aspergers

[caroles]

How aspergers or autism affect your child ,yourself and your family?It's anxiety a big issue in aspergers and why?My S. has depression and anxiety for years,and have all the problems of aspergers,

[Gordie]

Yeah - anxiety can be a problem in certain situations if you've got Asperger's. It's a fear of the consequences, and of the unknown, that causes it, I think. Sometimes they're irrational fears in hindsight, but they seem rational at the time.

 

I have Asperger's, and have suffered from depression on and off for the last 6 years or so.

 

James

[Corcaigh]

Like Gordie said, I agree. My son is very anxious, he NEEDS to know what happens in the future ALL THE TIME. You need to tackle this problem with a psychologist, it's quite crippling for the child and can degenerate in the future.

[helenl53]

Hi Guys,

 

My little one is very smiley and is noted as a very happy little child who likes to participate and please! - wrong - he is an anxious little soul and will shudder, shake and tic when anxious and stressed, but sometimes he likes to hold poo in for a few weeks to help with the anxiety. But still he smiles - and still I get told - he is very happy and is coping so well - then he has nightmares and terrors - but he smiles - so he is coping and I am being over anxious and I must allow my little chap to be himself. I am told his peers will learn valuable lessons from him - they do - they punch him - and they will learn that they will not get punished because no-one believes him when he says that he has been punched - the children in his school are not that nasty - and he smiles - and he is told that he should stop making a fuss- he must learn not to interpret someone accidentaly punching him as a deliberate act. - he smiles.

 

Sorry guys, talking about anxiety in ASD makes me very sad.

 

Best wishes

 

HelenL

[lil_me]

My son is the same, but was told at a conference by a lady who knows a huge amount about people on the spectrum that they can not predict what will happen in the future/because of their actions so that kind of explains why they get so anxious especially about change, 'if you didn't know what was going to happen would you be anxious?' she said, and we all agreed of course, and 'if you know that when you went somewhere it was a good experience where as the last time you went to great aunty dotty's house she shouted at you as she is going deaf and hugged you which you hate would you want to go back' of course not.

 

The only thing I can suggest is letting him know what will happen, as example that the haircut he's going to have will be over in xx amount of time etc so he doesn't think it is going to last forever etc etc and reassurance, you have to tell them what will happen as they can't predict it themselves.

 

This also gives a reason for another example ,of the sheer horror on my sons face when he put something down a toilet and flushed it, he couldn't predict it would go down as was too young to work that out, and he also couldn't predict Mam would be extremely angry

 

Also I know people say to prepare people on the spectrum for change but telling them 3 weeks before they are going for a haircut that they'll be going means they will be anxious about it for 3 weeks so never over prepare them for something even if it is something they will look forward to ( I learn't that one when telling my son we were going on holiday 3 months ago and he's been stressing over it since as different place etc but also excited at same time)

 

(Sorry I use the haircut one a lot but was one of my sons problems we have overcome by just how its explained to him and when, and from what I've heard a lot of children on the spectrum and some adults hate it also )

Edited June 20, 2005 by lil_me

[Elanor]

Hi

 

My son suffers from anxiety, which with him is closely linked to aggressive behaviour. Actually, the anxiety wasn't that easy to recongise, as he hid it quite well, but now that we understand him better, we can see the particular signs in him that he is finding things difficult.

 

Certainly my son can feel anxious about change and new things, and carefully preparing him does help. I think that this is what is often meant by deficits of 'imagination' in the triad of impairments. He finds it difficult to imagine, or predict outcomes. However, he has got better at this as he's got older, and I feel that he is developing and learning.

 

The other thing is to do with his social problems - he finds it hard to fit in, and is always the outsider, the 'geeky' kid with no friends. Classic asperger's really - although again, he is getting more able to interpret what is happening around him. Still, it is no wonder that he gets anxious.

[lil_me]

Yes Elanor I forgot to put that the point of not being able to prdeict outcomes etc was mentioned in the explaination of the imagination part of the triad of impairments

[Kathryn]

We had a clear illustration of this only yesterday after days of my daughter being on an even keel. We all went out in the car to go to a bookshop, her first outing for ages, as she really wanted to buy a particular book. On the way the car developed problems (brakes - horrible smell of burning rubber so we thought it best to turn back).

 

She had a meltdown such as we havent seen in a long time: lay on the floor in the hall for ages and cried. Later on she said the change of plan made her panic - she could see the plan in her head, all mapped out, and then it wasn't going to happen, and she got scared. It was the change of plan rather than the disappointment of not going that upset her so.

 

I'm still trying to figure out how to deal with these situations. Obviously we try our utmost to make sure unexpected events don't happen, but you can't control everything! Is it possible to teach strategies for dealing with such crises before they actually occur?

[darky]

my son and daughter suffer bad with anxiety. my son asks repeated questions, if he knows he is doing something he repeats and repeats questions over and over. ive got an egg timer that helps, he just really needs to know exactly what hes doing ever min of every day. at school he holds it all in, he smiles, like helenl53 son. so hes coping, is he hell he gets home and lets it all out.

my daughter is more open that that, she will ask over and over at school as well as home and have been informed that when she has to be picked up early she will start from 8.40am until shes picked up! she has phobias and screams a lot. flys are bad at this time of year, now thats something she does hold in at school as "screaming is not alowed in school" so again when she comes home BOOM!! visual timetables do help a little, but i find it incredibly hard to cope with being so ridged as im about as disorganised as they come! (poss un dx add)

[AmyNelson]

I do go through phases of intense anxiety, I have been given medication in the past, but its not a long term solution.

[andrwg]

I am 42, and anxiety is a part of my aspergian symptom gallery.

In fact, I have problems with thoughts that are being fixed, and as this is fatiguing, I often get depressed.

In social life, I have anxiety as to interact. Every situation seems new to me, keeping me still on the same 'ground' level. To handle every new social situation, I experience it like learning a new language.

I have also anxiety regarding the extent and scope of what I say and do; I don't understand how my behavior effects other persons, i.e. a lack of empathy or failing to get the right emotional perspective. I often am afraid that I have said or done something wrong, however I am a cautious and kind person.

[meemo38]

Yes, here to we have all the anxiety, and an 11 year old who often asks if he can have some pills, he really needs some as he is depressed!!!!

anxieties are usually in our minds silly things, in his not in the slightest silly, we just try to reassure him things will be fine, or we do tell him, like yesterday the truth, with our cat, who is with the vet, and her chances look slim, he is worrying so very much about this at the minute, he worries over the car, if it might break down, what if what if, you know the senario!!!!

Michelle, sorry in a rush