anxiety levels in aspie child

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Have daughter 10 yrs anxiety levels through the roof sometimes ,very distressing as a parent to watch a nightmare for her weve tried everything from cognitive therapy to yoga, massage ,nothing seems to help she was diagnosed with aspergers last year . i always thought medication would never be an option but im now considering . she gets so distressed for hours at a time sometimes all day, Any advice from anyone with similar problem would be apreciated will she always feel like this will she calm down as she gets older. will her anxietys change
She is at mainstream school she is a clever girl but her anxiety levels are stopping her from interacting with anyone or anything after school .

Hi there, I think I may be able to shed some light! My son is Aspergers, well actually 2 are, the rest (3) are also diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum conditons. Ohhh and I am also!!

Most of these children live off fear. Their meltdowns and anxieties are all brought about by fear and an overwhelming need to feel safe. When they get worried and stressed cortisol production is increased and that in turns knocks off the hippocampus so that the child cannot remember really what triggered it all in athe first place, it all becomes a fuzzy haze!

We have discovered Phosphatidyl Serine, it is an non essential amino acid, it is incredibly fast acting, literally crossing the blood barrier within 20mins. It is a NATURAL cortisol inhibitor and calms the most irritated of child or adult down immediately. I know this sounds too good to be true. That is why I am not starting a thread off. I normally get shouted at and accused of being a snake oil vendor. I promise you that I am not.

We have used a combination of Jacobs Ladders methods and Phosphatidyl Serine to totally transform my children. Now they are settled and doing well at school despite having to put up with the most awful treatment. Phosphatidyl Serine has over 3000 published papers on it. There is even a youtube by Dr Kyl Smith who is an expert. Prof Peter Clayton has used Serine with amazing results, google Timmy Bingham Great Ormond St hospital.

We discovered my son was low in serine a neurotransmitter when he had plasma amino acids done by a Consultant Neurologist in London. By replacing what he needed we knocked off most of his hyperactivity and stimming. It is amazing! You can source it via the net and it is not too expensive.

We use different doses on different children. Aspergers syndrome do not have so much hyperactivity so need dosing less. But it really helps take down the stress levels and if you can find out what is triggering your child you can give some before a problem arises!

I am happy to post links and academic papers if you like. I don't want to overwhelm the board with too much information. There are many of us now using PS and for some children who have been relying on Ritalin/Concerta etc they are now doing well on PS alone.

Anyway nothing to lose by trying. The only contraindications are that PS should NOT be taken if you are taking any form of anti coagulation medication. Max dose PS = 2 gms / day.

GOOD LUCK if you decide to try.

By the way school is a very stressful place for an aspie to be, she is scared.

Hi drwho - anxiety is the dominant emotion for aspies. Since we're referenced to known settings, people/objects and routines, any change in these can have a significant effect on our well-being. Our sense of "Self" is ever fragile. We can learn to master our anxiety, but we all have our limits. Your daughter is at an awkward age with a great many changes underway. I remember only too well what it was like to be 10, as does my daughter.

Taking into account hormonal changes, ensuring bullying and inclusion aren't issues, or any other problems with school, the best remedy for anxiety is increased structure to the day. Ensuring your daughter has specific activities and a set routine she can rely on from morning to night, that includes activities that allow her to release the tension(be it swimming, art, computer, choir, trampolining), as well as time to be alone(we need to recharge our batteries - being around people is very draining for those on the spectrum, much moreso than than for neurotypicals).

You sound like a caring Mum, having tried yoga, massage etc. If your daughter's distressed sometimes all day as you mentioned, and despite a calm, structured day there's still no difference, then it's a matter of pinpointing the trigger for the distress. Something's amiss.

All the best to you and your daughter. If my daughter or I are ever feeling extremely anxious(usually due to having to 'perform/public speaking), we use gentle herbal remedies that work a treat(Calms) St John's Wort is also good for older teens/adults.

All the best to you and your daughter.

