Linda, who has been supported by our Family Support service many times, share’s her story during Covid-19 and lockdown.
‘My 8 year old son Jake, was diagnosed with Autism when he was four. Some of the challenges we have faced since COVID-19 and lock down have been really tough. Jake was very emotional to start with. He would cry himself to sleep each night. We focused on doing what makes us happy as much as possible. We continued with home schooling and cub work, which seemed to help with Jake's confidence. It was hard for him as Jake needs to be busy and so he would come alive at night, because he had not done enough during the day. Jake has never really slept anyway and is not able to amuse himself without me, so he resented my work.
I felt guilty, because our routine was forever changing due to work commitments and I was allowing him to go on the iPad more, when I know it was not the best choice for us. Jake has had moments of really crying and hitting himself on the head. He had hit out a couple of times. When he spent more time on the iPad, he also became very controlling.
I often visited the KAT Family Support website and refer back to information send by the KAT community email network to get through the daily stresses and strains and thankfully I have many tools, which I have learnt through KAT, which I use to help support Jake and myself.
The summer holidays have started and I work term time which is amazing, however, Jake is already anxious about returning to school. He amazed me the other day, talking to his best friend (who is also Autistic) about his emotions about starting a new year, with a new teacher and new expectations. Jake is worried he has forgotten all of his skills for school, he had been worried his best friend would forget him, not miss him or find other friends.
These times have been hard, but we are getting by and the KAT virtual online support groups have just been amazing. For the first time in a long time I felt connected to a community and reassured that I was supporting my son well, even though my son has been challenging at times. We are a loving family thanks to the support we have received from KAT’.
The Kent Autistic Trust’s free Family Support service are solely reliant on grants and donations, we currently have funding until October 2020 and we need your support to keep the service running for a further 6 months. To raise further funding, we need lots more new members to join our weekly lottery!!
If you can help support us, you can join for as little as £1 per week, giving you the chance to win £25,000!! Its quick and easy, just visit the link and set up a direct debit: https://unity.charitypayments.co.uk/play?charity=1091
Alternatively you can donate directly to our appeal: https://www.justgiving.com/…/kentautist…/familysupportappeal
Thank you so much for your support!! We are a lifeline to so many 🌈🙏❤️