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Understanding my autistic daughter

NAS72859

Hi,

My daughter is 18, recently diagnosed with ASD. That’s as much support as we have been given. The diagnosis and nothing more. 

She is on fluoxetine for anxiety and depression. Recently she feels her meds aren’t working as well as they used to. We only have the GP to go back to. 

She is very up and down, high and low. Today she has taken herself to bed. She’s snappy and not her usual self. It terrifies me. The ups and the downs. One minute a ‘normal’ whatever that is teenager. The next minute her mood is in her boots. I don’t know where to turn of how to help her. I return to work tomorrow after a long spell off to support her. But things don’t seem better. 

Any advice or support welcome

Thanks 

Parents

  • If she's only recently diagnosed, it's possible that she's trying to come to grips with it. I'm not yet formally diagnosed but found out via a counsellor and even though it made so much sense, and I felt relief, I still went through a period of time, over the course of several months where I realised that I didn't actually know who I was. It was tough to look back at all the things I'd been through, and certainly the things I had to give up as a result of being undiagnosed.

    I also have anxiety and depression, I don't take medication now, but I have done in the past. Does she do anything else that could help her? Medication is often a useful tool to help level you out, but it shouldn't ever be the only course of action. There are a lot of other things that are more effective long term. If she doesn't already, than she needs to find the things that work for her. For me it's Buddhist philosophy, meditation, mindfulness. Exercise and diet also play a big part. I don't watch much tv and I try to limit my media usage in favour of doing physical things like sewing and miniatures. It took me years to figure out what worked for me so don't expect an over night transformation.

    Of course, on top of everything, there is the pandemic. It has affected more people in more ways than they realise. My counselling service who helps me is busier than they have ever been, people are getting very stressed, and more people are finding it difficult to cope. If NT people are struggling, people who already have challenges navigating daily situations are going to struggle even more.

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  • If she's only recently diagnosed, it's possible that she's trying to come to grips with it. I'm not yet formally diagnosed but found out via a counsellor and even though it made so much sense, and I felt relief, I still went through a period of time, over the course of several months where I realised that I didn't actually know who I was. It was tough to look back at all the things I'd been through, and certainly the things I had to give up as a result of being undiagnosed.

    I also have anxiety and depression, I don't take medication now, but I have done in the past. Does she do anything else that could help her? Medication is often a useful tool to help level you out, but it shouldn't ever be the only course of action. There are a lot of other things that are more effective long term. If she doesn't already, than she needs to find the things that work for her. For me it's Buddhist philosophy, meditation, mindfulness. Exercise and diet also play a big part. I don't watch much tv and I try to limit my media usage in favour of doing physical things like sewing and miniatures. It took me years to figure out what worked for me so don't expect an over night transformation.

    Of course, on top of everything, there is the pandemic. It has affected more people in more ways than they realise. My counselling service who helps me is busier than they have ever been, people are getting very stressed, and more people are finding it difficult to cope. If NT people are struggling, people who already have challenges navigating daily situations are going to struggle even more.

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