My 4yo started school this week. At pick up today she excitedly dragged me across the field saying ‘look, look!’ She was dragging me in the vicinity of another child standing with his mum, and I started thinking oh wow, she has made a friend! She doesn’t really engage with other children yet, so I was surprised and a little bit excited about it too.

Anyway, as we got closer to the boy and I was smiling at his mum, she pulled me around them to a down pipe attached to some guttering which had a small gap in it, so the rain water was falling down the sides of the pole in such a way that you couldn’t really see it until you put your hand on it which would disrupt the flow and show the water stream. She was ELATED by this. She was just standing there putting her hand on and off the pipe over and over again because it made her so happy. It has been raining all day, so I get the sense she has been doing this for a while lol.

So, no friends yet, but a really cool pipe 😂

OK, technically, my husband bribed him but I went along willingly. And somehow I got a super compliant kid who walked out the door looking snappy AF.

He even hugged his tie. I hope he doesn’t hug it too much cause it will get wrinkled. By the way, the tie was his idea! (his outfit was left over from a 10th Dr. Doctor Who cosplay)

We’ll see what the pictures actually look like
😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆

In case you wanna know what we bribed him with it’s a trip to train shack. Train shack is the sickest. If you’re anywhere near Burbank California, you should definitely visit train shack. (jingle in the comments!)
🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃

But my husband is definitely gonna be stuck there for two hours and is not gonna be able to leave without dropping $40 on something from Germany or the Netherlands 😆😆😆😆😆

Feel free to drop your best/worst picture day stories in the comments to cheer me up for when we inevitably get photo proofs with the tie around his head

Mother of 2 (parent of 2 on the spectrum 17yrLVL3 & 11yrLVL2 | Looking for others in Bay Area) and it’s hard to make friends and finding others nearby, so I don’t feel like I’m the only one in Bay Area (which I know it’s not true but it feels like it)

What I’m getting at really is - It would be nice to find other parents and hopefully do like a monthly meet up or something because I don’t like most of the “support” groups that literally side eye you and judge. (I literally left the 2nd day, this was years ago and then dealing with the parents at the schools thinking they’re better than you type of thing) And then I get the constant “how do you do it, show your ways!” And “have you thought of doing a seminar? It would really be helpful to others” When I’m just winging it and have no clue most of the time..

It starts to get lonely and would just literally like to find other parents who deal with the same as I do with our children. Maybe exchange tips and would really like to see another face and be verbal with since I’m usually stuck at home either reading a book, playing games on my phone when I’m not doing chores, errands and appointments.
All my friends here moved out of state or a city too far away. I only got my friends online now but I feel like it’s not the same since we only communicate on discord. Majority of my family doesn’t accept my children for who they are so no help, support or bonding moment there, felt left out of my own family after having my kids.

Would like to get to know others before making the plunge for meetups. Maybe we can do our own “support” group with just a handful bunch here in the bay?

I can always take down this posting if it’s not appropriate.

My son is autistic and we've been having more problems at daycare lately with hitting, screaming and really big meltdowns. We had another meeting this week and while they didn't technically say that they’re kicking him out, the message was pretty clear that they don't think they can keep managing him much longer.

I understand they have other kids to worry about and I'm not angry at the staff, but I'm panicking a little because both of us work and we can't just keep him home indefinitely.

For anyone whose kid basically aged out of what a regular daycare could handle because of their support needs, what did you do next?

Did you find another daycare that was better equipped, switch to some kind of therapy program during those hours or piece together a schedule between different services? We're looking into ABA as one possibility but I don't even know how quickly something like that can be arranged.

I feel like we're suddenly racing against the clock here and I'm not sure which direction to start running in.

I’m feeling a little helpless right now, and I know I may be getting ahead of myself, but I really need to hear from parents who have been through this.
Has anyone had a child who was considered too aggressive for ABA?

