A sudden change

Hi, I have a 15 year old son with Down Syndrome, who is suddenly having changes in his behavior at school. My husband and I separated 5 months previously, then I had an accident which resulted in him being shared between my ex and my older daughter in his care, for a week .His Teacher Aid was sick for a day and a friend offered to pick him up from school and spend some time with him, only to have him very quiet and not his usual self! His school is doing their end of year exams, so his usual 'home room' has been swapped to the library.
All of this is a no brainer for me, as I think his behavior is all about too much change in a short space of time........ Hes urinating at school, dropping his trousers, giggling a lot and not focusing, plus he ran away out of the school grounds and was lost for an hour. He is very non verbal, and signs plus tries to talk. But he understands a lot...and sharp when he needs to be..........I live in New Zealand and we do not have a behavior psychologist available in my town.......HELP!!!!

[DeborahLarsen]

My son (with DS) is 14 and we go through similar issues from time to time. You may be right about this being from all the changes, but you need all the help you can get. I've started to realize that as my son gets bigger some of this acting out can be seen very differently by school and peers than when he was younger. Feel free to message me if you want to discuss anything!
Deb

[ducky406]

Honestly it sounds like you may have to go the distance to talk with a behavioral psychologist. Maybe, if they're really far away, one could talk to you on the phone. He is a pretty special case, so I'm not sure if just any psychologist (like a school counselor) would work. In the mean time just do your best to help him feel more secure. It's hard at any age to understand parent separations and with his down syndrome it may be more difficult for him to understand. Like I said, just do your best. That's honestly all any of us can do.

[DeborahLarsen]

My son (with DS) is 14 and we go through similar issues from time to time. You may be right about this being from all the changes, but you need all the help you can get. I've started to realize that as my son gets bigger some of this acting out can be seen very differently by school and peers than when he was younger. Feel free to message me if you want to discuss anything!
Deb

[susie900852]

Hi Deb, Thanks for your comments. I would very much like to have a better chat with you, as it sounds like we may be able to do an exchange of ideas and shared problems......is that possible? Susie

[susie900852]

Hi, Thanks for your comments......waiting now to hear from the specialists but felt encouraged by what you said. Definately doing the best I can....

[Restless_mom]

My son is 16 with DS and has to be on a strict schedule or he acts out because he is not good with change. I really feel it may be the case with yours as well. But it is good that you are seeing a specialist.