Last edited by Juliette on 06 Apr 2008, 7:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

drwho, You're a very caring parent. I am an adult, not a parent, and I identify with your daughter - I a HFA. Currently, as always, I am extraordinarily anxious. With certainty, there are many factors, but perhaps primarily is my enhanced sensory modaltiy. Reducing extraneous fluorescent lighting, which cycles at ~ 60 Hz (I sense the strobe) is a big help!

Here's some of my 'tricks,' they work too:

Weighted blanket. This is likely covered by your medical insurance too! This calms my senses like nothing else at times. You may chose an appropriate weight, with color(s), fabric your daughter likes too. Google 'weighted blankets + autism.' Yes, it's expensive, but it works!

I use a digital metronome with a visual pendulum everyday (yes, even in the laboratory, maybe especially there). This is a sort-of mental 'pacemaker' so I'm not racing (both my thoughts - anxiety, and my task; I can forget to stop)! You can get one at any music shop. I do like the visual pendulum too. She can set the tempo and there's volume control (w/ mute).

Just another thought.....I have a cat, Tesla. A consensus amongst those with autism and their medical providers/doctors: We LOVE animals! Animals can be tremendous source of loyal comfort. Aspies/Auties have a rapport with animals (we lack Theory of Mind, so do animals). Animals provide unconditional love and are affectionate too. Plus, for your daughter, this can teach responsibility and empathy, etc. A pet is a constant companion. Maybe you should consider? Does your daughter like cats, dogs, gerbils, ferrets, etc? If this is not an option, for whatever reason (allergies, living situation, etc), she could learn to ride a horse through a handler and help with care, grooming.

I am sure your care is a great source of comfort for her too. Next, Wrong Planet has a forum especially for kids and also for adolescents - would your daughter like to join? She could have friends, with her Aspie commonality, to share their insights, school interests, and just have fun too.
Hi to your daughter....from the Lab Pet

The website for weighted blanket: www.weightedblanket.net

This is Dream Catcher Blankets (USA). I was really impressed & their choices are vast - good service.

I have also found lots of patterns and have made our own weighted lap pads (for use in the classroom for our little guy) and weighted blankets for at home. I totally believe that weight is fantastic! Really calms my son down.

Some things that help my son keep anxiety at bay:

1) A lot of talking. Identify what worries him, why, and work to mitigate it. We systematically tackle every silly little thing. And if it's something at school that will need to be handled in an IEP, we work the system until we have it.

2) A lighter schedule. One thing my son needs is to be a LOT less "busy" than other children, so that he has the time he needs to decompress.

3) Learning to not delay. My son's also realized that it's better to take care of his obligations and confrontations as quickly as possible, because as long as they hang over his head, he's going to worry about it. However, that was a decision he had to make for himself. It doesn't matter how many times we suggested, for example, doing homework right off. HE needed to think of it.

4) Pacing. Many Aspie children have some repetitive physical activity that helps them calm themselves down. Swings; trampolines; etc. For my son it's pacing. As long as he can pace about a half hour a day, he seems to be able to control his anxiety.

5) Soothing routines. My son loves to read for half an hour after getting into bed, for example. Every morning I wake the kids up by reading to them, and then just sitting quietly and cuddling for about 5 minutes. My son seems to NEED this.

i realize that you don't exactly want your daughter on meds, no one really wants their kid on meds.............for our son, we tried a million different things to reduce his anxiety level. in the end, we decided to medicate because we simply didn't know of anything else that we could do ( we tried yoga, meditation, change in diet, restrictive scheduling, non-restrictive scheduling....).
the meds he takes help keep him on an even keel. he still gets anxious, but the meds help him to slow down long enough to help himself be able to cope

We HAD to medicate. But please do explore Phosphatidyl Serine, I posted it earlier on this thread. I think you will be very pleasantly surprised and IT IS TOTALLY NATURAL and IMMEDIATE!

What are Jacobs Ladders methods? Sorry Jelibean, I am probably ignorant.

Hiya Mollymum! Nooo you are not ignorant at all. I have sent you a pm with all the details. Hope that helps!

