* Sharing a post by dr. Zahir Ibrahim on comorbid conditions in asd. *
*often symptoms of mental ill health is overlooked as "behaviour problems"
in asd individuals by parents and professionals.*
CO-MORBIDITY - ANXIETY :
ALSO from the cognitive , physical and behavioural factors of the spectrum
disorders - that are physically seen and heard ,there is an unseen disorder
arising mainly out of the EMOTIONAL side of the individual that not only
plays a major role in the life of the individual , but also acts as a
Trigger , that takes the individual from the realms of just being Learning
Disorder / autistic , into areas of MENTAL HEALTH - This disorder is also a
spectrum disorder - and it is called ANXIETY :
There are different types of anxieties- commonly found as comorbid with
spectrum disorders - they can vary from LOW to HIGH FUNCTIONING..
see GENERAL ANXIETY -definition slide:
The most commonly found anxiety disorder amongst the spectrum disorders is
SOCIAL ANXIETY - accompanied by negative thoughts and feeling in a social
environment ...
Defined as -chronic mental health disorder / social phobia.where everyday
interactions cause anxiety , fear , self consciousness and embarrassment .
see SOCIAL ANXIETY - definition slide.
The COMMON SYMPTOMS - found in social anxiety are mainly of a negative
nature..
see SYMPTOMS slide.
The negativity is the cause of poor self esteem and self consciousness and
what other people think.. people think. adding to the spectrum disorder/s
alreading existing..
see SOCIAL ANXIETY - cognitive - physical and behavioural slide...
see SOCIAL ANXIETY - CIRCLE slide..
the inability to socialise - can lead to further complications that can
affect the individuals general health - physical + mental health.and
appearance.
The individual may :
PANIC a lot. ..
May have Obsessive Compulsive Behaviours - that they do not want other
people to see.
Conscious about their body.
May have Panic Attacks
Can have Major Depression....
schizorphenia.
see SOCIAL ANXIETY - COMORBID with other MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS..-slide..
The comorbidity of social anxiety can affect them physically :and mentally
and emotionally - and being a spectrum disorder can be high and low end -
and social anxiety is comorbid with DEPRESSION ...
These two disorders - which fall mainly on the mental heath side, have some
common symptoms found between them ...they are ::
LACK OF SLEEP
CONCENTRATION
FATIGUE.
They both have their own individual traits too,,..which can be very deep
rooted ....
it is quite often difficult to differentiate between Anxiety and depression
.in early stages especially in child hood - easier to differentiate in
adults.....
see ANXIETY and DEPRESSION comorbidity slide..
so we can clearly see that a parent /carer or guardian also needs to look
out for other tell tale signs when a diagnosis of AUTISM or any other
spectrum disorder is given by the professional- even more so if the
individual NON VERBAL.
NB : symptom / traits of spectrum disorders mentioned do have further sub
traits within them which may not have been mentioned in the slides ( i am
staying with the main traits for now)
what is obvious is that the person who is on the spectrum is affected from
the time they get up to even when they go to sleep...
From what we have seen so far - it is obvious that:
CO-MORBIDITY is the rule rather than the exception..and that Learning
Disorders - Medical Disorders - Behavioural Disorders - do exist to , they
can have similar symptoms / traits . affecting the individuals , life
patterns ..
see BIPOLAR slide ...
we can see the comorbidity / crossover on the DSM-5 slide.
nb: please check latest dsm - frame work...
Parents are seen to be taking the children - more so for general Medical
conditions appointments - bu*t not much attention is given to the Mental
Health Aspect of being on the spectrum.*
THis does require serious consideration too....
Attachment:
comorbidities of autism.zip
Description: Zip archive
