I'm ASD, my parter has ADHD, Our daughter (13) has an ASD/ADHD diagnosis, has been homeschooling for 2.5 years after rough falling-outs from 3 schools. She also has an eating disorder and ongoing chronic pain. She is addicted to computer games, playing with online-only friends, and won't engage with us to do homeschooling or learning, has lost interest in anything that is not online/on the pc, wont read/write/paint/sing/etc. She has one real-world friend she gets to see about once a week. We fear she's slipping into depression, but won't engage with any therapists or specialists, and we can't afford to just keep trying new people. As parents, we're both burnt out, having spent years trying to tackle various problems - medical issues, flak from the schools, directives/nonsense from extended family, burnout, losing energy and weight, regular sleep. The toll on both of us adults is real: I struggle to understand/express my feelings and run all the homeschooling and stay calm, and my partner struggles to stay organised and work. We've become estranged from both previous friend groups, and our antagonistic families. We are basically 'doing it alone', with only a few rare encouraging words from doctors/psychologists/therapists to go by. We're all she's got, and it feels like we're failing her. How do you keep going when it seems like everything is going against you?

Posted by aussie-tim at 2025-03-21 11:33:10 UTC