My DD with ASD is almost 10. I am also on the spectrum and so is my hubby. Allaura has constant anxiety problems too. They don't manifest so much at school because things are very routine and if she needs some "chill time", her teacher will allow it(they have a secret signal when she needs a break- only used it twice this year). Anxiety is worse when routines and schedules are interrupted, when something throws a monkey wrench into the status quo. Allaura has a LOT of sensory problems as well, and the heightened sensory awareness will put her over the edge.

I went on Zoloft about 6 months ago to help with my anxiety. It had been a huge help, even seems to have taken me down a notch in my sensory perception too. I seem to be just a little more "chill" than I was before and I like it. I cn handle things much better. I still don't like going out, crowds, and driving:I avoid it as much as possible, but all in all I feel better and more at ease these days.

Allaura started Zoloft a few months ago and it seems to have helped her a little bit too, not as much as me, but I see a difference. THe biggest difference that I've noticed is that she's a lot more open to touch, cuddles, hugs, and even randomly will come up and hug me now- something she NEVER did. It's amazing.

She still doesn't have a desire to socialize outside of school. I don't socialize, her dad doesn't socialize, it's just not something that interests us. We're happy to be each others' companions and friends and we have a good time together. A lot of Autists just don't have that desire to socialize but force themselves to out of a sense of wanting to be "normal". I was like that and I was miserable, anxious, always second-guessing others' motivations, etc. I finally stopped trying to be someone I wasn't and I sure feel a lot better about myself now. I would be careful with trying to push her into socialization as it can cause tremendous anxiety. Allaura was invited to a slumber party a few weeks ago. She was so anxious(even though her old best friend from her previous school was going to be there and she was extremely excited about that) that she made herself sick. She had a stomach ache, headache, etc. I called the girls' mom to let her know Allaura wouldn't be coming, and within an hour, she had a miraculous recovery. She later told me she didn't want to go anyway. LOL! I used to have such bad anxiety when I was away from home that I would have my parents come and pick me up at midnight when I went to spend the night with my cousin who was my best friend growing up.

Hmmm, lack of or disorder of neurotransmitters seems to cause anxiety and depression. I always wondered why they didn't give anxious and depressed people neurotransmitters or stuff that promotes them being produced instead of antidepressants.

What? Antidepressants, such as SSRI's act by regulating 5HT (serotinin), which is a neurotransmitter. This is what an antidepressent is! But depression isn't equivalent neurology to sensory integration &/or autistic disorders. The latter is due to such neurophysiological features such as nicotinic receptors (my research stuff), mirror neurons, glial cells (substantia niagra).

So.....what? ALL neurotransmitters (= neuro/brain + transmitters/'conduit or communication between') are indicative of how the brain biochemically communicates - via ion channels, etc. Reread what you posted - non sequitor.

well hopefully i can shed some light on this, alot of others also are correct, when i get nervous, or bored or tired, i usually start pacing back and forth, or end up going to sleep. the best thing for me as an adult (28) is if i'm tired and it's still early in the day, i usually will drink something with sugar and caffeine (everyone is different though) if I have it available, and usually can focus for several hours afterwords,

but keep in mind that your child may end up sleeping a lot more when there an adult. As an child i had alot of treatment and activity's i did, including martial arts, computers, basketball, school, hiking/wilderness camp that pretty much kept me active alot. but as soon as i graduated from highschool and went into the job industry it went downhill after about 3 yrs (so over-stressed and tired,dealing with many traumatic events,40+ hours) I strongly suggest that after your child is done with school try to focus his job on something where hes independent, desk job, computers, or something, i made the mistake of working in the grocery industry and having to deal with alot of customers (during my time aspergers, adhd, autism) wasn't known. Dealing with customers is gonna burn your child out bigtime, im now suffering, sleeping 16-20 hours a day sometimes, no energy, i feel stoned,sick with migraines like alot of the time now, severe anxiety, depression,panic attacks, sleep apnea,nightmares,flashbacks, awake in sweat and alot more. All I can say is that if your child is going though traumatic related events such as family members dying, etc his anxiety, depression, will skyrocket, and his energy may go down to nothing, meaning if your child is sleeping alot 16-20 hours a day, most likely is overstressed and burned out.

Come on! You'll have to tell the rest of us too .
Promise I won't call you a snake oil quack!