Does my Aspie son actually have bipolar?

Post Reply New Topic

Hi, I've posted over the last 2-3 years about my son's problems, but now things are becoming dire. He is almost 17 and was diagnosed with Aspergers in 6th grade. He also has OCD and has been on Celexa for 2 years, with some improvement in symptoms. He acts pretty naive and helpless about some things, so imagine my shock when I discovered last week that he took my credit card and charged almost $3,000 for gaming-related items, including a built-to-order computer. He has also opened his own Paypal account linked to my credit card. Also in the past week he destroyed his glasses, threatened to kill me, punched more holes in the wall, etc. when there was a problem with the internet connection. Does this even sound like Aspergers anymore, or could he be bipolar? His psychiatrist is on vacation until next week. : (((

WOW I advice you to read this book:
http://bo.lt/4lgry

and you can maybe help him recover. I really wish you good luck

Bipolar, and all the other psychiatric disorders are different as autism. They are temporily.
You can recover of these kind of imbalances, not by going a psychiatrist I think.

He has always had anger issues and has blown up pretty bad in the past. I just never imagined he was capable of the deliberate theft of money from my account. And he seems to have no remorse. I feel like he is way smarter than I thought he was. It seems like something a sociopath would do, and now I'm scared. : (( :

You can have both, it wouldn't stop being AS because he's developing bipolar (although I can't say whether or not he is).

I don't think there's enough information to actually say. Although my mother, who has bipolar type 1 with psychotic features has exhibited similar destructive behaviour patterns.

The important thing at the moment is to uncover exactly what the problem is, and no one here can do that for you, so speaking to a psychiatrist is a good idea.

Celexa and other antidepressants MAY cause mood destabilisation in people with bipolar disorder. It happened to me with zoloft - I went from bad to worse.

Your son's behaviour is difficult to diagnose (I'm not a doctor anyway) and I think the diagnosis would depend on how he presented on the day and which doctor you went to.

The most important thing to do is to establish some boundaries (easier said than done). He cannot use your credit card, it is against the law. If he wants money lawfully, he will have to work for it and earn it. If you are having trouble with this ask a friendly policeman for some help.

I'm bi-polar,it's possible he is.Other things can mimic the same symptoms,you need to talk to your Doc and maybe do a mood chart.Watch to see if he has cycles.Some can happen fast,in the same day.Other people weeks or months.
Anger,spending sprees,hyperactivity,but the big question,does he sleep?From what I have read the majority of people with bi-polar disorder have issues going to sleep,even if you are sad.Or you could sleep most of the time.Has his sleep schedule changed in any way?That is the first question they ask me every month,"Are you sleeping?"

Thanks everyone--it seems that there may be cycles to his destructive behavior, and he will make the most brazen sexual comments to people he is playing online video games with. Since he spends almost all of his time at home and goes to a special "independent study" high school program, I know he hasn't had any physical sexual experiences, but he talks penis this and penis that a lot. He tries to make people think he's older than he is, giving them the impression that he's a dude living on his own, when he is turning 17 this month and still in high school. He is adopted and there are bipolar family members in his birth mother's family.

With these kinds of behaviours there is usually an underlying medical problem. However he is 17 and still learning and does need to be explicity taught, regardless of whether he is on medications or not.

It's possible that he has bipolar, but I personally find it hard to tell because he is in puberty.
As soon as his psychologist returnes I would make sure that he goes there and finds out what is going on.

But never the less because of his "sex talk" there is a great book out there Asperger's Syndrome And Sexuality: From Adolescence Through Adulthood.

Don't be scared because of him not having any remose in this kind of state, when he is really manic, he doesn't really understand what he is doing. I'm more worried of the fact that his mania (when he really has one) might getting worse. So make sure he sees a psychologist soon.

Doing something bad doesn't make you a bad person, good people make errors of judgement all the time. Even as adults we need a little guidance from our elders.

I also think that.
I've also done some very crazy and "bad" stuff in puberty. Some autistic people get hit very extreme by puberty.
Also the physical symptoms can confuse them and the other changes and some don't even really understand what is going on with them at that time. That could also be a reason why he behaves that way.

Don't be diagnosing him yourself, that's dangerous. Diagnosing mood and personality disorders is difficult enough for professionals, especially in people with ASDs

but when it comes to symptoms like that, an actual diagnosis is the last of your problems! He needs help, either by medication or by a psychologist. if you can convince him to go to the er for sedatives, do that. If he's so unhinged that you're worried about his or your safety and you can't talk him down, get him scheduled.

It sounds to me like he's just talking smack online trying to be cool & failing. It could be his way of relieving built-up tension, frustration, stress or anger. I guess there is a chance he could be bipolar but I think all those problems could be related to Aspie things. The anger could be a form of a bad Aspie meltdown(I've had a lot of those) & that could be due to having things built up or his hormones & puberty. I've had lots of mood swings with my parents when I was that age & into my early 20s. It may be related to something like the pressure of growing up. People that age are supposed to be planning their futures after high-school; going to college, getting jobs, moving out, ect. & your son may not be ready or able to deal with that. I faced a lot of pressure to grow up from my parents & it really stressed me out & caused me to meltdown & lash out verbally. Even if he's not feeling that from you he could be getting it from the image society gives that he's supposed to. Us Aspies also tend to mature slower so some of that may be related to his immaturity.

As for the stealing~ He may not grasp why that is wrong & that could be due to autism. Aspies have problems expressing emotions the way NTs understand so it's possible that he could feel really bad about it but not expressing it rite or he's acting out instead of dealing with things in a constructive way; I've been accused by my mom a lot that I'm selfish & don't care about anyone but myself but I do care a lot but I was dealing with my own issues that she didn't grasp. I've had problems with impulse control & that was worse when I was on a bad combo of psych meds; maybe it's something like that with him.

A good professional diagnosis is important, because then you will know the best way to handle his problems. If he has bipolar then a mood stabiliser in combination with appropriate therapies will help. If not bipolar, these medications and therapies will do nothing. As said above, it could easily be problems related to puberty. There are many good therapists out there who will understand his needs very well, and they usually work in a team and be highly qualified and specialised in managing "challenging behaviour". This is not an easy situation with your son and the solution will not be straightforward. Sounds like you are fairly clued on which is good.