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Adult ASD son won’t leave house

NAS83026

My 18 year old son was only diagnosed a few weeks ago as having ASD. He is high functioning. He has masked his whole life so it was never picked up. The problem is he is terrified & hasn’t left the house in 16 months. We have tried everything. He is trying CBT at the moment but the main barrier is fact he won’t walk in front of us his family, wear socks, shoes or tracksuit bottoms. I wouldn’t mind only the weather is getting colder & he suffers from Raynauds which leaves his feet blue in the cold. Any idea how we move on from this? He seems to have developed a phobia of these items of clothing.

  • I sympathize with your situation. 

    I do however find it ironic that I suffered almost the exact opposite to your son with my parents.  My mother spent decades insisting that I stay at home and not leave the house.  My father got very angry and agitated whenever I was in the same room as him and when he went out he insisted that we were never seen together.  It's a funny old world.

    At home I don't wear socks or shoes, it's not healthy for the feet or toes.  I have never worn or owned tracksuit bottoms.  However if he does go outside make sure he wears socks and shoes. And trousers  ( or equivalent) obviously.

  • The first issue here might be clothing. And I wonder if he'll wear a kilt. Curious if there is an issue with items feeling restrictive.

    However, it might be beneficial to explore fabric texture and find something, even if it's one thing. So I'm going to go to an extreme and ask if you've bought natural sheepskin slippers. And then has he tried Engel silk/wool base layers or mens marino wool joggers? While they're a little more expensive and need to be washed in cold - given a little extra care, they last and are actually healthier for the skin and body regulation. 

    Given that almost everything is returnable, I might even buy a range of natural swatches of fabrics for him to feel through if this is an issue. 

    There could be other issues here (& this might just be the final stressor), such as other sensory elements and environmental factors - each creating a low-grade anxiety piled up. Beginning to sort through all of these can be like peeling layers off. 

    The expression of a problem can be the last straw, so it may be good to explore everything including all minor unrelenting interruptions and unknown unresolved situations.