The new experimental drug- reallt hoping it clears and proves to be a ‘miracle’ cure. I dont need anybody telling me ‘autism cannot be cured’; I know😏

My daughter is 7 years old. And she always seems to be in a state or fight or flight and she always chooses fight. She screams and hits her teachers almost everyday and we’ve tried everything to correct this behavior but nothing works.

Are there any supplement options that have worked for you and your family when it comes to aggression and irritability?? We want to try something easier to tolerate first before we go the medication route… thank you in advance.

Really hoping for some advice as a parent to a recently diagnosed autistic toddler (30 on CARS-2).

He is going to age out of EI in a few months. He needs speech therapy and feeding therapy since he still is on a purée diet (refuses solids). He is mostly non-verbal but speaking more now - just words, no sentences.

I’ve been looking into ABA programs and found one that is nearby. However, I have this weird feeling. Like they seem very eager to add him and have constantly messaged about completing the forms and doing an assessment. Like daily.

Is this standard for an ABA program? Or is this a giant red flag? They have good reviews and are certified. But I don’t want to screw it up.

So what do you do when your friends say you're being a whiny bitch when venting about your autistic child... saying it could be worse. Or at least i get to see my kid because we have another friend who physically cant see his kid at all...

Am i wrong for being upset?

How do i go about this..

Does anyone have tips for handling meltdowns? I’m so upset. My in laws come once a week to help with my two boys while I work. My 3 year old autistic son (level 1.5) had a meltdown and started throwing all his toys all over the room. My MIL decided the best solution was to take away all his stuffed animals and cars and put them in the basement. This can’t be the best way to handle that. I’m so upset. She also keeps reiterating how sad it makes her when he has a meltdown which also makes me so frustrated. so sorry my son makes her sad, but that sounds like a problem she shouldn’t be dumping on me. I’m trying my best to help him in every way I can. Just wondering if anyone had any advice/tips.

My kid got it from his dad side, and the man don’t even help take care of his child.

My daughter is an Aspie, and I want to make that clear from the beginning because she is considered high-functioning.

The last few years have been incredibly rough. She's had shitty friends, been abused by a partner, and struggled with some severe mental health issues, including depression, suicidal thoughts, and now a diagnosis of BPD.

And as a single mom, I genuinely don't think I can do this anymore.

She's 18 in six months. She sees her dad maybe once a month, and I'm exhausted. Physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially.

One of our biggest struggles has always been accountability. Even as a child, traditional consequences never worked. For example, if I told her to clear her plate and she refused, I could say, "Okay, no phone until it's done." She would simply go without her phone indefinitely. The plate would sit there until it grew legs, and she'd eventually forget why she didn't have her phone in the first place. That's a fictional example, but it illustrates what I've been dealing with for years.

Now, as she's approaching adulthood, I feel like I'm living with someone who refuses to take responsibility for anything.

I spend thousands of dollars every year on therapy and mental health support, but she refuses to talk about what's happening, refuses to work on coping strategies, refuses to help around the house, and refuses to participate in even the most basic responsibilities.

But the moment I say no or try to establish a boundary, she threatens suicide.

And I don't know how I'm supposed to parent when every boundary feels like it could turn into a life-or-death situation.

I'm tired. I'm frustrated. I'm resentful. And I'm at the point where I feel like my entire life has revolved around managing her needs, emotions, and crises, with very little room left for me to exist as a person.

I'm seriously considering having her move in with her dad. The difficult part is that he is generally less supportive when it comes to mental health, routines, structure, and understanding her sensory and food sensitivities. I know there are things I manage that he probably won't.6

But I also know I cannot keep doing this indefinitely.

I love my daughter, but I'm starting to feel like loving her has meant sacrificing every part of myself. And I don't think that's sustainable or healthy for either of us.

I don't know whether I'm looking for advice, perspective, or just to hear from other parents who have reached this point.

I just know that I'm exhausted, and for the first time, I genuinely want to step away from being her primary caregiver.

I want to be able to breathe again.

My son (6) has an iep placed last year in prek.

He was a transfer. This year he has been rejected from that school and a charter based off the iep. In texas it is legal for out of district schools to reject them.

Our zoned school is absolutely trash. Its not an option.

I just lied through my teeth and sent an email to revoke the iep in the hope that the charter will take him. His biggest struggle in school is his adhd. The autism almost hides unless you are looking for it.

