Am I right In Doing This?

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I am taking the computer away from my son (22) when he goes back to school.
A little background - he was obsessed with music played for 7 hrs a day, begged us to send him to Musician Institute in Hollywood (a huge expense) I was worried if he was ready to live on his own (no friends) depression.
He fell in to the computer - on his own researching the Bible vs. Koran, needless to say, he thought he figured out the book of revelations, and scared himself into having a emotional breakdown that lasted a week - we live in Tucson Az and tried and couldnt get in touch with him, had to drive out there in the middle of the night to bring him home. Luckly the school will let him take his fiinals to finish his first semester, I hope to get him help before I send him out there again in April.
But next time no computer, he can use the ones in the classroom.
Up all night on the computer obsessing not eating, that has to be stopped. Am I right?

How can the obsession be redirected back to the old one? Will it come back.
he thinks he has to "get the word out" before he goes back to music, would he understand this is futile?

As a parent, I definitely think that you are right to do this, for your son's own safety.

Is he an any anti-anxiety medication, or any medication of any kind? Have you consulted with his doctor about this?

Kris

No he's not on any meds, (wont take them) - He was only willing to talk to a doctor if I took him to a priest first, (a month ago he was an agnostic (didnt believe in anything, now its "I know there's a God and I can prove it")

It's pretty scary, our doctor keeps referring me to Drs. who know nothing about AS.

I did a search on the web and I am going to find a Dr. on my own in my area.

How can you redirect an obsession?

Thanks for your help.

Please forgive me for thinking this sounds more like schizophrenia than asperger's to me. Please don't send him back to school until he is stable on medication. He needs an experienced psychiatrist. I can never forget the young man at our college who obsessed so much about his sin that he gouged out his eyes on a campus lawn. I hate telling you this and making your life worse, but I think this is truly serious.

I'd like to offer another tact, because I've went through the same thing via religion and especially the book of Revelations.

Instead of treating this as an obsession of AS, or schizophrenia, let's look at the material he's reading. The Koran and the Bible. Religion is already tricky, literal word of god or metaphor? His AS will already lead him to a literal interpretation, and if one is consistent, will treat the Bible as the word of God. AS or NT, who wouldn't be scared? If you really believe in the Bible, you can't cherry pick and be consistent at the same time about what to believe.

So, instead of trying (futile, he will find books, etc, to continue his "study) to block it, counter the Bible with logic and arguments of reality. Counter his fear of the endtimes with arguments that the bible was written thousands of years ago, by people with their own agendas, etc. Counter it with logical reality, logical arguments, etc. Personally, I found the work of Ayn Rand to be a great burst of reason against religious fears. Course, if one is already religious, this argument may fall on deaf ears, or it may cause you to question your own issues with religion, if they exist. But the answer is not to try to shield or block his interest, it will only be like a damn waiting to burst.

But overall, if someone is reacting this way to religion, let's not automatically assume it's out of proportion because of AS, it could be the religion itself.

I second this. This does not sound like what I know of AS. It does sound like a seriously emotionally disturbed young man - as he's an adult your options are limited. The school counselors should not, by law (FERPA), be discussing him with you without his written permission. Thus you're not going to know what's really going on there even if you get him into counseling on campus.

If it were my child, I'd get him home ASAP, and keep him there until I was sure he was moderately stable, then see if there wasn't a half-way situation for him to try his wings in. Not all kids can make the jump to living alone and going to college either easily or on the first try. Nothing wrong with that. But if he has some mental issues, the results could be disasterous. We had a young lady decide to fly off the top of one of our buildings, last year. She landed six floors down on the loading dock.

As the writer above, I don't mean to scare you, but I do want you to be aware that this is not an uncommon thing. In the last 10 years I've seen six go, at my institution alone, that I knew personally. Bring your son home for a semester or a couple of quarters, if you can. Most reputable institutions will grant him a Leave of Absence for medical reasons without a hassle. If you can get him to agree to a complete physical and mental workup, and follow any recommended treatment, at least then you will have done all you can do. If he refuses, then you've at least tried (as an adult, he does have the right to refuse.)

The very best of luck to you.

Thanks for you help. Spaceplayer I'd like to agree ...
(Do Like your music) (Wish my son would get back to playing)

He was brought up in the catholic school system and always hated it.

It wasn't until he read the Koran and saw patterns (opposites) between the Bible and the Koran that
this seemed to happen, so do you think it has to do with AS?

He thinks one is of God the other Satan -
REMEMBER this is him speaking not I.

I dont think this is about religion but about his longing for truth or trying to make sense of something "according to him"

Which seems to be an AS trate.
I'll check out that book you recomended.

Its more than I can bear - what kinds of medication are perscribed for an AS?
Can an AS become a schizophrenic?
This would be his first episode of something like this. I though he had the AS under control now I not so sure.

Thanks for your help and understanding. I will look into all that was suggested, anyone with advice is always a blessing
Pam

Oh yes we did bring him home - I will drive him to school just to take finals, I will be with him, and drive back home. We got a leave of absence until next April, In which time I will seek medical attention. Before I think about letting him go back (Mom may have to go to school too) (Nice apt in Hollyweird together (Ugh)).
We'll figure that out when we get there.

really thanks so much for your help!
I wasn't sure if or How worried I should be.

But I will keep him close and safe!

I love my Teddy.

Thanks Pam

Similar to what spaceplayer says it is probably going to be counter productive to try stop the obsession and to what several others said risky to send him back until this is resolved. I new 6 people at uni all NT that had breakdowns and hurt themselves, it is stressful and strange for many young people not just those with AS.
I think getting him to talk to a sensible priest may be useful, talk to the priest first to gage what he might say. Also insist that your son reads the rest of the bible and koran not just the 'scary' bits, there is plenty in both books that is positive and puts the revelations in perspective.
If he is obsessing about 'sin' etc then a good book is "Believing Christ: The Parable of the Bicycle and Other Good News by Stephen E. Robinson", this is written by a mormon but is applicable to any christian.
I hope all goes well.

