Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi all,
my daughter is currently on the last part of her ASD diagnosis...
But her anxiety is taking over her life, I am hoping someone might be able to point me in the right direction for help.
most recently she was so worried about going to school her whole body came out in a rash and she was scratching at her skin like mad, I took her to the drs who said this was caused from her anxiety, but given her age there is nothing they can do to help, but if I do find something she would be more than happy to help me.
She pulls her hair out on a regular basis, more so when shes worried about something
She hardly sleeps, and I have to stay with her until she falls asleep (this can be up to 3 hours!) and then I have to sleep with her, she is worried someone will come into her room at night, we have tried everything possible to help this and reassure her but nothing seems to work.
She has got fantastic at support at school with incredible teachers.
Its always a struggle to get her into school, and sometimes I physically cannot get her in.
Her teacher has to meet her at the classroom door otherwise she will not go in.
she doesn't go out at school, she is worried about the weather. her teachers do encourage her to go out but she normally will sit in, in the office on her own!
She has lego therapy at school once a week, which does help.
She was having ELSA, but because she wasn't talking, they wasn't wiling to continue.
Can anyone please help me with anything that could help? could play therapy help?
Thanks for reading
Hi
I would say that plastic and front have made some great suggestions,
Have you thought about the use of a sensory item to replace the hair pulling and scratching? That way she can still regulate her emotions without hurting herself,
The lack of sleep is probably making the anxiety worse as well,
My daughter is 8 and still awaiting assessment, she also has massive sleep problems she sleeps 3-5 hours a night and not all at once and most of the time now will only sleep with me, this has been going on since she was 3! You may have success with the clock that has been suggested but is it that she can't sleep? Or that she won't sleep? As they are two separate problems,
My daughter also has to be met at the classroom door and hates being left, her teachers have to hold her to stop her from running off but within 10 minutes she settles and sticks to her rigid idea of how she must act In school so her teachers see a perfectly behaved child and she bottles it up and blows up after school this then leads to more anxiety.
Play therapy may help, we have started using a worry book and an emotions book this gives her a place to show what is worrying her so we can work out why and the other book allows her to record things that are making her feel bad or good
Hey,
I actually forgot about a sensory item! Thankyou. She used to have a leopard teddy that went on her wrist and she would fiddle with that, but the amount of times she would lose it or leave it somewhere But I will get her another one those as that could help.
Lack of sleep definitely does have an impact on anxiety and then anxiety causes lack of sleep, it’s a vicious circle.
Im not sure if it’s a case that she can’t sleep or won’t sleep... I’d say a mixture between the 2.. she will tell me she can’t sleep and sleep is a waste of time and be up for hours and up constantly throughout the night but there has been (rare) occasions where she’s so tired she’s slept all night - so she can do it.
We have a worry book, worry monster, worry dolls, but she is such a secret squirrel she keeps it bottled up.
I hope you get a diagnosis and sleep soon!
thankyou for your reply