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DH and DD driven out of the home because of DS

4 replies

donutqueen11 · 31/10/2021 21:52

My son is 13 and has ASD. He is very particular about certain things and has a complete phobia of catching covid. Today has been a bad day because his best friend tested positive today so although his LFT is negative he is in such a state that he will get it.

Meltdowns have been epic today and I have found it difficult to calm him- usually I can use his obsessions to help tame a meltdown but even I failed today- I feel terrible liked I have failed him and the rest of the family - DH has taken my DD and gone to stay at his brothers. We make their life hell apparently and they will not return until I can get my DS to understand he is making my DH ill. The majority of the family (both sides!!) hate him. I have one auntie and a cousin who appreciate him for who he is. But to everyone else he is a just a weird badly behaved rude spoilt kid and I pander to him. At school he is amazing he is a tour lead, helps run a lunchtime group for year 7's and has set up his own litter picking community drive in our local area. He knows he isn't popular with the family and knows he is appreciated at school. The only option I think is to let them all carry on and me and my son move out and go solo and move away to start afresh. Anyone else ever been in this situation??

OP posts:
JenniferAllisonPhillipaSue · 31/10/2021 21:55

The way you've phrased this would suggest that your DH is not the biological father of DS or DD, is that correct? (You keep saying 'my DS' and 'my DD')

How we respond depends on whether he is a long-suffering stepfather, or a responsibility-shirking Dad.

donutqueen11 · 31/10/2021 21:56

Sorry. He is his biological father.

OP posts:
BerthaBlythe · 02/01/2022 11:53

What an awful position you’re in, but from reading the other thread, it seems like your dd is in an even more difficult position. It doesn’t sound as if her df is looking out for her, but rather as if she is trying to look out for him.

I haven’t much to offer - it’s a massive struggle to try and create a home environment that is safe for a neurodiverse dc but also for a neurotypical dc at the same time.

My pair need me at the same time - when ds is struggling and kicking off, he needs my help to regulate, but it’s an anxious time for dd who also wants her mum. Often her needs get put on hold and we take time out together for a chat later. It’s not ideal. I take her out in the car where she knows she has my attention, and we won’t be disturbed or interrupted.

And like your dd, mine has learned to be aware of everyone’s emotional needs, when she’s supposed to just be a child indulging her own. Sad

One of my realisations has been that I have tended to focus on the battle to get outside support for ds, when dd needs some too. Because it’s so soul crushingly difficult to get support for a dc with severe needs, I’ve been unconsciously assuming that I can’t get help for dd either because her distress isn’t as acute.

I’m going to look for some kind of counselling for her as a priority because I think she needs a safe outlet and to have her experience validated. And her emotional landscape isn’t secondary to her brother’s.

Sorry if this is a patronising question but have you been able to sit down with your dd and hear her perspective on what is happening and what she needs?

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