Therapies for people with Aspergers?

Ultimately there is no cure for Asperger's.

Medication can help.

And so can therapy.

But, and this is the important bit, both need to be appropriate.

In the case of medication that means not medicating for the sake of it, and not as a first resort (usually).

In the case of therapy that means therapy administered by someone who is trained to give that therapy to people on the Autistic Spectrum - and mere Autism awareness training is not enough - they need to understand how our thought processes differ to those of neurotypicals and, therefore, how the therapies need to be tailored to suit those thought processes.

Unfortunately, despite the, now not so, recent Autism legislation, and NICE guidelines, the NHS trusts in many, if not most, areas are still playing catch-up, and there simply aren't the resources available, or where the resources are available you still have to fight to get referred (I had to pressure my GP into going through the PCT special funding process to get me referred to see a counsellor that specialises in Autism and Asperger's and who already takes NHS referrals!)

makes me cross too Super-meg,but.... as an Aspergers mum of an Aspergers son there's precious little help for any of us. Or maybe it's me finds it so hard to find useful help. I often wonder how many parents of autistic children are autistic themselves, given that it's an inherited condition.

It annous me that there is so much support for children and the parents of those with autism but not adults :/ 

Medication won't help so we need an alternative option! 

Now there's an idea Jon.... I'm back on it, relunctantly, sure they prescribe it cause it's the only thing they can offer. Maybe we should set up a "refuse to medicate/find us another option" action group, have a march or two. Actually, although I was half joking it's something to think about. I've spent all my adult life fighting for a correct diagnosis and being prescribed a whole cocktail of drugs. Now I have the diagnosis and the only answer is the same - more of the same drugs. My doc has now admitted she no longer thinks I'm mentally ill yet still puts depression on my notes and does not seem able to accept autism. And still says I "must take the medication". I asked her what would happen if I admitted I was not coping with myself and caring for my son(also Aspergers)? She would put me back in hospital which is where I was before I had him. Because I care for my lad and myself, because I support us (i'm self-employed' it's flexible),I'm not considered "in need". I've asked for a support worker, anything, but not holding my breath cause I apparently "cope too well". Drives me flippin crazy!

.....maybe if we all started to refuse medication... en masse...:-)

I don't know if such help exists and if it does it will be miles away then I will need to go through the whole funding and waiting list but it makes sense it should exist!!

My doctor says I'm the first person he has ever dealt with that has aspergers which doesn't fill me with confidence that he knows anything of what he is on about and seems intent on medication and telling me there is no cure! but then because me anxiety gets so bad my social worker is limited to how much she can do for me then I feel bad and the whole cycle of been depressed, anxious and blaming myself starts again! 

And like you since the diagnosis I've had no further support from the people that did the diagnosing which seems so wrong because if I had a different illness, condition or whatever it wouldn't happen

Hi super-meg.

I am in a similar position myself. All my life I have been anxious, although, as a child, my anxieties were managable and were not all consuming. This changed shortly after I started secondary school. The OCD got worse, as did my phobias, and new ones developed. I was not diagnosed with AS at this stage, although my parents had begun to think that I had it.

Eventually I agreed to seek therapy because, at this point, I hardly left the house at all - I was 19 years old. I was  diagnosed with OCD, but the therapy was not helping me to overcome it. I then came across Aspergers on an internet site, and immediately knew that my parents were right. It took a long time to get a diagnosis on the NHS, but I got there in the end.

I was allocated a support worker, who works for the local autism charity, and I have come a long way since then. But I still experience extreme inner anxiety and tension, as well as still having many OCD behaviours. I recently had a booster course of CBT, but again, it did not work. I have also had physiotherapy, which simply made my anxiety worse, and I am getting desperate. Will I ever be anxiety free?. The NHS has a duty of care, and I have simply not received the best care from them because, since diagnosis, I have had no contact with an autism professional. Taking drugs is not an option- the very idea of putting a pill into my mouth causes anxiety, and drugs do not get to the root of the problem.