Depression is a mental health problem that is common in autistic people. Depression can have a big impact on daily life and can lead to suicidal thoughts. Depression in autistic people is more common during adolescence and young adulthood. It often occurs with other conditions, such as anxiety.
Research suggests autistic people may be more likely to experience depression than non-autistic people and estimates that it affects up to half of all autistic people at some point in their life. Depression is treatable and with the right support, you can feel better.
Depression can co-occur with autism spectrum disorder. It presents some unique challenges for individuals, clinicians, and care providers. Signs and symptoms of depression may be more difficult to observe in individuals who also have symptoms of autism.
Depression and ASD share several overlapping symptoms that make it difficult to properly diagnose and treat depression in this population. Irritability, social withdrawal, low motivation, rumination, flat affect, and problems with appetite and sleeping are all symptoms shared between depression and ASD.
As a result, depression and anxiety are the two most common psychiatric problems for autistic adults [8, 13,14,15]. Mental health difficulties have a substantial impact upon the well-being and life opportunities of autistic people.
Signs of High-Functioning Autism in Children
May appear more mature for their age and have above-average intelligence. A tendency to avoid eye contact. Trouble deviating from a routine or adapting to changes. Trouble making friends and maintaining social relationships or not “fitting in” with peers.
Anxiety and depression are particularly common. This might be because autistic people's brains are slightly different, or it could be due to the problems that they have interacting with the world around them. Either way, it's a serious problem which impacts lives. The issues are likely to be different for every person.
Autistic children and teenagers experience a range of emotions, but they might need support to recognise, understand and manage their emotions. For example, your autistic child might feel all negative or unpleasant emotions as anger. Or they might not recognise when they're excited.
Does SSRI therapy help autistic children? Research suggests SSRIs don't change the core characteristics of autism in children. Also, emerging evidence suggests they might cause harm. It's possible, however, that SSRIs might help some autistic children with anxiety, but more high-quality research is needed.
If an intervention doesn't occur or doesn't solve the problem, a meltdown is almost inevitable. While some people with autism merely yell or stamp, many really do become overwhelmed by their own emotions. 3 Bolting, hitting, self-abuse, crying, and screaming are all possibilities.
Research suggests that autistic people are more likely to experience feelings of loneliness compared to non-autistic people. This can be due to a lack of acceptance and understanding by society, making them feel excluded.
The SSRIs most commonly prescribed to autistic people are fluoxetine and sertraline. Sertraline is often the top choice because its side effects are milder than those of other SSRIs and because it has fewer interactions with other drugs.
People with autism often experience love differently from neurotypical people. Their expression of love is less straightforward, as they tend to rely heavily on non-verbal communication. This can mean that those who are neurotypical may find it difficult to interpret the signs of affection.
Autism is not a mental health problem. It's a developmental condition that affects how you see the world and how you interact with other people. Just like anyone else, autistic people can have good mental health. However, people with autism do often experience mental health problems.
Research suggests autistic people are more prone to experiencing anxiety and estimates that up to half of all autistic people experience high levels of anxiety on a regular basis.
People on the spectrum may have trouble recognizing their own emotions, or they may feel emotions more intensely. “There might be some biological differences in the arousal systems in the brain,” Beck says.
People with autism have a variant in their gut serotonin transporter which boosts the amount of serotonin into the blood. Conversely, individuals with autism have lower levels of serotonin in the brain than neurotypical individuals.
While autistic burnout is distinct from depression, it often leads to depression. Autistic burnout is a distinct pathway to Autistic depression and suicidality. And so it is not hyperbolic to say that understanding the difference and treating Autistic burnout can save lives.
Mood stabilizing autism medication
Lithium, Lamictal, Depakene, Depakote, Tegretol, Topamax, Trileptal, and Keppra are options to explore with your child's pediatrician.
Associative Thinking: Most individuals on the spectrum are associative thinkers rather than linear thinkers. In other words, one thought connects to another and so on through sometimes loose or seemingly irrelevant connections.
Some believe that autistic people aren't interested in romantic relationships or aren't capable of romantic love. However, this is far from the truth. In fact, autistic people can make wonderful partners.
Autistic people need a full night's sleep to get even close to enough REM sleep. When you fall asleep, you cycle between NREM and REM sleep. During NREM sleep, your brain moves memories from short-term storage to long-term storage.
Sensory Issues
Many people with autism experience sensory processing disorder. This is more commonly known as sensory overload. Noise, crowds, bright lights, strong tastes, smells, and being touched can feel unbearable to someone with HFA. This makes going to restaurants, movies, and shopping malls difficult.
In conclusion, there are many factors that can make autism worse. Sensory overload, changes in routine, social isolation, co-occurring conditions, and lack of support can all exacerbate the symptoms of autism.
difficulties with high-level language skills such as verbal reasoning, problem solving, making inferences and predictions. problems with understanding another person's point of view. difficulties initiating social interactions and maintaining an interaction.