Hi

I'm a parent of a child with severe special needs who will need lifelong care, He has autism and learning difficulties and he is minimally verbal at age around 10.

When I read your first post, it hit me very hard. I did not want to imagine your pain.

One of the things that personally happens when you are a parent of a very dependent special needs child is that you get re-defined as a carer and your life changes radically in scope and expectation. It's a hard adjustment to make to be a very responsible carer for the rest of your life.

You have had to do this as well, and now suddenly it's all changed an you have to redefine yourself all over again as your responsibilities have changed again unexpectedly. On top of this, you have sunk a huge amount of energy into the care of your son and now have no purpose for all that work, it must feel like a sunk cost.

I know that I've only talked about you and not your son and his own struggle, but both are things you may need to process.

My fren, I feel for you.