What Treatments Are Available for Adults with Asperger Syndrome?
Wednesday May 9, 2007
So much attention is focused on children with autism - but of course, adults are autistic too. In coming months I'll be looking more deeply at options and resources for adults with more severe forms of autism - but for now I'm continuing my series of articles for adults with Asperger syndrome.
One big question that comes up for adults newly diagnosed (or seeking a diagnosis) of Asperger syndrome is - if I DO have AS, what can I do about it? As with all other forms of autism, Asperger syndrome has no actual cure. But there are options for treatment, and resources for improving quality of life overall. In addition, there are medications appropriate for symptoms that often go along with Asperger syndrome, such as anxiety, depression, and compulsive behavior.
Have you been recently diagnosed with Asperger syndrome - or are you seeking a diagnosis? Please feel free to share your experiences, suggestions or concerns!
Comments
I have a 3 1/2 year old son with autism who is in recovery through ABA, speech, biomedical, etc… but through this whole special journey we have come to realize that we believe my brother in law also has autism. A 20 year old who has lived with this his whole life with no help. His mother spent years begging for help and she was always told she was a bad parent. He has no eye contact(NONE), he body rocks, he is overly sensitive to structure, sensory issues, pica, cannot attend to tasks, compulsive behaviors, inappropriate social behavior, etc. Yet, had I never had my own autistic child, we would have never realized that his uncle had autism too. I know the process for children but what is the process to get help for adults. What is our next step?
I’m an adult that discover that I may be affected by the Asperger syndrome. No body detected anything when I was a child. I would like to meet an specialist in this matter to understand better how can I take profit if my situation. I don’t think this need a cure, I think this is a gift. But as a gift I want to understand better how my brain works.
Hi,
I’m newly diagnosed as Asperger S. at 56 yoa.
Now i understand why i always felt i’d come from another planet! definitely aware i was perceiving ‘life’ differently to others from infancy. Couldn’t understand why humans didn’t think like Socrates.!! Fell into awareness of my self when a person at work told a whole group we were in I was “pretending to be normal”!!! Truly shocked everyone and drove me to psychologist! Then I read Lianne Halliday-Wiley book: “pretending to be Normal”. one year on I’m still going in and out of ‘ok, how can I work this positively, without “disability”, without the weird tag, without the lifetime felt gnaw of anxiety that I’m not safe out there- they(neurotypicals) caste out the differents.
Having great tenacity i know i will grapple and find wellbeing. I have always been nurtured by my inner knowing of balance and energy as core to all life. In this way I have phoenixed each time I was ostracised for being a weird self.
To all those people , alive and dead, who have given me a smile or encouragement or plain nice acknowledgement of my right to be alive on this planet… THANK YOU.
I was diagnosed with Asperger’s in 11th grade. As a kid my parents and teacher’s just though that I was troubled and did things and made up lies to stay out of trouble. I did have speach and title one growing up for learning disabilities. I was never able to make friends. I was always picked on and everyone including my parents just thought I was being a troubled kid. We were military so it maid since to everyone to say that. It took me getting expelled from school for part of a year for anyone to listen to what I was having to say and to evaluate the situation. I was ready to kill myself because no one was willing to help me. So I took matters into my own hands. After that they did a bunch of tests and started looking at things that had happened in life. The sped teacher caught on that is was high functioning autism or asperger’s. They said that I would not be able to hold down a job let alone graduate. It has been hard in the work force. My inabilities or a disadvantage at my job because (1) i am the youngest, (2) the boss has not had to deal with anyone like me, (3) I want to be treated like an adult but because of my disabilities they use it against me and treat me like a child. I would love to find out how to be able to function in everyday life better but noone knows how to make it easier. Anyone have any ideas let me know.