Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello, its been a while since i posted and things have been manageable but now im very desperate so reaching out. I have a child who is 7, he has a diagnosis of asd. Who seems to go through good times and bad times with how he is thinking. We are at a bad time right now. He has a tenancy to self harm. So we put away all the sharp things but this time he used a pen to stab his thigh he has 9 separate bruises. I can't imagen how hard he has done this. He used pins before to 'stab' himself. Scissors to cut and he often hits himself with his hand or on walls. He uses sticks at the park to scratch his himself. He masks at school but comes home and grabs thorns and will start kicking things. School see no issues but home is really hard. He talks about brain voices and how they fight each other and how he can see them and flick through them and choose which one he wants to be. At the the minute all we are is 'angry' voice where he ' stabbed, hits, pinches himself'. In his words. We went to the park today and the child we were with he said he would 'stab the fat pig in the eye and kill him' I have reached out to CAHMS and he was seen by the mental health team. During this time he knocked his sisters teeth out and self harmed, but things got better for about 6 weeks, so we got discharged. Now we are back to square one, he cut up his bedding and fairy lights. I worry what if he cut another wire? What if he stabs himself with something that isn't a pen? Is this ASD? Is there any more I can do? We are back with the mental health team. But have a wait again. His behaviour swings so much. A few weeks calmer and a few weeks in this really hard stage Is this what happens with other children? What can I do? As a mum, I can't sleep, I'm so so stressed I feel sick. I just want to make sure I don't find blood on his sheets and bruises on him that are self inflicted. Thank you anyone for any help. Or any suggestions. We have had all the Early Help, enabling families, lego therapy, ELSA emotional literacy, OT reports, and as much as I can possible get for my child. Unless I'm missing something? Thank you xxxe
Hello AbC123,
I'm sorry to hear that you're experiencing such a challenging time with your child. I can imagine this is having a huge impact on you as a family. You may find it useful to have a look at our information from the NAS on challenging behaviour, which may help you to understand possible triggers and strategies to manage this:
https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/behaviour/distressed-behaviour
You may also like to have a look at the following pages on self-harm/self-injurious and autism:
https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/behaviour/self-injurious-behaviour
https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/mental-health/self-harm
If you feel that you may need support with your own mental health at this difficult time, you may like to have a look at the following information:
https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/mental-health/seeking-help
All the best,
ChloeMod
Thank you xx