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Teenager with Asperger's- Hallucinations

Cassie

Hi

My son is 17 and was diagnosed initially with prodromal psychosis, and later with Aspergers after a 4 month stint in a  day unit earlier in the year. I am reasonably confidant that this diagnosis is correct, because he was observed in a clinical environment amongst peers for a long time before it was made.

However, for around 3 years he has been having visual and auditory hallucinations also. He sees and hears somebody who isn't real. The consultant seems to think that this is all part of the ASD but I'm not so sure. I don't believe it is typical for people with autism to hallucinate. He has also suffered from delusions. He is currently taking Seroquel which he describes as 'turning down the volume'

I have a feeling that he might have co-morbid szchizophrenia, but I really hope he doesn't and that all of his disturbed thoughts are due to Asperger's. I'm finding all of this very difficult and have not had a great deal of support from CAMHS or anywhere else recently. He doesn't like to talk to me about any of this and everything I know I was told by other people- mainly my daughter. He forces me to leave the room when he's talking to his doctor about the hallucinations and has confidentiality which I also find very difficult as it limits my ability to help him in any constructive way. He has not told the doctor the full extent of his hallucinations and so I am worried that his diagnosis may not be complete.

any advice welcomed.

Cass

Parents

  • Hi Sue

    Thanks for replying to me, its sad but also comforting to know other people have similar difficulties and it is really good to be able to talk about it!

    The medication is soley aimed at reducing his anxiety and they have assured us it is not psychotic.  This was hugely reassuring because we, like you, were very worried about schizophrenia etc when we first discovered it.  The medication reduces (although not completely gets rid of) anxiety and therefore the voices/faces go away because they manifest themselves as a result of extreme anxiety.  I have a half brother with extreme mental problems including schizophrenia (he is 60 now) and so we were even more concerned, however it does look as though our sons problems are not the same.

    The thing that worries me most is the anger and the awful things he says to other people when he feels backed into a corner.  People with ASD tend to have a "specialist" subject that they willl want to talk about regardless of what other people want to talk about, unfortunately with him its not innocuous stuff like trains, but politics and religion!  He gets really wound up about world problems and says things that are not very politically correct!  He says he is a satanist (very scary initially until I looked on wikipaedia) but again I think a lot of it is talk to put people off and to make him appear "scary" so that people will leave him alone.

    When he starts discussions on these topics at home we have been advised to listen and show interest but not challenge and then to wind up the discussion before he gets too anxious or wound up about it.  I ususally just change the subject or ask a question about something else to diffuse it.  Does your son have something that he always want to talk about?  I don't know much about PDA - I will have to have a look.  We are fairly confident with the Aspergers angle for our son, so many things fit, but as its a spectrum condition everyone is very different!  A lot of things from earlier childhood now seem so obvious!  He had a difficult start in life - surgery for a life threatening condition at 3 days old and again at 5 years.  The episode when he was 5 was very traumatic and seems to be the point at when a lot of his difficulties began.  Sometimes ASD type behaviours can be triggered by a large trauma like this.

    Sorry I see to be rambling on!  Hope today was a good day for you - sometimes we just have to take it a day at a time don't we!

    take care

    Mary

Reply

  • Hi Sue

    Thanks for replying to me, its sad but also comforting to know other people have similar difficulties and it is really good to be able to talk about it!

    The medication is soley aimed at reducing his anxiety and they have assured us it is not psychotic.  This was hugely reassuring because we, like you, were very worried about schizophrenia etc when we first discovered it.  The medication reduces (although not completely gets rid of) anxiety and therefore the voices/faces go away because they manifest themselves as a result of extreme anxiety.  I have a half brother with extreme mental problems including schizophrenia (he is 60 now) and so we were even more concerned, however it does look as though our sons problems are not the same.

    The thing that worries me most is the anger and the awful things he says to other people when he feels backed into a corner.  People with ASD tend to have a "specialist" subject that they willl want to talk about regardless of what other people want to talk about, unfortunately with him its not innocuous stuff like trains, but politics and religion!  He gets really wound up about world problems and says things that are not very politically correct!  He says he is a satanist (very scary initially until I looked on wikipaedia) but again I think a lot of it is talk to put people off and to make him appear "scary" so that people will leave him alone.

    When he starts discussions on these topics at home we have been advised to listen and show interest but not challenge and then to wind up the discussion before he gets too anxious or wound up about it.  I ususally just change the subject or ask a question about something else to diffuse it.  Does your son have something that he always want to talk about?  I don't know much about PDA - I will have to have a look.  We are fairly confident with the Aspergers angle for our son, so many things fit, but as its a spectrum condition everyone is very different!  A lot of things from earlier childhood now seem so obvious!  He had a difficult start in life - surgery for a life threatening condition at 3 days old and again at 5 years.  The episode when he was 5 was very traumatic and seems to be the point at when a lot of his difficulties began.  Sometimes ASD type behaviours can be triggered by a large trauma like this.

    Sorry I see to be rambling on!  Hope today was a good day for you - sometimes we just have to take it a day at a time don't we!

    take care

    Mary

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