Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi everyone I am new to the forum and also autism. My 3 year old daughter is going through the process of assessments by CASBAT for autism. The paediatrician we saw said its a very strong likely hood to be autism. Anyway I'm just wondering if your children have good and bad days? My daughter has quite a bad speech delay. She does talk but most of it is repetition of what someone has said and 99% of the time she refers to herself in the third person. She very rarely uses mine, my or I. So anyway there are times when I think she is "doing ok" I still know there is something wrong but she doesn't have a meltdown and then there are days when she is having a really bad time and I think she really does need help. She tends to have a lot of meltdowns that result in objects being thrown, screaming at the top of her lungs, self harming like biting herself or head butting things, attacking her younger brother and both myself and my husband (her father) and no way to console her. These meltdowns can go on for hours and hours and once something has upset her she will then be quite highly strung for the rest of the day and the rest of the day can become a struggle with her. I am feeling guilty at times because I wonder if there is anything wrong (think i am in denial) other than her speech and then other times I feel guilty that I didn't do anything sooner. I know it's more than just her speech as they told me at her first appointment that they were worried and although they couldn't officially diagnose her untill she has had the assessments they were pretty sure it's autism. In the report from her appointment it's says that she "is a very unusual little girl who need further investigation" they noted that she has motor mannerisms, sensory sensitivity and obsessions (currently spongebob sqaurepants) I just wondered how you guys deal with all of these things in day to day life.
My son and also myself both have Asperger Syndrome. His meltdowns are different to mine though just as distressing. I have more meltdowns than he has. If we get overtired we are more likely to have a meltdown.
I have ended up in A and E because of the meltdowns, and that is very bad because I'm always worried about how I'm going to get back home again. I got thrown off a trolly at the hospital and shouted and laughed at one time it happened and some students and an old lady helped me and took me to the police station to complain but the policeman on the desk thought I was on drugs and just called my partner to take me home.
Stress causes meltdowns, so we have to try to avoid it, which is very hard sometimes. Problems at school caused my son to have meltdowns, but now he's at college and they're great there and really kind and there isn't any shouting, so he's not had one since he's been at college.