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Boru
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Joined: 11 Apr 2012
Age: 48
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Location: Dublin, Ireland

14 Apr 2012, 3:10 pm

Just wondering if anyone had Encephalitis ( inflammation of the brain).

i had this at 2 months old and nearly died a few times. i am currently undergoing the diagnoses for Aspergers with my therapist.

there seems to be a lot of similarities between the long term effects of encephalitis and Aspergers.

I've scored high on the online tests for aspergers and 152 or so.. And it tells me i'm very likely an aspie.

in Aspergers study, he mentions that brain infections can result in autistic like symptoms . so as usual, i'm stuck in a situation where i don't know if i'm coming or going. lol

My doctor says its unlikely that my encephalitis would have resulted in my current challenges. but with only 6 people a year in ireland actually getting this type of brain infection. not much is know about it in the irish medical system .The way they see it is, that if the person survives then its a success story and their job is done.

Hence why i've been in limbo most of my life so far and until recently assumed all my challenges both emotionally and socially were just character traits.

So if anyone else has had encephalitis and like to share their story please feel free to get in touch.

I'm not worried about a being labelled or anything. I'll always be me regardless and mostly love my quirks despite how frustrating they are at times. i suppose i'm really just seeking the best way to deal with my challenges.



johnny77
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18 Apr 2012, 12:06 am

Regardless of what caused you brain patterns if the out come is the same use what you can from others experiances here at WP to help you're self out. To me its not relevant why it happend but how to deal the reality of it, to cope or even excell because of it.



Boru
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Joined: 11 Apr 2012
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Location: Dublin, Ireland

18 Apr 2012, 3:53 am

Hi Johnny,

Thanks for getting in touch.

I suppose my logical and scientific way of thinking make me want to find out all the information i can and then work out the best method to deal with certain issues.

everything happens for a reason and its hard to figure out an approach to deal with something if you don't know the reason it is happening. Although the challenges will need to be and are being dealt with. i have had to put my life on hold to try and solve these issues and need to make sure i am best equipped with tools to competently deal with things that happen in the future and indeed to maximize my potential.

i feel finding out why is as important as management of the residuals. it would certain help in the case of my depression and anxiety. until now i have been blaming myself for not being good enough which has overshadowed my achievements and left me unable to truly enjoy them. 36 years of feeling this way has lead to an almost self-hatred and inner anger and frustration with myself.

Its also amazing that no one even seems to recognize a link between the 2. i.e encephalitis and autistic spectrum disorders. When you include what they know now about brain plasticity. surely having 2 supposedly different causes that yet end up with relatively same symptoms means that there might be some possible link. not forgetting that the brain is the primary organ in both conditions that seem to be affected.

Having social and psychological deficits does put us at a disadvantage in this world and without support of close family most of us would be totally lost. So do we exist because mother nature wants our society to learn new skills and how to cope with ways of being different. or are we mutations because of the way society has played god with things they don't truly understand .

One favorite quote of mine is "the greatest source of problems is solutions" Are the problems that we face the result of someone else's solution? maybe so.

maybe i was hoping that others here might have had encephalitis as well and maybe i was just unfortunate/fortunate to have both aspergers and encephalitis and the two are totally separate things. thus needing 2 sets of coping strategies. i dunno to be honest. time will tell i guess.

thanks though for getting back to me. i appreciate it.

B



mhakes
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27 Apr 2012, 9:25 pm

I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 33 years old. I am now 53 years old.

Last year I contracted viral meningitis, herpes encephalitis and I would like to share a few things with you.

Concomitant with any encephalitis is brain damage - we all change because of this rare, deadly disease. I'm lucky in several ways. I was older when I contracted it and the research shows that if the brain has matured prior to onset and treated fairly quickly there is a better prognosis. But no matter "how well" the encephalitis was treated: the brain is damaged, it changes. All of us who are `lucky` enough to survive move away from the center of "normal" on the bell curve of life.

If your family does not have a history of any Autism spectrum disorders, yet you appear to have the characteristics, I'd think about changing doctors. Your brain changed at a pivotal time in your life, therefore, it is relevant to you and all you experience.

While I realize that what I experience can't be extrapolated to universal fact, I too seem to have moved further along the spectrum from ADHD to more Aspergers like qualities. Fixation, missing social ques etc. have become more prevalent since I contracted encephalitis and I was 52. You were younger, it had to have an impact on your development. You obviously have adapted, but we all get tired of adapting and we would rather thrive.

I applaud you for the journey you're on and, if you're like me, "relearning how to learn."

My two cents...
Matt