r/autism • u/Affectionate_Law1224 autism + epilepsy meal deal • Apr 29 '23
Educator Meme
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u/world_famous_dredd Apr 29 '23
Oh my gosh I also had epilepsy as a child! Absence seizures, up to 200 a day. It eventually cleared up as I got older but always wondered if there was a link with autism.
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u/Affectionate_Law1224 autism + epilepsy meal deal Apr 29 '23
200 a day? Oh god that sounds awful - at most I've had maybe 40 in a day. But yeah there's a massive link between the two, although it's not really understood why or how it works
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u/world_famous_dredd Apr 29 '23
I'll be honest I don't remember any of it! All I kept from my childhood is a strong dislike for hospitals. I've actually never gotten to talk to another epileptic, so I have no frame of reference for what is a "normal" amount of seizures. Absences tend to go unnoticed so we just went with the estimate the hospital gave us. I guess it makes sense that when you're neurodivergent, your neurons are gonna diverge in a multitude of ways. I was just googling it now. The more you know š
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u/Affectionate_Law1224 autism + epilepsy meal deal Apr 29 '23
My seizures are mostly of the "medical emergency" kind, and the autism makes it really hard in some cases e.g. MRI scans. I'm not an expert on diverging neurons, but I think it's like 1 in 8 epileptic people are autistic??
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u/world_famous_dredd Apr 29 '23
That number is absolutely wild
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u/Nikita-Akashya Apr 29 '23
I don't think I ever had a seizure but I used to take this epilepsy medication, because of an MRI scan where they found stuff in my brain that could make me have seizures. I don't know if I'm just autistic or still at risk of epilepsy too. Maybe I should check with my caretakers. I still need to get those papers back home too.
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u/world_famous_dredd Apr 29 '23
When I stopped medication for epilepsy I had to get an EEG to confirm that I didn't have any more seizures. There were a few EEGs that came back inconclusive, so I continued treatment for while until everything came back clear. I'd definitely check if they confirmed you were fine. I had another EEG years later when I was pregnant just to make sure; I don't know how it works in your country, but I'm sure you could get one as well if you're having doubts
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u/Nikita-Akashya Apr 29 '23
Well, as a German in Jugendhilfe I just need to speak with my doctors. And caretakers. I'm just glad I've never been pregnant. Human meat sirens are the worst things in existence. I prefer regular potatos. I really need to check that though. Just to make sure.
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Apr 29 '23
My sibling has them constantly, they have a vns installed to subdue them and that monitors every one that occurs. They nearly die of some seizure related thing every two years on average. I too have it but thankfully much much milder amd responds to stress and sugar negatively.
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u/alobaby Apr 29 '23
being autistic and having epilepsy is common for some reason, but doctors donāt know why. according to this, 20-30% of autistic people develop epilepsy by adulthood and only 1.2% of the allistic population (i believe thatās what they are saying?) have epilepsy. i personally have absence seizures still (iām 22 and luckily on medicine!) and myoclonic ones. iām so glad you donāt have those anymore, thatās awful!!
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u/Absbor Officially diagnosed | it/its Apr 29 '23
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u/Ascyt Apr 29 '23
missing an m? r/autismmemes
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u/Absbor Officially diagnosed | it/its Apr 29 '23
oh, didn't noticed it. thanks! whoever stole the wordplay should be ashamed of themself.
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u/PurpleSmartHeart Apr 29 '23
Autism has extremely high comorbidity for neurological disorders... everyone PLEASE be very serious about your mental and physical health.
Most of us are going to have TIA's in our lifetimes (they're literally tiny strokes that just cause pain), some of us will have seizures, and a slightly lower number of us will develop a schizotypal disorder.
None of these are death sentences, all of them can be managed, but they need to be taken EXTREMELY seriously!
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u/reporting-flick ASD Moderate Support Needs Apr 29 '23
I have tourettes as a comorbid!
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u/PurpleSmartHeart Apr 29 '23
Yep! Started seeing younger people on social media associating tourettes with trans people, but the more likely association is how frequently incongruity with one's birth gender and autism are comorbid.
The difference being that trans healthcare is all based on cis healthcare (there are no procedures or treatments for trans people that weren't invented first for cis people) but there are many ways in which neurodivergent healthcare diverges/needs to diverge from allistic healthcare.
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u/Stoomba Apr 30 '23
I've probably got the trifecta of Autism, ADHD, and Bipolar disorder! Yay me!
