Anxiety disorders have real ties to Autism. Some individuals find that through treatment of anxiety their Autism improves as well. Its an interesting claim. .There is no doubt that anxiety deeply impacts all those who suffer with it and compounded by the sensory processing disorder component of ASD it can be a nightmare. So lets wade through this topic of Autism and learn the symptoms, treatments, and impacts of Anxiety.
Anxiety is a seemingly uncontrollable fight or flight response to a situation that causes an individual extreme stress. Anxiety in children is normal and every person experiences anxiety from time to time. Normal anxiety is not the focus of our topic today. We want to focus on the disorders: generalized anxiety, OCD, phobias, social phobia, panic attacks, and PTSD. There is no known cause for anxiety disorders. There is a strong genetic link between family members and anxiety disorders. Some of these behaviors can even be learned, especially in children. Symptoms of anxiety disorders of some kind include, but are not limited to:
- Excessive worry
- Sleeplessness or sleep difficulty
- Restlessness or fatigue during waking hours
- Trouble concentrating
- Irritability
- Depression
- Preoccupation or obsession with one subject
- Excessive thirst
- Stomach upsets, loose bowel movements, frequent urination, and gas
- Muscle Aches
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Tremors
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the most common anxiety treatment, it is also the most effective. This type of therapy uses gradual exposure to the item or thing that causes anxiety. It also teaches relaxation techniques and uses something called cognitive reconstructing. Which basically means that during therapy sessions the therapist uncovers the mental thought process of the patient and shows them where the process goes "wrong", then they assist the patient in reconstructing the thought process in a positive way. Essentially its a relearning process. Since CBT is verbally based it is difficult, to say the least, for some on the ASD spectrum to participate in this kind of therapy. Some medication maybe available to help control symptoms of anxiety. Please consult your mental health care specialist if you suspect anxiety disorder in your loved one.
The Indiana Resource Center for Autism published an overview of more than 31 studies which focused on anxiety disorders of children under 18 also diagnosed with ASD in 2011. The University of Amsterdam found that 40% of children with ASD had at least one co-morbid anxiety disorder. Based on these studies the types of anxiety disorders in youths with ASD differ. For instance Specific Phobias (ex: arachnophobia) is seen in approximately 30% of youths with ASD. Panic disorder is only seen in approximately 2% of ASD youths.
In March 2014 Scientific American published an article about anti-anxiety medications being used to "treat" Autism. Autism has no cure, I cannot stress that enough. These studies, published in Neuron, are preliminary in nature and are still in animal trials, but the results show promise. Mice bred to have Autism like symptoms are injected with low doses of anti-anxiety drugs show improved behavioral changes, specifically n social interaction. repetitive behaviors, and spatial learning.
Anti-anxiety medications are made, in part, of benzodiazepines. This chemical agent enhances the effect of GABA neurotransmitters in the brain, acting like a kind of sedative. Benzodiazepines make the GABA neurotransmitters stay open longer, allowing the receptors to gather more information being sent to them. High amounts of benzodiazepine caused lethargy in the mouse studies and researchers are not sure why, so getting the dosage right is key. Some types of benzodiazepine's are already used to treat epilepsy. Over all anti-anxiety medications are generally safe to use and cause little side effects in otherwise healthy people. So researchers are excited about the possible positive effects in ASD treatment plans.
As always, if you feel your loved one is suffering from a serious health issue, such as anxiety, please talk to a health professional. For more information on Anxiety and its relation to Autism please read these links:
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