AmandaA

hi there before he took drugs he was 'normal' although challenging. now he isnt 'normal' because the drugs have impacted him so much. The GP has written letters saying he has Aspergers and is High Functioning. Crazy that a GP can see this but isnt recognised. He moved to a new supported house just before xmas after being kicked out of the previous one and because of the break there was no access to any of the outreach services that you mention. So he is currently in the system but it is like pulling teeth trying to get anywhere. He sees a care/social worker about once a month which just isnt enough. He can go out on his own and can look after himself to a degree. The main issue is the lack of social skills and loneliness because he has no friends. So he takes drugs to escape and to make himself feel better but doesnt see that actually this is making him 'less normal' to the outside world. he starts a new college course today but has been thrown off every other one he has been on so we will see what this brings. he has started going to the gym in the last week and this has helped but willl have to see if he keeps it up. the problem is that we need the help now but it takes so long to get. i have a meeting with his house manager who isnt supposed to talk to me because my son wont give permission so im going to bang my hand on the table until stuff gets sorted.

hi there my son is 20 years old. he has always been problematic from a very early age and has has seen many doctors, pyschiatrists and god knows what else over the years. They have always said he sits on the autistic spectrum range, some say he has symptoms of bipolar, others say he has aspergers. we have never had a formal diagnosis. he was intelligent, creative and very sporty although hypermobile. we always managed to push him through but by the age of 15 he had turned to drugs. the doctors said he was self medicating. since then we have had a horrendous 5 years. very hooked on drugs to the worst extreme, aggressive, kicked out of home. all sorts of problems. living in hostels. trouble with the police. he now is in a support housing environment and trying very hard to get his life back together. nobody really knows what help he needs and where to get it. i know he has some kind of autism and i think probably high functioning/aspergers. but on top of this he has taken huge amounts of drugs over the last few years. is crippled with loneliness as he has no friends after being ostracised from everybody and everything due to his appalling behaviour. it seems hard to move forward as he is depressed through loneliness, battered by drugs and unable to raise the confidence he needs. but cant make friends without being more confident. its a vicious circle. does anybody know of any good organisations either near Staines/Ashford where he lives or in Maidenhead/Marlow areas near where i live. Or indeed if anybody has any similar situations or children of a similar age that have been through the same and might be able to help him. Any help or advice would be appreciated!. Thanks Amanda