Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello everyone, I feel like I am alone, does anyone else have a child that is in complete denial about what is going on? Refuses to listen that he might possibly have high functioning autism, he is 12 hasn’t attended school for over a year due to severe anxiety and not coping socially, he has stopped going out the door, it just makes me so upset and sad when he says he is okay when I know deep down he is finding things hard, he struggles to talk about his emotions.
no one is helping him cope with his feelings
Hi, Tillie. I wasn't able to acknowledge that I might be autistic when I was in high school - I just wanted to fit in with the other kids, and that was something I really struggled with.
Have you been able to get him some support with his mental health? Perhaps working on his anxiety would help him to be more open-minded about autism (e.g. if he's able to work on his self-esteem)?
I'd also recommend learning about autism and coping strategies yourself - you could subtly start exploring some support mechanisms/coping strategies without mentioning autism to him (e.g. if he finds loud places overwhelming, you could get him some noise cancelling headphones). Purple Ella (YouTube) has some great tips for coping strategies. You might also enjoy the book 'My son isn't Rainman', which is the account of a father learning how to support his autistic son.
Thank you for your message, no support for him yet, he is on a years waiting list despite him being on tier 3, I’ve got a couple of books on my list to get.
thanks