Mental Health and Autism Spectrum Disorder

During childhood, a person’s brain develops at an exponential rate.

Their behaviours and emotions are constantly changing to try and keep up. Even in the most positive of circumstances, children will experience the full range of emotions at the drop of a hat – happy, sad, stressed, anxious, angry, agitation, and more – seemingly on a daily or even hourly basis.

This experience of strong emotions in rapid succession can be a regular part of growing up. But sometimes, a child’s feelings can develop into more significant mental health challenges impacting an individual’s ability to navigate daily living.

Diagnoses such as Anxiety Disorders, Depressive Disorders, Personality Disorders, Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and other mood or psychological disorders can begin in childhood and cause additional challenges and difficulties for the children they are affecting.

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have a substantially higher likelihood of developing a co-morbid (co-occurring) mental health disorder than a person who does not have ASD.

There are trends in research that suggest people with Autism often struggle with concepts of self, how they view themselves, and where they fit in the world; they may also be more susceptible to depression or anxiety. The general thought is that people with ASD will experience a collection of daily stressors and challenges throughout their life that neurotypical people may not experience to the same degree.

This can lead to more negative emotions, which subsequently lead to more stressors, and the cycle will perpetuate itself, leading to more significant mental health challenges.

In our experience, individuals with ASD struggle with navigating a world that is often set up to support neurotypical individuals, which can be very distressing and confusing. This is turn, seems to lead to the increased likelihood of mental health concerns.

“Growing up autistic in a non-autistic society presents itself with many daily hassles, many kinds of acute traumas, or more generally, experiences of stigmatization and marginalization.” – Dr. Jonathan Weiss, York University.

There are many ways to support your child if they struggle with mental health. First, seeing your family doctor or pediatrician to discuss any mental health concerns is always recommended. Your doctor may be able to provide a formal diagnosis if required (or refer to a child psychiatrist or developmental pediatrician who can also make the diagnosis if needed).

These doctors can recommend treatments, refer to supports and services, and prescribe medication if needed and desired. That being said, a formal diagnosis of a mental health disorder is not required for someone to access many mental health services. For example, at Bethesda, we offer Social Work Counselling and Psychotherapy services to individuals regardless of formal diagnosis and without a medical referral.

We understand the barriers to accessing mental health services within the community. If you are waiting for services or are unsure where to begin, there are strategies you can utilize at home to help your child (and yourself) navigate these concerns.

Below are some general strategies that are helpful:

Behavioural Activation

The opposite of depression is not happiness. The opposite of depression is action. When we are depressed, all we want to do is do nothing. There is often a lack of energy, a lack of motivation, and a lack of getting enjoyment out of things we used to enjoy.

That is where Behavioural Activation comes into play. We often wait to feel motivated or better before we set out to do something. When we are depressed, we no longer feel motivated to do the things that bring us joy, so we do not do them. This perpetuates the low feelings of depression because we are not getting those pleasant ‘happy hormones’ like serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins when we do the activities that bring us joy.

Using Behavioural Activation, we activate first, even before we have the motivation or feeling of wanting to do something, so that our brain starts creating those ‘happy hormones’, giving us a natural boost to our mood and emotions. You can engage in Behavioural Activation by setting a schedule or routine each day that incorporates as many pleasurable or fun activities into your day as possible.

Grounding Exercises

Grounding can be best explained by thinking of a ship in the ocean during the middle of a storm. You have two options: either get tossed around the storm or drop an anchor and stabilize the ship while the storm passes. Grounding yourself can be understood as using an anchor to stabilize yourself in a crisis. Below are two different forms of grounding that you can incorporate when experiencing intense emotions:

Cognitive Grounding:

List as many colours as you can think of, animals, movie/ show titles, sports teams, TV characters, countries, or anything that your child is interested in or would know a lot about. They can either write this down or vocalize it.

Physical Grounding:

Progressive muscle relaxation involves tensing and releasing muscle groups. You can start by tensing and relaxing the muscles in your toes and work through each muscle group in your body until you reach your head and neck.

For more information, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.