Sharing what helps with Autism

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Im creating this thread because I want to find out what has helped people on this thread deal with the issues they face in having an Autistic Spectrum Disorder or what has helped someone get along better with someone on the spectrum.

Please keep posts relevant, Im hoping this can be a place where people can refer to for answers to their problems.

Ben

If I feel too overwhelmed to be among people, I excuse myself and go lie down by myself. I didn't use to do that and it just caused stress to build up until I was non-functioning in the longer term.

Knowledge.

At first blush, this might seem overly general. But I am terrible at knowing how I am perceived and how to interact with people (among other typical ASD problems ). Just learning about these things helps me learn new ways of understanding what goes on around me, how to make adjustments in my behavior, and understand what I can't change. Knowing these things helps release a lot of the self destructive ideas (I suck, I'm a loser ...) that build up over time when continually faced with perplexing frustrations.

So people on the spectrum must come across as shy/introverted

Im wondering if having regular social contact would help improve these setbacks - would a group to meet up with other people on the spectrum help?, because they would share the same problems and should be more understanding

The problem with a lack of knowledge [eg of social convention], thats what Im hoping to address in this thread

Ben

When I'm at work and feel myself getting stressed/overwhelmed, I take a nap at lunchtime, and feel so much better!

So people on the spectrum must come across as shy/introverted

Im wondering if having regular social contact would help improve these setbacks - would a group to meet up with other people on the spectrum help?, because they would share the same problems and should be more understanding

The problem with a lack of knowledge [eg of social convention], thats what Im hoping to address in this thread as well as help give autistics more confidence.

Ben

The problem with retreating when someone comes near is that it will be a lot more difficult to form friendships. So while retreating may help in the short term may be damaging in the long term. Speaking to someone about a shared interest would be a good way to meet new friends hence going to groups where the special subject is the focus of the group should help.

Has anyone tried sticking around instead of avoiding social situations- and maybe tried making conversation, how did you feel and did you benefit from it?

Knowledge about social interaction and such helps...I also find that cannabis which I also use for depression helps with the social issues I have involving aspergers. Makes me more comfortable around people otherwise I feel amazingly akward and out of place most of the time.

I think doing a casual volunteering job (eg one shift a week) would be good for social development and manually improving executive functions in a more structured environment. Usually most of the people who are in the same volunteering job for a few years are doing it out of altruism and not coz they want to step up the corporate ladder, so there's less incentive for them to be manipulative and bullying.

I also second the knowledege bit. We NEED knowledge, it helps make the world seem more predictable to us so we're less likely to get overwhelmed and enter a meltdown.

First thing is, I dont think Cannabis is a good idea for someone with Autism to take - or anyone else

Individuals with autism should do their best not to get in trouble with the law and it may be possible that individuals on the spectrum may be more predisposed to developing schizophrenia (Psychosis) if certain triggers happen- one I think is Cannabis intake [my theory].

Not encouraging future cannabis use, but what improvements have occurred with you taking cannabis - Im interested to find out more and of the possibility that it may help various conditions such as some cancers and autism but I think any benefits that occur should come from taking a synthetic derivative or pure extract of the components which would help [ie without psychoactive component] and be more acceptable

My theory arose that cannabis may be more likely to cause schizophrenic illness in autistic individuals after looking at news stories where scientists found the brains of individuals with Schizophrenia shrunk faster than expected, that cannabis causes psychosis and may lead onto Schizophrenia and that some brain areas are smaller in autism [already].

Being autistic doesnt make anyone more likely to develop Schizophrenia without such triggers as Cannabis [theory]

Look at effect of cannabis and also rimonabant [now discontinued] a cannabinoid inverse agonist on short term memory. Cannabis impairs it where as the inverse agonist Rimonabant increased the ability of the short term memory to function.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rimonabant

"Memory

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is known to impair short-term memory. It was therefore hypothesised that rimonabant may improve short-term memory. Indeed, in animal studies, it significantly improved the performance of rats to encode information in the short-term memory.[14]"

Link to cannabis and psychosis

http://priory.com/psych/cannabis.htm

http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthin ... nabis.aspx

Contrast Schizophrenia and brain shrinkage point in what I said with this
http://www.gaia-health.com/articles401/ ... ease.shtml

will need to view article in JAMA myself [Journal of the American Medical Association]

BBC News Story I seen regarding Schizophrenia and brain shrinkage

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/uk-sco ... e-12059444

Part of Brain shrinkage [of Amygdalae and autism

http://psyphz.psych.wisc.edu/web/News/B ... utism.html

Interesting links

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10929032

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Its just a theory, but wouldn't touch Cannabis both because of it and the fact its illegal.

Id be really interested to know what information help you improve in your abilities to communicate effectively with others.

Something I read on here was not to divulge too much personal information at a time - not any or much more than the other person and see how the conversation goes. I wasn't bad at that anyway but its a good point.

Shared interests help more than meeting people on the basis of being on the spectrum. People are easier to get along with when you share their interests (not only the major ones).

It is more probable that you'll have friends who are less Aspie than you. You can get advices from them. Also, if you've found someone who is as much as you or even more in need of help, you may give him/her advices too.

I'm still not settled down totally by the question, does having a diagnosis (or knowing you have AS) help when you are an adult? I guess it does, in the long term, but I'm not convinced right now, I feel I've lost my faith in myself quite seriously.