My children have autism: I need therapy more than they do.

I remember the very first day I admitted to myself that my children were struggling. They were both 18 months old and neither of them were walking. One never gave eye contact not did he interact much and he had no language. The other could not crawl or roll or even pull herself up. Both relied on routine for everything!

 
I remember one Friday late afternoon making a call to my health visitor and leaving a tearful message on his answer phone.
Looking back that afternoon epitomises the entire point of this blog. Here was I in tears worried about my children while they were happy sitting on the couch watching TV.

 

They were happy…it was me who was sad.

As time went on and appointments started piling up for them both it became quickly apparent that I needed to do every bit as much as my children. Occupational therapists gave ME exercises to do with them, speech and language therapists sent ME on a course while the children were happy at home in their routine with babysitters. The paediatrician gave ME advice while only briefly examining my twins. Early intervention support relied on ME doing more with the children to ‘bring them on’. It felt clearly that I was to blame.

 

While my son scanned object after object across his eye line repetitively, happy doing his own thing, I was silently breaking my heart. When all the other children ran into nursery while my daughter needed carried in, I was the one who emotionally struggled.

 

When my non verbal, not toilet trained, highly delayed son started full time school years later he settled much quicker than I did. He assumed everyone would look after him while I knew otherwise. He had no awareness of the danger of getting into a taxi without mum (he hardly acknowledged who I was) nor any concept of what school was and just went with the flow. Meanwhile my anxiety rose to a whole new level knowing I was unable to know anything about his day, who he was with, what he had eaten or wether or not people were looking after my vulnerable baby.

 
I needed support to help me with that constant anxiety. 

 
When my son has extreme meltdowns lasting hours and he is unable to communicate why, that affects us both. The fact I now have an 8 year old who I still can not communicate with on any meaningful level has damaged me.

 
I need help to work through my feelings of failure. 

 
When I see other children riding bikes, playing with friends, going to dancing or any other of hundreds of ‘normal’ things both my children really struggle with my heart breaks.

 
I need people to understand that some times I need to mourn for the things my children will never achieve.

 
My body is carrying a heavy load. I am on full alert 24/7. I have professionals watching our every move, quick to point out if they feel my children’s struggles are down to my parenting. My mind is constantly alert thinking of our next appointment, the next thing I need to prepare my children for or the next person I need to chase up. After years that affects your body and your mind in ways you can not control.

 
I have had counselling and also have to take tablets to keep depression at bay. My thyroid is whacked and my blood pressure keeps rising. My adrenal glands are failing.

 
My doctors tell me to ‘rest’ but autism never rests. As a parent to two children with autism I can not afford to rest. There is no time off.

 
My children are generally happy. The world they live in is safe and predictable. I need to keep it that way to protect them. They need me. The reality is they always will.

They are perfect the way they are. They don’t even see themselves as different. It is because I am NOT autistic that I see things differently. I see how they could be mistreated and abused. I see them struggling to get jobs. I see my son requiring support all his life and never living independently. I see their vulnerability. I see their lack of social understanding. I see their need for constant routine. I see their naivety.

 
They don’t need therapy to help them cope with any of that. But I do. 

The secret epidemic affecting special needs parents

I had a message from a fellow special needs parent this week. Two words of that message have impacted on me greatly. She wrote:

“I’m struggling”

It is so common for me to hear this. It is the centre piece of every support group, the most common theme on online  forums, the single most heard words when I meet up with people.

For some of those parents it is so bad that I encourage them to see a doctor for support.

In my years as a special needs parent I have found there is a secret epidemic affecting so many special needs parents and it needs talked about: We need to talk about depression.

Depression in the special needs mum or dad is so understandable but too often goes unnoticed.

People see a mum crying and think she is having a bad day. What they don’t know about is all the other nights she cried in private and no-one knew.

My eyes are more tuned to see people struggling since I have walked that path. I know what it is like to look at my child and worry for his future. I know what it is like to feel there is no hope. I recognise that feeling of failure when you realise your child is just not developing as they should. I know the pain of taking your child to hospital when they should be outside playing with friends.

It is isolating when your child has special needs and it is ok to admit that.

