New to here, daughter recently diagnosed with ASD age 15

Hi linziloo, My son who has Autism managed to keep it together in school up till start of  3rd year then everything started unravelling, like you I was up and down collecting him more often than not until he felt he could no longer attend, he became withdrawn, anxious and developed a tic , it  a horrible heartbreaking situation to watch your child struggle and not be able to fix it for them, I know exactly how you are feeling, emotional rollercoaster, You don't say how supportive the school are being? 

My son's school was not helpful hence the reason I removed him altogether, in the end he was out of school for a year until I found a more suitable one with smaller classes, which did seem to help him a little. The first year was still difficult and he only managed to attend 3 days a week.

He is now in his final year and attends full time, he has group of friends and is preparing for his exams. It's not been a easy journey and is no way over but when I think of the boy I removed from school (Big decision) the one I was scared to leave alone, certainly caused lots of sleepless nights and tears. Now to see how much he has progressed and  overcome since then is amazing. 

At the end of the day education is extremely important but not when it interferes with their health, that's my opinion now anyway. After 12 years of fighting for a diagnosis for my son it took them until he became so withdrawn he could no longer attend school, with the proper support in place this  might of been prevented, hopefully your daughters school can offer her the support she needs, maybe part time timetable would help for now?

Hope this gives you a little faith for the future, the early teen years are a tough time for most, but being on the spectrum adds to this in a major way, she will get through it with your help and support

Hi linziloo, My son who has Autism managed to keep it together in school up till start of  3rd year then everything started unravelling, like you I was up and down collecting him more often than not until he felt he could no longer attend, he became withdrawn, anxious and developed a tic , it  a horrible heartbreaking situation to watch your child struggle and not be able to fix it for them, I know exactly how you are feeling, emotional rollercoaster, You don't say how supportive the school are being? 

My son's school was not helpful hence the reason I removed him altogether, in the end he was out of school for a year until I found a more suitable one with smaller classes, which did seem to help him a little. The first year was still difficult and he only managed to attend 3 days a week.

He is now in his final year and attends full time, he has group of friends and is preparing for his exams. It's not been a easy journey and is no way over but when I think of the boy I removed from school (Big decision) the one I was scared to leave alone, certainly caused lots of sleepless nights and tears. Now to see how much he has progressed and  overcome since then is amazing. 

At the end of the day education is extremely important but not when it interferes with their health, that's my opinion now anyway. After 12 years of fighting for a diagnosis for my son it took them until he became so withdrawn he could no longer attend school, with the proper support in place this  might of been prevented, hopefully your daughters school can offer her the support she needs, maybe part time timetable would help for now?

Hope this gives you a little faith for the future, the early teen years are a tough time for most, but being on the spectrum adds to this in a major way, she will get through it with your help and support