Hon, AS is not something you medicate or "have under control" - it's a set of traits that are more or less hardwired into an individual, a way that we process information. It's not an illness. There's not a medicine to "cure" or "treat" AS.

If your son has some other processes going on - if he's got an obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), or schizophrenia, or social avoidance, ADHD, etc., they are separate things from his AS. AS people perceive the world and interact with it differently from "normal" (NT) people. But we are still people and are subject to all the ills and problems that a NT might face, including becoming schizophrenic, depressed, suicidal, withdrawn, having OCD or other conditions. Sometimes it may seem as if we are more prone to those things, but I'm not convinced it's that we really are or if it's our interactions with the "normal" world that lead us down those paths in a lot of cases.

It's not all that uncommon for a young person, away at university/school, to have trouble adjusting. It's a very different world, and there are demands placed upon them and expectations of them they've never known, and the support systems they have known may not be there... it can be a very rough time, very scary on some levels. It's a lot of work, growing up.

Your boy may not be ready to fly away from home yet. I've read many things that seem to indicate and from personal experience (I was a late flyer-away and have an Aspie daughter with similar traits, and come from a family of Aspies) believe that a lot of Aspies might have a tendency to mature emotionally more slowly than NTs. We do get there, but it may be that many of us take longer to find our place in the world. Thus, while your son is chronologically 22, he may be only 17 or 18 in his head. It's hard to say. But I've seen it go by way more than once, and did spot it when I used to do college advising.

Sometimes the "cure" is to just let the kid be, and give them time and things to do that they CAN master and learn from. Pushing (in one direction or the other) appears counterproductive. Again, the best of luck to you!

PS I hated catholic school, too. They were such one-dimensional thinkers!
PPSS Not sure where you'd be coming in from, but I sympathize with anyone who has to live in LA. It's dirty, expensive... bizarre. Be careful where you rent, if you come out to the coast.

Nan
your absolutely right! "AS is not something you medicate or "have under control"
Im sorry it came out all wrong, Ted never has been on medication his whole life
(just this episode scared me, and I was looking for answers to this) as far as is AS
I've always enjoyed his way of thinking - "outside of the box" to him its "What box? where's the box?"
And yes he is more like a 17 or 18 yr old. To move out there was his idea - he was so looking foward to it,
I just hope he does not see this as a failure, (he's just not ready yet).

It was a tiny little room off of Hollywood Blvd. right across from his school Musicians Institute.

living there alone is depressing enough!!

Thanks All
Pam

Pam - If he starts making "failure" noises, point out how much he's learned in the process. Knowing what he CAN'T do, and what does and does not work, is progress and to be applauded. If he does not go back there, is there a community college he could try? Or could you get him into a 4 year school that wasn't far away, where he'd be in a dorm (structured living)? Might help (might not, would depend on the dorm and your son).

UGH! Hollywood Blvd. Yerks, yeah, that would do it.

Best! - Nan

Pamela, my post was a suggestion based on my own similar experience, I hope I wasn't too presumptious. I don't know your son, so I hesitate to say more than I have, except that while pattern finding is common among aspies, it's also a topic that comes up in comparitive religion. And keep in mind Jung's work with archetypes, there are many common factors between religions (i.e. Noah and the Flood and the flood in Gilgamesh.) Chances are it's a bit of both, your son is finding common patterns in religion because they are there (and Islam, Judaism and Christianity are already related) and religious thinking is confusing and contradictory to NT's as well as autistics.(Jung's ideas of synchronicity are criticised as seeing patterns where there are none; it's common for all of us to try to make sense of the world.) But getting obsessed with him. Which is why I recommend steering him not towards any dogma replacements, or punishments/restrictions, but towards tools that can help him use his time better and answer real questions while identifying "gordian knots", like logic and anything that will teach him to think critically. Those common denominators in religion are there, but doesn't mean they are based in reality. He needs to learn the difference between rationality and rationalizing, or floating abstractions (people can spin logical arguments out of illogical ideas, Jewish scholars used to debate how many angels could dance on a pinhead!)

I do play music, yes. Maybe it would be good for him to find patterns in music instead? Good luck, whatever you choose.

Spaceplayer, I love your suggestions - Its how to approach the subject - I guess I should read the book you referred to.
Im not that bright where I can argue or rationalize things my self. You sound alot like my son. I would be blown outa the
water.

"I recommend steering him not towards any dogma replacements, or punishments/restrictions, but towards tools that can help him use his time better and answer real questions while identifying "gordian knots", like logic and anything that will teach him to think critically. "

I love this idea, maybe I'll have him read the books you suggest.

I hope he goes back to his music too.

Thanks
Pam

Aside form the things mentioned if he is in fact truly faithful in Christianity try to convince him to calm down and to meditate upon his issues he's having. My crisis of faith was nowhere as sever but it was awkward It was a conflict between my reasonable side (scientific and, intellectual aspects of my life) of my and the natural instinct to search for something greater than myself (religion, faith, so on).

I came to two conclusions 1. the Bible is filled with metaphor An Example. If I were an omnipresent being I would create life and the universe in an awesome looking way. (big bang theory). and 2. The only thing you can truly be sure of faith wise is a highly personal thing that only you can figure out for yourself. Help can be sought out in this search for your answer but you ultimately find your own personal answer.

This is still assuming that as other have mentioned it isn't schizophrenia, he did seem to have a major freak out.