Good days and bad...

Hi to all, today has not been so great... I have a 4 year old son who was diagnosed last year with ASD and fragile X syndrom, guess I've always known my little boy was a bit different and to be honest having the diagnoses confirm things came as quite a relief. 

But as he gets bigger and stronger and more determind his behaviour is becoming much more challenging and difficult to cope with. I am a single parent and he is my only child, so to a certain extent I don't really know any different. But with his lack of verbal communication skills and general development delay I am finding even the most basic of tasks a constant battle. 

Going out, for example to nursery has turned into a daily struggle, with his unpredictable behaviour and inability to understand personal safety. I have to take him in a pram, this is not ideal he is tall for his age and the pram is not really suitable (I am in the process of trying to find out how to go about organising a more suitable one), out of nowhere and for no apparent reason he will launch into an extreme meltdown, screaming incredibly loudly whilst throwing his head back hitting the pram frame, he will stretch out his legs going very stiff so that they drag on the floor. He will work up such a temper that he has no regard for how his physical outbursts are affecting himself or others. Not only is this incredibly distressing to see but even harder to deal with. 

90% of the time my son is a lovely sweet tempered little boy who enjoys nature and being out and about, but it's that small 10% which seems to be overshadowing and taking over our lives making the simple joys of bringing up a child really difficult to see. 

I am not one to normally ask for help, but I am struggling and I hate to admit this. 

just needed to get this out of my system, like I said today has not been so great, fingers crossed tomorrow will be better. Thanks for reading. Xxx

Parents
  • Hi. is it the journey to nursery and/or the nursery itself which upsets him?  Does he get enough support there + are they autism aware,well trained in the condition etc?  How is he when you leave him there?  He may have sensory issues : certain noises, tastes, textures, smells, etc which may upset him.  If he's ok most of the time then there must be something causing the outbursts which needs to be identified.  His distress sounds severe + causes trauma for both of you so take a step back + look at all the components from the start of his day all the way thru to coming home again.  Is he ok on the way home?  Sorry for all the questions but if things can be unpicked then you may not need another buggy - I'm presuming the buggy's there to contain him + not because he has mobility problems.  Please let us know how you get on. Smile

Reply
  • Hi. is it the journey to nursery and/or the nursery itself which upsets him?  Does he get enough support there + are they autism aware,well trained in the condition etc?  How is he when you leave him there?  He may have sensory issues : certain noises, tastes, textures, smells, etc which may upset him.  If he's ok most of the time then there must be something causing the outbursts which needs to be identified.  His distress sounds severe + causes trauma for both of you so take a step back + look at all the components from the start of his day all the way thru to coming home again.  Is he ok on the way home?  Sorry for all the questions but if things can be unpicked then you may not need another buggy - I'm presuming the buggy's there to contain him + not because he has mobility problems.  Please let us know how you get on. Smile

Children
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