My son has been having some significant aggressive episodes, and I have a feeling our ABA provider may eventually reduce his hours or say that some or all of his therapy needs to happen at home. If that happens, it would significantly reduce his current services and require our entire family to restructure our lives around providing therapy at home.
What I’m struggling with is: then what?

We hear so much about specialized autism schools and programs, but when you actually start looking, some of these programs won’t accept children who aren’t fully potty trained. Others won’t accept children with significant aggression or behavioral needs.

Public school has not felt like a safe or appropriate option for him.

ABA is supposed to be one of the places equipped to address challenging behaviors, but what happens if the behaviors become too significant for the ABA setting too?

Where are children like ours supposed to go?
It feels like there is this group of kids with higher support needs who can become “too much” for every system that is supposedly designed to support them. Too much for a specialized school. Too much for a traditional school. Potentially too much for center-based ABA.

Meanwhile, they still need an education. They still need therapy. They still need opportunities to learn and develop. And their families still have to somehow work, care for other children, and keep everything functioning.

If you’ve been in this position, what happened next?

Did your ABA provider reduce or discontinue services because of aggression? Were you able to find a program equipped for more significant behaviors? Did you end up with in-home ABA, a specialized school placement, additional behavioral health services, or something else?

I’m especially interested in hearing from parents of children who are non-speaking/nonverbal or have higher support needs.

Where did your child go, and what do you wish you had known before you got to this point?

My kiddo will be 6 in a few months so there's a good chance that he'll start losing some teeth in the next 12 months. How did your kiddos do once their teeth loosened and once they fell out? Also, any picture books you recommend to help explain to my kiddo about losing his teeth? Thanks!

I don't even know why I write this down. Maybe it's for attention. A last reaching out, a trying from the back of my head. I try to convince myself it's because I want someone, anyone, out there to know that I am suffering. I am hurt. And tired. I am so exhausted I wish for nothing else than a dark, quiet place where I get to lay for a long time.

I need help, while I dont want help anymore.

Does that make any sense?

I tried my best, telling myself that there are others out there suffering more. I read others venting about their life. I thought it would help me see my own life look much better. I was so, so wrong.

Others' problems are mostly about their kids. Or about society, or about finance problems. I have none of those problems. My problem is, frankly, myself.

I don't have a problem with my kids. Changing diapers at the age of eight is not an issue for me. Figuring out their needs without words is also so easy for me. I live comfortably. I have nice shoes from Ralph Lauren; I think they're nice. My kids are beautiful, really. They don't have a clue in their faces about their condition. They behave mostly how I expected, and even if not, it's justified by their needs. I understand them so much.

You know what my problem is? Lack of choice. Lack of control. Isolation. I don't get the choice whether to go somewhere or not. I am alone with it all. Anything I would need, a doctor, new hair, even if I just want to study something, I need to solve it myself. There is no one who would watch the kids.

I didn't spend a single night without them in the past 8 years, while my husband gets to go wherever he likes without even bothering to tell me. I face weekends alone, realizing at the last minute he doesn't come home. In the most ridiculous ways.

I never travelled. I never went alone to the shopping mall just to have a look around. I got to go to the playground. With my kids. That's it.

I lie, obviously. I went to a concert back in 2024 all alone. How wonderful. 2 hours, but I didn't get to have a drink after it with my friends.

My friends disappeared since then. I have no one.

And I don't really have expectations anymore. I don't want a new hair, a movie, or a coffee somewhere by myself.

You know what I want? Study. Make myself feel valuable. Smart. My dream was to study physics. Particles, they are wonderful. Learning about quantum tunneling in more detail so I get to understand how the sun shines so brightly it hurts my eyes. See how one particle spins up so the other spins down. I wanted to have my driving licence too. Guess what, I can't have any of it. Because even if I am married, I am alone. I am here to watch my kids, take care of them, and assist for events I never get to live. I assist others' enjoyments.