Society sadly expects us to be positive, upbeat and encouraging and often I see parents who are so emotionally overwhelmed, so sleep deprived, so beaten down by the system, that they have so little hope.

When you have a child who struggles in school everyday, a child who won’t eat, or has no friends, or is being bullied for being different, or who can not play in a park as the equipment is unsuitable for their needs, how would you feel? If you child was denied the support they need, or could not communicate, or is living in pain every day would you not be heartbroken?

Is it any wonder there is an epidemic of depression among parents of children with autism?

While so many are on medication, and this is vital, we also as a society need to recognise that special needs parenting is exhausting and draining.

Medication is wonderful but what about better support and understanding for our children, better care for those in society who are full time carers, training for staff so they can better meet the needs of the most vulnerable, and a society less prone to judge and quicker to encourage?

The current epidemic of depression among autism families is concerning but what worries me more is that continual budget cuts and ignorance in society is breeding not only depression among the parents but sadly I am now seeing siblings, and even special needs children themselves, struggling with the same issues.

We need to recognise this epidemic and do something about it now.

Don’t ever be afraid to tell someone you a real struggling. Don’t ever be afraid to ask for help. Together we can support each other and help make a better future for us and our children.

 

This post first appeared here.

A thank you letter to the friend who told me I had depression

My dear friend,

It was just after my children had returned to school after the long summer holidays. The weather was still decent and the house quiet, yet I had no motivation.

Summer with two children with autism had drained me. There just seemed to be nothing left of me to give. I sat on the couch with a cup of tea and logged onto social media. It was my escape.

All you did was start a chat.

“How are you?”

I was fine. Of course I was fine. I was just tired after seven weeks of non stop coping with my children day and night. I adore my children. They were now back at school and routine was re-established so why would I be anything else but contented, happy and relaxed.

We chatted briefly for a bit while I scrolled through pics of smart children in uniforms, smiling selfies and the usual other tweets and statuses. Today I was just not feeling it for some reason.

I was exhausted. I convinced myself that was it. It was the change from having a noisy, chaotic house for seven weeks to having silence. It was the lack of sleep that comes with having children with autism. It was the one too many meltdowns I had dealt with. It was the isolation of summer. It was the facing another school year of my son still not speaking. It was the thought of another term full of meetings, forms, homework, appointments and even more meetings. It was the anxiety of wondering how my children were coping with huge changes and the thought of how they would be when they came home and we had the brunt of all that stress. It was wondering how to reconnect with my husband who I had barely had a chance to speak to for seven weeks alone. A mix of everything; that was what was wrong today. Tomorrow I would be fine.

An hour or so later, and still sitting on that sofa, my doorbell rang.

Of course it was you.

“I’m worried about you.”

So we chatted face to face for a bit. I just needed a down day I told you. Let me catch up with some sleep and get my house in order and all will be fine. Maybe I just need to get my hair cut or something? Perhaps a bit of retail therapy would get my spark back?

“Perhaps you should go see your doctor?” You said.

Why would my doctor want to see me? Antibiotics or painkillers won’t help me. I don’t feel ‘ill’?

“You may be depressed?”

Who me? Really?

I called the doctor in the end, if nothing else just to get you off my back.

Thank you for pushing me. Thank you for caring enough to reach out to me. Thank you for noticing me struggling.

Yes, you were right, I was depressed. I never expected that. Maybe you did? Maybe you were able to see something I couldn’t?

I am not sure if you remember that day as much as I do? It was seven months ago now but it changed my life. The doctor gave me tablets and I am so much stronger, more motivated and happier now.

One day I may be well enough to come off them. For now the stress and strain of everyday life with two young children with autism means I need them. I am not ashamed of that. Why should I be?

I am just ashamed I never sought help sooner.

I will never forget you my friend. I have not seen you in person for a while now but you were there at the right time and I am grateful for that.

You taught me to look after myself. You also taught me that sometimes love and care means stepping out when you think someone is struggling.

I just want you to know that I am looking out for others now just as you looked out for me.

You taught me that sometimes others can have an insight that the person themselves can not see.

You taught me that friendship and social media can be a way to spot things in others and help them.

You were more than a virtual friend, you were there when I needed you.

Thank you again.

I really hope all is well with you and yours.

In gratitude forever,

One of your social media friends.