Posted by G-man885858 on January 18, 2011, at 18:48:27
In reply to Re: Any suggestions for adult Asperger's? » G-man885858, posted by jane d on January 18, 2011, at 16:54:09
> > > If (and I know nothing about you) the main difficulties you face relate to interaction with others and therefore(?) loneliness, can there be a med for that?
> >
> >
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> > Yes, I am completely unable to make friends - and therefore I'm severely lonely. I cannot "read" people's emotions or feelings at all unless they are clearly spoken to me.
> >
> > I've been on all SSRIs and they just made me very suicidal. Then when I came off of them, the withdrawal syndrome lasted for more than 5 years. I also think I've sustained some kind of brain damage during the Withdrawal syndrome because I now have severe, suicidal insomnia.
>
> Sigismund has a point. You don't treat autism or aspergers with meds (or hormones or vitamins). There is no med that can make you understand people. You can treat the symptoms of other problems such as depression that aren't unique to aspergers. If you're suicidal you need to treat that. The meds that you use to treat it will be the same ones that people without aspergers use.
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> This doesn't mean you can't learn to interact with people more successfully. There is a lot of work being done with aspergers children to teach them rules for social situations. These are the same rules other children are learning and following without thinking about it. There's less for adults unfortunately but you may be able to find something or adapt something originally developed for children.
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> Who diagnosed you as having autism/aspergers? Was it someone who specialized in that? If so, can they point you to someone who can work with you on social strategies? If they didn't specialize in autism you may want to consult with someone who does.
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> There are also peer support groups specifically for adults with aspergers. Have you tried any of them yet?
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> Good luck,
>
> Jane
>Jane,
My original psychotherapist said that I have all the symptoms of Aspergers because she actually read them all to me straight from the DSM-IV manual (Bad eye contact, Inability to read nonverbal social cues, inability to read body language, etc.) Then she referred me to an Autism Spectrum specialist who works in an Autism Clinic. I had 3 full evaluation sessions with the diagnostician, and she completely CONFIRMED that I have High Functioning Autism.I hope this answers any uncertainties you may have had, Jane.
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