Asperger's versus Post-Tramautic Stress Disorder

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I'm doing some personal research on this subject. My father (who once believed me to be an Aspie) now tells me that he thinks I don't have Asperger's... But instead am suffering from some severe PTSD.

Let me just give you a quick rundown... I've been beaten up by friends, teachers, parents (and more than just my own). Throughout my life it seems as though everyone has taken their shot at me. And I'm not just saying "beaten up" like kicked a few times, or punched in the gut real hard. Some people even went so far as to be inventive with it.

Twice I have almost been murdered. Once by a high schooler tossing me out onto a loaded freeway, and second by one of my mother's (many) abusive boyfriends.

Lastly, I've been molested on 3 seperate occasions, the last being the worst (I was molested by my landlord, a gigantic fat man, two years ago. I lived hundreds of miles from home. What was I suppoed to do?)

Regardless of these events, I've managed to maintain a stiff upper lip and not lose my head over anything that has happened.

So I want you guys to tell me how some might confuse Asperger's with Post-tramautic stress disorder. What exactly are the similarities and differences? Thanks!

...I'm sorry .
I'm sorry if that's a stupid reaction , too , I'm sorry

If your father was part of the abuse then why are you even listening to him? He has no credibility.

PTSD could easily be co-morbid. But I'm betting you won't disentangle the two while still living in a toxic environment.

There is a lot of differences however I will only cover the main one.

Stress from PTSD is caused from recurring memories of the traumatic events and the feelings caused by them.
Stress from AS is caused from sensory processing issues and social deficits.

Also, PTSD can only be diagnosed if the Stress/Anxiety lasts longer than 30 days at a time.

OMG!! !!
I am right with you on this!!
When I was 30, I ended up at the psychiatrist because I was finally able to be able to pay one.
I was tentatively diagnoses with AS. She called it crypto-sensitive. AS the sessions went on, crypto-sensitive went out the window and was replaced by PTSD. I got tired of giving this rather rich, professional all my working-class, hard-earned cash and decided to strike out on my own by reading books and getting a good grip on myself and my life. I also got tired of her gaping mouth when I revealed some of my previous circumstances. I felt insecure around her. She DID help me but just by giving me the correct verbage to chase. In my opinion, I feel that AS people along with the general special needs population are very vunerable to abuse simply because many are naive and alone without protection of the group. The predator always goes after the stray, baby animal. Predators are opportunists. They wait to find the weakest link whether it be naivete or lack of parental care or supervision. You'll probably get many responses because many of the people who post on this site have had horrific lives. But the bottom line is this: They had the strength to get through it. They survived. There is great honor in being called a "SURVIVOR". Something to be proud of.

The nervious system of one who has suffered abuse mimics near perfectly the nervous system of many in the spectrum.

There are many people with AS who have suffered horrendous abuse and have Complex PTSD (Google it as it has now been recognised as different from PTSD.

From being on here for four years, it seems like lot of people on the spectrum also have PTSD. I am lucky to not be one of those people who also has it. Is it part of AS or just a coincidence or is it just common even though it may not be part of it?

I've had both. I have PTSD from an extensive abuse history that has exacerbated my social issues based off of my AS.

One of the best things I've come across is Cognitive behavioral therapy. Its a way to logic through the emotional craziness of PTSD. I did a 12 week program with a psychologist in the Air Force that did wonders for helping me cope with the issues I had. CBT can be done without a shrink though and the "For Dummies" series has two books on it that are useful, one being a description, the other being a workbook that has pages to challenge negative thoughts and behaviors.

Whether or not its AS or PTSD CBT can help with adjusting to negative thought patterning.

Do seek out help though. You need to have enough control in your life to make sure you get out and stay out of negative situations like that and you can't do that without coping with the issues you already have.

I wish you the best in that endeavor.

He was part of the abuse, but we've 'patched things up' since then. I like him because he's actually put effort towards helping me and becoming a better father. Much unlike my mum, who kept getting me into situations with her boyfriends, wouldn't stop taking all those prescription drugs, and wouldn't stop snorting coke.

I've been living on my own for the past two years. The environment I live in right now isn't necessarily 'toxic'. It gets tough because of money sometimes, but that's it.



Could you explain what a sensory processing issue might be like? As far as social deficits are concerned, apparently I'm the only one who thinks I have one. :/

I don't have recurring memories of the events. In fact, I mentally block out a lot of it... so a good portion of it I don't remember at all. Even after these events, when given some time to hide away in my 'dark place'/be angry/cry/whatever, I usually spring right back. I can't remember any tramautic experience I've had that has deeply bothered me for longer than a week. Am I weird? To you guys, this probably sounds like I'm making the whole thing up... :/

You could have both. There is a lot of overlap, but they are distinctly different.

