Big changes and new direction

@Janna I will check the link as it might be useful in my household too.

I hear deep sadness in your post but also your usual helpful optimism.

Take care

Hi @Janna

I am wishing you all the very best with this. And I can hear the sadness and frustration in your post in regards to this being a 'disablity' but perhaps you can see it as yes - a mental health issue - so an illness - but the 'disability' part might only be the transition. If he can find ways forward then he will become independent and he will find something that can keep him on track and give him that small amount of motivation that has eluded him for so long.

I know I had to fill out a carer form for Centrelink at one stage as I had to be home to ensure my son didn't harm himself and it was a very difficult form to fill out as it focused mostly on physical disablities and not mental health. Our psychiatrist encouraged me to make sure I put down how dependent he was on me and she also completed the back section of the form. Don't leave sections unticked that you think might not help the outcome of the application.

We are kind of in limbo at the moment - and not sure of the next steps forward but each new thing we try is at least a chance for us to change our focus and energies! So I know how you feel.

Its a rocky road but you are good mum and doing all you can to help your son take those steps forward.

Hang in there -

Solar x

Thanks @Solar for your reply. It's been nice hearing from someone who has experienced something very, very similar. There is a great sense of relief that school is no longer an issue. As long as that enrolment existed there was an uspoken pressure and a continual undercurrent of failure lurking in the background. So in many respects I welcome this so that we can put that part of this journey behind us. My son should rightfully have finished Year 12 last year, but due to repeating it would have been this year. All his friends from his original school have graduated and are moving onto to higher education and I have found it quite emotionally triggering to be aware of their achievements via their proud parents. I also live immediately adjacent to a high school, which for a short time my son was enrolled in (school number 3). My back balcony faces directly onto their playing oval (thankfully separated by some trees) so every single day I hear the bells ringing, the announcements and can see the boys kicking balls and playing games. I find that difficult as well. My bad luck to have this is my face every day as a reminder!

I have to accept that my son's mental illness is a disability. When mental illness gets to the level that it significantly impairs a person's abilities then it is a disability. I recall some time back I downloaded a PDF Application for a Disability Pension. After reading and ticking the extensive questions I was suprised that my son's level of disability would be considered severe. I'm still intending to get this application in, but not too sure now whether he can receive this whilst also being engaged in a funded "Transition to Work" program. From some preliminary discussions with my son, in which I outlined the general gist of the program, I left feeling that the support officer assigned to him will certainly have his/her work cut out. It's not going to be easy to shift my son from the isolating comfort of his room, but who knows. I remain hopeful.

I will continue forward, step by step in this alongside my son. Thanks again for your supportive response. It is truly appreciated.

Take care

Janna