Friday, October 11, 2002

MDMA (Ecstasy) and Asperger's A google search of "Ecstasy and Asperger's" turns up....nothing.  Has no one thought about the use of ecstasy (MDMA) which purportedly enhances social connectedness for individuals with Asperger's or Autism??  While there may be good reason to be careful about using MDMA (it is illegal in the US and there are recent animal studies suggesting it damages the dopamine system), I'm surprised no one has talked about this possibility in the past. 4:17:48 PM    comment [] Anger and Revenge in Asperger's AS sufferer Christopher Marsh talks about his anger, resentment, and feelings of revenge toward those individuals and institutions that have halted his progress in life.  My colleague Linda Baker, Ph.D. talks about AS sufferers fixation on avenging those who they feel have wronged them.  Linda and I talked over tea today at her new home about how to manage this problem.  While psychologists tend to take a "cognitive" approach (challenge irrational or non-productive ideas) toward anger, Linda and I agree that this doesn't seem to cut it with AS sufferers consumed with anger toward others.  These thoughts of revenge go beyond simple "negative thoughts" and appear to be more "obsessive" in nature (highly irrational ideas that intrude upon conciousness despite one's best efforts to counter them).  It is imperative that we figure out more precisely the nature of these ideas and what is maintaining them so that we can better design effective therapies that will eliminate them.  Linda and I talked about several possibilities, including a) using behavioral techniques used for treating obsessions or "mental compulsions" as Edna Foa has called them; b) hypnosis (although we both doubted whether AS individuals were hypontizable and c) indirect programs designed to help AS individuals develop and maintain viable alternatives to brooding and obsessing. 3:54:24 PM    comment [] The Cost of Asperger's The way money is being spent on accomodating children with Asperger's is very strange, indeed.  Some children are costing school districts tens of thousands of dollars a year (out-of-district placements, special instructors, etc.) while other children are incurring no additional costs (fully mainstreamed in the regular classroom).  One way that we are getting around the cost problem is to use college students from our local state college as "interns" or "practicum" students who also provide much needed services (e.g., social skills training, tutoring, adaptive physical education, and so on), albeit with considerable supervision from interested college professors and public school staff. This is an exciting opportunity for colleges and universities (especially those in rural areas)...to become a center of information and support regarding Asperger's and Autism.  Now if we can only convince granting foundations that this is a worthwhile path to pursue... 10:04:29 AM    comment []

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