Consequences of abuse on asperger

Post Reply New Topic

Hello ,

i'd like to ask : what are the consequences of child abuse on aspergers ?

Could they develop some traits common with borderline personality disorder ?

Asperger doesn't make you immune to personality disorders. So: sure.

Consequences of child abuse on Aspergers are pretty much the same as consequences of abuse on any child: C-PTSD, anxiety, depression, inability to express feelings, low self-esteem etc.

It's also well known fact that stuff like anxiety and depression are common comorbidities to Asperger. And lets be honest - who of us(ASD people) didn't experience some sort of abuse? If not at home then at least from peers at school. We all have to deal with effects of abuse, hidden under the name of "Asperger comorbidities".

I found a website telling about abuse and Asperger child: http://www.myaspergerschild.com/2009/12 ... sical.html
And here how it looks like in any kid: http://www.safefuturesct.org/learn-abou ... s-of-abuse

Last edited by Kiriae on 02 Jul 2015, 9:11 am, edited 2 times in total.

It's not abuse if you had it coming, now is it?

I was abused as a child and have been diagnosed with C-PTSD, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and bipolar disorder along with my ASD diagnosis, and was previously diagnosed with anorexia but am in recovery for that now.

I think the fear/mistrust of people combined with the need for approval and the self esteem issues I've developed because of so many years of continued, intense abuse has affected my personal relationships almost as much, if not more than the autism does, but at the same time I somehow managed to develop into a really resilient, resourceful person, so it wasn't all bad.

As for your question, Spiderpig - I don't think there is any justified reason for abusing a child. A child should not be expected to act like an adult, their brains just aren't developed enough to expect the same things out of them. Not that I think adults should be abused either, but children especially need to bond with a caretaker. There is nothing anyone can do that "deserves" abuse. You don't have it coming. There is always another route to discipline, some parents just aren't mature/healthy/patient enough for proper discipline and resort to abuse instead. The onus is on them, not on the child.

I believe the consequences of child abuse could be the same on an Asperger's child as with an NT child and yes, they can lead to other disorders, including BPD.

I was abused as a child and I found one of the difficulties in therapy is the way I process trauma is not the same as the way an NT person generally processes it, so it's important to find a therapist who is sensitive to these differences.

No one deserves to be abused. But of course some people lash back when they are abused. I have heard of parents lashing back too at their kids who were also abusive towards them. But even therapists and Dr. Phil will tell them how wrong they are for lashing back at their child. IMO kids who abuse usually have mental issues or some mental illness. I even knew one boy who abused his mom and others and my brothers and my therapist told me he was mentally ill and most kids don't act that way to get their way, they wouldn't get violent and do abuse to get their way. The kid had also been hospitalized several times too and when he kept throwing an ax at my brothers and their friends up in my grandfather's forest that one day nearly hitting them with it. I sometimes wonder if he was a sociopath than just ODD. But the mom never lashed back at him. She took his abuse.

Then I have heard about couples abusing each other. One partner is getting abused so one day she starts to abuse him back and starts doing things to him that are also abusive.

Also let's not confuse self defense as abuse. If you are being attacked, it won't be abuse to fight back to get them off. If your own kid is beating you, it won't be child abuse to defend yourself but sadly the law won't see it that way because you may still be charged with child abuse. Actually anyone can be charged for self defense if there was no proof you were being attacked because of no witnesses and they didn't leave a mark on you but you left one on them so you re charged with assault instead.

I was abused as a kid too, and I have C-PTSD, depression and Aspergers. It made me put up with a lot more from my soon to be ex than I should have. I didn't even recognize his emotional abuse as abuse because he wasn't hitting me.

Kate

I'd like to think it's somewhat of a guarantee, honestly.

I was also in a abusive relationship too and I also didn't recognize it because he was not hitting me, threatening me, calling me names, breaking things, and throwing. And I also didn't know he was controlling because he didn't tell me directly "No you can't do this" but he did made me feel he didn't want me doing things and felt I couldn't do it even though he never said I couldn't and he also told me he wouldn't force me to do things because he didn't want to be a control freak. I think he just didn't know he was controlling. I felt he was controlling and I didn't realize that was because he is. You can be controlling by using emotion and making them feel guilty so they will do it. But I did not last long with him but it was enough to affect me.

My husband is an expert on using guilt to get what he wants. He never told me I "couldn't" do things but like your ex, made me feel bad if I did something he didn't "approve of". Now he's trying to get me to pay him alimony and trying his best to convince me I'm a horrible person so that I feel guilty and support him for a few more years. Thing is, I know he's doing it now, so it doesn't work as well. I still get stressed and depressed, but I'm not going to give in to him because of the way he's treating me. He needs to learn that won't work.

Kate