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northern_light_girl
Snowy Owl
Joined: Mar 29, 2008
Posts: 141
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 Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 9:30 am Post subject: AS sudden onset/manifestation when hitting puberty? |
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Have you ever heard of this...or experienced this? Being an almost "normal" child, outgoing, with low to reasonable socializing skills and good grades in school (basically with very, very low manifestaton of AS symptoms)...and then when hittng puberty, boom...out of the blue you can't do almost anything you used to do (becoming unable to socialize at all, becoming unable to even talk or pronounce words, problems concentrating, problems understanding or finishing tasks, memory loss, problems with short term memory, long DELAYS between hearing a question, processing info and answering, FORGETTING what you are talking about in the middle of the sentence etc..)?
Has any of you experienced a sudden, major rift around 12-14? Becoming completely different? Regressing abruptly? One way to describe it would be like a deconstruction of the being, of the previous personality....and almost strating to reconstruct a new being from scratch? I am talking about a MAJOR change.
EDIT: didn't phrase the queston well....not onset as in it has just started to maifest itself...onset in the sanse that before that age, symptoms were less evident but at that age they became apparent. It actually matches what some of you have described in your answers...AS from birth..but not apparent until puberty or other major event. This is something I have heard when talking to someone, at a 5k race.
Last edited by northern_light_girl on Thu Jun 05, 2008 4:05 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Chadk
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Joined: Mar 22, 2008
Age: 17
Posts: 66
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| Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 9:42 am Post subject: |
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| Sounds extremely unlikely actually, since Asperger is a learning disorder, thus manifested in childhood. |
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ViatorRose
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: Jan 27, 2008
Posts: 28
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| Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 10:00 am Post subject: Re: AS sudden onset/manifestation when hitting puberty? |
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| northern_light_girl wrote: | | Has any of you experienced a sudden, major rift around 12-14? Becoming completely different? Regressing abruptly? One way to describe it would be like a deconstruction of the being, of the previous personality....and almost strating to reconstruct a new being from scratch? I am talking about a MAJOR change. |
Personality disorders can occur during puberty. Schizoid Personality Disorder in particular has certain traits which seem similiar to those associated with AS. Autism is generally present from birth, with the circumstances in the individual's environment dictating how it will manifest. If the perceived change happened age 12-14 it could be argued that this is because the extra social pressures on a child of this age caused any difficulties derived from austism to become more pronouced, but in my opinion it is a tenuous assertion. |
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Zsazsa
Phoenix
Joined: Apr 20, 2007
Posts: 600
Location: Upstate New York, USA
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| Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 10:00 am Post subject: |
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It is quite possible...yet, there has to have been socializing and learning difficulties that may not have been so outwardly recognized.
I had such difficulties and then, when I reached the age of twelve and had to make the transition from elementary
school to junior high school with all the tremendous changes that face kids, it was all too great for me to handle. Schools didn't
provide school orientation programs and mental health services for children didn't even exist. I guess the kids that followed the boys of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson and Beaver Cleaver were not expected to need mental health services or special education.
Though it is a relief to have a "name" for all the difficulties I lived with since childhood, I feel that I am a much stronger person
in having had to struggle and face the challenges that life presented for me. I truly believe that life breaks us all and we become
strong at the broken places. |
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Roddanagh
Raven
Joined: Jun 02, 2008
Age: 20
Posts: 109
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| Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 10:06 am Post subject: |
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| I actually did have something of a 'boom' at puberty, which accounts for much of my unwillingness to accept an Asperger's diagnosis. Apparently this 'boom' was only of my own perception, however - accounts of my parents and other adults that knew me as a young child suggest I was always a bit off and only recognized it at that stage. |
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anbuend
Oak-Type Autie
Joined: Jul 06, 2004
Posts: 2933
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| Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 10:17 am Post subject: |
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I went through something similar, it (according to studies I've read anyway) occurs in somewhere between 1/3 and 1/6 of autistic people. But not the real onset, it's just that the person loses abilities or falls behind more during that time. All the people they studied were diagnosably autistic (or something related) to begin with, but made certain gains that were then lost during puberty (about half the people who did so regained those things). Which is what I experienced, I gained some things and then that all came crashing down during adolescence.