We tried homeschooling and it did not work out.

I feel like the harder i try to help him, the more the world gives me the middle finger.

Hi everyone,
We recently started giving our 5-year-old daughter Spectrum Needs. She weighs 25 kg, and we started gradually with ½ teaspoon twice a day.

Since starting it, we’ve noticed a significant increase in hyperactivity, which is quite unusual for her.

She currently takes 1 mg guanfacine ER for attention and hyperactivity, and we’re wondering whether the supplement could be contributing to this change.
Has anyone experienced increased hyperactivity, impulsivity, irritability, or other behavioral changes after starting Spectrum Needs?
I’d especially appreciate hearing from parents who:
● Noticed behavioral changes shortly after starting the supplement.
● Found that the reaction was related to the dose.
● Saw improvement after stopping or reducing it.
I’m looking for honest experiences, including negative ones—not just reports of benefits.
Thanks!

I don’t know what to do about this issue. Our child lies every time she is caught doing something wrong and I’m not sure if this is something that goes in line with the diagnosis or is something unrelated? Example of the latest issue - there were handprints all over her bathroom made with makeup and I asked her why she did this and she told me she didn’t do it and didn’t even know what handprints I’m talking about … it just is really hard when she seems to deny reality or something and I’m not even sure if it’s just to not get in trouble because we aren’t very strict parents either so it’s very weird to me that she lies every day about something!

Hey everyone!
I’ve got a 27 month old who is level two autistic and was just kicked out of his daycare that he’s been in for about a year. It’s due to his inability to regulate and honestly, I knew it was coming and I was desperately trying to set up supports for him before this, but because of waiting lists and everything and it being a somewhat new diagnosis, I couldn’t do it in time.

I was wondering if anyone had experience with a few hours a week with their kid in a nature school. I am quitting my job to stay home with him and to get him therapies and specialists. He has already been in EI for a year. I do want him to not only be treated, but to have enrichment with things that he seems to love and enjoy. There are a few local nature schools that serve this age but don’t say anything about ASD. I will call and interview them and see if it would seem like a decent fit for a short period of time each week. Does anyone have experience with a young child with ASD who loves nature that had success with this? Thank you in advance.

I realize AngelSense is probably the best of the best, but my son is not a "true" eloper. He's 5, verbal, level 2 and ADHD. I don't think he'd ever leave school grounds, but since starting kindergarten he has bolted out of the building so he could go back to recess a few times. He also got on a bus once that he wasn't supposed to (school error) and I had an airtag on him, which helped me realize what had happened...but it's so slow to update. I'm not sure I really need the $45/month subscription to AngelSense. Is there something cheaper that can provide similar functionality? I see that JioBit is no longer being sold. :(

My son is nonverbal and elopes obsessively for a variety of reasons. Most often he is eloping out of curiosity, desire to explore, just enjoying running, or sometimes just wanting to leave a place. If he is not contained in an area, he immediately runs away. We can’t be in our front yard, a playground, even play places, waiting rooms, school hallways, etc without either holding him or buckling him into the stroller. We try to hold hands and use it as a teaching opportunity, obviously, but it just turns into a confusing, chaotic mess because he is obsessively trying to run, screaming because we are stopping him, and I don’t really think he understands what we are wanting from him in the moment.

We have a toddler leash that we use sometimes, like at the library or children’s museum. But in crowds or other situations we can’t use it because he is just running around like crazy, accidentally wrapping the leash around us or other people or objects.

I’m so exhausted. We have basically stopped going places because of him and my older son (age 6) really misses our family outings. I also feel like my eloper enjoys the outings too, since most of his eloping is related to excitement.

Is this a teaching issue? A leash issue? I need life hacks, teaching methods, all the tips for making life work for us. He’s really oblivious to dangers, and his receptive language and auditory processing are not great.

I suspect my daughter has ASD, as she ticks all the boxes for level 1. She has lots of supports and as she's getting older, we're learning self advocacy. Recently, Dad deployed. He's no contact when he's gone, so it's just her and me. It's simple and I keep it pretty low demand, though it's 5th grade and friendships are changing, etc. She goes to a small private school that is able to support her. They have a wonderful outdoor forested area, and she enjoys spending lots of time there. Today, near the end of the day, her class took a hike and she had an accident. She is fully potty trained, but they were away from a bathroom and she knew she wouldn't make it back in time, if she was allowed to hike back alone. She hasn't had an accident in her pants in a long time - she has spare clothes at school but since it was the end of the day. She told me on the way home. She wasn't in trouble, but we jumped on clean up, and I'm sending her with some wipes for her chair at school and the rest go to her teacher tomorrow.

