Aspies For Freedom

Hello, I have not posted since my first introduction written at least a month ago.  I've spent the last month or so running in the provincial election for a fringe party and that took up quite a bit of my spare time. During this experience I had the opportunity to see myself for the first time on television and video among other people. When I watched this footage I saw very clearly that I seem to stand disconnected from others. This is what people have been complaining about all my life! And yet, I was rather proud that I was disconnected from all the others in the crowd. It pleases me to know because I think it shows an independent intellect.  Yet at the same time it is a social deficit because I just don''t seem to be in the same flow as others. It was quite a revelation to see that on tape.

Then I got this phonecall from a psychologist I had long ago contacted who very enthusiastically tried to convince me that it is likely that I do not have Asperger's but that I may have some curable condition such as Post Truamatic Stress Disorde. She said all of the symptoms of Asperger's can also be related to PTSD. She said I should try eye desensitization therapy - at $300 a treatment. Does anyone out there have any experience with being somewhat pressured to accept alternate diagnoses to Asperger's?

Amanda

Good for you that you realise it.

There are so many desperate and naive parents around who jump at the chance of a cure from dodgy characters like that.

If soemone has PTST and not AS, but similar symptoms, surely yes therapy can 'cure'. But "eye desensitization therapy"?  :?

There are so many desperate and naive parents around who jump at the chance of a cure from dodgy characters like that.

Well I am pleased to say that I am not one of them. They tried to label my eldest with PTST after he had a complete breakdown following being hit by a car. He was 11 years old at the time. Now while PTST may have sounded like a good idea to them, I had been hammering on door about my son from him being 3 years old. Not a car in site when he was 3 so no way would I buy into PTST.

I am pretty sure that they then decided that it was MSBP because I was in denial after their first attempt to diagnose. So for their second attempt they diagnosed him with an odeipus complex.  Third time lucky, and with a professional that did know what they were doing, we got the dx of AS. It answered so many questions for all of us and gave my son a sense of selfworth.

Carole

I have been diagnosed with PTSD (which I agree that I have) and my former therapist tried to blame the PTSD for all of my symptoms, including the AS symptoms.  I have anxiety when I see an image that triggers a flashback of a traumatic experience, but I also have anxiety in everyday situations (like shopping or driving).  I feel a definite difference in the type of anxiety I display, yet my therapist tried to convince me that it was all PTSD.  Another example is my lack of eye contact.  The same therapist said that I avoid eye contact because it makes me feel weak and vulnerable, which it doesn't.  Eye contact makes me feel uncomfortable because I have to think about how long to sustain it, worry about whether I am staring, and other such thoughts that distract me from what I am thinking and what the person is saying-which usually causes me to forget what we were talking about.  My lack of friends was supposedly because I don't trust people anymore, etc. etc.  I have no idea why he refused to accept that I have AS, but he insisted that I didn't and accused me of "making up things for attention" and "wasting valuable resources" by being in therapy.  

I am glad to report that my new Psychiatrist is very interested in Asperger's (I think she is also an Aspie...she certainly doesn't look or act like a doctor but she is a walking PDR).  She told me the fact that I joined the Marines without knowing anything about Marines almost proved to her that I was an Aspie because I "couldn't see the forest for the trees" (I have been told by others that because I joined the Marines proves that I am not an Aspie).  I am sure that she will give me the diagnosis...she knows much more than most and is actually interested when I talk about AS with her.

Sorry I just realized I am straying off topic... :oops:

My wife has both PTSD and AS. What is important is to remember which condition's symptoms came first. People with AS often get into abusive situations which can lead to PTSD.

         In Mary's case, her AS was well-documented in school and by a woman who knew her parents (her husband worked for Mary's father at Kitt Peak Observatory) and became a social worker. That was two decades before she had several experiences which led to the PTSD which remains her biggest challenge.

