Seeking options for depressed and anxious daughter.

Hi @Ticker,

Welcome to the forums, its really great that you have taken the time and made the effort to reach out for some help and advice. It sounds like it has been a long road with your daughter and I can't imagine how hard like you said that is to watch as a parent. I can't speak to knowledge of testing for aspergers, but I can understand your fears and worries - if your doctor offered it as an option then it is still up to you as to your choice. Would it help to get another GP's opinion at all to help you find a few more options in terms of therapy?

I also thought you might find Reach Out quite helpful - this is an organisation for young people and their parents and offers great resources, forums and insights into helping your young person and also looking after yourself. Feel free to check it out. There is also a service called Parentline which you may find helpful to get some insights and support.

Meanwhile, do continue to post and reach out here - you can also use the search function to seek other other threads that might have similar themes ☺️

Thank you I'll check out some of those links. Have had a bit of a search on the forum but haven't foung mush about aspergers and the link to depres sdion, as yet

Hi @Ticker

Getting the testing for Aspergers first seems like a sensible option, as you mention the outcome of that would influence treatment, specifically that of OT which focuses on how a person can function better with tasks.

This link explains the benefits of an ASD diagnosis (if it is indeed positive)

http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/about-aspergers-m

I would suspect the paucity of reference to Aspergers on this forum is because an autism diagnosis is often made when children are younger, support is often sought through the ASD side of things rather than the MH side.

Nevertheless, as carers of loved ones who are anxious or depressed with or without ASD, finding the best way to help our loved ones while maintaining our own mental health can be a challenge.

Here on the forum we tend to focus quite a lot on self care because as caregivers we so very often put ourselves last and end up exhausted and worn out ourselves. This is on top of the grief of a diagnosis and concerns we have in relation to ongoing care.