#autism comorbidities

[autism-polls]

Submitted anonymously on December 21, 2024.

Note from anonymous person:

"Mood disorders are substantially more common in autistic people. Around 27% of autistic people exhibit signs of bipolar disorder and 40% show signs of depression."

[legumepowered]

hey btw if u have insane chronic pain, take a look at what yr eating. * I recently figured out that eating a lot of white flour for a couple days in a row makes me SUPER inflamed and basically makes my entire body sore/tender for a week. When my pain was at the highest, I was eating fast food/fried fish sandwiches + a ton of sugar in soda EVERY day bc i worked in fast food.

So definitely look at what you eat on a regular basis and look up commonly inflammatory foods. ESP if u have autism (or adhd too I'm sure). Cross River Therapy has an article from 2023 about the link between autism and inflammation, it's a really interesting read.

also if you have autism, yr gut is probably fucked up too n eating better would help.

* it's not always possible to change what yr eating whether you have ARFID or yr living situation or financial situation. however it's always good to have the info.

[corvid-on-the-rock]

If you're tall and AMAB and autistic you should pretty much immediately get checked for Ehlers-Dalos Syndrome and Osgood-Shlatter Disease. I know at least 5 autistic dudes with both of these syndromes. It's not everyone, but there's a specific flavor of autism that comes like that, and you should know.

[takemetodragonstone]

grabbing a Symptom by the throat and screaming WHO SENT YOU!?? WHICH DISORDER DO YOU BELONG TO

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)/ Myalgic vs Encephalomyelitis (ME) vs Autism

Neurodivergent Insights

[featherybitch]

guys i beg you don't dismiss any possible symptoms you experience!!

a few years ago tiktok began flooding me with adhd and autism symptoms and of course people there quickly mixed them all up BUT it kind of made me realize i might have/be one of these. so i started to research (because it would not be too wise to take all my info from tiktok) adhd symptoms and diagnosis criteria and i thought for a good while it's adhd. once i asked my previous psychiatrist (who was absolute SHIT) about it and she behave like she doesn't even comprehend my words. i knew she was being purposefully obtuse but it stayed with me y'know.

then i started to research autism symptoms and diagnosis criteria and decided that "lmao no way it was autism all along, omg tiktok played me so dirty for making me thing i have adhd". after changing psychiatrists i asked the new one about it and he said that yeah i'm autistic and so 1. i was glad that i figured it out on my own 2. didn't talk about things that led me to believe i might have adhd nor that i even thought that.

well guess what. it was both. the psychiatrist said it's fucking both. it was both all along and i would have meds by know if i didn't start to think that it was silly of me to even consider adhd. i had this brief moment while going from thinking it's adhd to thinking it's autism when i thought it might actually be both but i decided than "eh no way pick a struggle". turns out the struggle was real and it was those two bad boys being comorbid.

[autismdoll]

Autistic traits vs Trauma symptoms experienced by Autistic people.

graphic by: Trauma Geek

[audhdnight]

Quick little PSA because I keep seeing confusion on this topic:

“Allistic” simply means “NOT autistic”.

It DOES NOT mean you are neurotypical. It is not a bad thing. It’s not some kind of accusation that you need to be defensive about (literally saw someone throw a huge hissy fit about being “lumped in” with neurotypicals by an autistic creator).

You can be neurodivergent AND allistic, if your neurodivergence is ANYTHING OTHER than autism. You can have OCD, schizophrenia, adhd, anxiety, DID, or literally anything else. As long as you are not autistic, you are still allistic.

Please stop using allistic as a synonym for neurotypical. Please stop acting like it is an attack if someone refers to you as allistic if you know you do not have autism.

That is all.

[ineedfairypee]

Two’s a comorbidity, three’s a crowd

[jmej]

i am rewatching phineas and ferb. not a single neurotypical in the entire show. ESPECIALLY not doofenshmirtz. hes SO AUTISM its genuinely so cool

[antisocialsharky]

what do you think about the 'ASPD and autism can't be comorbid' thing? I don't know, unless they're all lying, I've seen multiple people at least claim to have ASPD and autism, sometimes even professionally diagnosed with both (though people can lie about this, too)

ASPD and autism can absolutely be comorbid!

If disorders cannot be comorbid, the DSM has a section that states it usually (ex: such as the Cyclothymia criteria saying that you can't have the disorder if you had a major depressive episode before => therefore major depressive disorder & Cyclothymia cannot be comorbid).

You will not find such a thing in the ASPD or autism criteria for either of those conditions. What you will find is statements such as "Behavior should not ONLY be present due to X condition" or "Behavior should be present OUTSIDE of X episode" => Meaning you'd, as an example, need to meet ASPD criteria outside of things like psychotic episodes, in order to have it. Or you'd need to meet autism criteria outside of what could be accounted for by something like schizophrenia already, etc.

Its actually frequently talked about now, that growing up with autism is often traumatic (due to society not meeting your needs, people actively punishing you for your traits, being isolated due to the behaviors, being told you're "wrong" / "bad" etc.) and ASPD is usually trauma based, so a comorbidity makes sense + there is nothing in the autism criteria that would make a development of ASPD impossible/be in opposition to it (as far as I know)? I think the claim comes majorly from people seeing autism as "uwu innocent baby" and ASPD as "bad cruel asshole" and not wanting them to be thrown into the same bucket.

There should be a really thorough screening for ASPD, if you've been suspected to have autism (and other way around) though, cus theres a lot of behaviors & emotional experiences & thought patterns, that can look similar/be similar at first glance, so they can also be confused for one another! Thats one of the reasons, why I am also on the waiting list for an autism assessment, as such as been recommended to me, by a professional, who also said ASPD is an accurate diagnosis for me (which, to me, sounds like a comorbidity is seen as "possible" by said professional, so imma trust him there too).

