Trigger Warning - ASD Suicidal Thoughts

[Blossom4538]

UK Based

My ASD Teen is saying she feels suicidal and that she needs help. She’s very anxious and depressed. I’m after advice please of anyone who has been in the situation. We are under CAMHS and has therapist/counsellor in specialist school. Is on medication - not new meds - Fluoxetine 20mg and has started Propanolol but only when needed and mild dose.

She is stressed at school but they are supporting. She can be unsafe and try to harm herself, at times.

Concerned

My teen autistic DD has been suicidal, you have my sympathies, it is incredibly stressful supporting your child through this. It's good that you have CAMHS involvement, the thresholds for support are incredibly high where we are, and it has been a two year battle for us to finally be accepted on the waiting list. I am sure CAMHS will have been through safety planning with you - we have all knives and sharp implements as well as medication locked up in a box with a combination lock. If you are reaching a point where you don't think you can keep your DD safe you need to call CAMHS emergency line and ask for advice. I've had to do this a couple of times recently and they are helpful.

The other thing we have been focussing on for my DD is what I call 'reasons to stay alive'. So for her that involved getting a cat, which she has been completely responsible for, feeding and litter tray. We also encourage her to spend time on activities that make her feel good, for her this is making art and playing an instrument, plus spending time on her special interests. We try and spend some time outdoors every day, walking is great for her emotional regulation. Also we've be really trying to find the underlying reasons for her distress. Unfortunately for her, this is mainly school, and she is not attending at the moment. This brings its own stress, as she is in Y11 and 'should' be taking exams in the summer, but we feel that her mental health is more important at the moment. We are beginning to see an improvement in her mood, and she is able to talk to us more.

I'm sorry your DD is going through this, puberty plus autism is a difficult time.

It's so scary, I'm so sorry. Is she able to articulate what it is that mainly stressed her? My dd got suicidal 2 years ago. She simply stopped eating and drinking in order to starve herself. I was terrified for her being sectioned. She could articulate that she didn't cope with school. School were mainly supportive, but even them being supportive was not what she needed, she didn't want to sit in school with the school nurse, in a library or with a counsellor, it was not helping, she needed to have proper personal, private space and quiet, so we took her out of school for good and gave her a no demand environment to heal herself from what most professionals call 'autistic burnout'. She found her own little rituals that helped her recover.