Hi
This is the first forum I’ve ever posted on. My son went under the radar for many years and suffered from insomnia and what he says is chronic fatigue for years. Academically good, with friends but quite a loner and mercilessly teased his younger brother for years. Lots of thoughtless and disruptive behaviour and fixations which I put down to his character and my permissive parenting. He can be funny and warm and enjoys novels from time to time as well as being an expert at gaming and also sporty... He had OCD traits over the years and was quite difficult at times if I didn’t order what he wanted online immediately. (With hindsight probably ‘meltdowns’). His school was quite chaotic and he lost many good teachers in the last 2 years. He started claiming fatigue and his attendance dropped. He then developed a fixation that his lower jaw was too small and he dropped out of school after a psychotic episode. He got stable but now will only go back to school if we can help him grow his jaw with the help of an appliance. He was diagnosed with a somatic delusion and yet his claim is not completely unfounded. I have said I will help him get help with his jaw but only if he goes back to school. The jaw signifies something around masculinity and acceptability. He was rejected a few times and he thinks it’s because of his small jaw. He is tall and attractive but has very low self esteem. He was also traumatised by my very acrimonious break up with his dad. He was tested for ASD and is very borderline but the psychiatrist told my son and I that he was positive at the same time. I was very upset that I was not told first and consulted as to how and if at all my son should be given the diagnosis. He is now playing up to his autism diagnosis, which has further destroyed his confidence. I am pretty disappointed with the medical model of psychiatry - even the supposed holistic, multi-disciplinary team that oversaw my son’s breakdown. I guess in time he will come to understand and process the strengths and weaknesses he has. I want to add that there is nothing wrong with the label autistic but parents should be given the chance to discuss first the implications of the impact of a label on their child especially a late diagnosis in the sensitive teen years. And maybe it should be done more sensitively and not in a room full of people. My son was in shock and denial and even the school sen was dubious about it.
I guess I’m on here as I am still dealing with the aftermath of having a child who had psychosis and is now completely demotivated about school and even more fixated on his jaw. CAMHS tell me to not collude but they don’t deal with a 6ft determined boy everyday who tries to persuade me from morning to night to get him a jaw appliance.
Would be grateful for any thoughts. My son was put on olanzapine which was awful and turned him into a zombie and he gained 7kg in 3 weeks. He also has stopped his SSRI which I was more in favour of but he was only on it for 4 weeks and it didn’t seem to uplift him although his obsession lessened.
He just wants to stay at home and NEET until he can get the jaw appliance. He says his life won’t be worth living if he has a recessed jaw...
Magnolia
