The Link Between Anxiety and Autism
There are approximately 700,000 children and adults in the UK diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum and this figure is increasing.
Anxiety is estimated to affect around 47% of autistic individuals and is referred to as a co-occurring disorder. A co-occurring disorder is a condition that occurs alongside another disorder simultaneously.
The thought process of being overstimulated by scratchy clothing and labels, loud/chattering sounds, bright lights, the busyness of shops etc all cause the individual to feel stressed and unable to cope with their immediate environment.
Continuous stress causes the body/mind to remain in a flight, fight or freeze state coping strategy. When feeling stressed for more than six months, anxiety disorders become prevalent as the autistic individual starts to feel overwhelmed with their environment.
Anxiety can cause behavioural, physical, emotional, and psychological symptoms such as:
Sweating (especially palms), fatigue, faster heart rate, headaches, nausea, disturbed sleep pattern (unable to switch off).
Changes to ‘normal’ behaviour, for instance, avoiding social situations, stopping hobbies, staying in the bedroom, and generally spending a lot of time alone. Behaviours can include lashing out and generally being defensive.
Tense, nervous, fearing the worst, having a sense of dread, unable to relax.
Self-doubt, feeling people are watching and realising the person feels anxious.
Poor concentration and inability to grasp information include racing thoughts, negative thought patterns, etc.
Parents can play a big part in helping their children cope with their anxiety symptoms; they can monitor and watch for triggers with subsequent behaviours such as their child experiencing difficulties at school, not wanting to go to school, avoiding friends, dictating family activities (displaying a need for control) and possibly engaging in self-harm. Other behaviours include anger outbursts, being teary-eyed, dressing differently (covering up), not sitting still, being easily startled, disconnecting, and showing little interest, plus spending too much time on their own.
Parents can help their children by:
Communicating with them and honouring what is being said. Do not be dismissive or defensive about what is being divulged; know it may be difficult for the child to explain how they are feeling and what is going on for them. Some children honestly do not know how they feel and don’t know how to put their feelings/emotions into words. Pausing is a wonderful way to draw out conversation and allows the child time and space to think… to make sense of their muddled thoughts. It is important to also note what is NOT being said – are friends being mentioned? What are they NOT saying about their day?
Spending quality time with their child. If there are multiple siblings, it is important to spend one-on-one time with any of the siblings individually and is particularly important for the one suffering from an anxiety disorder. Ask the child what they would like to do to give them some control over the situation as they may be feeling they have very little control elsewhere.
Instigate fun activities. Family time can create precious memories. A family does not necessarily mean two parents are together – it is about quality time with people who are important to the child. Activities can include riding bikes together, going for a walk in the countryside, searching for sea glass on the beach, doing water activities or going camping. Even sleeping in the car overnight or setting up a tent in the garden can be fun; toasting marshmallows on an open fire and watching the stars move slowly across the sky can be fun.
Creating a safe environment in the home will give the anxious child a safe haven; somewhere they can retreat to when the outside world is becoming overwhelming and a place they can learn coping strategies so anxiety does not become their projection of the world, but rather a feeling they can learn to overcome to move forward with positivity.