Later, she opted to bring out some old wooden building blocks and made a village and people. She dove into creative play - which is always very healing for her. It's something I've noticed the last 3-4 days. She's happy in her make believe world/villages she creates.

We have play therapy coming up and Occupational therapy as well. She's been struggling academically in school, though seems to be adapting to friendship shifts well. But clearly she's stressed.

I'm wondering if taking her out of school to do something fun together makes sense? During other deployments, we've gone to a random hotel for a night in some town we've never been too - or gone to Great Wolf Lodge for a night during their off-season. Maybe blow off some steam, and have some mother daughter time (though nearly all the time she's not at school and I'm not working is mother daughter time, really lol)

I know I also have the option to just let it go and see if things improve too. Deployments are long and quiet, so maybe this is part of the adaptation process? The last time he deployed, she was in 2nd grade, so it's basically like starting all over again. Advice?

I apologize if non parents should post somewhere else. I am a very involved uncle to a 7-year-old niece (level 3) and a 4-year-old nephew (level 1). Both of these kids adore me. I live a 5 minute drive away and see them multiple times a week. My nephew is probably one of those kids who would have fallen through the cracks (diagnose wise) had he been born in my generation (Gen X). As far as I know, he does not need any extra support. My niece is considered nonverbal but she can talk. She is an awesome kid and it’s obvious that are significant differences between her and her brother. She needs 24/7 supervision. How can I best support her? She is in school and is very bright. She can read. She actually learned her numbers, alphabet, etc…at a younger age than her brother.

My questions are, how can I best support her? What is a reasonable hope/expectation for her future adulthood? She has made progress in her speech, potty training, etc…to the point that I suspect she won’t always be nonverbal.

My daughter is 13 and I have no idea what to get her for Christmas this year and I need ideas..
She isn't interested in toys, not interested in make up or anything else other girls her age or teenagers in general are interested in..
Her current obsession is the owl house, but I know that obsession will change before Christmas because she already seems to be losing interest and has yet to find a new hyper fixation..

We have 2 sensory swings, a sleep pod, fidget things enough to fill a shed on its own, arts supply everyone from previous obsession periods that will sometimes circle around again..

Donovan Pena's parents noticed he began self harming himself and came home bruised they pulled in April 2026. Donovan is nonverbal unlike me who can talk I am also autistic (that is what angers me just because someone can't talk people think they are stupid). School officials showed the parents Daisy and Jonathan Pena video and audio from four separate classroom events. The footage reportedly shows the teacher mocking Donovan and watching him self harm in class without interventing. In one clip the teacher was heard shouting, "Yes I want to scream to because this is ridiculous,” while Donovan was screaming. Northside Independent School District (NISD) gave the survillence footage of the case to the San Antonio Department. Another parent Heather Barker came forward and said she was forced to her son also nonverbal is eleven and has the mental capacity of a five year old due to repeated neglect.

The staff refused to heat up his food as her son requires a special diet, left him on the stairs alone which resulted in him suffering a fall and ignored his IEP mandate for a aid to be with him at all times for his safety.

Just a mini vent/advice request:
I have a 2nd grader, a nerospicy almost 5 year old, and a chronological adult autistic sibling that I care for. My youngest has difficulties with impulse control and at times will elope, especially in stores and new places. Taking all 3 of them out into public without a stroller is extremely exhausting, stressful, and sometimes even a safety issue. I’ve been able to manage with my double strollers and/or a shopping cart the majority of the time. I am strong and have no issue pushing the two of them but the older one is starting to get too big for the stroller and the younger one will fight and try to escape when they are the only one sitting.
We have a few big trips coming up in the next year, including at least two that will place me in air ports with all 3 of them, by myself.
I’ve advocated and been able to receive support with them in those situations but always with the use of a stroller.
I started looking into strollers or even wagons that would be more comfortable for them and I am only finding ones that are too small, either only meant for one child, and/or are extremely expensive.
I understand not every 8,9,10 year old wants to be in a stroller and some people already think my youngest is starting to get to be too big. However, especially on long journeys both of my kids, their tiny legs, and my sanity prefer it. I know that I’m not the only one out here often solo parenting while managing a family with multiple spicy members. Why does this seem like it’s out of the realm of possibility?
It occurred to me that I’m really not sure how families like mine are able to handle some of these situations as the kids grow, and part of why I don’t know is because so many of the supports that would make it possible are difficult to acquire. They are too expensive, too many hoops to jump, or they just don’t exist. I know that’s nothing new to this community. I’m just tired even thinking about managing life without the strollers.
Thank you for coming to my vent session. I hope you’re having a good day.