[autism-polls]

Anonymously submitted on July 6, 2024.

[thousandyearphantombunker]

I could've put any disorder but people seem to really hate people with down syndrome

Like I don't know how the autism community who fights autism speaks for trying to perform eugenics can ignore this- as soon as the disorder is downs or some intellectual/cognitive issue or has a physical look.

I'm so done.

[chronicsymptomsyndrome]

[growntourettesmemes]

[thatoneluckybee]

Tips for Writing Characters with Trichotillomania

- Someone with trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder!)

I’m really glad that people are starting to realize that BFRBs actually exist! And with that, I’m happy that this means it’s not JUST me headcanoning characters to have BFRBS or CREATING characters with BFRBs. HOWEVER. With this, it is important that these disorders are represented well. I have trichotillomania myself, so here’s a list of things that I look for in characters and when making my own, and tips for accurately portraying a BFRB!

This is focusing on trichotillomania as I have it. I might make some on other BFRBs but I’ll have to do a lot of research and talk to people or read accounts of people WITH the specific BFRB. (I pull my hair and bite my nails, so I cannot about other BFRBs I don’t have off the top of my head.)

What IS a BFRB?

BFRB stands for “body-focused repetitive behavior.” BFRBs are a group of disorders listed in the DSM-5 under “Obsessive-Compulsive and RELATED Disorders.” BFRBs are NOT OCD. They are closely related, but are DIFFERENT things! A BFRB is defined by bfrb.org as a “repetitive self-grooming behavior…that can lead to physical damage to the body and have been met with multiple attempts to stop or decrease the behavior” and WebMD as “intense urges…that can cause damage.” (A BFRB is NOT the same as self-harm!!!!) In short, a BFRB is a behavior or habit that hurts you and is nearly impossible to stop or control. The easiest way I’ve found to describe it is like pressure. Next time you have an itch, try not to scratch it. It’s difficult! It feels like a pressure building up. Now, imagine that “itch” is really the INTENSE urge to pull out your hair, pick at your skin, bite at your lips, and the like. THAT is a BFRB.

What about Trichotillomania (or Trich)?

There are two main types of hair-pulling: FOCUSED and AUTOMATIC. Oftentimes, people’s trich does not neatly fit into one category. One trichster can engage in both (like me!) or it could depend on the location of the hair on your body. Focused means you are AWARE that you are pulling when you pull. AUTOMATIC means you are NOT AWARE that you are pulling.

Secondly, trichotillomania DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE. People can pull from ANYWHERE and EVERYWHERE. Oftentimes people who mention trichotillomania only consider pulling from your scalp. But we, as human beings, are mammals. There is hair everywhere. Other common places include eyebrows, eyelashes, the pubic region, underarms, arms, and legs. But if there is hair at ALL, trichotillomania can cause you to pull it. Some people have specific locations they pull from, and not EVERYONE pulls from EVERYWHERE! (For example, my scalp was never an issue until this past year, and I have had this BFRB for several years. It began with my lashes, then progressed to my legs and brows. I pretty much have trich for everywhere now. Yay.)

ONTO THE TIPS

For many, trich can be a self-soothing behavior. If a character has trichotillomania, they may gravitate towards their hair when they are startled or under stress, even if they are not pulling. An example of this could be a character running their fingers through their hair when anxious, or running their fingers over their eyebrows when frustrated.

A BFRB is not something to be ashamed of. However, there is a LOT of stigma around them. Many trichsters WILL attempt to hide their BFRB from people, especially strangers. Even the most kind-hearted, honest cinnamon roll may lie to a loved one about why their hair is thinning or why their arms are sore. Some common ways of this are wearing hats or styling one’s hair a certain way, wearing pants and long sleeves, or avoid hairdressers and doctors.

IT HURTS. There is often PHYSICAL PAIN that accompanies trichotillomania! What inspired me to write this post was quite literally me being grumpy because I was having to hold a towel to my arm because I dug too deep trying to get an ingrown hair and it bled more than expected. Pulling, especially if it’s from sensitive areas of your body like your nose, pubic region, fingers, feet, eyelashes, etc. where there are many nerves, can HURT. There will likely be red, bumpy skin. There may be blood. There may be scars.

There is going to be hair everywhere and yes it is annoying and no it’s not stopping anytime soon. Vacuums will clog. You will get hair stuck to the soles of your feet when you take off your socks. It’s gonna be everywhere.

Some people will chew on or eat the hair. This is known as trichophagia. I do not know much about trichophagia as I do not have it myself. However, I DO know that people with this can experience issues like stomachaches, indigestion, and the like. That’s okay. That’s normal.

You cannot love someone’s trichotillomania away. Please, please, please do not do this. You can help someone if they want it, you can love them, you can try, BUT THIS IS A DISORDER. It is NOT a choice. It is not something a character needs to “try more” with. I see a lot of posts under the trichotillomania tag here on Tumblr that are excerpts of fics. 99% of the time, it’s Person A forcibly stopping Person B from pulling and begging them to stop “for them.” I am not saying there is something inherently malicious about these! But someone cannot just stop “for you.” I’m sorry. It’s still a disorder. Please avoid the “stop for me!” trope if possible, or at the very least avoid this being the “cure-all” for a character’s BFRB.

These disorders are so widely misunderstood and underrepresented. There is a lot of misinformation. Please do not shy away from creating characters with a BFRB, in fact I highly encourage it! But pleasepleaseplease do some research beforehand and listen to people with these disorders. Good luck!