asd later in life

[Timmy1]

hi,

can certain things over a peroid of time such as drugs and then drug addiction, and then isolation have a impact on creating a asd.

for the first 15 years before any drug use I was fine. i was me and normal. but when i changed and dianoised with asd i was very differnt and i changed. in fact at first when addicted to drugs i was a mess, then just became asd.

but the question is, is this asd forever or something that can be removed??


thank you

 

[Fox]

The thing is, ASD is not something you just develop after forming a drug habit etc. One of the criteria is that symptoms have been shown since childhood. If you look back on your childhood you'll probably realize that you did show some symptoms. From what I've seen it becomes more obvious when people get older.

If you didn't show any symptoms then this would probably be damage done to your brain from drug addiction. Either way you should be evaluated by a mental health professional.

There isn't any "reversing" ASD but you can go to therapy and learn techniques to cope. There is also no way to reverse any damage you've done to your brain but eventually other parts of your brain will rework to help compensate.

I hope i was helpful and good luck.

 

[Judge]

It's very different for us all. In my case I had some overt symptoms as a toddler. Enough for my parents to investigate while medical professionals thought I was normal. Other symptoms I didn't experience until adolescence. And cormorbid issues (OCD, clinical depression) I really didn't experience until I was in my twenties.

I was formally aware of my comorbidity in my late twenties, but totally unaware of my ASD until my late 50s.

All we really have is an ability and choice to use our self-awareness in a positive way the best we can.