Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi there, I'm a mum with an 8yo son who has ASD and adhd and sotos syndrome. Im looking for some support with my sons anxiety that is almost stopping us from leaving home each day. It's getting worse and I feel the support we are getting from our local psychiatrist isn't really addressing the issues.
its been mentioned that cognitive behavioural therapy might help my sons anxiety about being around babies and children.
I was was wondering whether anyone had any experience of CBT and whether it's a good tool to use?
Any advice would be really appreciated, I feeling like we've been asking for 4 years for help, but getting nowhere and the problem is just getting worse and worse. We are virtually trapped at home, and we can't have visitors with children or go visit friends and family with children. Everywhere we go there will always be a child and he cant cope with them and so we have to leave.
Thanks
That Youthmindfulness thing looks as though it might help as they are targeting children from 7+.
There is a big part of CBT, mindfulness and TA that pushes people into more adult like (i.e. reasonable) behaviour. I think I might be less hopeful with an 8yo who should be "acting his age" i.e. he should be in the child state where he expects the adults to be reasonable and that they would not expose him to things that he can't cope with. To take an extreme case - if a baby cries then you do not try and persuade it not to cry by rational argument. Instead, you soothe and calm and provide anything that it really needs (food, drink, a chance to sleep) An 8 year old will be much more amenable to reason but he is still a child and might respond best if he is allowed to fill that role.
At the end of the day it will depend on the child, the therapist, your own behaviour. You can't expect that a cure will follow a course of treatment.