Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi l have a 9 year old daughter ASD and she isn’t able to separate from me so if l try to go out she becomes distressed, angry and can be very controlling. I find this hard as l can’t even pop to the shop for milk or take the dog out. I have no social life. She also sleep in a bed in our room as she won’t sleep alone. She is showing signs of puppetry starting so this also needs addressing.
She’s been referred for CBT via BeeU. The nurse said l need to get some control back but it’s not that easy. I don’t want to feed the anxiety but l don’t want to make her worse. 12momths ago she was in constant meltdown and very aggressive and l can’t go back to that.
Anyone else been through this ?
Thanks
My ASD daughter exactly the same at age 8 got to the same point as you, would not leave my side day or night. Going into complete crisis if I needed to go out and she just couldn’t cope. Eventually home schooled with a tutor and we got help from a specialist counsellor (not CBT that’s not suitable for ASD) she helped us find coping strategies and take it very very slowly to build up and gain trust and confidence. It’s taken a long time, she’s 14 now and still very much has separation anxiety but I can now go out for a few hours at a time, she’s copes better but it’s not gone. Getting a good counsellor who specialises in ASD really makes the difference. Happy to discuss more if you need, good luck, there’s always hope that things will get better xx