Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello,
My 14 year old daughter has high functioning autism and ADHD. She is very bright and articulate, but suffers a lot of stress and anxiety. New situations and people, and changes of routine are particularly hard but she generally copes very well with some support.
Unfortunately it is looking very like she going to need a major operation in the new year, involving a 1-2 week hospital stay and a few weeks off school. Obviously this would be stressful for any child but we are really worried about how she will cope. She's done brilliantly with MRIs etc so far but its taken a huge effort.
Has anyone experienced this and do you have any advice? We have already contacted her usual ASD consultant and done some research about what the hospital (Sheffield Childrens) offers, but it would be great to hear from someone with experience.
Can anyone help please?
Depending on how your daughter is, she may prefer to be on the ward because being in a side room can be very lonely and you feel forgotten so there's always the anxiety that you actually have been forgotten about.
I preferred the ward because there's always something going on - it may be very noisy and chaotic but at least there's people around in case she needs something.
There are pros & cons for each option - you need to decide which your daughter would prefer.
Thanks that's a good thought. I'll ask her what she would prefer.