trekster

Try sending them an email explaining you're on the autism spectrum and are lost in the sea of paperwork you're expected to do. Ask if they can provide mentoring or something similar.

Hi and welcome from another university student albeit part time.

Hi and welcome to the forum. I know there have been groups in London but unsure about your area. You could try an Internet search "adult autism support groups: east sussex". Your local councils website might have an idea as well. Hope you find some support soon.

I flap my hands if they hurt, if the bones feel loose, if I'm in pain, if they're feeling numb. Do any of these options seem familiar to you ?

You find people who appreciate you for your honesty and straightforwardness. For me that's the lgbt community and the social group I run in bath.

Can you go gluten and dairy free and take supplements to help your depression and aspergers? I found life was much better within a few months of giving up gluten and dairy and adding in omega 3s and others a week apart from each other. I take b 50s, omega 3s, magnesium, d3, probiotics and vitamin c. The overall chatty is because I forget what I'm saying so quickly say what I need to say before I forget. It's also a side effect of my fibromialgia. There's a section in the forums about going gluten and dairy free.

I have cptsd which is very similar to bpd. I am in therapy after 20 years of fighting and they seem to understand my aspergers. I have found the mindinfoline invaluable. Is there any local support for aspergers or autistic folk? Do you have an autism strategy in place in your area? Hope this forum can help you find peace.

See a different gp to the one that saw you and ask for a referral to a pain clinic to help you manage your pain. There is also TENS machines.

I think it's a problem with motivation for him. For me going off gluten and dairy helped me to become motivated. Will he change what he's eating or using? Or would he try supplements like omega 3s? Could it be because he's feeling socially pressured and when the pressure is off then he can cope with a situation? Hope these pointers help?

If you can find ways of reducing the level of overloading situations that can minimise the chances of an emotional blackout from occurring.

I'm currently at university and have been there off and on for the past 10 years. I've found ways to get something out of my university experience whether that be trying the experience of moving out, joining a society or getting some mental health support.

I have a number of asexual friends and find them easygoing and great to be around. They tend to avoid alcohol and enjoy cake.

Excellent point there autism is the common factor with gender and sexuality. I'm wondering if agender people are commonly on the autism spectrum?

You could explain to him how you feel there is no way out of your problems and you don't know how to prevent reoccurrences. Explain how you are unaware when your behaviour is crossing boundaries and would like support to improve and minimise this risk. Explain that you wish life was better and don't know how to make your life better. It is important that you are honest and open with them. I've lived in a very cluttered home myself. You might want to look up the "taking responsibility" report written by A Powell and see what it says about how probation officers should support adults on the autism spectrum.

Has he had a sensory assessment from an occupational therapist? There are books about sensory issues and autism. Try looking up "sensory integration disorder" online.

Hes severely depressed and is rejecting the world that's why he appears not to care. I have been the "I hate the world" person. Even 3 breakdowns later I still hate the world from time to time. He seems to think life is about sleeping, eating, pc games and work sounds depressed to me. Why doesn't he care? Has anything happened before he started refusing showers or has he always been like this? I have to be reminded to brush my teeth and use deodrant and I'm in my late 30s. It is possible he can't smell or even likes the smell. Sensory issues can interfere with our sense of smell. When I was his age the smell of black coffee made me wanna vomit. I had to leave a few metres between me and a black coffee drinker. The taste of garden peas were like grass to me as well. The bangs in crackers made me jump. The support worker and GP idea were for yourself as his carer. See if you can have a telephone appointment whilst he's out at work with the gp. There is always a solution even if you don't see it straight away. Could he have the same disabilities as yourself on top of his aspergers? I was dislocating my joints for over 30 years before I got an eds diagnosis. One of the signs was refusing to shower. I had no other way of communicating pain and pushing people away was another sign. Please avoid wording his aspergers implying he does or doesnt have a problem. I can see you are frustrated and asking for help but disabilities aren't problems.

Watergirl, Please post in black writing only to help people with sensory issues. Unable to read your post. Thanks

Sorry the "taking responsibility" report was written by Andrew Powell and shows the types of needs we may have and holed in the systems in accessing those needs. Pip is different as that's a disability benefit which wouldn't be mentioned in the report. The team want to assess you for autism or aspergers presumably. Write down your traits including the sensory overload and how it happens, what causes you anxiety. Take your gf with you if you feel she would help. Write down how not understanding affects your mood and other behaviours do your special interests increase and appear to exclude others?

This post is approved by a moderator in this case myself.

Welcome to the forum

Fair enough your study has been approved.

Hi and welcome Have you tried seeing if the bipolaruk charity has any local groups for young people in your area? There is also autism London.

Hi I'm one of the volunteer mods on here. I've had a problem with hygiene in the past. Until someone saw why I was avoiding the shower I was unable to be able to have some showers. I have other disabilities which can impact my ability to shower. Here's the possible reasons why he's not showering 1, he forgets due to poor short term memory. 2, It causes physical pain 3, there's been a traumatic experience in the bathroom in the past making showering mentally impossible for him 4, he has no energy to shower (coping with any disability uses energy others don't realise) 5, he overly sweats as soon as he gets out the shower so doesn't seem the point in having one and/or is addicted to gluten and dairy which hypersweating is a cause 6, he feels he wouldn't get it right due to the number of steps required to shower so can't contemplate starting one. 7, showering is an overloading sensory experience for him 8, concentrating on showering is too much for him 9, he's communicating depression to you in the only way he can. The anger is another sign of secondary depression. 10, the smell of deodorant or antiperspirant is overpowering the feel of water is too much temperature etc wise. 11, difficulties deciding what to wear following a shower Behaviour that is difficult to understand is very common in autism. No amount of explaining why showering is important or the consequences of not showering is going to work. If you tell him people won't sit near him or talk to him if he's smelly and they do it will confuse him. You have to find a way of finding the route cause of the behaviour. This could mean bringing in a support worker for yourself so you have more energy to devote to supporting your son. Can you apply for PIP benefit for him? Then you can claim carers allowance for yourself. There could also be carers support groups in your area. The feel of water made me shudder so badly I dislocated my shoulder due to my eds, standing in the shower causes my joints to dislocate, I can go dizzy in the shower, problems deciding what to wear, feel of certain towels is scratchy to me, some antiperspirants make me sneeze, some shower products cause hyperactive behaviour, Hope this has given you some pointers into understanding your son's behaviour.

The news is biased towards a particular agenda. You can read the same story in different contexts in different news papers. I prefer to read science daily because that has some reference to proper scientific papers which say something worth reading.

Write down all the reasons why you think your autistic and include what your daughter has said or done as well. What causes you to have a meltdown. How you feel about life in general. If you can use the "taking responsibility" report to document your needs based on the section "practical support skills".