Rescue Remedy to help anxiety?

[blm]

My son hasn't been diagnosed yet but my sister uses rescue remedy if she has a test or something and I just wondered if anyone with asd has used it (children) and if it worked? Just thinking it might help with football matches - thanks

[Peebs]

Rescue Remedy does not have sufficient quantities of any active ingredients to be effective as anything but a placebo. It is effectively just schnapps and water. Your son could drink a whole bottle of the stuff and it would neither help nor harm him.

 

http://www.guardian....icineandhealth2

Edited January 21, 2012 by Peebs

[trekster]

There seems tro be little evidence that homepathy works as well but folk still use it.

ive found rescue remedy beneficial also GABA, lavendar and other relaxing natural remedies.

[Special_talent123]

if u mean the bachors rescue remedy u spray in your myself havent found it useful

[Special_talent123]

it made me seem dizzy though cos it has some alcohol in it

[Sally44]

What are the symptoms of his anxiety?

 

Does he play football?

[blm]

His tics are worse (mainly sniffing) and he will then cry in the pitch, yes he does play footy. He absolutely loves it but can't deal with not knowing things and instead of asking for help, he will cry. If the other team scores or if he 'thinks' they will lose he'll cry. We've found he's much better after getting this out of his system. He told us the other day he doesn't like lots of people talking at once or shouting as his head hurts, so maybe this doesn't help. I don't want to stop him playing as its his passion but people are going to start making fun if it continues. He is very very talented and scouts have picked him up but he will ruin it wiv the tears if it continues. He can't explain why all the time and can't control it. So frustrating for him and us. Thanks for all your messages

[Sally44]

Firstly anxiety, in general, is the major emotion that those on the spectrum experience. So he will feel more anxious than other people about everything.

 

Secondly his sniffing maybe the start of nervous tics. So again, this is more than just anxiety. Keep an eye on this as it may develop. My son started with sniffing, then nervous cough, then social phobia, school refusal. Now he has a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder and also now has OCD with fears about germs and contamination. He washes his hands alot, to the extend he has hives.

 

Thirdly he sounds like he has a Sensory Processing Disorder. You need an OT to diagnose this and to treat it and give advice on it. Basically it means that his senses are over or under sensitive, sensory information may not be processed in real time, or he maybe bombarded with sensory information that he struggles to process. This will cause him to get overloaded and overwhelmed, which will cause him to get tearful. Imagine how you feel on a very bad day, when your nerves are run ragged, and then something else happens - well you just break down don't you.

 

As he has an ASD he may well struggle to cope with losing.

 

Also those on the spectrum can get flooded with emotions and feelings that they cannot get under control. So, in a similar situation we are not feeling as anxious or overwhelmed as they are. And if we do feel upset, we just keep a lid on it until we get home and maybe have a cry then. Your son is unable to do that.

 

My own son says that he cannot stop the feelings or control them or make them go away. He has to ride it out. He tends to go to his bedroom and just be quiet. Your son cannot do that in the middle of a football match with spectators as well.

 

I don't think rescue remedy even scratches the surface of what he may need.

 

I would recommend you ask for a referal to Clinical Psychology. Ask to be referred to professionals that have experience of working with children on the autistic spectrum.

 

What you want them to do is identify all his needs [ie. anxiety, nervous tics], and then give you and your son some sessions together with them to teach him and you how to reduce his anxiety in these situations. Also some relaxation technqiues. This may help.

 

You may also need to consider now, or at a later date, some medication.

 

It is a shame for him to have to stop football because he is not coping due to anxiety and emotional/sensory overloads. OT should be involved as should ClinPsych.

 

But you may need to look at other types of football clubs where there is not this competitive edge to it and there are not lots of spectators eg. inside 5-a-side??

[blm]

Hi Sally44,

 

Thank you for your response, it is really appreciated. You have hit the nail on the head with a lot of your points - I just don't know what to do as a mum any more and we need professional help as a family now.

 

The Dr has only just agreed to refer him (but to what/where/who I have no idea) and it has taken me years of saying 'something isn't quite right with the way he thinks/reacts'. I have to put a list together of the things I don't feel are 'right' and the things which make our (and his) life more difficult and that we want to be dealt with. The list is endless and is currently 20 pages so I am in the process of trying to reduce it without reducing the specific items. I can deal with the tics (sniffing for over a year now, was blinking before that, his rocking I can deal with, hand twisting is okay with me too, chewing clothes annoys me due to £ of things at the moment but the crying is the thing we as a family are finding it hard to deal with and if he continues, the other kids will soon start bullying him for). His OCD (lining things up/putting things in colour groups) has eased over the years so that's fine. Change of routine means bad behaviiour and that's often difficult as he becomes a completely different child and I am unsure how to deal with him at these times as it's out of character. He is very bright at school (especially numbers/facts) but it is affecting his reading levels as his understanding/explanation/comprehension is awful so that's another reason for me going to the Dr and demanding something is done.

 

You are absolutely right about his anxiety - he worries about everything! but cannot explain it properly to us so we cannot therefore deal with it. We have tried a book about worrying (tomato seeds growing into tomatos) and we have tried a thoughts book where he puts everything down but again difficult as he doesn't understand them himself so how can he put them into words. This has helped a little but not enough. I gave him my old ipod the other day so he could chill out in his room and I think that helped a little. Like you say, he needs professional help - someone who knows how to get inside his head as I am just trying the ways I know how - although I feel like a complete failure now to be honest.

 

He cries at swimming sometimes (if he doesn't understand an instruction or if he does something wrong - which he isn't told off for anyway) and there is no competitive element in this as it's just swimming lessons. He will also cry in football training (again just learning with no competitive element). I think it's a build up of emotions that he cannot release in any other way than crying.

 

We decided to use the Rescue Remedy on Sunday and it helped a little to ease the anxiety but he still cried twice during the game in the first half (but this is good compared to what he would be like normally during a big game). And by the second half, all those nerves had been 'cried' away and he played brilliant! I've noticed the crying releases the pressure/anxiety that he feels - like a blister being popped or something.

 

I really hope the Drs can help now and we can get seen asap.

 

Thank you once again for your words of advice, much appreciated.