New diagnosis

Thanks Emma. I will look at those things. X

Hi, 

That sounds like a familiar situation. Low self esteem (often due to the knowledge that one is different from peers combined with the tendency of autistic children to be excluded by peers or even bullied) and frequent meltdowns are very common in autistic children and often siblings get the brunt of the child's frustration when he gets to a point where he cannot articulate his feelings in ways other than lashing out.

I think some advice I gave another parent re. meltdown management might help you and your son to reduce their frequency;
https://community.autism.org.uk/f/introduce-yourself/12975/new-diagnosis-help
Do any of the common triggers listed ring bells when you think about your son's outbursts and the time leading up to them?

Re. school, is your son in mainstream and if so have you discussed the diagnosis with your son's school's SENCO to see what interventions could be put in place for him?

There are also several helplines and information pages on the main NAS website to inform and support you (e.g. the parent-to-parent helpline https://www.autism.org.uk/services/community/family-support/parent-to-parent.aspx).

Here is a book that helped my family when I was diagnosed, which might be useful to you too if your son is in the asperger-y part of the spectrum. It is available as a free PDF; http://www.autismforthvalley.co.uk/files/5314/4595/7798/Attwood-Tony-The-Complete-Guide-to-Aspergers-Syndrome.pdf 

Hope at least some of this is useful!

Emma x

Thanks. Not sure what to think really but there doesn’t seem to be much practical support

I guess a logical approach would be to obtain a diagnosis from multiple sources if you're unsure of it's validity.

Also, is there another source of treatment you can find out about?

Perhaps private health insurance will give access to better treatments?