Autism and psychosis

[UpOnDown]

My psychiatrist is wondering if my psychosis is related to hig functioning autism (I don’t have LDs).
Has anyone heard of similar experiences, or knows some good links for this please?

And i don’t have an autism diagnosis, I knew about psychosis

Autism is related is higher than average prevalence of depression. Not sure about psychosis but I know someone with autism who developed psychosis in her thirties.

Thanks usernamealreadyexists. Anyone else?

a family member has had psychosis, and another had post partum psychosis, we have many people with ASD diagnoses in the current generation of children and I suspect these family members of having autism but not having been diagnosed.

I don't think you'll find any concrete evidence from mums net but you should trust your psychiatrist if that's what they think based on their professional learning.

I certainly know there's a link between eating disorders and autism that some people aren't aware of.

so good luck with your recovery @UpOnDown I'd say my gut feel is that we're at a fairly early stage of our understanding of autism which was only a recognised condition since 1981 and it's entirely possible your psychiatrist is correct.

Thanks tentenwonder. That is interesting

One of my autistic DC used to have auditory and visual hallucinations when younger and according to his assessor it is more common with autistic children.

have you looked at the ASD test? I've recently been through it for a child and one of the questions is whether they have difficulty distinguishing what is real and what is not. Behaviour inappropriate to the situation is another question - I see these on the wiki entry for psychosis.

So this armchair internet researcher thinks I can see why they can see potential for linkage here.

They did give me a questionnaire, apparently 80% of adults with that score have autism. But 20% don’t.

how does the psychiatrist explain the 20 percent that get the score but don’t have autism? They should be able to do further assessment, with children as they are observed as well, plus there are the sensory issues.

Sounds like you need to talk more to the psychiatrist about the test results.

I don’t know if you’ve seen the MH section - you might try a post under there to see if anyone that doesn’t check chat has any comments.

I remember when I thought back to my eating disorder as a teen, that I recalled I’d had a strong and continuing feeling of revulsion when my body started to change. Might be worth retracing key points in your life and thinking whether autism gives you any extra insight into what went on.

Anxiety, in an extreme manifestation, can produce symptoms such as hearing voices/seeing things. As does PTSD. Children on the spectrum can have higher levels of anxiety and coupled with the way they are often treated by peers/teachers/adults with a lack of understanding and compassion, it is hardly surprising that they can manifest such symptoms. The OP s comments and others on here, including the armchair internet researcher are not helpful and add to the continuing lack of understanding of ASD and therefore prejudice.

Try to put yourself in the shoes of a young person, who goes through their childhood with a lack of understanding and consequently builds up a poor self-image and think of how that affects them and their adult life.

I have ASD and an array of other mental health issues. Firstly I'd reccomend getting an official ASD diagnosis as a lot of NT have 'traits' but that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

Undiagnosed autism can cause a lot of mental health problems in the long run, especially the longer it's left. For somebody with ASD there is a lot going on in our brains and not being able to recognise what is autism related or not can put a big strain on your mental health.

I wasn't diagnosed until I was 24, despite it being suggested when I was younger. I have borderline personality disorder as a result of years of not knowing or understanding 'why am I like this' and 'why doesn't my brain work the same as everybody else', so yes it could probably deffinately cause psychosis. But like I said, the best thing you can do is get an official diagnosis as it will help put things into perspective for you.

how does the psychiatrist explain the 20 percent that get the score but don’t have autism?

Because it's probably just a screening questionnaire, it's not designed to diagnose autism but to act as part of the gatekeeping process in deciding if a full assessment is warranted. Only that can determine if a person actually has autism or not.
Plus there are plenty of possible explanations for the 20% of people who get a score indicating potential autism but who don't actually meet the diagnostic criteria. Those with autistic traits but don't quite meet the diagnostic threshold, those who have another disorder or condition such as dyspraxia or ADHD. It's not uncommon for ASD to be mistaken for ADHD and vice versa.

I have a friend who works in an adolescent inpatient unit and we discussed this not too long ago. They are finding that many of the inpatients (usually girls) who present with anxiety, psychosis, depression, eating disorders often have undiagnosed autism which was causing them so much distress as it wasn't recognised, understood and needs were not met that it led to the above things.

@funkyllama I don’t think you read my posts properly, where do you find prejudice? Several times I advised the op to talk further to their psychiatrist.