Hopefully this venting will help

Advice Needed

I have a six year old son that's autistic. Non-verbal for the most part. He can say a few words and has a tablet that he uses to communicate. He does ABA and speech but not in school due to him not being fully potty trained. I am a single parent. His father left when he was two and not present now. My brother and his wife will watch him for me if I have something such as a doctor's visit or somewhere that I can't take him. Other than that, I do not have any help. I am drained beyond words. Im tired and I am burned out. I work from home. I have my own issues (depression and anxiety) and I never really have the opportunity to work on myself since all of my time is devoted to getting him what he needs. I see a therapist and I have meds but, I haven't had a chance to take them because I can't risk dealing with side effects and the only person to care for him And the sad part is, I don't ever see a way out. At this point, I feel like he will never talk. He is semi-potty trained. He will pee on the toilet but still craps himself. Sometimes it's once a day, sometimes it's 3 times a day. I feel like things will never get better and this is my life. No nights out, no vacations, no "me" time. I knew things wouldn't be easy when I got the autism diagnosis but I couldn't imagine it would be this hard. I love my son and do everything I can for him. I am not complaining, just getting to the point where I am scared that I will burn out. It just gets really hard when I am tired and don't have a way to refuel myself. I guess I don't really need advice. Some encouragement or "you're not alone" comments will help.

Posted Aug 7, 2025, 12:19 AM UTC

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