Published on 12, July, 2020
I am Mum to a lovely 13 year old son who is struggling with everything . He has been unofficially diagnosed with Asperger's and while coming to terms with this has had to cope with the death of his Grandad and his Grandma's dog. Grandma was supposed to be moving to live near to us, but that has fallen through. He has now developed all sorts of seizures and is struggling to stay in school due to anxiety. He has been diagnosed with Vitamin D deficiency is waiting for an EEG and MRI scan and his initial assessment at a wellbeing clinic. He is having counselling at school. If anyone has any advice for helping with anxiety please let me know. Is it common for a diagnosis itself to bring on more symptoms? Feeling exhausted and at a loss as to how to help him.
Do you suspect that the seizures may be epileptic? This is more common in autistic people than the general population.
Has his vitamin deficiency arisen because of a restriucted diet? Autistic people often have extreme diets that can be very unhealthy. THis could also be due to a reclusive lifestyle with no exposure to sunlight. Restricted diets can arise from sensory issues (texture of some foods can be revolting to some) but also from food intolerances which are a milder version of an allergy. Are there some particular foods that he hates?
Diagnosis often happens when things are very stressful and the knowledge of diagnosis can just add another stress to someone's life. CBT is the intervention that should be provided and this can be practiced at home - look for books on CBT and mindfulness to get you started.
Children (and adults) work better with relentless, and very consistent, positive encouragement and often are miserable with disciplinarian or inconsistent environments. You may need to take a lnog hard look at the way you deal with him and work out what works with him and what just winds him up.