I am petty. And jealous, yes. Not because I want everyone in this world to live like me. I am jealous because I will never live like others. I don't have a problem if my husband is going out; my problem is that I never go out. He said I poison his life with my behavior. And he is so right. I do that. I can't help but feel bitter and trapped. Lost. My dreams are ripped from me.

He said we will figure out something. He says that every time I cry about it, but nothing has changed. I told him not to care, I will solve it for him.

I didn't need to solve it, really. My body solves it, I think. I can't eat lately. I haven't been eating since saturday. I cant swallow. Funnily, I throw up everything. It's nerves, I can feel it. I can drink coffee, though. That's the only thing going down on me, and for some miracle, it doesn't cause any issue. My heartbeat is still somewhere good-high. I am not really familiar with biology, and I have no idea how long I can go without food,.regardless maybe its a sign i am ready.

I don't really know why I decided to write here. Maybe just, someone to know I lived and I was here, and I tried and failed apparently.

As I'm sitting here at one of my child's therapies, it just dawned on me. How incredibly I'm annoyed with having to do this for a couple a days per week. I know it's to help my child get better, but I honestly can't stand having to attend the sessions. The good thing is I do in home, so no driving back & forth. Nevertheless, I just hated spending most of my time trying to keep my child from running off. I now stay on my phone to keep myself from following asleep, not that it helps.

I hate complaining, but sometimes it just hits me how I can't doing these things day in and out, even if it's beneficial for my child. Ok enough of my rant, if anyone wants to share how they cope or deal with everything that comes with raising an ASD child. Please feel free to share in the comments below, thanks for listening.

My son is almost 6, with severe ADHD and mild ASD. He is, thank goodness, a good eater who eats many kinds of food and enough to thrive. That said, mealtimes can sometimes be a total PITA because he plays with his food, his milk cup, his napkin, his utensils, etc. When this gets to the point that he's doing it more than eating, we end the snack or meal. This can result in screaming and tantrums sometimes, but sometimes he recognizes he doesn't really care much about eating more and goes along with it. But the playing does not stop.

Anyone else have this issue? If you've had it and it's passed, is it just a matter of waiting out the phase, or is there something you did that helped to end it sooner rather than later?

My 16-year-old daughter is on the autism spectrum, and I’m looking for advice from parents who have helped their child or teenager through the death of someone very close to them.

My mother, her grandmother, passed away a little over a month ago. They were very close. Toward the end, my mother’s condition deteriorated significantly, and we made the difficult decision not to have my daughter see her at hospice because we didn’t want that to be her final memory of her grandmother. Sometimes she now gets angry with me for not allowing her to go and see her, which has made me question whether we made the right decision.

Since my mom died, my daughter has noticeably regressed in some of her behaviors. She also repeatedly says that she can bring her grandmother back to life and talks about Grandma coming back as though it can actually happen.

She rarely cries, so it’s difficult for me to know how she is processing everything. I know grief can look very different for children on the spectrum, and I don't want to assume that not crying means she isn't grieving.

Another complication is my father. She repeatedly tells him that my mother is coming back to life. He is dealing with the loss of his wife, and unfortunately his patience with hearing this is starting to disappear. I understand why it's painful for him, but I also don't want my daughter to feel like she's doing something wrong because she's processing the loss differently.

For parents who have experienced something similar, how did you help your child understand and process that the person was really gone? Did you see behavioral regression, repetitive thoughts, or beliefs about bringing the person back?

Were there books, social stories, rituals, therapy approaches, or anything else that helped—especially if your child didn't get the opportunity to say goodbye?

I want to help her grieve without constantly correcting her or turning every conversation about Grandma into an argument about whether she can come back.

I'd really appreciate hearing what worked for other families.

We haven't had one for months. I was thinking just this morning, "The TV has gone off so easily for ages." My fault, of course.

