Asbergers and BipolarDisorder

My son who is 13 was diagnosed w/Asbergers at age and 3 years ago was also diagnosed as having Bipolar I. We have tyried several different medication regimes and nothing is working well. Currently he is taking Risperidone, but has had serious sleep disruptions. Nothing we have tried to help him sleep has worked to any degree, the list includes clonidine, hydroxine, and trazadone. I am open to any suggestions anyone may have

sonwasd wrote:

My son who is 13 was diagnosed w/Asbergers at age and 3 years ago was also diagnosed as having Bipolar I. We have tyried several different medication regimes and nothing is working well. Currently he is taking Risperidone, but has had serious sleep disruptions. Nothing we have tried to help him sleep has worked to any degree, the list includes clonidine, hydroxine, and trazadone. I am open to any suggestions anyone may have

Many times autistic people are diagnosed with Bi-Polar before getting the proper diagnosis of autism, or they are diagnosed with both when in reality they only have autism. The reason the drugs are not working is because their is nothing for them to do. Answer this is your son having mood swings or is his environment and interaction with people having an affect on his mood.

Also keep in mind that your son is going through puberty with hormones surging which causes changes all over, bulling in schools is worse than ever before and so on.

Hi sonwasd, and welcome to IAN.

I am so sorry to hear that you and your son are going through such a difficult time. I know so many families who have been through similar struggles, and it is very, very hard.

Individuals with autism, and especially Asperger's, often have co-occurring mood issues (like depression or bipolar disorder) or anxiety. As Blackstarzero said, sometimes a person with Asperger's will be incorrectly labeled with bipolar disorder before receiving their autism spectrum diagnosis. But sometimes they truly do have both. Researchers are still debating exactly how mood disorder (in the family tree and in the individual) and autism are connected. For example, see "Autism and familial major mood disorder: Are they related?":
http://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/16/2/199

Also, our IAN Research Report on this topic: http://www.iancommunity.org/cs/ian_research_reports/cooccurring_conditions_minireport_

In general, when it comes to any issue like this, it is important to work with a psychiatrist or other medical professional who has an in depth understanding of how mood issues intertwine with ASD. Trying to figure out if someone is Bipolar (with autistic-y features) or Autistic (with bipolar-y features) or solidly both or something else can be a challenge.

It is generally a good idea for the family and physician to consider the child's whole life as they try to figure out what is contributing to mood swings or irritability. In addition to pure neurochemistry, are there stressors at school or home? Is the child stressed by academic demands, social demands, bullying, too much noise/light/chaos in the classroom? Could a different educational setting or situation help?

Sleep issues are also common for people on the autism spectrum, and this is tremendously difficult as it can disrupt the sleep (and functioning) of the entire family. Again, it is important to pull back and discuss the source of the sleep issue, exploring its cause. Anxiety or worry? Physical complaints? Medication side-effects? Lack of exercise/restlessness/hyperactivity? Etc.

I hope very much your family is able to find a solution that works well soon. I encourage other families to comment here on their own similar experiences.