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"We may seem in the gutter from up there where you are but maybe you don't know we still see the same stars." -Donna Williams |
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Shidash
Blue Jay
Joined: May 12, 2007
Age: 14
Posts: 80
Location: Maine
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| Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 10:24 am Post subject: |
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I don't think it is possible for AS to onset at puberty.
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t0
Deinonychus
Joined: Mar 24, 2008
Posts: 326
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| Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 10:33 am Post subject: |
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| I think for some people it's more obvious at puberty and beyond than at younger ages. I didn't start noticing the differences between myself and other kids until I was 10-11 (other than being really talented at math). But I hear stories from my parents about being a young child and how I did peculiar things that fit AS (age 3: not liking the texture of sand to the point where I would not leave the blanket I was on at the beach). |
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Lene
Deinonychus
Joined: Nov 28, 2007
Posts: 368
Location: Pluto
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| Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 11:00 am Post subject: |
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| I was probably always quite odd, but until puberty I was more or less oblivious to it. I was also more self confident. Once I moved up to secondary school, I became a lot more withdrawn and so whilst others were practicing their social skills and making friends, I was still stuck at primary school levels of interaction (to be honest, I still don't see how spending hours sitting around talking constitutes 'fun'). Eventually. around the age of 13 or so, I chose to give up trying to fit in (unlike other girls, the concept of spending a lunchbreak by myself did not fill me with mortal dread) and whilst I was happy short term, I think that I've fallen behind socially even more so as a result. |
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Anemone
Phoenix
Joined: Mar 18, 2008
Age: 43
Posts: 540
Location: Vancouver, Canada
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| Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 11:16 am Post subject: |
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| I had major regressions ages 9-12; partly because of abuse (I closed in on myself), partly because of having to change schools, and partly because I simply got left behind by all the younger kids I'd been socializing with up to that point. Life just got too overwhelming and I shut down for a while. |
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lelia
Pika
Joined: Apr 12, 2007
Age: 56
Posts: 1272
Location: Vancouver not BC, Washington not DC
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| Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 11:16 am Post subject: |
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This is interesting. I was going to answer No, doesn't work that way. I was odd the moment I was born.
I still think it unlikely and find the other responses a good way to account for the seeming sudden appearance. My most miserable year of life was 13. The new pressures highlighted my deficits, except back then the only word we had for people like me was weird. We all know more now. |
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poopylungstuffing
Bohemian Cave dweller
Joined: Mar 09, 2007
Age: 33
Posts: 3554
Location: not otherwise specified
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EvilKimEvil
zoo-music girl
Joined: Sep 27, 2007
Posts: 3038
Location: CA
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| Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 2:38 pm Post subject: Re: AS sudden onset/manifestation when hitting puberty? |
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| northern_light_girl wrote: | Have you ever heard of this...or experienced this? Being an almost "normal" child, outgoing, with low to reasonable socializing skills and good grades in school (basically with very, very low manifestaton of AS symptoms)...and then when hittng puberty, boom...out of the blue you can't do almost anything you used to do (becoming unable to socialize at all, becoming unable to even talk or pronounce words, problems concentrating, problems understanding or finishing tasks, memory loss, problems with short term memory, long DELAYS between hearing a question, processing info and answering, FORGETTING what you are talking about in the middle of the sentence etc..)?
Has any of you experienced a sudden, major rift around 12-14? Becoming completely different? Regressing abruptly? One way to describe it would be like a deconstruction of the being, of the previous personality....and almost strating to reconstruct a new being from scratch? I am talking about a MAJOR change. |
A psychiatrist would probably diagnose you with schizophrenia. Sounds like one of the typical patterns in that disorder (there are several). It could also be several other things, from depression to a serious neurological problem.
It is not AS. AS does not have a sudden onset. People are probably born with it, but it becomes obvious in early childhood and remains with a person throughout life, although its symptoms can wax and wane.
