My 9yr old son is struggling so much. He doesn’t have many friends and he doesn’t have an activity he is into. We have tried just about everything.
Since lockdowns he has had meltdowns
We have tried to get him help but most gps just brushed us off. Finally got one to listen but everywhere we got referred to had 9-12month waiting lists and I think we just got lost as we never hear back.
Last week he had a massive meltdown and he tried to self harm. He’s 9. 🙁 I don’t know how to help or where to go.
I’ve been online to Lifeline, Beyond Blue etc and no where seems to be able to help.
I feel like a failure and I’ve let him down.
4 Replies
The GO at school and the GP for a referral to the public psych system. It’s along wait list but get on it. Get back in to a private one meanwhile.
Oh this poor little boy. My son was like this. I got him to a child psychologist and he was amazing with him and it helped us immensely. Try and get him a referral. My sons issue is that he gets very anxious and can talk, anxious about making friends, he doesn’t join in group activities because he is so anxious about attention on him. I ask the school to not to put him in any situations where he has attention on him like standing in front of class or speaking in front of people. School is amazing and supportive. You need a diagnosis so you can understand how to help him and he has the tools to cope. Go back and get a referral for child psychologist. When my son has meltdowns I just ignore it and let him go because nothing I say or do helps, it just aggravated him more.
Also go private and get a care plan it’s quicker and get some back. It would cost me Around $120 once I got a rebate back
Gp and get the mental health plan. If you have private insurance see if it covers mental health. If he self harms again take him to a hospital that has a declared mental health facility for kids. You can also call an ambulance and they can detain him for a mental assessment at the hospital. Driving him would be preferred but if he’s explosive just call them. Good luck.