A little something that is strange..

[SweetnessandLight]

Fixer, I haven't read all of SweetnessandLight's last post, but the moment she mentioned dual diagnosis, I thought "she knows what she's talking about".

Some resources that might help you:

headspace www.headspace.org.au - headspace is for young people aged up to 25, but your son is only just out of the target group and headspace might be able to refer you to services in your area that you can tap into.

Legal Aid Queensland - http://www.legalaid.qld.gov.au/Pages/Home.aspx

Mental Health Law Clinic - http://www.qpilch.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=561

Queensland Mental Health Service - http://www.health.qld.gov.au/mentalhealth/docs/staff_in_our_services.pdf - they have community services of multi-disciplinary teams, including case workers

That's twice now that your son has sought help himself. Good signs.

<3

Sure thing Fixer, I understand.
There's no rush...take your time. Feel free to pm me, also. These resources that Cherished has shared look very useful indeed. I hope that you will follow up on them, and that you can easily find some good local assistance. Meanwhile I will keep you all in my prayers.

 

[cayce-case-um]

Best wishes to you and your son with Aspergers!

I am glad we live in a world where autism spectrum disorders (which include Aspergers) is becoming better understood in terms of neurophysiology with behavioral and cognitive therapies that can help.

Not long ago, I was at a fundraiser where an autistic boy (about 8 I think) did a wonderful rendition of Lennon's "Imagine." Not a dry eye in the house.

Also wanted to mention that I have worked with college students with Asperger and seen very positive outcomes.

As to the negative / black PR that CoS perpetually spews on psychiatry, I'd say "Hey guys, come up to present time. You seem to be stuck in an incident."

 

[Gottabrain]

Thanks to everyone with their support.

Sweetness, thank you for everything you wrote. I first read it all yesterday morning, but it has taken me until now to compose myself enough to respond.

I am finding it difficult just at the moment to talk here, but will get back to you. I appreciate your offer of support and hope to take you up on that shortly.

Thanks to you too Gottabrain, your posts are not offending me at all. Just the opposite.

I wasn't going to log in today but I didn't want to leave you in the lurch and I just thought of something important.

You mentioned he took more pills because he thought it would work better and then discovered he took too much. Yeh, they do that too. They don't learn or follow orders well and tend to think that more is faster or better. The Asperger's adult decided to use eardrops for twice the time the doctor required, in both ears instead of one, then ran out of drops and ended up irritating the other ear from destroying all the wax! You get used to it after a while.

So if you want to prevent this from ever happening again (I'm sure you do!), then make a delightful ritual out of it and have him show you that routine, exactly, or show it to your ex-wife. For example:

Night routine:
Lay out pajamas. Put dirty clothes in hamper. Brush teeth, shower, put on pajamas.

Take out medicine. Place one pill atop tissue. Get glass of water and fill it to 3/4. Take pill. Drink water. Replace cap on bottle and put meds away. Put glass away. Tick off items on today's list as DONE. Turn on favourite music or read favourite book or watch favourite television show to relax more. Call Dad and tell him what you've done. Go to bed.

The more complicated and detailed, the better. Don't ask me why, but simple directions always seemed to get confused or made complicated but complicated, super detailed directions and rituals work well and are enjoyed. But the first few times will need to be done with someone else present so the habits are established.

ADDED: I think when you make it really complicated (lots of details and steps), it forces the Asperger's sufferer to focus on the job at hand. When it is simple, in his her mind he questions things or wonders about things and comes up with odd answers or conclusions. Lots of descriptive detail and doable steps, as many as possible. It is actually ENJOYED. Rituals such as this give them comfort. If you help define the ritual, then they can be positive rituals rather than negative.

Good luck to you. Everything will be okay. I'll pm you separately with info on the meds.

Sheila

 

[Knowbody]

The more complicated and detailed, the better. Don't ask me why, but simple directions always seemed to get confused or made complicated but complicated, super detailed directions and rituals work well and are enjoyed. But the first few times will need to be done with someone else present so the habits are established.

It's not really about "simple" vs "complex".
People with aspergers quite often just don't know how to answer questions or follow instructions that are open-ended / non-specific / ambiguous.

What you see as making it more complex is really just being more specific.

eg the "simple" question "what did you do today?" is an open-ended question which can be difficult to answer, because there are usually a number of things they did, and they might have a hard time picking one of the things they did or deciding whether to list a number of things, and to what detail they should answer.

- a person with high functioning aspergers

 

[The_Fixer]

Hey welcome, Knowbody, glad to hear your voice (so to speak).

 

[SweetnessandLight]

Welcome, Knowbody!

It's good to have you join us here!

I know exactly what you mean...I tend to to that myself at times! I'm not on the spectrum (diagnosable) , but I do share some traits!

Fixer, no pressure to keep us informaed, butt I just wanted to say that I hope all is well with you and yours!

And to wish you a Happy Valentine's Day!

 

[La La Lou Lou]

Knowbody is welcome here!

A statement that could be confusing to anyone, Aspergers or not.