Hello,
I am a parent of a sweet 13 year old boy who has autism. We are doing an intensive program at home with him right now.
I just started having panic attacks. My husband stayed home today, but I know he wants me better, (so do I!!!) BUt my son's needs are kind of big and I just feel like I can't take care of him right now. I don't know what to do.
How to stay at home moms who are dealing with intense anxiety get through the day?
Child with autism
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Guest
Hi I have a son wiht special needs He is 40 with the mentallity of a 3 yr old I too worrie alot . I doing the program prayer really helps an
d when I"msick it is hard to take care of him But God is fathful. He never leave us or forske us that is my hope. Ill be praying for you God bless you.
my name is teresa
d when I"msick it is hard to take care of him But God is fathful. He never leave us or forske us that is my hope. Ill be praying for you God bless you.
my name is teresa
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Guest
Dear Teresa,
I really know how you feel. As a mother now in my 40's a mother of five children, my first born with born with a Congenital Heart Disease, with DiGeorge Syndrome. I wanted to say taht we as mothers work 24/7 to keep our children safe from harm, husbands happy and we tend to forget about ourselves. What use to help me was taking naps to catch up with my sleep (when my child went to sleep). Have a close family member or friend watch your child and go out on a date with your husband. Do something you like for example read a good book, excersie, go see a movie. Teresa keep doing a great job of taking care of your child and also yourself.
P.S.I sure hope some of this info helps! I'll be praying for you. Talk to you later!
From: Duckie (Linda)
I really know how you feel. As a mother now in my 40's a mother of five children, my first born with born with a Congenital Heart Disease, with DiGeorge Syndrome. I wanted to say taht we as mothers work 24/7 to keep our children safe from harm, husbands happy and we tend to forget about ourselves. What use to help me was taking naps to catch up with my sleep (when my child went to sleep). Have a close family member or friend watch your child and go out on a date with your husband. Do something you like for example read a good book, excersie, go see a movie. Teresa keep doing a great job of taking care of your child and also yourself.
P.S.I sure hope some of this info helps! I'll be praying for you. Talk to you later!
From: Duckie (Linda)
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Guest
Hi,
I have an almost 12 year old son with severe autism. I had panic attacks before his diagnosis, but the severity became unbearable after his diagnosis. I think this program does help, but having a child with autism, even compared to other special needs, is a unique situation that few understand. I think everyone who replied to you does understand though.
I really enjoy using the message boards such as autismspeaks.org and autismweb.com for support from other parents who understand. Although anxiety isn't always talked about on those forums, pretty much every parent on there has experienced symptoms such as anxiety or depression from the ongoing stress and most are very understanding. A really good book for mothers of children with autism is called, "An Unexpected Joy" by Mary Sharp. She is a doctor and the parent of a son with autism, and I don't think I've read anything else that compares to her understanding of the grief and emotions that mothers of children with autism experience. She does believe in medication(which I don't use for me because the side effects outweighed the benefits), but even if you don't opt for an anti-depressant her book is very uplifting. There is sometimes a lot of drama on autismspeaks.org, but it's a controversial situation. autismweb.com has little drama, but not as many replies to your posts, but people do reply:). You are not alone, I promise:). The CDC may change the autism rate to 1 in 100 very soon, and that is scary. My husband and I just re watched the movie "Lorenzo's Oil" on Hulu.com for free. It's not about autism, but about a once incurable and untreatable condition where the parents had to fight and do their own work to save their child. It is a rare condition, yet here we are with this high autism rate, and to me, it's like no one wants to know the truth. I may also have to do my own program for my son because the schools want to put him in Middle School when he is an escape hazard, etc. So, on here, unless someone has a child with autism, they don't understand that situation.
For the most part, I have found support on this message board, but there have been times where I've had stress on here and had to stay off, and there are many times that I don't share my unique situations on here because others on here won't understand even if they mean well.
For example, at Walmart this weekend, three guys approached me and my son. My son gets very overwhelmed at Walmart, and he started screaming. We were about to leave but those three guys approached us and started screaming and making fun of my son. I told them to stop because my son had autism. They did not, and so I had to cuss them out. I don't think this program would tell me to do that, but it was all I could do to get them to go away and protect myself and my child. They then slowly turned and walked away. It was very traumatic, and I doubted that few people on this board would understand. Assertive skills, being rational, and changing my thinking to say that those guys really didn't mean harm or something like that doesn't help in this situation. So, I think you will find some support on here, but really, other parents of children with autism are the most likely to understand. It's the chronic nature of the stress that's really different for us. I want to say that a few years ago, I couldn't even go to Walmart. This program helped me with agoraphobia, but I don't know that this program realizes what it is like for a mother with a child with autism to actually get attacked by society when she goes out in public. A lot of people on here with anxiety without this situation are always afraid that others are staring at them, making fun of them, etc., but for us it's real.