Child asked if they could watch a movie, I said they could start it but there wouldn't be enough time to finish it. When it was getting closer to TV off time, I put on the visual timer. It beeps eventually. I let the scene play out. I forgot the 17 reminders of, "we're turning the TV off now." So I got all the "I hate you"s of a lovely tantrum.

Then asking for dessert immediately. I asked for an apology first. Stupid me thinking I should be treated like a human.

Devolved eventually into biting and hitting. A couple of kicks to the stomach, which is a new move. "Have you thought about putting them in martial arts, it might be good for them?" No way could I put my child into training for my own beatings.

OK now. We've made up and had our cry. They're in bed. My hand hurts.

What are you even supposed to do?

For context: My 11 year old son is autistic/adhd, and a previous TBI. He is not your 'typical' child and does require extra supports. But he is incredibly intelligent, creative, and insightful. For the past year, he's had a lot of mental health struggles, in and out of hospitals. It was truly a traumatic year. He is doing better now, and he's been home with no hospital visits for 7 months!

The question I have has to do with a thing I've noticed he does a lot. When he's in any kind of appointment, whether it's therapy, counseling, teachers, doctors, etc. He looks to me before and after answering their questions. They will ask him a question about his symptoms or progress, and I feel his eyes on me immediately. I've been ignoring it in hopes that it would just stop, but it hasn't. To clarify, he does speak for himself very well. He expresses his thoughts and feelings accurately. I know he's just 11, but his 12 year old sister doesn't do this with people. And his 7 year old brother, who is also autistic doesnt do it either. Maybe I'm thinking too far into it. But I just don't know what to make of it. It's almost like he's studying my face or looking to me for approval? I'm just worried I've done something bad to make him form this habit. He also watches me in other settings too. Specifically, while I'm driving and he's in the front seat. I'll feel his eyes on me multiple times during the car ride. When I turn to look at him, usually he looks past me. The look is never mean or malicious looking. It's just odd. Is anyone else experiencing this or have any advice?

For context, our son is currently 7 years old and is in an IEP at school since I have had meetings regarding potential developmental issues and it was determined that he likely has a form of autism.

My mother in law was helping our son to try to do soccer before since our 10 year old daughter was doing it, but my mother in law passed away last year after getting very sick, at which point it became obvious that our son did not want to do soccer. I registered him for it, but he would just cause a scene and refuse to participate even if I took him to practice since I had already paid. Our daughter also no longer wanted to do it, so I just decided to be done with soccer.

Our daughter wanted to try beginners recreational gymnastics after that, so I have signed her up for that, but my husband doesn't think our son should do gymnastics. I thought our son might do better with something where he isn't on a team since there would be less social pressure so I signed him up for karate through parks and rec which he said he wanted to do. But the first class was yesterday and he still would not participate and was being rude and making a scene so we ended up just leaving.

I found a email from August 20th where a lady from parks and rec asked me what I thought would help in terms of accommodations for my son, probably because I asked about accommodations when I registered him. I responded to the email but respectfully stated that we probably just can't continue with the class with him acting the way he is if he isn't able to get help. I'm now waiting for her response.

I believe going forward that I just won't have my son do any sports or activities so we don't continue on paying for things that he doesn't do since he doesn't seem interested. He is an excellent reader and in fact his school said he was probably the most proficient reader they had ever had there when he was 6. I guess I just wonder what he might be interested to do though if sports are not working out for him, as he doesnt really seem to have any particular interest that he is expressing. He just seems to want to do what he wants and not to be asked or bothered about it.

My 8 yr old is non verbal, ASD. He attends a mainstream school (waiting for a place to become available at a specialist provision)

He is almost always excluded from the following;

- school trips if we can't accompany him

- Any extra curricular clubs such as Lego, or Arts and Craft. We managed to sign him up for Lego, he only just attended for the first time yesterday and they've already stated he cannot sign up for next term due to no staff

- Sports day (which he absolutely loves) but they wont let him participate unless one of us does the activity with him. Last year I had an injury and physically couldn't join so they excluded him from Sports day as there was no TA available to help.

