oh dear terry sorry to hear son had a breakdown at just 14 , how is he now and does he still suffer depression ? my brother had a breakdown at 17 and he went away for a while and had tests done but aspergers wasnt known about in the early 80s so nothing came of it , he had another breakdown 2 years ago .
does anyone have a relative or know someone with autism/aspergers syndrome ?
by looloo 23 Replies latest jw friends
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cantleave
Looloo our son has Aspergers. He has been officailly diagnosed and is in the process of being statemented.
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Terry
While Nicholas suffered a real blow to his self-confidence he has bounced back. He is even tempered. He has a sunny disposition.
He isn't social but can meet people easily. He has no interest in the opposite sex at all at age twenty and no interest in same sex either.
He doesn't want a car or to learn to drive. But, he is creative. Obsessively so. He washes his hands a bit too frequently for me to think it healthy.
He's quirky. But, everybody who knows him or meets him loves him instantly. Before there were such things as diagnosed symptoms you would have
labeled Nicholas as a "character." That's about it.
He worries about things philosophically. More than you or I would. He is a deep thinker. But, depression is not something you'd associate with his behavior or mental norm.
All in all, I'm very grateful for him in every way.
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nugget
Looloo some of the things that were flagged up to us as symprtomatic of high functioning autism are as follows:-
our son gets on better with adults and small children but struggles with his peer group . He doesn't know the names of people in his class even though he has known them for at least 3 years. Most people with autism find eye contact difficult and will look away when someone is talking to them. Conversely he has no fear of strangers and will approach adults just because they have a cool phone.
Lack of awareness of social boundaries and conventions e.g. the concept of personal space. He has to be taught different emotions as he only get happy and sad but struggles to identify more subtle empotions.
Inappropriate sniffing - Kes tries to sniff armpits the smellier the better.
Hypersensitivity - Loud noises, bright lights, clothes labels, physical discomfort can all send him into a state. He notices any smells and will notice small details.
Concerns over unlikely events - for example when the meteor will hit the house. He also knows the crime statistics for America.
Intense enthusiasms - Passionate interest in topics that he will pursue to the exclusion of anything else.
It is also common for them to suffer from constipation.
Food has to be presented in a specific way e.g. pizza must look a certain way and be served hot otherwise it is unacceptable.
Echology is another feature - blurting out something that interests them out of context. Today my son recreated a scene from ICarly including looking up on the internet house of chucks and then house of chicks thankfully I caught his you tube input as I am sure that you can imagine the sort of chicks being featured.
Having their own words for something e.g. an injection is a pin shot.
difficulty winding down at the end of the day my son takes melatonin to help him go to sleep otherwise he is awake until midnight.
My son is a lovely boy full of imagination and a joy. He is also very frustrating touching things he shouldn't just to see what they do. He has turned off the doctor's printer and the till at the supermarket, he has also turned off the lights in the British museum. He wakes me up at 5:30am to tell me that the BT vision box isn't working and makes me salads consisting of a whole carrot choped into 3 pieces half a stick of celery and cherry tomatos. It is never dull but as a parent you fight for him every day to make sure he gets the help he needs to truly blossom.
Delay in speech and language is usually a good early indicator of a problem. Kes' speech was delayed now he could talk for England and frequently does.
Aspergers does not make him less of a person it just moves the goal posts slightly.
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looloo
lol, terry , my brother is known as a"a bit of a character " and always been known as a "deep thinker" also glad you and your son are ok now , i will keep in touch with you about this if thats ok , in case i need some advice x
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Terry
i will keep in touch with you about this if thats ok , in case i need some advice x
Certainly, but the best advise is to observe what is working and not working. Sometimes you have to lower the river when you can't raise the bridge.
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artemis.design
There are lots of forms of Aspergers. My brother is a compulsive lyer, but he is brilliant at it, very convincing but also very dangerous as people take him seriously. He got my dad beaten up so badly, he lost sight in one eye.
You notice my brother as different straight away. He is completly in his own world. He also plays whole episodes of star gate in his mind, even laughing and flintching as one would experience watching the episode on TV.
In Aspergers and Autism, the brain function and pattern brain reaction is quite different to someone whio is just reclusive or socially uncomfortable.
I think there can be a danger of labelling too widely. But still there maybe a genuine medical issue. Arte
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Quentin
My 8yr old grandson is a high funtion autistic. He does well at school even to the point of being ahead of classmates in math and reading. But, when he gets home it's like a tornado ripping through the house. Fits, bouts of extrem anger, games of any kind send him into a tailspin especialy if he feels he is not winning. He sees things in patterns, his words, any change in routine no matter how slight causes problems, He burys his face in pillows, or balnkets, Jumps from furniture to furniture and cannot be reasoned with when he is aggitated, everything is YOUR fault. He demands to be the center of attention, drives his sister nuts. He goes to bed every night between 8 and 9 wore out from the in home struggle.
Over the last several months his condition has gotten worse. He is on respedine. I belive it is either the wrong med, or the dosage is incorret. When he frist started with the med things were great. Anger has become the biggist problem. We want him tested to make sure there is not more to his problem. All we get are excuses, or stonewalled. He's a bright kid. When not in one of his moods he is helpfull and wants to do positive things. . I fear for his future. I also believe when he visits his father he is being told we don't care abot him, or love him. This attidude started several months ago as well.
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jamiebowers
LooLoo, I take it your brother is close to your mom but not to you. If that's the case, maybe you can unite with someone else in his life to suggest he be tested for Aspbergers. Since he's been in trouble with the law, does he have a probation officer? Is he on disability? If so, does he have a social worker or psychiatrist?
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looloo
hi jamie , he is not on disability or have a social worker or psychiatrist , but he is fond of my daughter who is going to put a book through his door tomorrow as im not close to him unfortunatly , he is only close to my mum . thanks all of you real good advice as usual x