New here & mom of Aspie teenager

[Mariposa]

Hello,
I saw this site and thought I'd give it a go. Might not be the right place for me though.
As I was flitting about the forums, I did not notice any parents, friends, or siblings posting thoughts or comments.
I am just trying my best in all this and never know if it's enough. My teenager is 13 going on 14 and deals with depression. She is in therapy and it's a journey. I just wrote a snippet or tip of the iceberg of what she deals with. Throwin' a line here and I'll see what happens. Thanks

 

[tree]

Yes, there are other moms & dads of teens here.

 

[Dadwith2Autisticsons]

Hello,
I saw this site and thought I'd give it a go. Might not be the right place for me though.
As I was flitting about the forums, I did not notice any parents, friends, or siblings posting thoughts or comments.
I am just trying my best in all this and never know if it's enough. My teenager is 13 going on 14 and deals with depression. She is in therapy and it's a journey. I just wrote a snippet or tip of the iceberg of what she deals with. Throwin' a line here and I'll see what happens. Thanks

Hi. Welcome to the group. There are some parents here. As you have a teen daughter, other parents here might be able to assist more, like Maiki and my_special_daughter as I believe they have Autistic daughter(s) around that age. We have two Autistic sons, age 5 and 8. I do not see a lot of friends or siblings posting here, but if anyone here is, please post too.

 

[Keigan]

Just me and my dog. Welcome.

 

[Warmheart]

Hi Mariposa. Welcome here! I'm glad you've joined us.

 

[Nitro]

 

[Momo]

Hi, welcome! You're in the right place for help and information about autism.

 

[Alaska]

Hello,
I saw this site and thought I'd give it a go. Might not be the right place for me though.
As I was flitting about the forums, I did not notice any parents, friends, or siblings posting thoughts or comments.
I am just trying my best in all this and never know if it's enough. My teenager is 13 going on 14 and deals with depression. She is in therapy and it's a journey. I just wrote a snippet or tip of the iceberg of what she deals with. Throwin' a line here and I'll see what happens. Thanks

Hi Mariposa. Welcome to AF!!!

We have several parents of Autustic children who share excellent insights, resources and information here. There are also a few siblings of Autistic kids who post. Some of them also are on the Autism Spectrum. We have a huge reserve of members who just lurk. We might be able to coax more of them to start posting. We get occasional posts by Autism specialists. I am sure you will enjoy this site and find it helpful for yourself and your children.

 

[Maiki]

Hello,
I saw this site and thought I'd give it a go. Might not be the right place for me though.
As I was flitting about the forums, I did not notice any parents, friends, or siblings posting thoughts or comments.
I am just trying my best in all this and never know if it's enough. My teenager is 13 going on 14 and deals with depression. She is in therapy and it's a journey. I just wrote a snippet or tip of the iceberg of what she deals with. Throwin' a line here and I'll see what happens. Thanks

Hi there!
I think posts from parents and supporters come in fits and starts. There are a bunch of us on this forum! Welcome to you!
I'm a 44 yo Aspie myself, married with 3 daughters. My 12 year old is an Aspie, and my own diagnostic journey went hand in hand with her struggles.
I have posted in threads where other families/ parents are talking about Aspie life. Lately, haven't signed on much since it's 'back to school' time and life has been more hectic than usual.
We have been through some extremely scary and turbulent times over the past 2 years with my Aspie sweet girl. She was an early bloomer puberty-wise, had to switch schools, was socially drifting further from her peers, was gripped with anxiety and talked about wanting to end her life. Therapy at the time was really focused on changing her behavior and a number of psychologists worked with her and became discouraged at her "lack of progress". Anti-anxiety medication provided a better balance neuro-chemistry wise, and she began to surface a bit from her despair. From there, we moved forward again with better info about her neurodiversity, and strategies to work toward her strengths. Very much an on-going process of discovery through trial and error. Because of her intellectually gifted status, we are fortunate to have access to special education. There is better awareness of and sensitivity to her differences in that school. She has some like-minded peers (even if she's not always sure what to 'do' with them). Teachers are specialized and better equipped to deal with the mixed bag of traits typically found with gifted learners. A number of high functioning ASD kids there, but far fewer females than males.

 

[Starfire]

Hi @Mariposa, welcome to the forum!
I'm on the spectrum, and I have a 14 year old daughter who was also recently diagnosed with ASD. She has also suffered with depression due to the difficulties she has making or trying to keep friends, and understanding how to fit in amongst other things. She is also often targeted by people who don't have her best intentions at heart. Unfortunately, due to naivety, her trusting nature and desperately wanting to be accepted she seems unable to sense danger or when she is being manipulated, made fun of or taken advantage of. It's very sad and difficult but she, like her parents are doing their best to guide her through this minefield. This forum is a fantastic resource, there are great people here and there are a few parents here, so hopefully you will get some support. Don't hesitate to message me if that would be of any help.

 

[onlything]

Welcome to the forum Mariposa.

I'm glad you saw that your daughter had problems and in consequence - a depression. You seem like a good mother seeking answers to help her child. It's a long, just like you described it, journey however, and definitely not the easiest one. I wish you all good luck.

 

[xudo]

Welcome