PTSD has some different symptoms like nightmares, flashbacks, avoidance, repressing memories, sleep disorders, and hypervigilance which are all aggravated when confronted with things associated to the traumatic event. PTSD causes you to be socially awkward out of fear & anxiety. With only PTSD you would know what is socially acceptable and could read people's intentions but you withdraw.

To grossly overgeneralize, PSTD symptoms are linked to anxiety and fear related to the trauma. Aspergers symptoms are linked to simply being different and not knowing any better.

For an example, when I was first diagnosed with PTSD I locked up. I flashed back to my trauma, I could feel the pain as if I was there again, I felt as if I had left my body and gone back in time. I could then see the doctor talking, her lips were moving, but I heard no sound. It took me a while to come back to reality. Someone without PTSD and just aspergers would not likely respond the same.

With aspergers we may appear to others to be off in our own world.
With PTSD we may appear to others to have gone completely numb with the trademark 1,000-yard stare.

That is not a common outcome. Usually the abusers never admit to their behaviors. I wish you all the best.

A sensory processing issue would be either hypo sensitivity to 1 or more of the 5 senses or hyper sensitivity to 1 or more of the 5 senses.

Visual:
Fluorescent lights bother you.
Bright light makes your head hurt.
Bright patterns confuse you, make you feel pain, dizziness.

Auditory:
Loud sounds can cause stress.
Frequent, repetitive noises annoy you.
Certain sound frequencies cause you pain, or aggravation beyond the normal level of NTs.

Tactile:
Feelings of certain textures causes pain or extreme aggravation.
Being touched can make you jump, or cause anxiety.
Feel pain stronger, or weaker than the average NT.
Certain food textures you cannot eat.

Olfactory:
Certain smells make you nauseated.
Food or materials require you to smell them before use.

Gustatory:
Food can taste too strong or too bland.
Texture of food is also linked to Gustatory.

Okay, that makes a lot of sense. Thanks! I'm going to try to compare to this list here...

Bold is Hypersensitive.
Underline is Hyposensitive.

Visual:
Fluorescent lights bother you. - Not really. I can seem to handle them just fine.
Bright light makes your head hurt. - Yes. I relate this aspect to my eyes- in my perspective, they're abit large. :C
Bright patterns confuse you, make you feel pain, dizziness - Once again, not really. But they may cause me to daze out...

Auditory:
Loud sounds can cause stress. - Yes. I have exceptionally good hearing that is often comprimised when my friends drag me out to bars with live bands. Ughh...
Frequent, repetitive noises annoy you. - Yes and no. If I'm focused on something, it will take some force to get my attention.
Certain sound frequencies cause you pain, or aggravation beyond the normal level of NTs. - I seem to be able to hear high pitch frequencies and there are some times that will really aggrovate my ears. At the worst they remain sore for abit after.

Tactile:
Feelings of certain textures causes pain or extreme aggravation. - No. I essentially have no feeling in my fingertips. Neither on my skin.
Being touched can make you jump, or cause anxiety. - I'm leaving this one out because it only happens with men. I will let girls touch me, and only my closest male friends. So because of this, I`m relating it to PTSD.
Feel pain stronger, or weaker than the average NT. - I am a piercing fanatic who has had at least 16 holes punched in his face during his lifetime. Right now I only have 7.
Certain food textures you cannot eat. - Once again, it's a balance. There are some textures that really bother me, and some I really enjoy.

Olfactory:
Certain smells make you nauseated. - Definite yes. I cannot stand downwind of a subway because the smell inside makes me nauseous.
Food or materials require you to smell them before use. - Yes. I don't know if it's a habit or not, but if the smell is off, I can tell I won't like something.

Gustatory:
Food can taste too strong or too bland. - Yes. I hate tea without sugar. Alcohol makes me sick to my stomach immediately, giving me no time to be drunk.
Texture of food is also linked to Gustatory. - Yes. Beets, for example, not only offends my tastebuds, but the texture of it will make ne nauseated.

i have depersonalization disorder. is that the same thing? i know i have anxiety, but doubt its PTSD

It could be that the asperger's made you more vulnerable to abuse. I've just been told by my psychiatrist that she thinks some of my previous history of abuse was caused by my vulnerability... caused by asperger's and bipolar issues. If a bully scents a vulnerable person they home in on them.

I've got some PTSD as well as other issues, which I don't want to talk about too much on an open forum. But I get where you're coming from. But perhaps the aspieness made you more vulnerable to abuse that an NT child wouldn't have had to endure?

I think most aspies have some level of PTSD. In the case of my daughter, she is more sensitive to traumatic events and they can more easily cause lasting difficulties. One year in public school has given her PTSD in a sense, and I am doing all I can to reverse the damage. Even one very severe nightmare can make her afraid to go to sleep for months.