High-Functioning Autism, Severe Anxiety, and Bullying in a 26 Year Old

CASE: Peter is a 26-year-old group home resident in Austria with a history of poor peer relationships, including being bullied, and previous diagnoses of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Asperger syndrome, social anxiety, depression, and developmental coordination disorder. Consultation from our international neurodevelopmental team was requested for severe anxiety and avoidance of social interactions. He reported 4 or more spontaneous anxiety episodes per day. Anxiety triggers included returning to his group home from his vocational rehabilitation program each evening or returning to the group home after weekends at his parents' house. Each Sunday evening, in anticipation of returning to the group home, Peter engaged in tantrums, including screaming and throwing objects and suicidal threats without intent, but not direct aggression toward family members. He phoned his mother several times per day on weekdays. Peter's early history was significant for hyperactivity, impulsivity, aggression, and socially intrusive behavior; he repeated kindergarten and by first grade was characterized as motorically clumsy and “too much in [peers'] personal space.” He played alone in kindergarten and had poor social boundaries; when older, he evidenced reduced social perception, and his family reported he did not notice when peers made fun of him. His language developed normally, but he had a “sophisticated style of speaking” and as an adult continued to have trouble unders...
Source: Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics - Category: Child Development Tags: Challenging Case Source Type: research