Can Asperger Syndrome be triggered by stressful events?

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obsessingoverobsessions
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28 Jun 2017, 11:30 am

First thing, I haven't posted on here in ages, but I'm back again now! :)

Secondly, background information.

I was seen by a psychiatrist and they are putting me on the waiting list for an autism assessment, as they "strongly suspect" I have an ASD (after 6 weeks of seeing me).

In the 15 years I have lived for, I have had several stressful events, which include:

• Two lifelong medical conditions that may require surgery later in life (first diagnosed when I was 7 years old, second at 13)

• Death of grandparent who I was very close to who declined in health slowly (age 13)

• Death threats, physical bullying (age 12 to 14)

• Emotional bullying since age 6

• My half-brother left at 16 without saying goodbye to us and haven't heard from him since (I don't remember him much though as I was 6 when he left)

• School excluded me for a while last year, and I was almost expelled, which sent me into depression. I had a very strong interest with something that was inappropriate and they considered me a risk to myself and others. I now realise it was inappropriate to talk about but it took me a while to stop obsessing over it and I'm scared of getting interested in it again so I avoid thinking about the subject altogether.

I now have no friends at my school and eat lunch alone because everyone avoids me. I have symptoms of Aspergers, but I'm wondering if it isn't caused by the condition itself, but by these traumatic events... is that even possible? Or if there's something else that's presenting with the same sort of symptoms which is know to be triggered by trauma? :?

Also, according to my parents I had several infections and breathing problems at birth (not present now) and was born 2 months premature.

Any answers are very much appreciated.


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harry12345
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28 Jun 2017, 11:42 am

If (repeat if) you have some form of ASD then it will always have been there.

However many of the things you list are usually the sort of things that bring the condition out into the open enough to end up with a person being assessed.

Bullying at work and two bereavements close together were my tipping point - I was diagnosed with Asperger's at the age of 41.



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28 Jun 2017, 11:46 am

obsessingoverobsessions wrote:
I have symptoms of Aspergers, but I'm wondering if it isn't caused by the condition itself, but by these traumatic events... is that even possible? Or if there's something else that's presenting with the same sort of symptoms which is know to be triggered by trauma? :?


No, that is not possible. Autism is a congenital (present from birth) neurological (brain) dysfunction. It's in your DNA, not "caused" by external events. In other words, it's a birth defect inside your skull, that was present even before you were born.

External events might have made you more acutely aware of it, but it has always been there.


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obsessingoverobsessions
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28 Jun 2017, 12:22 pm

So there aren't any conditions that could resemble an ASD that are caused by stress?

Would it be more likely that stress causes autism to become more noticeable?


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ASPartOfMe
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28 Jun 2017, 12:40 pm

obsessingoverobsessions wrote:
So there aren't any conditions that could resemble an ASD that are caused by stress?

Would it be more likely that stress causes autism to become more noticeable?

Aspergers is a "syndrome" meaning there are many traits you have to have in order to be diagnosed. A number of key Asperger traits are present in other conditions.

Stress makes existing traits noticeably stronger.


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28 Jun 2017, 1:36 pm

If you were already an aspie (diagnosed or not) I could see stressful life events making the symptoms worse. Or perhaps you have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I personally have both ASD and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, so its also possible to have both.



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28 Jun 2017, 2:05 pm

I'm not sure there is one 'illness' that displays exactly like ASD but it's entirely possible to have a combination of 'illnesses' that closely resemble ASD but I think it's quite rare.

These are just my observations over the last year of research.


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idonthaveanickname
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28 Jun 2017, 4:04 pm

Seems to me like you've been through a lot of trauma, so I'm suspecting you may have posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. I used to be bullied in school, too, around the same age as you were. I hope you're still not being bullied. At least you may have symptoms of PTSD. Were you ever diagnosed with that or has a psychiatrist ever mentioned it to you? If not, maybe you should look into it. Not to tell you what to do, I'm just trying to help. I'm going through some things myself right now, but I always try to think positive, to look on the bright side of things. I know that's easier said than done, but it's possible. I'm not very good at giving advice or comforting people. Ok, I wish you the best of luck!



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28 Jun 2017, 4:05 pm

obsessingoverobsessions wrote:
Can Asperger Syndrome Be Triggered By Stressful Events?

No.



Kiriae
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29 Jun 2017, 5:04 am

Well, there is a condition called complex PTSD https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_p ... s_disorder that could possibly mimic Asperger.

But it's equally possible that much of what you experienced was caused by Asperger not the other way around. While medical conditions and death of a close person can happen to anyone it's common for Asperger to lead to being bullied at school and being emotionally abused from a young age. School expulsion is also a thing. And the lack of friends.
Also Asperger genes run in families so one of your parents might have it and their behavior made your brother run away.

And while stressful events don't cause Asperger they make the symptoms worse by triggering secondary problems. Asperger+CPTSD is a common combination as well as Asperger+Depression or Asperger+Anxiety.



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29 Jun 2017, 9:05 am

Asperger syndrome itself can't be triggered by stress, but accompanying conditions, such as anxiety, depression, PTSD or seizures, for those affected by them, certainly can.



obsessingoverobsessions
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03 Jul 2017, 12:24 pm

Kiriae wrote:
Well, there is a condition called complex PTSD https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_p ... s_disorder that could possibly mimic Asperger.

