burt bacharach's daughter commits suicide; she had asperger'

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I know this may seem odd to say, but, I don't know, maybe she was really unhappy with being an Aspie? Maybe she lived in a situation that was not kind to her, that did not allow her proper information and help with any issues she may have had? It's no secret many Aspies are severely depressed, and a lot of that has to do with misinformation and an uncaring living situation. She may have truly believed she was being ravaged by Asperger's. We won't ever really know?

Regardless, this is very sad news to hear indeed.

Could be but I tend to think the depression is more a factor of two things:

1) The core feature of asperger is social cognitive problems. And that is likely to
lead to social isolation and enviromentally/situational based depression.

2) Comorbit genetic factor likely a factor (twin studies indicate its atleast 50% the
cases of depression are genetic and not situational. So naturally people on the
autism spectrum that have this genetic factor in their depression are going to
have it worst than a person without it.

I think I remember my mother telling me she had AS.

Tim

I've just encountered this in the British Sunday papers.

I wopuld like to know whether "ravaged" was her term left in a note, or whether it's an assessment by someone else.

In my case getting a diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome *eased* a longstanding problem with depression. But "Ravaged" isn't going to help the rest of us at all, in terms of getting more understanding from the broader public.

I've left this on one paper's feedback site...

I feel for Nikki.
I have Asperger's syndrome, and this is a very odd world to live in, if you see it differently from 99% of the people around you. But I would not describe my brain as "ravaged" with it. Most of us with Asperger's do not want to be cured. We want to be understood.
(Was "ravaged" her view, or that of someone else? It would be good to know...)
[email protected]

I read the news late last night. I had to try very hard to not cry. I never knew Nikki, I didn't even know what her family are famous for - but I felt connected to her.

Well back to what I said before aspergers is a spectrum. Some people here have good jobs, friends, mates, kids, and live basically productive lives. Others however
have nothing and live lives in quiet desperation.

Its natural those of you who do not live with a loaded 9mm 4 feet from you to want the media to think your just a another variant of normal. I tend to live in the spectrum of aspergers where suicide is more likely so I relate to this lady and her
family not those that live lives that could pass for NT who are shocked by what has
been said about her.

TheMachine1, do you really think that all these people who live lives that could pass for NT are happy? Depression, suicide, loneliness affects lot of us to some degree. Those on the spectrum who get very far with education, getting a well paying job, money, a car, home.... are not somehow cured from these ills. Trust me.

No I'm sure everybody in this world has hard times. Thats kinda why I can not see
why people are so shocked by the term "ravaged". Sure from a medical stand point aspergers is not some degenerative condition like alzheimer's but that does not mean the term ravaged is out of order to describle general mental distress.

Its not a matter of being "cured from these ills" by having "far with education, getting a well paying job, money, a car, home", friends, mates, kid , etc. It a matter if one can obtain those things your not on the low functioning side of aspergers and may can not relate to someone who would blow their brains out.

The very fact she killed herself kinda proves her brian was ravaged.

You don't understand why people are offended at the article. Look, I don't know who is responsible for the wording so I'm not going to blame any specific person. Like I said, Bacharach's fans at his message board were familiar with Nikki and said nice things and were shocked and upset at the death.
The "severity" of ASD isn't what decides how happy a person is going to be. It's 1)how they are treated in life by events and the people around them 2)whether or not they have other mental health issues 3)how they deal with the things that happen around them.
There are "classic" autistic people who are very well-adjusted and there are Aspies who are not. There are NTs that are content and there are NTs that are not.
There are great coping tools and skills for sensory issues and for learning social skills. So, ASD itself isnt' what "ravages" the brain. It's the lack of coping mechanisms that does that. It's the lack of support.

Yes, and no.
I have quite a lot by some reckonings but know a lot about quiet desperation.
The situation IMPROVED, however, when I obtained my diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome, (as an adult). It finally gave me a framework for understanding the rest of this world which fitted most of the pieces together.

I've been depressed enough to consider suicide, but don't consider that proof that my brain is "ravaged". Au Contraire! It's also evidence that it works and isn't just drifting through life.
To look at the world and never have wondered whether life is worth living? Now that I consider odd!

"I take it that no man is educated who has never dallied with the thought of suicide." - William James (and he wasn't being trivial about that)

Asperger's is about seeing too little *and* too much, thinking too little *and* too much
(By conventional measures. I agree with you there: I'm not just a minor variation on "normal", however well I can pass for it, if I choose.)

This was an interesting letter I turned up while confirming the wording of the Willam James quotation:

http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/rep ... 1/171a.pdf

Are we all that certain that suicide is more likely? Maybe it's over-reported.

Of course it doesn't. Asperger's is more exotic, less mundane, than "anxiety" or "depression". And the media's obsession with playing up anything that is the least bit unusual combined with society's tendency to look for scapegoats... let's just say that I am not surprised something like this would happen...

I just read the articles, or at least what little Reuters and MSNBC reported on the subject. I hope that there were news sources that did a better job of reporting this story. How about taking the time to tell people exactly what AS is? How about assuring people, especially Aspies and their families, that having AS doesn't lead to suicide, and that Aspies aren't living in a state of constant torment, "ravaged" by their disease?

I guess my real point (to myself) is I'm not concern about the wording of the artical(s)/family and wonder why others were so upset with it.

It was probably harder for that girl to have Aspergers than it is for a lot of the rest of us. I mean she had the added pressure of being part of a family in the public spotlight. They may have treated her as the family's dirty little secret. OR she may have had things complicating the Aspergers like maniac depressive, bipolar or any number of other things and Aspergers is just getting the blame because it sounds more exotic. Her family may have been a bunch of crazed morons that drove her to the edge; they could have been emotionally abusive. They may have been pressuring her to "act more normal" so as not to attract attention to their family.

What is it about suicides this weekend? A football player was found at the bottom of a rocky cliff and the news was trying to say it was suicide. Then again knowing sportstars he was more likely drunk and fell over.

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