Past Tense

Those who suffer from autism have a very difficult and challenging life. It is difficult for them to communicate their thoughts and feelings so others can understand them, and often have sensory issues. Even when they are surrounded by a loving and supportive family, they feel like they are alone, which is why so many people with autism suffer from anxiety and depression.

With all of the other issues that are involved with autism, depression and anxiety often go unnoticed. This is often because the autistic person is not capable of expressing his emotions adequately. Depression is a complex emotional disorder that affects millions of people. Even people with the best communication skills have difficulty explaining and understanding their depression. A person with autism has extreme difficulty explaining and understanding his depression and anxiety.

Anxiety is difficult to pinpoint in autistic cases because the autistic person may show symptoms of anxiety on a daily basis. Many tasks can make an autistic very anxious, especially if the task breaks the autistic person’s usual routine. An autistic person relies on order and sameness as a means of understanding his surroundings. Any change in routine can cause great anxiety, but this does not mean that the autistic person has an anxiety disorder.

Depression and anxiety are common in autism and they can be very difficult to treat. It is very difficult to even diagnose the conditions, and once they are identified they are difficult to address because autistic people have so many communication and social obstacles to overcome.

What usually happens is that a family member becomes concerned about their behaviour, or worries that they may be depressed or anxious and they are then put on medication. While you wouldn’t want a perfectly healthy person to be taking anti-depressants or anti-anxiety drugs, with persons who have autism there are some other beneficial aspect of these medications, such as that they improve focus and decrease excessive movement that is common in many autistics.

Generally, as an autistic person gets older they will have more and more trouble functioning in society and may begin to show signs of depression or anxiety (or both). However, with today’s medications for these conditions they can soon feel better and will improve even more with some therapy to help them to communicate their emotions.

Anyone who is concerned that their ward may be suffering from anxiety or depression should consult a health practitioner. With medication and therapy you may find that they are more focused, happier and less anxious with their daily tasks.