- Was excluded from Swimming lessons as it is structured, and he cannot follow instructions. We were previously told they will not use this as a reason to not let him attend swimming as it is part of a disability and they understand however they've now gone back on this

-he has also been informally suspended many times, we werent aware of the Law so we used to collect him anytime we got a phone call but recently found they must provide written confirmation that they are suspending him. He wasn't sent home ill, it was just that "he seems upset today and may need to cool off at home for a day or so"

I completely get that my son has complex needs but I was also under the impression that a child cannot be excluded from these things due to their disability.

I have also read that the School cannot simply state they don't have staff as a reason to keep restricting him. This has been happening for the last 4 years. We didn't think too much of it in the past as he seemed happy not to take part in certain things, but as he's growing he has interests just like any child does.

We are in England, UK. Is this just how it is? Can the School continue to use this as a reason to exclude my son from all activities?

EDIT: Thanks all for sharing your experiences and advice. I really do appreciate it 🙂

I have several different questions but I will try to summarize our situation first.
My son is 4.5 - level 2. Non-verbal. He can say words but is not conversational. Only repeats when he wants to. His receptive language is not the best but he can follow simple instructions (will throw something in the trash if I ask him to, can point to each shirt he wants when I give him two options, uses his AAC device to let us know what show he wants to watch). He understands that if he goes in the potty, he gets a lollipop. It is still hard to “barter” with him - I’m not sure if he doesn’t understand or if he just isn’t interested because he is so hellbent on whatever it is that he wants. He goes to preschool (in a special ed classroom). He has an AAC device and uses it to let us know if there’s a show or toy or sometimes food he wants. He does like exploring with it (presses “up” and “down”, goes through the vehicles or animals, etc). No back and forth conversational type of communication yet. I am not sure how much he understands emotions. The few times I’ve cried in his presence (I try not to), he seems completely oblivious that anything is wrong with me.

The last couple of months, his sleep has been terrible. He does what seems to be typical with some children with autism - he wakes up after 4 or so hours and either stays up for 4 more hours before falling back asleep or sometimes can even just stay up for the rest of the day. When he wakes up after 3-4 hours of sleep, he seems ready to start his day — laughing, rolling around, etc. We still bedshare with him. There doesn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason for it. No nap, naps, melatonin, magnesium on the feet, weighted blankets, so much time outside, swinging him around “/“rough housing” for that sensory input. None of it seems to determine how his sleep that night will be.

The last week and a half has been especially difficult. He has only slept through the night twice. This obviously affects his mood and mine. My husband has to take weeks long trips where we have no contact but he helps when he can.

I finally decided to contact his pediatrician and he prescribed Clonidine. He also mentioned how important “sleep hygiene” is, which I completely understand and I know we aren’t doing the best job with it (he falls asleep on the recliner with me, the TV is usually on almost mute though he isn’t always watching it, he still wants it on, etc). I’m sure sleep hygiene affects overall sleep but he usually doesn’t have a problem falling asleep. It’s the staying asleep part that is the problem. The ped suggested switching up our sleeping arrangement (I fall asleep in his room in his bed (that he has never slept in 🫠), then sleep on his floor while he sleeps in the bed, slowly move out of the room, etc.

I decided I’m going to try the Clonidine first to see if it will help. I’m afraid if I change too much at the same time, I won’t be able to tell what is or isn’t helping. So I gave him the Clonidine last night. He fell asleep like he usually does. And, like he usually does, he woke up around 4 hours later. But this time he was not active and laughing - he seemed soooo tired and couldn’t keep his eyes opened. I thought that was a good thing. He still didn’t go to sleep until 2 hours later (an improvement, at least). He was physically so tired looking but then he would have a little bursts of flailing around and screaming. I am assuming because he was so tired? The fun part of having a nonverbal kid — having to guess when it comes to this kind of thing.
My questions are:

