Autistic teenagers have a greater risk of depression than typically developing peers. Depression symptoms in autistic teenagers include more compulsive, emotional, aggressive or irritable behaviour.
Depression and autism. Depression is a mental health problem that is common in autistic people. Depression can have a big impact on daily life and can lead to suicidal thoughts. Depression in autistic people is more more common during adolescence and young adulthood.
Flat Affect and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
If you have autism and flat affect, your face often may appear blank. Your voice may not change tone or may sound robot-like. You may have a hard time reading other people's voices and body language.
''Autistic burnout is a state of physical and mental fatigue, heightened stress, and diminished capacity to manage life skills, sensory input, and/or social interactions, which comes from years of being severely overtaxed by the strain of trying to live up to demands that are out of sync with our needs.''
Each person will experience this crisis point differently. During shutdown, a person may either partially or completely withdraw from the world around them. They may not respond to communication anymore, retreat to their room or lie down on the floor.
One particularly rich indicator of social differences in autism is the voice. Children with autism often sound different from other people. Some may speak in a flat, monotone voice; others may use unusual modulation or stress different words or parts of words in their speech; and some may speak at an increased volume.
Some of the frequent facial features of autism are a broader upper face, shorter middle face, wider eyes, bigger mouth, and the philtrum [19]. The use of facial features as a physical marker to detect autism is one of the most exciting topics in autism research.
Learn More. Or call (313) 972-9009. The term “autism masking” is used to describe behaviors used by people with ASD to suppress or hide the signature characteristics of the disorder. It can also mean mirroring the behavior of neurotypical people and developing “scripts” that work in social situations.
Many CBT programs have been adapted for the ASD population and focus on anxiety and aggression in addition to depression. Other behavioral therapies shown as being effective at treating depression in ASD include mindfulness-based therapy, social and vocational skills programs, and family therapy.
The SSRIs most commonly prescribed to autistic people are fluoxetine and sertraline. Sertraline is often the top choice because its side effects are milder than those of other SSRIs and because it has fewer interactions with other drugs.
Does SSRI therapy help autistic children? Research suggests SSRIs don't change the core characteristics of autism in children. Also, emerging evidence suggests they might cause harm. It's possible, however, that SSRIs might help some autistic children with anxiety, but more high-quality research is needed.
Some autistic people experience it as an overwhelming sense of physical exhaustion. They may have more difficulty managing their emotions than usual and be prone to outbursts of sadness or anger. Burnout may manifest as intense anxiety or contribute to depression or suicidal behavior.
Common Autism Obsessions
Fixation on a particular topic or subject: Many people with autism have a deep interest in a particular topic, such as trains, dinosaurs, or computers. They may spend hours reading about or talking about this topic, to the exclusion of other activities.
Signs of High-Functioning Autism in Children
May appear more mature for their age and have above-average intelligence. A tendency to avoid eye contact. Trouble deviating from a routine or adapting to changes. Trouble making friends and maintaining social relationships or not “fitting in” with peers.
Our findings suggest that individuals with autism are impaired in their ability to evaluate beauty, at least when beauty is associated with an objective parameter intrinsic to works of art (proportion in the case of classical representations).
Individuals with autism often have a number of unusual physical characteristics, called dysmorphologies, such as wide-set eyes or broad foreheads. Dysmorphic features may mark a subgroup of individuals who have autism with a distinct underlying genetic cause.
Myth 1 – autistic people cannot make eye contact
This is well known but factually inaccurate. Whilst many autistic people struggle to make eye contact, some are able to, so don't assume someone who identifies as being autistic won't be able to meet your gaze.
That's because spoken language involves more than the use of words; we vary our pitch, loudness, tempo, and rhythm in our speech in order to convey different meanings. These changes are called "prosody," and people with autism often find prosody difficult to hear, understand, or reproduce.
Many minimally verbal children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) develop idiosyncratic communication habits and ways of expressing themselves. It is difficult to say why your son developed this new habit of only whispering or mouthing words.
We autistic people can't always control our voices so we can speak too loudly or softly and use incorrect pitch tone and speed. Talking normally can require a lot of conscious effort.
Sensory Issues
Many people with autism experience sensory processing disorder. This is more commonly known as sensory overload. Noise, crowds, bright lights, strong tastes, smells, and being touched can feel unbearable to someone with HFA. This makes going to restaurants, movies, and shopping malls difficult.
In conclusion, there are many factors that can make autism worse. Sensory overload, changes in routine, social isolation, co-occurring conditions, and lack of support can all exacerbate the symptoms of autism.
While some people with autism merely yell or stamp, many really do become overwhelmed by their own emotions. 3 Bolting, hitting, self-abuse, crying, and screaming are all possibilities. These can be particularly frightening—and even dangerous—when the autistic individual is physically large.