Actually, I'd be elated if that was my actual diagnosis. I've managed to do pretty fucking good, all things considered, and knowing better what is wrong so that I can address it and correct or figure out how to better cope, I'll be fucking unstoppable.
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u/kioku119 ASD, ADHD, and OCD oh my! Apr 29 '23
Not me, but one of my friends since middle school has this combo.
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u/hi_this_is_lyd Apr 29 '23
same meme with autism and adhd, although i presume it's nowhere near as bad D: autism and epilepsy do not sound like a fun combo
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u/soberhippy22 Apr 29 '23
Are epilepsy and autism known to be related??? :O
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u/Affectionate_Law1224 autism + epilepsy meal deal Apr 29 '23
Yes, there's a huge link between the two but medical professionals don't really know why.
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u/kerfuffleshenanigans Apr 29 '23
I squeeled! It's me! Wow!
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u/Affectionate_Law1224 autism + epilepsy meal deal Apr 29 '23
Me too!!! sorry you have epilispy too though
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u/Boy_wench Apr 29 '23
I'm possibly autistic, not diagnosed but thinking about checking it out. I definitely have seizures though. My seizures are non-epileptic however and stress-induced.
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u/Oldsodacan Apr 29 '23
My son has (or possibly just āhadā at this point) both autism and epilepsy and I want to send this to my wife, but she has no idea who or what team rocket is and so I feel like this is a real missed opportunity and it kinda bums me out.
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u/sharonmckaysbff1991 Autistic Apr 29 '23
Me. Absence seizures suck especially when your teacher gets mad at you for doing what you do after you have one and then when you say āseizureā she says āno, you didnāt collapse and anyway how do you even know when no one else does?ā
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u/Ziedra Apr 29 '23
i have a mild form of epilepsy. when i was 4 i would have grand-mal seizures, but then as i got into my teens i started getting petite-mal seizures. these seizures look like someone is staring at you. they aren't. they are staring into space. these are what my seizures currently look like, if i get one. i haven't had one in years.
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u/JeffPlissken Apr 30 '23
Iāve had epilepsy since 13 but was only diagnosed ASD over a decade later. I was actually seizure free since 2015 after finally finding the right dosage of Keppra and Trileptal, but have had two seizures since September just from forgetting to take as little as one pill. I also canāt remember what itās called but itās from the left temporal lobe.
I will say that one thing about epilepsy is that the mental state in the post-ictal state is absolutely nuts, and impossible to describe to others. Sometimes I can handle the muscle pain and tongue bites but the indescribable fear after seizures are insane, and extremely irrational and Iām aware of it. My last seizure had a very mild effect on me physically save for the tongue biting, but holy shit I was just in fear of everything for a week, even words on paper looked strange to me, and before that I had what felt like chunks of my short term memory just gone. Both recent times it took quite a few visits to the theme park, zoo, and walking park just to give me a sense of peace.
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u/NihiliSloth Apr 30 '23
Iām sorry you go through this. I do understand the fear except for me it happens before and during. Itās the precursor to let me know itās going to happen. And while itās happing, itās pure hell. There isnāt anything I can do to stop it. Afterwards it eases up just because I know itās over.
But I feel like over the years, having seizures has caused me issues I wouldnāt normally have. For the most part they are controlled now. But taking my medicine is super important. My memory is failing me more as I get older. My nerves hurt me all of the time. I was finally diagnosed with fibromyalgia because I also have muscle pain. Itās hard for me to talk at times (I canāt articulate what Iām trying to say because I canāt remember words) and I stutter or get stuck on repeating the same word over and over when Iām frustrated with it (I donāt remember having this problem when I was younger).
Iāve always been super quiet, weird, and bad at picking up on social queues. If someone would have told me 10 years ago I was autistic, I would have thought (no itās just the epilepsy, extreme anxiety and depression, and my trauma). Now that Iām older and some of the anxiety, depression, and trauma have faded from my life, the autistic thing keeps popping up. My daughter was diagnosed recently. And sheās basically my mini me. I was an extremely difficult kid like her. She has a lot of the same habits as I do. And I find Iām still struggling socially and mentally because of it all. I truly feel if someone has epilepsy and autism it only gets worse over the years even if you do manage to find ways to mask and cope with it better. Lucky for my daughter she does not have epilepsy. Iām very greatful for that.
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u/JeffPlissken Apr 30 '23
Thanks for the support, I canāt relate to the fibromyalgia but god the whole thing is crazy. Was a little bit too surreal to me too because I hadnāt experienced it in seven years and it suddenly happens. Worst thing was when I was first diagnosed with epilepsy my dad was super worried but also responsive and about as supportive as someone could be, even sleeping on the couch in my hospital room for three days while I had testing done so I wouldnāt be alone, but he died 14 years ago and in that time I was just made to feel like a burden to everyone save for a few friends who could tell that I wasnāt all there and in immense pain afterward.
