I'm tired

[Anonymous]

DC is in 11th grade, autistic. I'm so tired of school work being a fight, I'm tired of worrying about him, I'm tired of meeting with the doctor to adjust meds, I'm tired of being yelled at when I remind him to brush his teeth, I'm tired of our main conversation being about our dog. I'm just tired.

Anyone else relate?

[Anonymous]

Yes I can relate some what. Where are you located OP? Can you hire tutor for hw?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes I can relate some what. Where are you located OP? Can you hire tutor for hw?

He has an EF coach and writing tutor and fights about meeting with both.

[Anonymous]

That sounds so hard. Hugs to you, OP. Is there regular therapy underway? It would be a good topic for therapy to work on with him. And you may want some support too. He is old enough where he needs to step up and make responsible decisions, or be able to look ahead and understand the consequences of not performing in school, caring for dog, attending to other things, etc.
As a teenager, it is his natural inclination to reject you/your direction as part of gaining independence. You will need to let go of things that are not safety issues. THat means you will need to stop telling him what to do and let him fail a bit, suffering the natual consequences.

[Anonymous]

I know it doesn’t help now but you will be so glad you are investing so much when he is handed that HS diploma.

[Anonymous]

Why can't he get a GED/trade? Seems like it's you and all the helpers who deserve his high school diploma.

[Anonymous]

My autism kid also talks about the dog all the time. I just roll with it.

I do think all kids struggle with what they’re doing in school feeling disconnected from adult life. Once the kid realizes that jobs without an educational or trade skill suck, the reasons for study become much clearer.

Maybe spend some time volunteering so that he sees other people and learns some job skills. And Im still nagging even my NT boy to shower and care about his appearance.