Hello. New to the Forum

[Ria]

Hello, my name is Ria and I am new here. The youngest of our 4 children has been diagnosed as being on the spectrum. My husband is undiagnosed, yet when my son was being assessed comments were made. I know I have traits too. I guess I just wanted to mix with people who go through similar things that we as a "mixed neuro family" do. This, to me, is less stressful that going to meetings. My son is 16 and doing his exams at the moment. He lives in a school for able-spectrum boys Monday til Friday out of county and we didn't realise that we had to apply for funding and all that until recently. We are to have an emergency meeting with the LEA and Social Services but have no date yet.There is another part of the school my son can go to and attend a college there, which is where we would like him to go. Ryan (my son) doesn't really know what he wants to do, which makes it harder for us to fight for him to stay away from home when some days he is screaming and shouting about not coming back home. Other days he doesn't want to leave the friends he has made- something he had problems with in mainstream schools. Ryan also wants to go to the college by the school as he knows another boy doing the same course. We worry that should he not get funding and have to go to a college at home, something will upset him and he won't go anymore.The care staff can go with him and support him if he stayed away. Ryan was out of education for 2 and a half years and we don't want him to shy away again if he becomes upset.Don't know if this is very clear or not. Also going on in this family is my step-daughter getting married next year, but no date yet. My husband doesnot want to go, and neither do I. We haven't fallen out or anything like that, or even mentioned our dread, but she just wouldn't understand the awful feelings we get just being faced by such an occasion. I would probably go, if a wonderful excuse doesn't come up by then, but just the thought of it makes me want to cry. My husband is worrying about it. We can understand that her feelings would be hurt if we didn't attend, and we do not want to hurt her feelings. If we could sit in a dark corner somewhere maybe it wouldn't be so bad? Anyone got any advice?