ASD treatment for adult. Experiences?

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So here I am, 34 years old, recently diagnosed with ASD and waiting to start treatment at a specialized Autism Center. The main goal will be reducing my depression and anxiety.

I am wondering what to expect. Surely there are people on WP who have been there, done that. I would very much like to hear about your experiences. What kind of treatment was useful for you? What wasn't? How has it affected your daily life?

PS When I say "treatment", I'm not talking about a miracle cure. I'm talking about maybe learning some coping skills, about maybe not being so depressed, about maybe finding some peace.

I prefer to keep my 'aides' at the bare minimum; as such, i don't use any medication and only wear my earplugs when sounds are becoming damaging rather than merely painful. (exeption: shades when driving, becouse that is a dangerous situation without).

As for the mental states: i keep my anxiety in check by meditating and i try to reduce the overall levels by exposure training.

Depression, i have less experience with. i just keep my mind of it, act as if nothing is the matter and hope that it works (although i'm just bordering on one at the moment, the light depression i had was solved by a big change: quitting college, whose results were the cause of the depression)

Thanks izzeme.

I was excited and I still am about going to an ASD psychologist because finally I found someone that didn't want to pigeon hole me and try to "fix" me with meds. meds were discussed early on and I stated quite clearly that it is only a last resort for me.

My therapist let me set the tone and style of therapy that works for me and the best part is that we tend to speak in my language vs. talk therapy -- I am one of those that think more in pictures than words and cannot always translate. Oftentimes I drag out my tote bag and fill it with fabrics and my iPad with pictures for us to discuss -- we call it "show & Tell" for fun, but really it is a blend of cognitive and dialectical. You have no idea how empowering it feels to be able to drag a certain piece of fabric or find just the right picture on the internet and say, "This, this is how I feel!" And for the psychologist to get it. She has also helped me try to learn to communicate better with my husband which has helped a lot.

So, be excited. And remember, if for some reason you aren't making headway or don't click with this one, you are allowed to be honest and tell them you need to move on ... Even ask for a reference.

Thank you squirrelonthego. I think I understand what you mean. I've been on depression meds for years. Still the depression manages to return. I hope the specialists can help me arrange my life in a way that fits me better so that maybe I won't get so depressed anymore.

Don't laugh, but my husband caught onto this years ago.

Minimalism (http://www.theminimalists.com/)


It took him awhile to get me on board, but it really helps A LOT!! !! There are a lot of articles and blogs on the subject. It has been difficult and sometimes hard to move that direction, but well worth it -- we've been shedding for 15 years now and are almost there. I find that it helps me with not having clutter around and when cleaning house is difficult, it doesn't show too much. Living a simpler life is much easier than being consumed by your stuff.

That's what I loved about my hospital room when I was there.

Aww, I love that
I really hate shopping clothes. Two weeks ago I got rid of a ton of old underwear I did not use that still cluttered the wardrobe. It's a relief.
I am trying to adopt periodic cleaning and other stuff like my great grandma did, literally (due to II WW we had short generations and it was her that took care for us when mom went to work). I mean, when it is spring, it is time to do great spring cleaning. When it's autumn it is time to make a wardrobe overhaul and stock on some foods. Also prepare the garden for the winter (I only have some pot plants on my balcony, but adopting the ritual helps me clean dried herbs up). "How did my great grandma do it" is often a good answer to difficult stuff, such as cleaning or taking care of the house, and allows not to complicate it, or not to fall for unnecessary marketing inventions (but I do not iron underwear or bed sheets. I keep ironing to a minimum).
(I am not in any therapy though. I self-trained myself, and not everything is probably adaptable or I wouldn't be so exhausted. Or just things I do go beyond the adaptation capabilities.).

Thanks, I think I can make that work. At least I hope I can.

So I will add as well some books that might be of help.
People keep telling me that there are things you can't learn from books, but all my experience contradicts this.
Temple Grandin comes to mind at first:
Developing Talents: Careers for Individuals with Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism
The Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships: Decoding Social Mysteries Through the Unique Perspectives of Autism
Also, I've been a huge fan of Goleman's "Emotional intelligence". Just don't be discouraged by that he mentions EQ to be the most important thing in the world, instead of it go through the checklist of skills he mentions, and train them. Things that people do by instinct can be hardlearned, and nobody is better in attaining "flow" at work than ASD people.
For my particular problem (because I probably don't have ASD, only a few specific issues, for example face blindness) I have "Unmasking the face" by Ekman and Friesen, a guide to recognizing emotions from facial expressions.
If you are a bit overwhelmed - well, books are my little pet obsession. I don't really do self-help books however, the most helpful ones are those who border on or are popular science.

Thanks for this small bibliography. I too rely heavily on books, so this might actually work for me.

Kind of against my will (for my mother's comfort) I've been taking part in the DORE program which does a bunch of exercise which are supposed to stimulate the cerebellum...but I got to say it's the stupidest thing I've ever taken part in. I have no faith or expectations for it.

Hey, snap.
Recently diagnosed too. I've been told occupational therapy is the best option for me, mostly for anxiety management, social skills, general life skills... ok there's actually quite a few things it's for. I haven't started yet.
The diagnosis was a bit of a surprise, because I didn't know the first thing about Aspergers/ASD. Therefore, didn't recognise symptoms as symptoms.
I learned meditation and mindfulness techniques last year, and no joke, it was the first time in my life I was able to get some kind of control over my thought processes. I had an almost immediate improvement in stress levels and depressive thinking. So, if you haven't tried that, it might be worthwhile.