Hi while being new to these boards I am by no means new to life with autism. My son is 16 and for most of his life has been relatively easy to care for despite the fact that his autism is towards the more severe end of the spectrum. He has always been stubborn but by hook or by crook both my husband and I have always managed to get him to do the (necessary) things he would rather avoid. But now he has suddenly reached the realisation that we can't make he do anything he doesn't want to do. By some miracle we manage to get him ready for school and out the door to the taxi but it takes a gargantuan effort on both our parts and by the time he's left I feel as if I've already done a day's work before the day even begins. He is currently sitting on our bathroom floor (he's been there for the past 5 hours) and refusing to move. He's washed and semi dressed (only because myself and my husband did these for him). Nothing is helping him to move food, drink, home made flap jack. I'm not expecting anyone to provide me with some magical solutions just reassurance. I can't help feeling like a really bad parent. The sun is shining most families are out and about in the sunshine and we can't get our son off the bathroom floor! Sometimes I feel I've allowed him to slip into his own world far too often.
