How do I help my daughter who is being beaten up by her own son?
DEAR DEIDRE: I’m worried about my daughter because she keeps getting beaten up – by her own son.
Her two kids are 12 and eight and they both have autism. My grandson is the older child and has been prone to violent outbursts since age seven.
School is really good and he doesn’t behave so badly when he’s there, but he’s terrible towards his mum if he doesn’t get his own way.
The local mental health team has been involved but won’t give him any medication – a psychiatrist saw him and said that he wasn’t violent and didn’t have any need for it.
But I’ve seen how terrible he can be, punching and kicking his mother and sometimes his sister. The house is full of tension, it’s truly awful.
I’m 58 and try to have my granddaughter stay over on a Friday night so that my daughter can have one-on-one time with her son.
Get in touch with the Dear Deidre team
Every problem gets a personal reply from one of our trained counsellors.
Fill out and submit our easy-to-use and confidential form and the Dear Deidre team will get back to you.
You can also send a private message on the DearDeidreOfficial Facebook page or email us at:
deardeidre@the-sun.co.uk
It worked initially but now he’s back to hitting his mum again.
My daughter is 34. The kids’ dad lives out in the Middle East for work and is only home twice a year.
MORE FROM DEAR DEIDRE
DEIDRE SAYS: Your daughter has reached a crisis point, and her son’s behaviour may be more extreme because her husband is away so much of the time.
If the mental health team feels he isn’t violent, she needs to collect some evidence, maybe with the installation of a camera if these outbursts are too difficult to record in other ways.
For her physical safety and that of both of her children, she needs a family meeting, preferably with her husband, to sort out the next steps.
She can get support at ambitiousaboutautism. org.uk (020 8815 5444) and Parental Education Growth Support (pegsupport.co.uk).
They can arrange one-to-one consultations and find help through a peer support group.