Asperger's Stress Hormone Link.

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Children with Asperger's Syndrome may dislike change to their routine because of their different levels of the stress hormone cortisol, a study suggests.

The hormone is believed to make the brain more alert, and more able to cope with changes in the environment.

Writing in Psychoneuroendocrinology, researchers noted children with the autistic condition do not experience the normal morning "surge" of cortisol.

This may explain their need for routine and aversion to change, they suggested.

"Cortisol is one of a family of stress hormones that acts like a 'red alert' that is triggered by stressful situations allowing a person to react quickly to changes around them," said Mark Brosnan, a psychologist at Bath University.

"In most people, there is a two-fold increase in levels of this hormone within 30 minutes of waking up, with levels gradually declining during the day as part of the internal body clock.

"Our study found that the children with AS [Asperger's Syndrome] didn't have this peak, although levels of the hormone still decreased during the day as normal.

"Although these are early days, we think this difference in stress hormone levels could be really significant in explaining why children with AS are less able to react and cope with unexpected change."

People with Asperger's are usually more mildly affected than those with autism but they can nevertheless experience significant problems coping with daily life.

Often of average or above intelligence, they may perform well at school but have difficulties with communication and forming social relationships.

The team from the universities of Bath and Bristol hope their findings will improve understanding of the symptoms as a response to what the child sees as a stressful situation, rather than a behavioural problem.

Strategies can then be developed by parents, carers and teachers for avoiding situations which might cause distress.

"We have long known that anxiety is one of the key problems, and people use various coping strategies including cognitive therapy and small doses of anti-anxiety medicine," said Richard Mills, research director of Research Autism.

"We welcome these conclusions because anything that furthers our understanding of the nature of this anxiety is very helpful indeed," he added.

"We would now like to see similar work in adults."


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7976489.stm

Maybe this explains why I have such trouble getting up in the morning...

For me it's like a fear to the day and what it brings. The only days i feel alright are those when i have a plan of everything, from begginning to end.

I think this explains why AS BF and I BOTH have trouble waking up in the morning. It's a really fascinating discovery to me!

Explains why I have such trouble in the morning handling stress and decisions. Interesting, would like to see more research.


M.

I echo the responses so far.

I have waaaayyy too much stress all the time. I live in a state of high anxiety and have sleep issues as a result. This theory is saying autistics are less alert than NTs, a claim belied by the fact that we focus obsessively on the subjects and activities that interest us. I'm not buyin' this one, it's another pant-load cooked up by someone who has no idea what they're talking about because they've never spent a day inside an autistic brain.

Willard, I don't read it as saying those on the spectrum are less alert... more that part of the coping mechanism is not functioning the same as in those not on the spectrum. It does not say that autists do not have stress or anxiety issues; I also deal with the issues you describe with frequent insomnia. But it's interesting that in this one study, they found a lack of circadian process within those with ASDs vs. those who do not. Respect your skepticism, but it seemed like we read two different articles.


M.

Not a new finding, but it adds more evidence. Abnormal cortisol circadian rhythms have been found depending on the methods. I would expect cortisol levels to be different.