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Autistic shutdowns with 'stroke-like' symptoms?

NAS83020

Hi. I am emailing on behalf of my mum who is 80 and we think is autistic (I am also mum to an 18 year old autistic daughter and 17 year old niece - my mum's 2 eldest grandchildren - hence now realising that mum might also be). She has experienced anxiety and migraines most of her life (with a speech impediment/stutter until her 40s when migraines seemed to take over). During many of these migraines she has had loss of speech (which my daughter also experiences) and numbness in a hand. Drs thought it was mini-strokes for a while and the latest one thought it might be a type of epilepsy, but wasn't convinced and neither was I! Recently, things have ramped up and she is experiencing more of these 'episodes' with an inability to recover fully. I am wondering if what she has experienced all these years is actually a type of autistic shutdown, and whether the impact of being an undiagnosed (and therefore constantly masking for 80 years) autistic person means that she is essentially now in a type of autistic burnout? Does anyone else experience this type of shutdown/migraine (with numbness in hands/face), know of anyone who does, think that what I am saying might make sense, and know of anyone we can talk to? There seems to be very little information about autism and the elderly. Grateful for any information offered. Thank you.

  • Hi. Before being officially diagnosed, I used to suffer TIA like symptoms. I was tested for mini stroke amongst other things. Nobody could ever explain what was happening. (To be honest, they didn't try very hard to find out what was going on.) Now I know for sure that I am autistic, and after extensive research on meltdowns, shutdowns and the like, I am pretty sure that my stroke like symptoms were in fact caused by autism. Some episodes were worse than others. Some made my face drop on one side and make speaking very difficult. My memory was affected and I couldn't manage the most basic words. It always happened when I was overwhelmed or over stimulated; be that negatively or positively. I would feel suddenly drowsy, as though I would pass out any second. It was terrifying. The attacks aren't so bad now, partly because my home life is less stressful, but they can still feel frightening, with drowsiness and a sort of brain freeze. 

  • When I have stage fright I can get really tingly hands. My husband can lose his speech when he shuts down, sometimes he can text but often can’t do much more than grunt. I’ve even seen a lady for inpatient physio treatment who was  working 60-80hr weeks who had paralysis down one side with all normal testing, doctors concluded that her body had shut down in a way similar to a stroke because she was so exhausted.  It is quite likely that you are right that she’s actually been having shutdowns all this time. Not sure what you can do about it assessment wise. Have you noticed any particular triggers? Are they sensory related or social interaction related?