›› Depression And Anxiety
Autistic people face
many challenges every day of their lives. They have difficulty
communicating. They can not process language adequately and they have
many sensory issues as well. Many autistic people live in isolation
even when they are surrounding by a loving family. Depression and
anxiety are two major obstacles that autistic people face.
With all of the other issues that are involved with autism, depression
and anxiety often go unnoticed. This is often because the autistic
person is not capable of expressing his emotions adequately. Depression
is a complex emotional disorder that affects millions of people. Even
people with the best communication skills have difficulty explaining
and understanding their depression. A person with autism has extreme
difficulty explaining and understanding his depression and anxiety.
Anxiety is difficult to pinpoint in autistic cases because the autistic
person may show symptoms of anxiety on a daily basis. Many tasks can
make an autistic very anxious, especially if the task breaks the
autistic person’s usual routine. An autistic person relies on
order and sameness as a means of understanding his surroundings. Any
change in routine can cause great anxiety, but this does not mean that
the autistic person has an anxiety disorder.
Depression and anxiety are common in autism and they can be very
difficult to treat. It is very difficult to even diagnose the
conditions, and once they are identified they are difficult to address
because autistic people have so many communication and social obstacles
to overcome.
Many choose to treat depression and anxiety in autism with medication.
Antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications are often used in autistic
cases even when the autistic person has not been diagnosed with
depression and anxiety. Doctors have found that the antidepressants and
anti-anxiety medications help autistic people stay on task and decrease
stereotyped movements often associated with autistic
disorder.
I have worked with one autistic girl for several years. As she got
older, she demonstrated some signs of depression and anxiety. Her
parents consulted with her doctor who prescribed an antidepressant
medication. I added some light therapy and some sensory integration
activities into her therapy routine. We also introduced emotions into
her program. Her depression and anxiety have lessened and she is
functioning very well on the medication. Her attention to tasks has
also improved greatly.
Parents who are faced with the possibility of their autistic
son’s or daughter’s depression and anxiety may want
to consider talking to their child’s doctor. He may have a
recommendation that will help lessen the despair and hopelessness
associated with depression and anxiety so their child can focus on
other things.
››
A Healthy Dose of Good Advice
