Dr. Tony Attwood returns to Autism Hangout to answer YOUR questions about autism.
In this installment, Dr. T. addresses Aspergers and Bipolar as comorbid conditions, the importance of letting a child in on a decision about his diagnosis and, is the term "Aspergers" (versus "mild autism") really that important?
Don't miss the insights. And fun!
"Asperger's syndrome is not mild for the person who has got it" I agree, it's not called a Pervasive Development Disorder for nothing.
Thanks for this series, I am 38 and got diagnosed at 36, so I have had a rough life. If we can spot AS early on then many of these kids won't have the same hardships I did.
SpooToob 1 year ago
Thanks for doing this. Tony is one of my favorite authors and I regularly recommend him to the families I work with. I just reviewed his latest book "The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome" on my channel. One thing I am not sure I agree with is whether a child needs to be off their meds to be evaluated. There are no medications for the core symptoms of AS so we evaluate kids for AS all the time on their meds (e.g. meds for anxiety, mood, ADHD, etc). It would depend I guess on the child.
ASDspecialist 1 year ago
It's a blood sugar regulation problem. My son's cycles of immune reaction, inflammation, and regression had much to do with it. They were brought on by food intolerances and inability to break down sugars and proteins. After awhile, the adrenals get stressed from this. I gave my son small doses of lithium orotate because his lithium was low on his hair test. That helped, dietary intervention helped, and chelation helped. We do not have these problems (bipolar ups and downs) anymore.
mom2ericnb 2 years ago
"[Asperger's syndrome] is not mild for the person who has got it..." Thank you Dr Attwood. When people read my CV and see that I have a PhD, published academic papers etc., they assume I have a lot of (social) capabilities that I simply don't have. They probably don't also expect that I have a list of mental health issues associated with my AS that are exacerbated by feelings of social ineptitude. The term AS defines a group of difficulties that differs from classic autism and is very helpful.
misstiggykins 2 years ago