If you want to PM me for further support, please feel free to do so. There were times in my life where I thought I would never be better, and then when I understood the role that autism played in my anxiety and got the necessary support for my son's autism and stopped expecting my life to be like everyone else's that didn't have a child with autism, I made headway. I have a posting in the spiritual section called, "The Cross" that talks of my anxiety and my son's autism, and the way that God helped me through the worst time of my life if you think it will help in anyway.
Take care,
luvpiggy
I have an almost 12 year old son with severe autism. I had panic attacks before his diagnosis, but the severity became unbearable after his diagnosis. I think this program does help, but having a child with autism, even compared to other special needs, is a unique situation that few understand. I think everyone who replied to you does understand though.
I really enjoy using the message boards such as autismspeaks.org and autismweb.com for support from other parents who understand. Although anxiety isn't always talked about on those forums, pretty much every parent on there has experienced symptoms such as anxiety or depression from the ongoing stress and most are very understanding. A really good book for mothers of children with autism is called, "An Unexpected Joy" by Mary Sharp. She is a doctor and the parent of a son with autism, and I don't think I've read anything else that compares to her understanding of the grief and emotions that mothers of children with autism experience. She does believe in medication(which I don't use for me because the side effects outweighed the benefits), but even if you don't opt for an anti-depressant her book is very uplifting. There is sometimes a lot of drama on autismspeaks.org, but it's a controversial situation. autismweb.com has little drama, but not as many replies to your posts, but people do reply:). You are not alone, I promise:). The CDC may change the autism rate to 1 in 100 very soon, and that is scary. My husband and I just re watched the movie "Lorenzo's Oil" on Hulu.com for free. It's not about autism, but about a once incurable and untreatable condition where the parents had to fight and do their own work to save their child. It is a rare condition, yet here we are with this high autism rate, and to me, it's like no one wants to know the truth. I may also have to do my own program for my son because the schools want to put him in Middle School when he is an escape hazard, etc. So, on here, unless someone has a child with autism, they don't understand that situation.
For the most part, I have found support on this message board, but there have been times where I've had stress on here and had to stay off, and there are many times that I don't share my unique situations on here because others on here won't understand even if they mean well.
For example, at Walmart this weekend, three guys approached me and my son. My son gets very overwhelmed at Walmart, and he started screaming. We were about to leave but those three guys approached us and started screaming and making fun of my son. I told them to stop because my son had autism. They did not, and so I had to cuss them out. I don't think this program would tell me to do that, but it was all I could do to get them to go away and protect myself and my child. They then slowly turned and walked away. It was very traumatic, and I doubted that few people on this board would understand. Assertive skills, being rational, and changing my thinking to say that those guys really didn't mean harm or something like that doesn't help in this situation. So, I think you will find some support on here, but really, other parents of children with autism are the most likely to understand. It's the chronic nature of the stress that's really different for us. I want to say that a few years ago, I couldn't even go to Walmart. This program helped me with agoraphobia, but I don't know that this program realizes what it is like for a mother with a child with autism to actually get attacked by society when she goes out in public. A lot of people on here with anxiety without this situation are always afraid that others are staring at them, making fun of them, etc., but for us it's real.
If you want to PM me for further support, please feel free to do so. There were times in my life where I thought I would never be better, and then when I understood the role that autism played in my anxiety and got the necessary support for my son's autism and stopped expecting my life to be like everyone else's that didn't have a child with autism, I made headway. I have a posting in the spiritual section called, "The Cross" that talks of my anxiety and my son's autism, and the way that God helped me through the worst time of my life if you think it will help in anyway.
Take care,
luvpiggy
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Guest
Hi, luvpiggy, what an awful expereince you had at Walmart. Certainly an incident to cause anxiety. Although others may disagree, I'm proud of how you handled it. I couldn't have done what you did. My 9 year old son has autism and moderate mental retardation. Taking our children out in public can be such a traumatic experience. I'm hoping the program will help me overcome some of this trauma and anxiety. I wish the best for you too!
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Guest
Thanks, Lauruss:). It really helped me to have people like you with children with autism respond with such support and outrage. I think that's why I moved past it so quickly, and have since had many more trips to Walmart. In fact, on Saturday, my husband was on another isle with my son when he went to get out of the cart, and a man approached that said that he used to work with kids with autism and helped my husband and said that he admired my husband for all that he did for my son:). And, I normally don't advocate cussing people out, but in this instance, this was the only language these people would understand.
My son would be considered MR as well. If you ever want to talk by private message to support each other, just shoot me a message:).
Take care,
luvpiggy
My son would be considered MR as well. If you ever want to talk by private message to support each other, just shoot me a message:).
Take care,
luvpiggy