My friend has an ustistic child and she is fantastic with him. However sometimes it really gets her down and she suffers from depression.

If anyone out there has any sensible ideas about coping with an autistic child, she'd love to hear about them.

My son is autistic. It's very hard. Your friend must find it really difficult to cope. She needs to find ways to chill out

Sorry, typo I meant autistic, not ustistic

She does chill out on occassion but its usually with alcohol, anti-depressants and marajuana, it worries me sometimes

My god! you're joking!! she's a bit of a druggie then?? Perhaps that's why her son is autistic in the first place. They can be very gifted and loving though. Mine just beats me up continuously

No she's not a druggie! Just uses things medicianally of course. How do you chill out goddess?

Originally posted by Goddess
My god! you're joking!! she's a bit of a druggie then?? Perhaps that's why her son is autistic in the first place. They can be very gifted and loving though. Mine just beats me up continuously

Sounds more like someone who finds it all a bit much to cope with sometimes & needs to unwind. (There's no link been made between drug use and autism as far as I'm aware) I had a friend with an autistic child & I know she found it very hard work. Particularly with the disturbed sleep.

There's another link here which may be of interest to you too.
Parents of autistic children (http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?s=&threadid=31307&highlight=autistic)

Thanks Sian. I will pass that on to her.

I don't have that much spare time to chill out to be honest. Unless you have had an autistic child you can never imagine how hard it is. As the moderator rightly states there is no proof of a connection between drug use and autism but ongoing research does suggest a link between biological and genetic factors.

I have an Asperges Syndrone son and I'm sure it's genetic.
he's adult now and luckily A/S is the better end of autism so we could have been much worse off.
Still life was very difficult but we got through it.
hazel

My son has mild ASD difficulties but has other neuro disabilities too. I agree, it's is very very hard work but I don't begrude it. You love them no matter what. When he hits me and swears I just have to try and remember he doesn't mean it and can't help it.

Does she go to any local support groups?

SIGN, a part of Sheffield Childrens Info Service have loads of info on different disabilities. They have a resource centre based at Rygate where you can borrow books and other stuff or get good advice from the workers. Their number is 2669476.

I hope that's of some use.

I have Aspergers myself, and currently get support in things like learning independent living skills from Thorne House Services for Autism.. Their number in Sheffield is 2545728.

Depending on the age of her son she could get some respite help from SNIPS (Special needs inclusions playcare services) on 2734017 which will find a place for him to go to a playscheme or youth project for the odd day.
Plus there's a group called Ray of Hope based somewhere in Hillsborough, a parents mutual support group who organise self help stuff, meetings and activities.
HTH.

There is an organisation called Crossroads who can provide a few hours of regular respite for families in this situation. I use them and they are fantasic- my autistic son has really bonded his carer and it gives me a chance to have some valuable 1 to 1 time with my other son (who is being assessed for aspergers syndrome soon). Their website ishttp://www.crossroads.org.uk/English/carers.htm. I was referred by a very good social worker and I only had to wait a few weeks.

It is incredibly difficult parenting an autistic child, I suffer from depression too from time to time. I have found that I get a great deal of moral support from other parents in the same situation, though because of the demands they face they are unable to offer much practial support (and vice versa- I wish I could do more to help them) - there is theSheffield Autistic Society (http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/projects/autistic/) though I haven't dealt with them yet.

I also have a son with A/S,and learning disability,and I agree with you,your friend drinking and using drugs,is just not on, that isn't the way to go,how old is the child? I am involved with The caring sharing project, which is run by our council,if you would like the phone number just let me know.Thorn House is also a great help, even on line she can discuss her problems with simllar young mothers, an an excellant site is
http://www.krism.org.uk/asp/index.php?showtopic=150&st=200, everyone on there have experience everything your friend has,but they can give her practical advise.Good luck!

My son also makes use of the SNIPS playschemes. he gets one day a week in the holidays. We had to be refered by social services but it was worth all the form filling, It gives us both a little breathing space, and this alone can reduce the stress levels

Yes we have a son who is diagnosed as on the autistic spectrum.
He's 10
Most people think of autism in the classic form as 'no communication or no imaginary play or as having special abilities and so on'
i suppose we are all different, but what i also need to say is that our son is 'mildly affected' in terms of the spectrum, which has it's own difficulties.
He knows he is diferent and until we told him about his difficulties it was so hard for him to begin to try and understand. We started by just using the 'A' word in conversation and waited for him to ask more..which he did.
I'm not saying it's easy, but certainly now he knows that he's not the only one and is beginning to learn about 'him!'He also has some ADHD and learning difficulties so it's hard to seperate them all into 'little boxes' to explain for him, let alone issues of growing up and sibling rivalry. He does seem happier though.....a happy and aware 'young man' is all we want......

Dear Angelina,"Autistic" covers a very wide area,and like you have experienced it can be much more difficult to raise what most people call mild autistic or the more able autistic, I have always thought this much worse both for the child and the parent, the child"knows" there is something wrong, and that they are not like other people, and the heartbreak is that they want to be like others, and as for the parents, they get blamed that their child is unruly or disabedient, when in fact they probably put more into caring and nurturing their children than most people do,I always said that this disability is much harder than say a child with a visible disability, because people make allowances for them, but when your child stands there flapping or screaming people have very little understanding and can be quite hostile, the only thing good that comes out of all this, the parents of Asperger's children learn to fight very hard for their children, because no one else will.

Hello, I used to do support work and know of services for children with learning difficulties. Try SNIPS, SIGN - 0114 266 9476 (produce range of infor for carers/families). A good starting point would be through your gp or Family service unit who have support groups across the city- 01142494104 ask to speak to Debora. This service also offers practical advice and home visits from the project workers.

Sheffield university run volunteering projects/ mentoring for children with learning difficulties- 222 8547

Also contact social services to see if you could get a social worker and then respite services.