The Therapist’s Corner: Self-Esteem on the Spectrum

Posted on by Peter Boger

One area I learned a great deal about through Greg’s sharing his experiences with me is the way self- esteem is affected when one is on the Spectrum.   I need to say up front that struggles with self esteem are extremely common for people whether they are on the Spectrum or neurotypical.  The foundation of self-esteem begins in early childhood and small children are very vulnerable to taking on beliefs about themselves that will determine whether they feel good about themselves or not when they grow up.   

Young children are by their nature self-centered, that is to say that everything they experience is processed as being about themselves.    If a child is in an environment where some of their basic needs aren’t met, they are incapable of thinking that they are deserving and worthy of getting their needs met, and the problem is with their circumstances– instead the child will conclude that it is their fault and if they were different (smarter, ‘better’ somehow) they would receive those things.    For children on the spectrum, this is often connected to their sense of being ‘different’, and since this is something that the child can’t change, a permanent sense of low self esteem can be an understandable outcome.

Low self-esteem can lead to other mental health issues like depression, difficulties with relationships, employment, and difficulties with taking up for oneself which can lead to being taken advantage of by others.  Socially, low self-esteem can often result in becoming withdrawn and isolated.  Being around others, whether in social or work environments, is much more stressful when you suffer with low self-esteem and can further contribute to isolation and loneliness.  

Since two of the most basic human needs are to love and be loved and to have a place to belong, low self-esteem can make getting these needs met difficult if not seemingly impossible.  For this reason, getting help to deal with low self-esteem can make a tremendous difference in a person’s life.   Finding a therapist who understands the special ways in which being on the Spectrum affects self- esteem can be the first step to feeling better about oneself and seeing positive change both in your relationship with yourself and others.

In the next installment of The Therapist’s Corner we’ll look at some specific ways to move to better self-esteem.

Researchers, advocates rush to aid autistic Ukrainians

Posted on by Gregory Wood

by Laura Dattaro

Starting over: A child who fled Ukraine with her family attends school in Romania. The war in Ukraine has displaced millions of children, including those with autism, who now need services in unfamiliar countries. Andreea Campeanu / Getty Images

Two months ago, a two-story peach-colored building with a playground housed a kindergarten for 30 autistic children in Kyiv, Ukraine. But since Russia attacked the country on 24 February, the structure has served instead as a shelter, with the families who once received therapy and an education there — and the therapists themselves — now taking advantage of its secure basement, kitchen and food storage. All autism-related services, save for a few online sessions, have stopped. (For the group’s safety, Spectrum is not naming the center.)

The director of the foundation that runs the center, Iryna Sergiyenko, has pivoted too: Instead of running a school, she’s fielding requests from dozens of families with autistic children who need help and have, in many cases, fled Ukraine, as she has. Through messaging apps and a Facebook group she set up called ‘Ukraine autism HELP,’ Sergiyenko — who has an autistic younger brother — responds to a litany of common pleas: Will there be autism services where I am going? How do I explain why we left, and why my child’s father stayed behind? Are there any therapists who speak Ukrainian where I am?

She is one of many autism professionals scrambling to address the needs of Ukrainian autistic people whose lives have been upended. Across Europe and elsewhere, many have opened up their schools, connected families with therapists who speak Ukrainian, and collected medications and autism-friendly toys. They are raising money to support families or, like Sergiyenko, keep the lights on somewhere. One of the mothers Sergiyenko helped left for Bulgaria, noticed a lack of autism services there and immediately started organizing providers, with Sergiyenko’s support.

“That’s what we do,” Sergiyenko says. “We don’t like to sit still.”

“The biggest concern is that our kids really have fewer resources to cope, and in some cases lesser ability to understand what’s happening,” she says. Read more