My 14yr old was diagnosed with ASD when he was 8.
His mental health has been deteriorating since he was around 11. He is always low in mood and has told us that he has thoughts of self harm and suicide.
I feel that we've tried to help and support him in every way we can but he just finds life too difficult.
Today he said he wishes I'd aborted him. We are a loving and supportive family. We have paid for private counselling. We've worked hard to get him as much support as we can at school. He says he lonely. We allow him limited time online (he's obsessive about his phone and computer so we have to be strict about this) as this is where he finds it easiest to make friends.
He has a couple of friends that he see's occasionally outside of school.
We've encouraged him to try new things with the hope he will meet new people and become more confident but he just found it too difficult.
He is becoming more and more isolated and unhappy. His voice sounds very flat (it's not naturally like this). He says that living is not worth the effort that he has to put into getting through life.
I just feel that despite our best efforts and us spending money on counselling and rallying all the support we can from our family and the school he is just becoming more and more unhappy.
My husband is autistic and antidepressants have been a lifechanger for him.
I don't really like the idea of my son being on them and I'm not even sure if this is something our GP would agree to but I just can't see any other way of helping him.
Anyone have any experience or advice regarding ASD teens using antidepressants?
I'm at the end of my tether and my mental health is suffering too.
Thanks