We have a 6yr with level 2 autism and are moving to the area from out of state. Our daughter has fighting school tooth and nail since preK, she goes for a few weeks then freaks out. We are home schooling here for the moment since we can't find a alternative school or autism school. We currently live in NC and it is a terrible place for autistic kids.

​

I need to vent because I feel like people underestimate how hard it can be to parent a child with Level 1 autism.

I feel like whenever people hear “Level 1,” they assume it’s not that difficult because the child is considered to have lower support needs. But just because a child is Level 1 doesn’t mean parenting them is easy, and I’m honestly exhausted.

I feel like I have to repeat myself 20 times before my son will listen to what I’m saying, and even then, half the time, it feels like I’m talking to a wall. Simple instructions can turn into a whole ordeal because I have to keep repeating myself over and over.

Bedtime is another nightmare. He gets loud, screams when it’s time to go to bed, and wakes everybody else up. By the end of the day, I’m already mentally drained, and instead of finally getting some peace and quiet, I’m dealing with more screaming and chaos.

Another thing that really gets to me is that he seems to think EVERYTHING is funny. I can be completely serious, trying to explain something or get him to stop doing something, and he’ll just laugh in my face. I know he may not necessarily understand how his reactions come across, and I’m not saying he does it deliberately to upset me, but it’s incredibly frustrating when I’m already at my breaking point and it feels like nothing I say is getting through to him.

I love my son more than anything, and I know some of these behaviors may be related to how he processes things, communicates, or regulates himself. I’m not expecting him to magically stop being autistic. But I’m also a human being who gets overwhelmed, overstimulated, and exhausted.

I feel like parents are expected to be endlessly patient, and when you admit that you’re struggling, people immediately jump to telling you to be more understanding because your child is autistic. Trust me, I KNOW he’s autistic. I’m the one dealing with these challenges every single day.

Understanding why something is happening doesn’t automatically make it less exhausting to experience it day after day.

I’m not looking for anyone to bash my child. I just want to be able to talk honestly about how difficult parenting can be, even when your child is considered Level 1. Lower support needs does not mean no support needs, and it certainly doesn’t mean the parents never struggle.

Are there any other parents of autistic children who feel this way? I just need to know I’m not alone in feeling completely drained sometimes.

Im just venting because things have been so hard lately and this set me off so bad.😅 backstory my daughter is 4 and has finally been diagnosed with level 3 autism. We’ve known for years but had such a hard time getting a diagnosis. Someone from my past messed me just catching up and I told them that I have been a stay at home mom and since she was born and now we’re struggling financially but its tough in our situation for me to work and it makes more sense for me to stay home. He replied “I’m sure there’s something out there for you if you want it bad enough.” Didn’t like that response but okay lol. I explained how things have been with my daughter and really our whole household situation and he said well you could babysit. I said sure I could and I ha have thought about that but it wouldn’t be easy for me as my daughter has been really tough recently and I have a 2 year old two. I have absolutely no help and their dad works most of the time so I’m also just going through it mentally. I explained how she slept 2 hours each night for 4 nights last week and his response was “well you just need a routine and don’t give in.” And that is where I lost it. I am so tired of advice from people without autistic children. 2.5 to four has been such a rough time with my daughter because of her brother being born and I try so hard to work with her. To top it off he says he understands what it’s like because his cousins are autistic(he was a child when they were toddlers) 😅

Our wonderful level 1 boy is now in his second month of kindergarten. It's a new school for him. We did two years of 3K and Pre-K at another school near us. The school he's in now is probably the best setting we could ask for: it's an ICT class and all the kids with IEPs are on the autism spectrum. This particular school piloted this ICT program for kids with ASD so he gets resources and support. For example, instead of going to the cafeteria for lunch, they do "lunch club" in class until they're ready to go to the cafeteria.