But it's equally possible that much of what you experienced was caused by Asperger not the other way around. While medical conditions and death of a close person can happen to anyone it's common for Asperger to lead to being bullied at school and being emotionally abused from a young age. School expulsion is also a thing. And the lack of friends.
Also Asperger genes run in families so one of your parents might have it and their behavior made your brother run away.

And while stressful events don't cause Asperger they make the symptoms worse by triggering secondary problems. Asperger+CPTSD is a common combination as well as Asperger+Depression or Asperger+Anxiety.


What are the differences between Aspergers and CPTSD? Is there any way of distinguishing between them?

Thanks for the helpful replies everybody. 8)


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Pete Wood
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03 Jul 2017, 1:08 pm

For me stress has resulted in exacerbation of my traits, at 35 I am in the process of getting a diagnosis as it has got to the point where this will help me.


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Kiriae
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03 Jul 2017, 4:56 pm

obsessingoverobsessions wrote:
What are the differences between Aspergers and CPTSD? Is there any way of distinguishing between them?

Thanks for the helpful replies everybody. 8)

Asperger is a lifelong condition(from before birth) and is often the reason for bad social experiences that could cause CTPSD, CPTSD apears at some point of life as the effect of repeatably experiencing bad things, no matter what caused them. That's the main difference. You can say what was first by checking the early life history. Unless the bad experiences started before Asperger traits could be registered.

I was already different when I were just 3 year old(nursery caregivers told my parents to take me to a child psychiatrist and he diagnosed "delayed social development"), was showing some traits even before that and the bullying from peers started when I already were 5. My dad was always aggressive/neglecting though so I can't be sure that it didn't cause my nursery school differences - but I guess 3 year olds cannot have CPTSD yet and my mom, grandma and aunt loved me and were taking a good care of me and I did see other kids my age(my cousin is 2 months younger) so just one yelling/cold person in my life shouldn't destroy me so soon.

Aside from that CPTSD involves re-experiencing the past(flashbacks), intense feelings of fear, avoiding some experiences due to the fear, low self esteem and unreasonable guilt.
Pure Asperger(without any other anxiety disorder or depression) doesn't have that, except the resistance to change problem. But there is virtually no Asperger adult with no signs of any trauma, anxiety disorder or depression so it's a just theoretical.
But pure CPTSD is also different from CPTSD+AS. While both experience emotional outbursts and interpersonal problems someone with CPTSD and no comorbids won't have sensory issues(but SPD happens without Asperger too), repeatable movements, difficulties "seeing" body language(although might not be able to answer properly due to fear and might read them wrong biased by experiences) etc.

It can be difficult to decide between the 2 in cases where the person had multiple bad experiences and there is no knowledge of how she/he behaved before it started. But it doesn't really matter in that case - if it started so early it cannot be tracked back it already messed up the persons early development the same way as if they were wired that way from the start so the treatment/support required is the same. Also since there is better support system for kids with ASD than CPTSD ASD diagnosis is often given in that cases, for the support.



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03 Jul 2017, 5:59 pm

I already have traits before any bullying or anything stressful ever occurred to me. Many traits are simply acceptable for a child, if one doesn't know what's underlying it.

Sure 'triggers' got me diagnosed somehow, but that's how far those trigger goes in my case. I don't have one anymore, nor had any sort of trauma.
And I don't have any stress related issues at the moment... Other than lacking too much of it.


So yes, I exist. I'm an aspie who has no anxiety, stress related, or any form of psychiatric issues or trauma.
At worst I'm just heck bored. :twisted:


Said trigger was anxiety that caused my innate disposition of sensory seeking status into sensory avoider with all problems it brought that involves sensory overload.
The anxiety caused by the realizations of being different, of repeated social failures and bullying without knowing why.
My differences were scoffed me off as being 'tomboyish' and 'moody'. Adults didn't saw me as a real problem back then, as I don't usually initiate interactions, let alone start any trouble.


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04 Jul 2017, 12:25 pm

Edna3362 wrote:
So yes, I exist. I'm an aspie who has no anxiety, stress related, or any form of psychiatric issues or trauma.
At worst I'm just heck bored. :twisted:

Are you working? Do you have a partner? Do you want to? Are you expected to?

Maybe you don't have any anxiety and psychiatric issues now because your life is predictable and you are happy with where you are. But as soon as you need to look for a job or want to get a partner and fail you will get depressed and anxious, I think. Unless you are very lucky and somehow have a tolerant boss and a partner that loves you unconditionally.

If you have time to be "heck bored" you are just not trying hard enough to get a job and some social life. Or you have a very boring job that you are not planning to change and you don't try to get a social life that could kill some time for some reason - which could actually be anxiety, hidden under "I don't want to" ("I would perhaps like to but it's too much of an effort and I will fail anyway so I am better off all by myself, without any friends or partner - at least I won't get hurt this way" - subconscious). Lowering your own expectations to the point of having nothing to do and being "heck bored" is anxiety related thing. If you had no anxiety you would think about something you want to do and do it instead of sitting there and being bored. Aren't you like: "I would like to buy/do it/go there.. but I don't have enough money... and I don't want to work... so I don't want to buy/do it/go there anymore, it's too much of a hassle."

Of course I can be wrong.