If I were you, I'd see a neurologist asap. You should rule out serious neurological problems before you rish being put on anti-psychotics by a psychiatrist. Anti-psychotics are strong drugs that tend to have odd neurological side-effects.
Good Luck!! |
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northern_light_girl
Snowy Owl
Joined: Mar 29, 2008
Posts: 141
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| Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 4:07 pm Post subject: Re: AS sudden onset/manifestation when hitting puberty? |
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| EvilKimEvil wrote: | | northern_light_girl wrote: | Have you ever heard of this...or experienced this? Being an almost "normal" child, outgoing, with low to reasonable socializing skills and good grades in school (basically with very, very low manifestaton of AS symptoms)...and then when hittng puberty, boom...out of the blue you can't do almost anything you used to do (becoming unable to socialize at all, becoming unable to even talk or pronounce words, problems concentrating, problems understanding or finishing tasks, memory loss, problems with short term memory, long DELAYS between hearing a question, processing info and answering, FORGETTING what you are talking about in the middle of the sentence etc..)?
Has any of you experienced a sudden, major rift around 12-14? Becoming completely different? Regressing abruptly? One way to describe it would be like a deconstruction of the being, of the previous personality....and almost strating to reconstruct a new being from scratch? I am talking about a MAJOR change. |
A psychiatrist would probably diagnose you with schizophrenia. Sounds like one of the typical patterns in that disorder (there are several). It could also be several other things, from depression to a serious neurological problem.
It is not AS. AS does not have a sudden onset. People are probably born with it, but it becomes obvious in early childhood and remains with a person throughout life, although its symptoms can wax and wane.
If I were you, I'd see a neurologist asap. You should rule out serious neurological problems before you rish being put on anti-psychotics by a psychiatrist. Anti-psychotics are strong drugs that tend to have odd neurological side-effects.
Good Luck!! |
This is from the mom of a teenager with AS; we were in a 5k race together and she told me about this and wanted to ask others if they have heard of stuff like this. It sounded interesting to me. |
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anbuend
Oak-Type Autie
Joined: Jul 06, 2004
Posts: 2933
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| Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 5:02 pm Post subject: |
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Okay, here's the thing that I don't get about the people saying this is impossible.
It's already known that in autistic people, of all particular autism labels, a certain percentage experience more problems in puberty. (I've seen it as everything from, I think, 16% to 37% -- not a terribly tiny percentage anyway, despite the fact that the majority stay the same or "improve". And there's a specific movement -- not psychiatric -- disorder that often goes along with it, and where the drugs given for schizophrenia are highly dangerous to almost anyone with this movement disorder, and have a higher likelihood of deadly side-effects to us, so if you don't know about it then don't suggest things that could get a person put on them since most neurologists don't know about this movement disorder or how to look for it yet. It's not well-known or well-diagnosed yet but again the percentage who have it by adulthood is not that tiny among the groups they've studied.)
Then, what happens if an autistic person is so subtle about being autistic that they really don't show it until they start having more problems during puberty?
I mean we all know there's people who are "cousins" or who have "autistic traits" but aren't officially diagnosable. Why would there be some cutoff where they couldn't experience more problems during puberty just like any other autistic person can?
It has nothing at all to do with whether you were always different, either. All autistic people who are already known to experience more problems in puberty were, by definition, autistic before puberty. I was different from birth, but I had one set of problems around 12-15 months and another starting in puberty (and progressing pretty gradually, but still obviously).
I know people with an Asperger diagnosis who can't speak anymore, or find it more difficult, because they have the same movement disorder that I (who have an autism diagnosis) have.
So if they can go from always-speaking to never-speaking all because of an autism-associated movement disorder or increase in difficulties during puberty, then why on earth isn't it possible for a person who was already on the borderlands of autism to become more obviously autistic/AS/whatever during puberty?
I mean, the boundary line is artificial. And the person said at the beginning that they were talking about someone who had subtle problems all along that became more obvious. And the pattern is becoming more and more well-known as they do more and more outcome studies into adulthood of autistic people.
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"We may seem in the gutter from up there where you are but maybe you don't know we still see the same stars." -Donna Williams |
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