                                         Jerry Newport

i had lots of Dx's. i don't listen to people who get paid for telling people there is something wrong with them and then walking away. i guess if someone else does not understand what i communicate for long enough then i am becoming unheard and traumatised.

i simply started feeling more accepting of myself when i considered the AS D'x.  up til then the diagnoses i had did not explain things i could not put into words yet. it was traumatising.

becca

The idea that someone could propose a diagnosis over the phone based on a television interview is a bit shocking.

I am also in BC, and when I was searching for a doctor to take my case I left messages with several answering services.  One of the docs called back and left a message advising me to ensure that whoever does my evaluation also considers PTSD as most adults with AS symptoms probably have PTSD instead.  I guess the assumption is that my symptoms arose as a result of school-yard bullying instead of the other way around.  (If bullying leads to PTSD, then I would think it would be listed as a common comorbid condition, at least for adults.)  It sounds like reasonable advice at first glance, and the doctor may have been genuinely interested in helping me, however I've since learned that many professionals in the ASD/PDD field have agendas of their own, and tend to see only what they want to see.  Some .  I eventually did find a doctor and he diagnosed AS+ADHD+depression without any hesitation at all.

I was also told that I had PTSD.  I believe I did and I have an tendency to react in a specific way to certain situations.  My anxiety and PTSD is usually caused by employment (teasing and bullying at work).  Usually PTSD is caused by witnessing or being a victim of a violent crime or horrific accident.  I think the therapists said I had PTSD because he didn't know what Asperger's was 20 yrs ago.   I did have PTSD because of one very bad work experience.

How the therapy for PTSD helped me.  Trying to avoid the images that trigger might help but you might have to deal with them.  There are more direct ways to deal with the problem.

I had a bad work experience at a church (of all places).  I could not go to that church to worship and couldn't even go past it in a car without feeling get anxiety.  I had to get over it because my sister was going to married in that church and I wanted to go to the wedding.  

When you feel anxiety (feeling bad, breathing fast, feel hot, feel sick stomach)  you hold up one  finger in front of your eyes and look at it.  Move the finger side to side quickly while looking at it.   If you don't want to think about it then you have to force yourself.  Get a watch out and then force yourself to think about what happened for 10 minutes or some amount of time.  Don't think about anything else.  Even write down what happened.  Force yourself to keep thinking about this subject for the time.  When the time is over, reward yourself by doing something you like, had a treat.  

I used to have to ride by the church on a bus.  At first I closed my eyes.  I kept forcing myself.  Eventually I could drive by it and even go there without feeling bad at.  I still think about what happened to me but I feel a little angry and not much else.  I don't really care anymore.  I don't think anyone, especially children, should be forced to do this.   Forcing someone to look at images that cause them anxiety is wrong.  

I think the finger moving thing is similar to self stimulating behaviours.  It is interesting that I feel more need to self stimm when I am stressed or worried.   I have never had a great need to move my finger in front of my face.  In fact, I felt very silly doing it.

The thing is, I have heard that this technique is proven to be effective for PTSD.  I don't discount that treatment as a possible cure for people who have PTSD. I just don't think such a diagnosis would fit my issues.

Amanda

We Aspies often have lots of insight into various things so I think this person was talking rubbish.

What's interesting is that I was first diagnosed with PTSD, but that was because of childhood sexual abuse, as well as an abusive marriage. I was lucky enough with the help of my therapist to get out of that marriage before the abuse became physical. It wasn't until relatively recently that I got the Asperger's diagnosis when I started getting help with interview skills in getting a job. I've never had a long-term job, only volunteer work because I can never get past the interview process.

That's why I was diagnosed, but I did have problems with being the #1 bully target in elementary school after a speech delay from infant epilepsy that went away. Other than the fact that in elementary school I had speech therapy, I ranked above average in intellegence with my peers. What caused the bullying was the fact that I was always being pulled out of class for the speech therapy.

Some kids tried to "nobble" me because I did well academically but I never thought I was smart, just lucky.

Some things that have happened later in life have led to PTSD like symptoms but they fluctuate a lot so could be more like bipolar or something similar.