Sunday, October 15, 2017

Mental Health Concens and Autism

 
Last week, Stephen Grcevich, M.D. posted an important and insightful article online at the Key Ministry website entitled “The Mental Health Crisis Among Persons with Autism.” [To read this article, please click here.] Dr. Grcevich adeptly summarizes research published last month in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders regarding the link between mental health issues and autism. As if the challenges of autism were not enough, many people with autism often struggle with mental illness, as well.

The research Dr. Grcevich cites used government administrative health data and focused upon young adults 18-24 years old in Ontario, Canada. These young adults were divided into three groups: those with autism spectrum disorders, those with developmental disabilities, and those who were typical adults. Of those adults studied who were seeking medical help, 19% of the typical people had a psychiatric diagnosis, compared to 39% of those with developmental disabilities. In even greater contrast, over half of the adults with autism––52%–-had a psychiatric diagnosis.

This study also found that the young adults with autism were twelve times more likely than their typical peers to see a psychiatrist. In addition, the young adults with autism were nearly five times more likely to obtain psychiatric services through an emergency room and more than ten times likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric conditions than their typical counterparts. Clearly, young adults with autism face psychiatric crises much more than other people their age do. As the abstract of the research article wisely concludes: “Planning for the mental health care of transitional age adults with ASD is an important priority for health policy.”

While this study examines mental health issues in young adults, another study Dr. Grcevich cites indicates that adolescents with autism also suffer from mental health disorders. This research published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry studied children with autism who were between 10 and 14 years old. This study found that 70% of these children with autism had at least one mental health condition, such as ADHD, anxiety, or depression. Moreover, 41% had at least two mental health disorders in addition to having autism. Consequently, the psychiatric issues seen in young adults in the Canadian study likely began years earlier in adolescence.

If mental health issues in children and adults with autism are not addressed or resolved, tragedy can result. In another article entitled “The suicide epidemic among high-functioning persons with autism,” Dr. Grcevich cites research regarding links between suicide, mental health disorders, and autism. [To read this article, please click here.] Specifically, he refers to a statistic from the British Journal of Psychiatry indicating that adults with autism of average or above average intelligence are nine times more likely to commit suicide than their typical peers.

In another study Dr. Grcevich references from Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, children with autism were found to be twenty-eight times more likely to experience suicide ideation than their typical peers. Because of this startling finding, the researchers of this study concluded, “All children with autism should be screened for suicide ideation or attempts because ideation and attempts are significantly higher than the norm and are present across the [autism] spectrum.”

Speculating on reasons why people with autism can be suicidal, Dr. Grcevich offers potential reasons. He notes that people with autism are more likely to be isolated socially and lack social supports; moreover, they are often victims of bullying. In addition, people with autism may experience problems with executive functioning of the brain. This may cause them to act impulsively, have difficulty in solving problems, and impair their ability to self-regulate their emotions. Furthermore, people with autism often fixate on specific thoughts and ideas, which may be the case in suicide ideation.

From our experience of raising a child who was diagnosed with autism at age four, obsessive-compulsive disorder at age eleven, and generalized anxiety disorder at age nineteen, I believe additional factors play a part in mental health issues reaching a critical stage in children and adults with autism. First, we had a great deal of trouble finding professionals who knew how to deal with autism. In addition, we discovered that few facilities know how to address autism and mental health issues. To add to the problem, insurance companies limit mental health care treatment, refusing to pay for a reasonable amount of time needed to stabilize a person in a mental health crisis. Furthermore, the unfair stigma of mental illness may prevent some parents from seeking help for their children with autism.

As parents who had to search and struggle to get our son the help he clearly needed, we know how important dealing with mental health issues in autism is. After discovering that our son’s aggressive outbursts that made him a danger to himself and others were triggered by severe anxiety, we knew that proper medication was necessary. Although we were heartbroken to have to hospitalize him in a psychiatric ward for weeks, we know that time of treatment was absolutely crucial to his well-being and are thankful that we found professionals who were able to help us through the crisis. While we would rather forget those turbulent times, we know that we must share our story in hopes that other parents would seek help for their children and know that they are not alone.

In concluding his article, Dr. Grcevich emphasizes the need for churches to support families whose children have autism, and I completely agree with him. However, in the absence of a church family who offers support, parents must remember that God will always support them through the trials of autism and mental illness and offer them hope for a future of healing and happiness. Though we carry scars from our battles, I know God has brought us through those struggles better and stronger and filled with faith and hope that Alex will continue to get better as a testimony to God’s goodness.

“From six calamities He will rescue you; in seven no harm will touch you.” Job 5:19

2 comments:

Adelaide Dupont said...

Pam:

Job is a really important man. And the Lamentations too.

"In addition, the young adults with autism were nearly five times more likely to obtain psychiatric services through an emergency room and more than ten times likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric conditions than their typical counterparts."

Would like to see autism-competent emergency services personnel and help at hospitalisation/rehabilitation. One of my favourite bloggers, Lydia Wayman, provides an effective model.

And Carly Fleischmann is looking to interview a celebrity with OCD for the next few episodes of Speechless.

Pam Byrne said...

Hi Adelaide,
Thanks for your comments; I always enjoy hearing from you. I'm not familiar with Lydia Wayman--I need to check out the model you mentioned. Hope you are doing well.

Take care,
Pam