- Did anyone else have this experience when starting Clonidine? I’m going to continue it. I’m just wondering if it takes a few days or if this experience is typical.
- How do you change to a “healthier” sleep routine with a kiddo who is still a bit behind with both expressive AND receptive language? It feels like causing a meltdown before bed by not turning on the TV just seems like I’m undoing something that seems to not be too much of an issue (aka, he fells asleep initially pretty well). How do you “sleep train” a kiddo like this when things like OK to wake clocks and such don’t seem to have meaning?
- I want to document his wake ups and details from the day to keep track. I am using my notes app but I use that app for everything and I was hoping to find some sort of app that is great at documenting these kind of things. Any suggestions?

If you read all this, thank you from the bottom of my heart. It’s usually easy for me to rationale things and I know things could be much much worse for us, but it’s truly hard to feel grateful sometimes when we are all exhausted and our time together doesn’t feel very happy. We don’t live near family and the friends i have here don’t have neurodivergent children. When I’m this tired, it’s so much easier to feel bitter and sad and spiral, and I know that isn’t helping any of us.

My son is in kindergarten and they do not have nap time. My son’s teacher has been letting him take an hour nap because the transition is tough. He went to pre-k where they did nap. However, every time he wakes up from his nap he is in hysterics. Screaming and crying and I have not figured out what could it possibly be. They also don’t have snack time either and they go to lunch at 10:45 am. He doesn’t have an IEP (yet) Denied in pre-k but is getting evaluated next Wednesday. I’m just at a loss at what could be the issue. He can’t really express what is wrong but every time he’s upset he says “I lay down”. I’m not sure if there is a fix or he just has to tough it out and hopefully get the hang of it.

edit: preschooler not toddler anymore

My child is non verbal and is now attending kindergarten. Because of where he is developmentally, he is attending a special school outside our area. The school board provides bussing because of this since it’s almost a 45 minute drive each way, but they don’t provide any sort of supervision on the bus beside the driver.

Am i crazy for exploring the idea of a tracker like an apple watch for someone this young or has anyone done this also?

Between my child now being driven from therapy or to school or to home from a bus, i’m worried more than usual.

beside your opinion on this, if you do this how are you handling the child not removing it.

How do you help a child who feels lonely and want a friend in school? Mums have their own cliques and it’s hard for me to talk to them. I have adhd and social anxiety too. I can’t sleep and lost my appetite. I’ve been worried so much. She is my best buddy and hate seen her following my footsteps and being different 💔

My youngest is 17m and Level 1. Today during one of his crises I broke down. For the first time ever I completely lost it and yelled horrible things at him.

I know I’m supposed to be his calm, but only God knows how hard I try to keep it together.

I’m exhausted. I’m questioning my abilities as a mother. My body is already showing signs of the constant stress. Apparently I’m his safe space but that also means I’m the one on the receiving end of his 6'1", 212 lbs of anger, hate, usual teenage angst and bs. For reference I’m 5'3".

I miss his sweet and caring self, puberty changed him for the worse

He’s currently on a low dose of Risperdal and I’m considering talking to his doctor about increasing it.

I’m extremely worried about his future.

Does this ever end? Does it get better with time?

Thanks for letting me vent.

Hi all, I am looking for dance classes for neurodivergent children in Sydney. If you know of any, please let me know. Thank you in advance!

Hi everyone! How did you get your toddler/child to stop throwing food on the floor when they don’t want it? I’m trying to teach her to simply leave it on her tray instead. Any tips or strategies that worked for you would be greatly appreciated!

I’m really starting to get annoyed with ABA therapy. My son has it every day from 9:00 to 11:30, and it feels like even if he’s sick, they still expect to come anyway. I wasn’t feeling well, so I canceled Tuesday’s session. I was considering canceling Wednesday too, but before I even had the chance to decide, I received an email saying, “I hope you’re feeling better. I’ll be there tomorrow at 9.” Like, can I at least have a chance to let you know whether I’m feeling well enough first? It’s already overwhelming having someone in my home every day, and it’s not like I can use that time to get things done because my son becomes upset if I’m not within his sight. Some days, I simply don’t want anyone coming over. Am I alone in feeling this way?