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u/NihiliSloth Apr 30 '23
Iām sorry itās been super isolating for you. I feel like unless someone has went through something similar, they wonāt understand it.
If you need someone to talk to, you can hit me up. Even if you just need someone to talk to about epilepsy or autism or both. I can definitely relate. Itās very lonely and I feel like we get so much time to reflect we just end up being in our heads constantly.
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u/thirdstorywindow ASD Level 2 Apr 29 '23 edited Apr 30 '23
Reminds me of when I was diagnosed with epilepsy and my neurologist said "You're autistic? Well that checks out"
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u/Catonthecurb Apr 29 '23
I had to ask my fiancee if she made this meme. She did not. Is there a correlation between autism and epilepsy?
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u/NihiliSloth Apr 29 '23
Yeah. People who have epilepsy are twice as likely to be autistic. Itās not completely understood why but to me it makes sense. Epilepsy is one hell of a ride. I have a lot of neurological issues that I think stem from repeated seizures since Iāve been 1. They are mostly under control with the medication Iām on. But the older I get, the more I notice things seem to get worse for me.
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u/Affectionate_Law1224 autism + epilepsy meal deal Apr 30 '23
I think there's also more chance of both if you have epilepsy first??
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u/NihiliSloth Apr 30 '23
Yeah I think so. Not much is actually understood about both. So I believe it could even go either way.
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Apr 29 '23
If you are an educator, and you are memeing about autism and epilepsy, are you making fun of kids who have both? Or are you just making fun of how much you find them to be 'double trouble'?
I am not sure I like what this is communicating, but I admit I may be misunderstanding it.
So I'm asking. (points up)
Edit to add: flair was 'educator' so I got my hackles up a bit.
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u/Affectionate_Law1224 autism + epilepsy meal deal Apr 29 '23
I'm not making fun of people who have both, I myself have both. There wasn't a flair that really fitted it so I just chose educator at random. Sorry I don't mean any offense, it's just to say that they both affect me personally a lot
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u/NihiliSloth Apr 30 '23 edited Apr 30 '23
Just because someone makes a meme you donāt understand, it doesnāt mean they are making fun of anyone.
Sometimes people just want to be able to have something thatās relatable to their specific situation.
Jesse and James are double trouble. They never go away. They are always causing chaos. The same can be said for when someone has epilepsy and autism. Itās double trouble for sure. It never goes away. Although Iād rather call it hell.
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u/Therandomderpdude Apr 29 '23
What is it like to have epilepsy?
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u/Affectionate_Law1224 autism + epilepsy meal deal Apr 29 '23
For me, I've had 9 full-on 'grand mal' seizures, which is when you completely lose control and become unconscious, but I stopped having them after talking medication so that's that, and hundreds of smaller 'absence' seizures, which are basically mini blackouts. Those are annoying but I'm used to controlling them now.
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u/Ziedra Apr 29 '23
do smaller abscence seizures aka "mini blackouts" come on when you are dehydrated in the heat at all??????????????????
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u/Quiet_Film4744 Apr 29 '23
I feel like if I try hard enough Iāll seize out.
I also have an empath thingy
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u/Affectionate_Law1224 autism + epilepsy meal deal Apr 29 '23
Advice: do not try and seize out!!! I think that since there's a link between autism and epilepsy, and the link between autism and stress (overstimulation etc), it probably would be possible to manually trigger a seizure, but that's best left well alone lol
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Apr 29 '23
I (30M) recently was (finally) diagnosed with epilepsy.
Now, I'm starting to wonder whether I've been on the spectrum all this time. I have my neuropsychological evaluation in July so hopefully I can finally get one step closer to closure and clarity.
I'm also an engineer and I've heard there's been research associating how engineers think to autism as well... starting to feel like a grand cosmic scheme for me to land where I am.
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u/zelphyrthesecond Apr 29 '23
This was my wife before puberty. When she was younger I remembered her taking medicine, but I didn't know what it was for. I know now it was epilepsy medicine.
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u/Vynterion ASD Level 1 Apr 29 '23
Oh hey, I have a mild form of epilepsy too, myoclonic epilepsy. Thankfully my medication keeps it under control at low dosages but wow was it annoying while I wasn't medicated. And I'm lucky that it's one of the mildest forms of epilepsy.