Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi everyone,
I have three children. A 12 year old girl, an 11 year old boy, who is autistic and a 8 year old.
The 11 year old boy absolutely loathes his sister. Deep down he probably loves her but he can't tolerate being near here. He won't go near her. He screeches if She appears in his sight, even if she is completely silent. She doesn't do anything to him, just ignores him.
His behaviour has also generalised to anything that she has touched. For example, he wouldn't wear his new swimming costume as he had touched he swimming costume.
Avoiding his sister is his 100 per cent occupation. If she isn't around, he is happy and able to join in his activities.
Any advice would be helpful. Also, if anyone can recommend an expert who can help with this. I'd be grateful.
Thanks so much
NAS24917 said:Avoiding his sister is his 100 per cent occupation.
With the avoidance it sounds as if it could be anxiety based.
Has he been able to communicate why he reacts the way he does?
NAS24917 said:He screeches if She appears in his sight, even if she is completely silent.
One possibility is that it is sensory anxiety if he can't tolerate the sound of his sister's voice. He won't want to go near anything or anyone that might potentially make a noise he finds intolerable. I'm like that with certain dogs. If that is a factor then ear protection might help to a certain extent.
Does he have something he is interested in that he would strongly want to participate in? Maybe if you could set up such an activity and include his sister. Warn him in advance that his sister will be there and give him the autonomy to choose if he wants to join in or not based on that knowledge.
If nothing else that will test if his aversion to his sister is greater than his interests, so you can begin to understand what you are dealing with.