Hope for the future?

Well last week was an interesting one - full of ups and downs, and this post is about the biggest up of the week. On Thursday I had a meeting at CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) - basically a review to see how DD2 (darling daughter no.2) is getting on at school, at home and whether there is any therapy or other help that CAMHS can offer at the moment. I was dreading this meeting and even had a nightmare about it! I was worried that I was going to be told that there was nothing more that CAMHS could do to help and that we were just going to have to deal with things as they are. I don't know why I felt this way, I just did.
Anyway, my fears were mostly unfounded. A few days before the meeting DD2 received an invitation to attend a "This is Me" course (a group for kids that have been diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder - ASD - and want to know more about it and how it may affect them). This may or may not be helpful for DD2 but it is something she has asked for and something I feel she may benefit greatly from. At the review meeting DD2's case worker expressed concern about DD2 attending as some of the others that have been invited are very boisterous and noisy which may be difficult for DD2 to cope with but, after discussion, a plan was decided on which will give DD2 the opportunity to attend with no pressure to stay longer than a few minutes if it is too much for her.
My next concern was with regards to schooling for DD2. At the moment DD2 is attending a Short Stay Medical School - for children who are unable to attend their regular school because of a medical problem - due to her Severe Anxiety meaning she is unable to cope with the busy, stressful schedule of a regular school. This school has been a great help and DD2 is now going to school most days and her attendance is improving all the time, but it is just a short-term measure and so it is necessary to consider where she goes next. Academically DD2 is very intelligent and capable of achieving very good results in her GCSE's but regular high school without a lot of extra help would be too stressful for her. However most 'special' schools are for children with learning difficulties so would struggle to cater for a child needing a higher level of education. This leaves us in a position where we need to get an educational statement of needs which will hopefully enable DD2 to attend a regular high school and get all the additional support she needs to make it possible for her to achieve her potential. So now starts the long (approx 6-9 months maybe longer) process of getting a statement for DD2. Fortunately I am able to start the ball rolling myself, rather than waiting for DD2's school to get around to it, so I will be ringing the Educational Psychologist this week once CAMHS have given me their number. I will keep you posted on how that goes!
As far as CAMHS are concerned there is no therapy or groups (other than "This is Me") that they feel would be beneficial for DD2 at this time, but they will continue to be available for any help or advice that I need. DD2 will also continue to see her psychiatrist who will monitor the medication she takes to help with her anxiety.
I am feeling more hopeful now than I was before the review meeting, I feel that this year will be a good one for DD2 as she continues her journey of accepting her diagnosis and learning how to cope with a sometimes frustrating and confusing world.