desperately needing help

Hey All,

Ill try and keep this short, LO is 9 going on 10, under consultation for ADHD and inline for an ADOS assessment, I have a gut feeling that he has PDA.

He is currently in year 5 and is starting to talk about going to high school, where he said he will have no friends, as he's going to a different high school than the rest. His behaviour has escalated, in the sense of harming himself, and not being nice to his school friends, his attitude sucks as well here at home. why don't you do it, when asked a simple task. 

His bedroom routine, is usually me singing a song 3 time, but this has escalated to 12, and then half an hour later can you sing it a further six times clearly hes worrying or something is up with him,, but can't identify what it is. I've told him on several occasions, that this is the last one, however he will come down crying saying he can't sleep, and he can't he won't sleep till 10pm, if not longer if it isn't sung.

I spoke to CHAMS and they suggested Thrive, been there and they said because of possible diagnosis, they can't help due to neurodivergent. 

How do People parent this, I feel completely lost and crap mummy!!!

Parents
  • You sound like a very caring parent. My son often doesn't know why he is worried and as a parent that can be so difficult. 

    I can share my experience. Getting to the final year can be challenging and lots of students have more challenging behavior as they get towards the 'top' of the school. There could also be many challenges talked about like SATS and people talking about whether they will pass, which I feel goes against the original reason they were started. Then as you said moving schools is a big challenge. I wondered if your son comes under the SEND team, as the school SENCO may be able to help or you may be able to contact the SENCO of the school he hopes to go to and ask for extra visits to help with the transition. It is a big change and my son also went to a different school from friends. In his case making new friends helped, following difficulties at his previous school.

    I note you also mentioned attitude when asked to do a task. My son sees that as a demand which is a challenge, so I now try to ask in slightly different ways that are less direct, for example mentioning, giving a wider deadline and sometimes helping with the task. Asking in advance is another thing that can work, but this is something to work out over time to reduce the feeling of demand, especially if it is something that needs doing now. Personally as someone on the list for assessment, I can say immediate demands cause difficulties. Over time he has started to do more, so I then can celebrate the positives with him.

    In respect of sleeping, this is also a difficult thing and not being able to fall asleep can cause panic. This time of the year is difficult due to so much light. The solutions we found with this was blackout curtains and now he is older he also has an eye mask. Another problem was switching off thoughts. The solution we found here was having a fan on in his bedroom as the sound helped him to fall asleep. In your situation I wonder if it is possible to leave recorded music on.

    In respect of support I wonder if the school would be able to give you information of any local support groups either run by local services or parents in similar situations. I made use of these when my son was younger and found it helped to know I wasn't alone, as well as getting ideas from others.

    Also if you suspect PDA I guess you have googled it as there is a website and books that have been written.

    Like you, I have been through difficult times and it is not easy. I can see you have asked for help from professionals but not got far with that support. Often it appears that we are not doing well as it is so overwhelming. However your support is very important to him. You may be the one place where he feels safe. The extra things that you are doing are giving him that comfort he needs.

    It isn't easy, but everything you do to support is helping him, but support for you is important too, so I hope you can find local support with people who also understand and may be able to recommend any local help.

Reply
  • You sound like a very caring parent. My son often doesn't know why he is worried and as a parent that can be so difficult. 

    I can share my experience. Getting to the final year can be challenging and lots of students have more challenging behavior as they get towards the 'top' of the school. There could also be many challenges talked about like SATS and people talking about whether they will pass, which I feel goes against the original reason they were started. Then as you said moving schools is a big challenge. I wondered if your son comes under the SEND team, as the school SENCO may be able to help or you may be able to contact the SENCO of the school he hopes to go to and ask for extra visits to help with the transition. It is a big change and my son also went to a different school from friends. In his case making new friends helped, following difficulties at his previous school.

    I note you also mentioned attitude when asked to do a task. My son sees that as a demand which is a challenge, so I now try to ask in slightly different ways that are less direct, for example mentioning, giving a wider deadline and sometimes helping with the task. Asking in advance is another thing that can work, but this is something to work out over time to reduce the feeling of demand, especially if it is something that needs doing now. Personally as someone on the list for assessment, I can say immediate demands cause difficulties. Over time he has started to do more, so I then can celebrate the positives with him.

    In respect of sleeping, this is also a difficult thing and not being able to fall asleep can cause panic. This time of the year is difficult due to so much light. The solutions we found with this was blackout curtains and now he is older he also has an eye mask. Another problem was switching off thoughts. The solution we found here was having a fan on in his bedroom as the sound helped him to fall asleep. In your situation I wonder if it is possible to leave recorded music on.

    In respect of support I wonder if the school would be able to give you information of any local support groups either run by local services or parents in similar situations. I made use of these when my son was younger and found it helped to know I wasn't alone, as well as getting ideas from others.

    Also if you suspect PDA I guess you have googled it as there is a website and books that have been written.

    Like you, I have been through difficult times and it is not easy. I can see you have asked for help from professionals but not got far with that support. Often it appears that we are not doing well as it is so overwhelming. However your support is very important to him. You may be the one place where he feels safe. The extra things that you are doing are giving him that comfort he needs.

    It isn't easy, but everything you do to support is helping him, but support for you is important too, so I hope you can find local support with people who also understand and may be able to recommend any local help.

Children
  • Thanks for this, can i ask how do you word things with your son? REcording will be a no go he flat out said no that he doesn't want a recording but wants me. I feel like he is riddled with anxiety and won't say what, last night he came down crying and I went up, and he kept repeating his stupid ADHD brain thought his projector was now an alligator, and was gonna eat us all up.

    So I fixed the projector to not show an alligator, and he couldn't express to me why he is feeling this way. He has two weeks off school now, and I am just gonna let him be him, no demands no nothing and see if that can help him relax, and then we can maybe have a conversations on expectations etc.