Our son is 17 years old and was diagnosed with autism last week . I have to admit we didn’t see the signs because he was an A-student, varsity star basketball player, never gave us any behavioral issues and very kind hearted. We started noticing a change in him once COVID-19 started. He had transition from a small private junior high school to a large high school. He started having anxiety attacks suddenly, requests to not play basketball anymore and asked to attend school online full-time. He still attends school online full-time, but now he doesn’t spend time with his friends, his father or I, and stays in his room full-time playing video games and only comes out for food ( same meals everyday). He doesn’t socialize with his friends or other family his age, unless it’s via video game or social media. It’s so hard connecting with him, he just seems so shut down (from this site we come to learn, he’s in defense mode). We’ve tried everything and nothing worked. We were concerned with his overall health, and I started researching his symptoms, which led us to having him tested. We have to admit, we are overwhelmed with the results, but we are so thankful for this online community, we definitely feel like we are not alone. We appreciate the support we know we will receive and all we plan to learn as parents to meet our sons needs.

Posted by Faithful2luv at 2023-01-16 17:32:45 UTC