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Regular physical aggression, out of the blue

christi

Hi Everyone,

New here. I wondered if anyone out there was as frustrated and worried about this.

My son is 27 and has 'out of the blue' rages for no apparent reason, he becomes very violent, upset and loud. This usually lasts for around 5 - 10 minutes , he cannot explain why or what triggered the behaviours. He is Autistic with moderate learning disability. he is echolalic. His Echolalia and physical aggression have esculated severely over the past few years. We have had tests to rule out any epileptic activity and I am now wondering if Bi Polar or Schizophrenia is an issue for him or any other Autistic adults? I have mentioned Bi Polar to my sons LD Phsychiatrist but this has not been taken any further. My son has had various medications to try to help with the aggressive attacks and is on Sodium Valproate and Risperidone which do not appear to have any effect. It is very upsetting to see him during these ongoing 'attacks' and i do not know of anyone in the same situation. Any advise greatly appreciated.Frown

Parents

  • They are most likely meltdowns, which the vast majority of autistic people are prone to.  It does not mean he is bipolar or schizophrenic.  If he was bipolar he would have manic highs and deep lows and if he was schizophrenic he would be hearing voices or having delusions and extremely paranoid.

    Medication does not get rid of the cause of meltdowns and unless he needs medication for specific reasons such as to reduce anxiety he should not be on medication for being autistic (it says this in the NHS NICE Guidelines).  Autism is a neurological disorder not a psychological one, although there can be co-morbid mental health issues that need treating.

    Meltdowns are a release of stress, if there are no specific triggers that you can see it means either he is unable to identify the triggers (he might have alexithymia) or it is just existential stress being released.

    Before medication, the first thing you need to do is look at his environment.  Is there noise that others may think is not problematic but to an autistic person is?  Is he bored, lacking in routine?  Are people placing demands on him?  Are people speaking to him in a non-concrete way and making him stressed because he is failing to understand their meaning?  Is anyone teasing him?  Has anyone taken anything from him?  Are his clothes comfortable and well-fitting?  Is his sleep OK?  Is his diet OK?  Is socialising pressure being put on him?  There could be all sorts of things which haven't occurred to you (or that he has self-realisation about) that are bothering him.

    Medications can be harmful to autistic people as we are more sensitive to side-effects.  Be sure he really needs the medication and it is the right one if he does.

    BTW when you say his rages are violent, is he harming anyone or himself, or threatening to?  I know a grown man raging can appear scary but it's not violent unless he is destroying property all around him or harming anyone.

Reply

  • They are most likely meltdowns, which the vast majority of autistic people are prone to.  It does not mean he is bipolar or schizophrenic.  If he was bipolar he would have manic highs and deep lows and if he was schizophrenic he would be hearing voices or having delusions and extremely paranoid.

    Medication does not get rid of the cause of meltdowns and unless he needs medication for specific reasons such as to reduce anxiety he should not be on medication for being autistic (it says this in the NHS NICE Guidelines).  Autism is a neurological disorder not a psychological one, although there can be co-morbid mental health issues that need treating.

    Meltdowns are a release of stress, if there are no specific triggers that you can see it means either he is unable to identify the triggers (he might have alexithymia) or it is just existential stress being released.

    Before medication, the first thing you need to do is look at his environment.  Is there noise that others may think is not problematic but to an autistic person is?  Is he bored, lacking in routine?  Are people placing demands on him?  Are people speaking to him in a non-concrete way and making him stressed because he is failing to understand their meaning?  Is anyone teasing him?  Has anyone taken anything from him?  Are his clothes comfortable and well-fitting?  Is his sleep OK?  Is his diet OK?  Is socialising pressure being put on him?  There could be all sorts of things which haven't occurred to you (or that he has self-realisation about) that are bothering him.

    Medications can be harmful to autistic people as we are more sensitive to side-effects.  Be sure he really needs the medication and it is the right one if he does.

    BTW when you say his rages are violent, is he harming anyone or himself, or threatening to?  I know a grown man raging can appear scary but it's not violent unless he is destroying property all around him or harming anyone.

Children
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