Hi All,
Just wondered if anyone out there has had the same experience as me and if so was it resolved and how?
I have two sons aged 11 and 13 who are both autistic. My house is akin to living in a war zone at the moment by where I am the enemy!
My eldest has to be micro managed in the morning in order for him to be ready for school on time. He attends mainstream and I drive him. Each morning he appears to make a deliberate attempt to be late which is now affecting his attendance record for which I have been pulled up on by the school. This morning he was being insubordinate so I took his phone from him as it was distracting him. Amongst being called every single name under the sun he also lashed out at me physically then started on his brother. It was an all out mission to control the situation (I'm on my own) and to keep them apart and everyone safe. My youngest son also lashes out at me when he is distressed and can't get his own way, again calling me names, spitting in my face etc. This is not an example that has been set for them and I am at a loss how to stop them doing this. I have explained that physical assaults are not called for and they cannot go through life lashing out at every tiny thing that doesn't agree with them.
My youngest has just started secondary mainstream and so far has managed 1 full day. He's on an exclusion at the moment which means he or I can't leave the house during school time. This is hindering my training at the moment as I am trying to pursue a career as a personal trainer so I am able to work my own hours and therefore still be at home when school finishes for them. I fear he is going to exhaust his options and be excluded for good which means no other mainstream will accept him and we hardly have any special needs secondary schools in the area.
I appreciate that their world is a tough place and I have tried so many methods over the years. I am training also in CBT in order to help them as CAMHS pretty much don't exist in our area. I have done the Triple P also. I'm on anti anxiety medication now and have lost some weight (I know some women wouldn't mind that but as a body builder I need to eat in order to build the muscle mass!). I don't have many expectations, I just want them to be decent members of society but their lack of control I fear will have negetaive consequences for them in the long run. The school is very supportive but there is only so much they can do in their capacity. Someone did mention contacting social services but to be honest, I don't want them involved. Having spoken to parents in similar situations the general consensus is that they are under funded and over stretched anyway.
Has anyone else had similar experiences? if so how do you deal with it?
Many thanks in advance.