jaw
15-12-14, 18:59
Hi,
I am new to this site so please redirect me if I have posted on the wrong forum. My youngest son (13) has been diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder and is being treated as an outpatient by CAMHS. He is terrified of catching colds, having an asthma attack and until recently he was refusing school due to a combination of fear of tests and fear of separation from people at home. His brother (15) has recently been discharged after 6 months of inpatient provision with CAMHS. He has Asperger syndrome, anxiety, depression and OCD. So home has been a little tense for a while.
However, three weeks ago a serious child protection issue, involving both my sons, occurred, and it became obvious that my husband was not really coping with the boys' behaviour (which can be challenging). My husband has Asperger syndrome himself and sometimes 'melts down' when the behaviour becomes too extreme.
I have taken some time off work to try to get the youngest back into the routine of going to school and to de-escalate the situation. With the help of school and a very supportive Educational Social Worker, we are managing to get the youngest boy into school every morning. Both boys respond well to very calm, logical reassurance before panic sets in, but they need a lot of distraction and refocusing. My eldest has now been offered a place at a special school after Christmas and this may lead to a residential (weekly) boarding placement. So, hopefully the situation will calm down.
I would like to help the boys develop a few more coping strategies and, ideally, I would like my husband to work with them. I know the CAMHS team are very helpful, but I think it would be good if the boys, particularly the youngest could understand a little more about anxiety and learn techniques that could help him manage his fears. With this is mind, could anyone recommend any teen friendly books or even games that might help?
Thanks
I apologise for the long post.
I am new to this site so please redirect me if I have posted on the wrong forum. My youngest son (13) has been diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder and is being treated as an outpatient by CAMHS. He is terrified of catching colds, having an asthma attack and until recently he was refusing school due to a combination of fear of tests and fear of separation from people at home. His brother (15) has recently been discharged after 6 months of inpatient provision with CAMHS. He has Asperger syndrome, anxiety, depression and OCD. So home has been a little tense for a while.
However, three weeks ago a serious child protection issue, involving both my sons, occurred, and it became obvious that my husband was not really coping with the boys' behaviour (which can be challenging). My husband has Asperger syndrome himself and sometimes 'melts down' when the behaviour becomes too extreme.
I have taken some time off work to try to get the youngest back into the routine of going to school and to de-escalate the situation. With the help of school and a very supportive Educational Social Worker, we are managing to get the youngest boy into school every morning. Both boys respond well to very calm, logical reassurance before panic sets in, but they need a lot of distraction and refocusing. My eldest has now been offered a place at a special school after Christmas and this may lead to a residential (weekly) boarding placement. So, hopefully the situation will calm down.
I would like to help the boys develop a few more coping strategies and, ideally, I would like my husband to work with them. I know the CAMHS team are very helpful, but I think it would be good if the boys, particularly the youngest could understand a little more about anxiety and learn techniques that could help him manage his fears. With this is mind, could anyone recommend any teen friendly books or even games that might help?
Thanks
I apologise for the long post.