by Jonathan Gillies

9th June 2021

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While there are, of course, many worse health problems in the world than autism, being on the autistic spectrum can be pretty nasty, especially seeing it’s likely that you will have other mental health problems as well as it. In this article, I hope to briefly describe some problems that autistic people may have to face, then some suggestions for how to solve these problems, and finally some resources that you may find helpful.

Problems

The main problem for those on the autistic spectrum is that they find it hard to know how to interact with other people in an appropriate way. Usually, those with ‘high-functioning’ autism will have a desire to conduct themselves appropriately, so this combination of desire and inability causes much strain and distress for the person. Often but not always accompanying this is social anxiety, which causes the person to find it hard to cope with being around other people.

Here are short descriptions of twenty other problems and disorders that those on the autistic spectrum may struggle with:

Obsessive Compulsory Disorder (OCD)
This comes about as a result of the person feeling that their environment is uncontrollable and unpredictable, and so wanting to control it. It can manifest in many ways, such as rituals, perfectionism, excessive cleanliness, excessive checking, inability to make decisions, inability to know when to stop doing things, inability to meet deadlines, etc.

Sensory disorders
This is when someone is unable to cope with much stimulation of any or all of their five senses.

• Sight – Some cannot cope with bright light, bright colours, many colours together, certain shades of colour, certain patterns, moving objects, etc.
• Hearing – Some cannot cope with loud sounds, certain sounds, certain words, music, etc.
• Smell – Some cannot cope with strong smells, certain smells, etc.
• Taste – Some cannot cope with strong tastes, certain tastes, etc.
• Touch – Some cannot cope with touching things, people touching them, certain textures, materials, etc.

Eating disorders
These can include eating excessively, not wanting to eat at all, eating only certain things, food addictions, anorexia, etc.

Talking disorders
These can include being unable to talk, being sometimes unable to talk, being unable to say certain things, etc.

Sleeping disorders
These can cause many abnormal sleeping habits.

Anger-management disorders
This is when someone’s mental pain overwhelms them so much that they lose the ability to control their temper.

Self-harm disorders
This is when someone tries to distract themselves from their mental pain by using physical pain.

Suicidal thoughts
This occurs when the person feels that their mental pain is so great that there is no other possible solution but death, or when they are convinced that the world would be better without them.

Depression
This is when someone is in a longterm state of sadness, hopelessness, or despair.

Rumination
This is when someone continually and repeatedly casts their mind back to sad, or otherwise unpleasant, situations that they have experienced in the past.

Guilt complexes
This is when someone feels excessive and hopeless guilt for things that they perceive are their fault. Autistic people are often plagued by guilt as a result of feeling that they are causing the people around them so many problems.

Anxiety attacks
This is when someone experiences a sudden surge of overwhelming anxiety about one, or many, things.

Panic attacks
This is when someone experiences a sudden surge of overwhelming panic about one, or many, things.

Extreme irritability
This is when someone finds everyday things irritating or upsetting to an abnormal level. Things that happen repeatedly are more likely to cause this. Some common triggers could include words or phrases that they hear repeatedly, or ambient noises such as doors opening and closing, clocks ticking, toilets flushing, the hum of electrical appliances, people laughing, whispering, coughing, sneezing, sniffing, or clearing their throat, etc.

Loss of enthusiasm
This is when someone has descended into a state of chronic listlessness and apathy.

Loss of motivation
This is when someone has stopped being motivated to do things that they would previously have been very keen to do.

Loss of concentration
This is when someone finds it extremely hard to maintain concentration or focus, where previously they didn’t.

Phobias
This is when someone has an excessive fear of a certain thing.

Paranoia
This is when someone has a pervasive and generalised perception that there is danger and harm lurking everywhere they go.

Chronic fatigue
This is when someone has longterm tiredness and a chronic lack of energy. It is quite common for autistic people to have this, at least to some degree, as a result of the battle against their other difficulties.

Solutions

Probably one the best ways to try to lessen the problems commonly associated with autism is to think of strategies to lower your levels of stress and upset.

Here is a list of some tips and suggestions that might be of help to you:

• Try and not worry too much about being like other people. Try to make friends with people who like you as you really are, without you having to make a big effort to change yourself. If people don’t want to be friends with you as you are, they’re not worth being friends with.
• Don’t stay in social situations for too long. Take breaks on your own every now and then to allow yourself to recuperate.
• Try to spend some time every day exercising outside, maybe for about an hour or so.
• Consider spending some time every day relaxing on your own, while doing something that helps your mood. Some people are helped by things like listening to relaxing classical music, reading relaxing and interesting books, playing musical instruments, doing artwork and crafts, etc.
• Try to take the time to discuss with those close to you the difficulties and hardships that you are experiencing and possible ways of addressing them.
• Try your best to eat a healthy diet of mostly unprocessed food. Processed food can negatively affect your physical and mental health.
• Try your best to maintain healthy sleeping habits.
• If you are feeling worthless, remember that God has made you to glorify himself, and he must have some purpose for you, or you wouldn’t be here.
• If you are feeling depressed, have a read through the Book of Psalms, as many of the Psalms were written by people in a depressed state of mind.
• If you are suffering from suicidal thoughts, pray to God for help with this horrible problem. Here is a good prayer to pray: ‘Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope. Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually.’ (Psalm 119:116-117) God promises to hear the prayers of those who call on him. Consider these comforting words: ‘The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. The Lord preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.’ (Psalm 145:18-20) To commit suicide is very dishonouring to God, and unspeakably painful for the relations and friends of the deceased. Here is a good declaration: ‘I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord. The Lord hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death. Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the Lord:’ (Psalm 118:17-19)
• If you are prone to often think about sad or horrible things, try your best to nip these thoughts in the bud, and it will hopefully get easier through time.
• If you are prone to suffer sudden attacks of anxiety or panic, try to find someone that you can go to when the attacks occur, who will reassure and help you.
• If you are struggling to concentrate on work that you’re trying to do, don’t force yourself too hard. Consider leaving it and finding something you find easier to cope with.
• Similarly, if you are struggling with fatigue, don’t be too hard on yourself. Consider cutting down on the things you do until you get better.
• Finally, always remember that God is in control. These horrible health problems have come about as a result of man’s fall into sin. (You can read more about this in my article called ‘If God is truly loving and all-powerful, how do so many bad things happen?‘) But God delights in mercy, and promises to help and uphold us in our difficulties, and most importantly, to save us from eternal damnation, if we ask him to. He has said, ‘Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.’ (Isaiah 45:22) If we do that, we can then say this: ‘I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large place.’ (Psalm 118:5) ‘Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.’ (Psalm 116:7-9)

Resources

There are many books and websites written about autism, some of which have been written by those who are themselves on the autistic spectrum. It can be very helpful to read about and learn from their experiences.

Here are some potentially helpful books that I know of:

More practical:

• ‘Asperkids’ by Jennifer Cook O’Toole
• ‘The Asperkid’s (Secret) Book of Social Rules’ by Jennifer Cook O’Toole
• ‘Thinking Club’ by Alex Lowery
• ‘Autism Breakthrough’ by Raun K. Kaufman

More theoretical:

• ‘The Autism Revolution’ by Dr. Martha Herbert & Karen Weintraub
• ‘Disconnected Kids’ by Dr. Robert Melillo
• ‘Healing the New Childhood Epidemics’ by Dr. Kenneth Bock & Cameron Stauth

I hope this article of problems, solutions, and resources has been even a small help to you. Feel free to contact me with feedback, or with your own tips and tricks for dealing with autism and its related problems.