Hello, first timer here! Looking to speak to parents/carers of autistic children

loveandpeace

Hi
My name is Bex and I have a 3 year old son 9n the pathway to diagnosis and I have a 4 month old little girl too.
Since Daniel turned 3, it has become more obvious to me that he most likely has autism,  but the pediatricians say they still cant be sure.
He doesn't talk, does a lot of vocal stimming and his needs are mainly sensory I'd say because he loves to touch,  chew and he loves lights/sounds. 
Daniel sometimes looks at me, sometimes wont connect with me at all. 
When he's having a bad day, I completely lose him and those are the days I find it harder to manage . 
Daniel is mostly a happy child with a love for nature, animals and music and he has opened my eyes to a whole new world that I would have never experienced if it weren't for him ❤
I'd love to speak, meet, other parents with any diagnosis,  the more support we can give each other the better as apart from here, I've found no where else that parents can go to for support. 
The main thing I'm struggling with, especially in lockdown,  are that I feel so guilty for putting the TV/kindle on most the day. 
I do try to get Daniel involved in other stuff I.e playdough/painting that last all of 2 minutes! Lol 
He will occasionally read books but not for long and he isn't I interested in little activities I set out .. we do spend a lot of time outdoors whatever the weather. 
Normally Daniel absolutely loves playcentres and this consumes most of our time but with lockdown, we do spend a lot more time at home and it's at these moments that he looks for his kindle and just wants to play on that most of the time. When hes had enough, he will put it down but then wanders round wandering what to do with himself even if I offer solutions 
Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated!
Look forward to meeting you all
Take care xxx
Ps sorry for the essay!! 

Cher_Alumni

Hello @loveandpeace and welcome to our community.  Thank you for sharing with us your story.  Daniel sounds like a gorgeous little boy and I hope you have progress on the route to a diagnosis soon.

I don't know if you've had time to explore the community yet but we have a group dedicated to Parents and Carers  plus one which is all about Autism and Aspergers so when you have chance, sit down with a cuppa tea and see if anything there piques your interest or resonates with the issues you are currently facing.

Also something worthy of mention is Scope's Navigate service which is a free emotional support service for parents of disabled children.  This particularly helps with: 

• organising your thoughts and feelings
• practical advice and suggestions
• coping strategies and insights
• taking positive actions and helping you with emotional wellbeing

So maybe that could be useful?  If you click on the link above it will take you through to a webpage with further details and about how to apply.

I've had a little look online, and I don't know if Daniel would find them interesting (!), but Pinterest has lots of ideas for physical sensory activities.  I'm guessing you have already tried some of these, but there might be something new on there.    

Please don't feel hard on yourself.  Lockdown has been tough for many of us on the community, and it sounds like you are doing your very best.  Daniel has a loving, supportive home where he is clearly cared for and some time on the kindle is perfectly understandable! 

I hope you both have a great Sunday and hope to speak to you again soon 

chiarieds

Hi @loveandpeace - & welcome to this great community, Bex. I think Cher has said it all, & I would wholly endorse looking into the 'Navigate' programme above, as I've heard from parents that found it really helpful.

It sounds like you have a lovely little family, & your children are lucky to have such a lovely Mum too!

janer1967

Hi and welcome glad you have joined and I hope you find the info above some help

emmarenshaw

Welcome to the community @loveandpeace

loveandpeace

Hi guys
Thank you so much for your warm welcome and great advice ❤

Tori_Scope

Welcome to the community from me too @loveandpeace How are you getting on today?