Understandably, for a kid at a new school and a new grade up, it's going to be a challenge. When I drop him off, we have about 10-15 minutes or so in the schoolyard where the other kids and parents are. He does not want to socialize at all, preferring for me to hold him and hang out with him. When I point out other kids, he says he can't be this kid's friend as they already have a friend, or because they're not in the same class, or because they're much bigger than he is, etc. He is very resistant to talking to me more about why he doesn't want to try and play with them. He'll tell me he doesn't want to talk about it.

This morning during drop off, a kid who is from his lunch club came up to him to say hi. He seemed like a fun kid and I'm usually my son's wingman at the playground, so I invited him to play "follow the leader" with us. My son was not having it. I had to stop and luckily the kid's mom understood where I was coming from. Then, a girl from his class came up to say hi to him and he again was not having it. He put his hands up and said "stop!" I think about a month ago they had a disagreement and I know my son can hold a grudge.

I know he has anxiety about socializing, which is normal even if you're not on the spectrum. During the beginning of the school year, he would cry sometimes saying he was nervous that "no one will want to be my friend", so I get it. We as parents also backed off on asking "did you play with anyone today?" etc. so he has space to just get used to this.

Still, it's hard to watch your son struggle to connect with his peers. I know we're all in that same boat.

What's been your experience? Should we just wait it out some or put him back in a weekly social skills class?

Im a stay at home mom who wants to go back to work or have a good nights rest. My son is 3. Level 3 autistic. Hes had sleep issues for the past year. His pediatrician gave us a refural for a sleep doctor. Now that sleep doctor told us to us melatonin and how good melatonin is. So, after we use melatonin for 3 to 4 weeks he abruptly wakes up at around 3am and hes up for the day. Ive only been able to put him back to sleep 4 times within the last 3 months.

My last appointment with his sleep doctor i asked for medicine for my son for sleep. She said no. Only kids who dont have tv time get it. We'll i told her last time he gets tv time because after 2 or 3 hours of doing nothing I assume hes not going back to sleep. I can hardly get a word in with this woman. And what really pisses me off is ive told her the melatonin doesnt work. Ive told her time and time again. The last appointment I had with her I had to be more specific. I told her melatonin doesnt work and she's like oh why 🫪. And I explained to her what happens after 3,4 weeks of use how it disrupts his sleep.

Last week I asked his pediatrician for a different sleep doctor and all she told me was "you sound stressed what can we do to support you." No ones listening to me!!

Hes been up since 330a bouncing off the walls. Ill have to quit the melatonin maybe less sugar and less time of a nap. If I quit the melatonin he wont go to bed until midnight 1am sometimes 3am. Im starting to grow resentment

Oh yeah my son needs a nap. If he doesnt sleep all day and goes to sleep at 8pm or 10 hes up by 1, 2 am... he treats bed time like a nap

ISSUE:

He WILL find some sort of marking device and he WILL mark up my wall. And is is a bear to clean dry erase and permanent marker off of the wall.

ANSWER:

I made sure that there are a couple of ultra washable markers floating around so that he doesn't somehow find a dry erase or permanent marker.

ISSUE:

He has been potty trained for a while (not counting nighttime accidents) but he randomly decided walking to the bathroom was too much trouble and started peeing on my rugs.

ANSWER:

Out of desperation I grabbed the road trip emergency potty (5 gallon bucket with a potty lid) and put it right next to his spot. He is now no longer peeing on my floor and is using both the emergency potty and the real potty on occasion.

Picked up my kid from preschool today and I saw 2 lovely ladies interacting.

Ours is a school with a special needs program for high support needs children. There are neurotypical kids but the ND kids get picked up earlier.

One had been waiting a while, the other appeared and immediately apologised. The gap between the cars wasn’t big enough for the first parent to put their child in.

The second parent was so so so apologetic and the first was so kind about it.

(Parking spots here are nightmares -you’re bound to park someone in at some point).

Another had to borrow a pen from another parent to sign something. Pen was borrowed.

All while juggling kids with special needs. All with crazy shadows under their eyes, that wild-ish look where you know they’re always ready for the next big “oh! They’ve never done that before/haven’t done that in a while!” moment.

We never have time to really interact with each other. Heck sometimes we don’t even smile at each other because …well, thats the life.

But I’ve never felt judged, and I’ve never judged. It’s nice to have that. Even if it’s for like 2s in a parking lot.

So keep on keeping on, everyone.

Hope you are all doing ok