Raheem’s Story

30th October 2020

Last month we supported Raheem, a young person that was brought into the Emergency Department as he had been experiencing abdominal pains as a result of not eating. Having suffered an anxiety attack, Raheem’s Dad brought him into the Emergency Department; he expressed his concern and explained they desperately needed help and they didn’t know where to turn to.

After speaking to Raheem, he was able to tell us that he had been experiencing anxiety attacks after being recently diagnosed with Autism; Raheem was finding it difficult to cope with being different from his peers. Raheem explained that he never felt hungry and that he always felt too sick to eat anything, which had been exacerbated by a significant bereavement in the family.

We were able to support Raheem in the Emergency Department by calming his anxiety and giving him some coping mechanisms to use for when he felt an anxiety attack coming on. We referred Raheem for some one-to-one support with a No Limits Youth worker in his school to help support him with his anxiety and to help him process having lost a member of his family. The No Limits Youth Worker also provided Raheem with some information about our support group for young people who have been diagnosed with Autism to help him to meet like-minded young people and feel a sense of belonging.

Now, Raheem is being supported through our one-to-one support service in his school, and he has attended our specific Zoom support sessions around anxiety, emotions and the teenage brain.

Raheem’s Dad said:

“Thank you so much for your support, we as a family didn’t know what else to do or where to turn and things had got out of control, we’re not bad parents, we just didn’t expect all this. I don’t know what we would have done if you hadn’t have popped into see us, no one tells you all this support is there, so how are you supposed to know?’ Thank you so much.”

*young person’s name has been changed for confidentiality purposes.