First post

[Kilpa4]

Hi all,

new to the forum.

I have a 20 year old son with ocd and other anxieties.  He is about to start an assessment for Autism.  Some days I just don't know how to help him.  And I worry about him, spending all his days in his room.  I recently left my job to support him better, but I don't know if anything is making a difference.  He is happy in his room. Safe i guess from the germs.

[hanami]

Welcome to the Forums. My name is Hanami and I am one of the peer workers at SANE. It is great to have you here. I'm sorry to hear about how things are for you right now. As a parent it's one of the worst feelings that you can't seem to help your child. Hopefully the assessment results will be helpful. 

A good place to start for your own wellbeing is to maybe have a look at some carer's organisations for support. Here are the links to two:

- Carer Gateway 

- Carers Australia 

I'm wondering if your son might be open to connecting with an organisation that offers support for younger Australians,  It also has a parents section so it might be something you may be interested in too: Reachout.

I hope some others can chime in with some tips for you on how best to support your son. 

Warmest wishes

Hanami

[FloatingFeather]

Hi @Kilpa4,

Welcome to the Forums. My name is FloatingFeather and I am one of the peer support workers at SANE. It is nice to have you with us.

I feel for you and your son. I have three kids, two are young adults so I know how much us mums worry about our children regardless of their age. It's so hard when we are on the `sidelines' wanting to help but not always knowing (or able) how too. 

It's good to know that he is happy in his room at least. My son (also 20) went through a hard time in senior school when he spent a lot of time in his room depressed and kept to himself a lot so I understand your worry about your son always being in his room. 

Does your son have any friends he could go out with / come over to your house? Would he be interested in going out to see a movie, have a coffee etc with you / a friend? 

Being a mum is hard, I think we just want to makes things better for our kids and sometimes that isn't always possible. It does sound like your son has a great mum that really cares about him. I do hope you have someone to lean on and cares about you too. 

Warm wishes,

FloatingFeather