid, fat, ugly etc)

I just don't know what to do with him. Me and my husband both work full time but grandparents help out with childcare and I'm really worried because he is becoming so difficult to manage. I'm even considering giving up work to look after him full time and try and get him back on track but don't even think I can financially afford to do this.

I just don't know what to do.

He has also started hitting himself in the face. He used to do this when he was really small when he first got diagnosed but hasn't done it for a long time

Your certainly not alone. I have been through all of the above behaviours with ds 8. He also has autism and is non verbal.
Have there been any changes if his life recently, problems at school which may explain the behaviour change? Does he usually sensory seek?

My ds used to urinate in inappropriate places. What worked for him was more sensory activities such as messy play.
His violent behaviours mostly stemmed from not heing understood and him becoming frustrated. He would smack himself repeatedly in the head and sometimes lash out. He still has these behaviours but they are much reduced. Giving him set options and using communication aids helped with this.

My ds is the same during the lighter months. I've tried black out curtains but he associates bedtime with the dark and will not get in bed till he can see it is dark outside.

It is very difficult but trying to find the root cause of the behaviour and having a consistent approach is what helped us.

I hope this is of some use

I just don't understand the current change of behaviour, nothing has changed at home. Last time he started acting out like this was when we moved house but he soon settled down, there has been no changes I can think of that is affecting his behaviour

He just won't do anything, he gets so angry and upset he tenses up and screeches and goes red in the face.

At school there has been some minor issues with his behaviour, such as lashing out at classmates

He is also really bad for sneaking food. Even tho he's been told multiple times that if he wants a snack he only has to ask but he will go quietly into the fridge, take stuff them hide it in his room. At school they have a fruit bowl for snacks and they have had to resort to putting it on a high shelf as my son keeps stealing the fruit. I've also been called into the school as he has stole food of other kids plates at lunch time. He has free school meals and gets plenty to eat at home so I don't understand why he is doing this?

I don't think anything has changed at school but when I picked him up today the teacher came out and said he'd been really playing up today shouting and screaming and pushing other kids.

His physical health is good, although on a few occasions has feigned illness and I've had to go pick him up from school although once home was fine

Not constipated but not wiping after using the toilet

Oh no I don't think He's just "being naughty" I think there is definitely something that has made him act out like this, but whilst he is verbal he can't hold a conversation or answer questions properly, if I say to him "why did you push such and such at school today?" He would simply answer "it was my fault" his communication is very poor, so trying to get to the bottom of whats bothering him is very difficult.

Yea I'm familiar with ABC charts from when I worked in a care home, we had them for the people with dementia who would get agitated. It's a good idea, might notice a pattern which would help get to the bottom of it.