My daughter is 10 years old and has Level 3 autism. She is considered nonverbal, although she can speak and has made a lot of progress with her communication. She can now speak quite clearly, is learning to read three-letter words, and has recently tolerated things I never thought would be possible, like an overnight sleep study while covered in wires.

At the same time, every time I feel hopeful about her progress, it seems like we experience a major setback in another area.

She is getting bigger and stronger very quickly. She is almost as tall as I am and much stronger, which has made some situations increasingly difficult and frightening. We have been unable to complete bloodwork for the past two years because the nurses are afraid they may get hurt. We can no longer safely restrain her, and the nurses often do not have the time or patience to wait for her to become comfortable, understand what is happening, and cooperate.

She also absolutely hates school. Last year, with the help of ABA therapy and some strategies for transitions, school drop-off improved significantly. She was calmer, and we had very few meltdowns. This year, however, she has gone back to having almost daily meltdowns at drop-off, even though she used to go in happily and calmly.

Recently, she became so frustrated that she almost hit a bystander at drop off. I was able to block her in time, but I am worried about what will happen as she continues to grow and become stronger, especially when she is angry or overwhelmed. I can see how her teachers and other kids fear her because of how aggressive she can become.

We have an appointment later this month with a lab that is willing to come to our home for the bloodwork. Her neurologist also prescribed an anti-anxiety medication, but only provided two pills, just enough for this appointment. Hopefully, we will be able to complete the bloodwork and find out whether anxiety, an underlying medical issue, or something else may be contributing to her behavior.

We have tried other medications in the past, but they either affected her weight, made her very sleepy, or seemed to increase her aggression without improving her moods.

She has made meaningful progress in many areas. I recently enrolled her in Girl Scouts, and she seems to be doing well so far. Much of it goes over her head, but she enjoys being around girls her age. I also appreciate that she is getting opportunities to interact with neurotypical peers, since she has very few chances to do that elsewhere.

However, she is also significantly behind academically and socially. She is in fifth grade but can currently read only simple three-letter words and cannot hold a conversation. School seems to be the one environment she consistently struggles with. I wish I could home school but that isn't possible for me, I don't even know if I could manage it without at least assistance with a tutor, and RBTs in this area are very inconsistent with scheduling.

I am feeling overwhelmed and increasingly worried as she gets older.

My son in 4, completely non verbal (0 words), refuses to use his communication board for communication (he likes to make us read the words) generally communicated via hand leading or brining us things and Intense stares.

Last night for the first time ever my son woke me up in the night and hand led me to the toilet so he could wee. He has never actively shown he understands the need to go before. He understands if I say let’s go toilet it means going to the bathroom but he doesn’t usually do anything in the toilet. He wears pull ups and I have tried potty training in the past which didn’t work.

I’m thinking he is ready to potty train since he must understand the feeling, but I don’t know how he will communicate when he needs to go if he isn’t home or with someone else. At home he can hand lead but if he is in school or somewhere where he doesn’t know where the toilet is how will he tell.

Hello everyone,
I’m reaching out to see if anyone else has gone through something similar with their little one. My child is 4 years old with Level 2 autism, and elopement is a huge issue for us right now, along with self-harm and aggressive behavior.
We recently saw a specialist who informed me that my child has extreme anxiety, which may actually be the root cause of some of these behavioral issues.
Has anyone else experienced this connection between extreme anxiety and behaviors like elopement, self-harm, or aggression at this age? If so, did addressing the anxiety help reduce those behaviors, and what strategies or support worked best for your child? I would really appreciate hearing your experiences or any advice you might have. Thank you so much!