Anxious teenage girl

My daughter is 14 years old. We believe she is autistic but we are waiting for her to be tested to confirm this. She has always been very anxious, but recently it has become unbearable.

She had a girlfriend and they split up. This girl is friends with her friends and she just can’t even see her without feeling sick or crying. It’s causing her friends to distance themselves from her and this is causing her more anxiety. She has recently started to physically throw up with all these emotions. She is struggling in school as her ex is at the same school and as she isn’t diagnosed yet, support from the school is limited. There is one teacher that helps her, but she ends up staying in his office at break and not going to lessons. She was referred to CAHMS but we are waiting on support for her. 

I’m totally lost of how to help her or how to manage this. Anyone else been thought a similar thing? She hates change and I have thought about trying a new school but I’m unsure if that will help.

Parents
  • I would suggest a therapist with experience of working with autistic teens - there are a number of areas they need to help with from anxiety, loss, social interactions and emotional regulation.

    She could try self help (plenty of books I can recommend) but that takes a lot of effort which she probably isn't up for at the moment and she needs someone to offer support and practical advice tailored to her autistic traits and capacities.

    Waiting for CAHMS is like waiting for a bus when you need to go to the bathroom badly unfortunately - it takes forever while you dance around in discomfort.

    Starting at around £50/hour they are not terribly expensive.

    There are a load to choose from here:

    https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/counselling/england?category=autism

    That would be my approach in your situaiton.

Reply
  • I would suggest a therapist with experience of working with autistic teens - there are a number of areas they need to help with from anxiety, loss, social interactions and emotional regulation.

    She could try self help (plenty of books I can recommend) but that takes a lot of effort which she probably isn't up for at the moment and she needs someone to offer support and practical advice tailored to her autistic traits and capacities.

    Waiting for CAHMS is like waiting for a bus when you need to go to the bathroom badly unfortunately - it takes forever while you dance around in discomfort.

    Starting at around £50/hour they are not terribly expensive.

    There are a load to choose from here:

    https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/counselling/england?category=autism

    That would be my approach in your situaiton.

Children
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