OTTAWA With her mother and younger sister as her guardian angels, Elena Grabari, 41, lived semi-independently for many years before learning, at age 34, that she had Asperger syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism.
People with Aspergers have average or above-average intelligence, but they lack the intuitive ability to read social cues. They find it difficult to make friends and form relationships. They dont adapt well to change. And they have a single-mindedness that can be odd and frustrating, but can also fuel creative genius.
Since her diagnosis, Elena has been in and out of hospitals, with her health and state of mind in steady decline, says her mother, Gabriela Grabari.
She received wrong treatment and she still receives wrong treatment.
Elenas doctors say that in addition to having Aspergers, she also has schizophrenia, a mental disorder in which people may experience hallucinations or delusions, hear voices or have confused thinking and behaviour.
Its a diagnosis that Gabriela flatly rejects.
She was asked, Do you hear voices? And she asked me, How does it mean to hear voices? Shes not able to hear voices.
Gabriela has pushed unsuccessfully for her daughter to be taken off the powerful anti-psychotic drugs that, she says, are robbing Elena of her quality of life.
She says, Mommy, Im not able to concentrate. Im tired.
A better option, her mother believes, would be for Elena to get behaviour therapy and access to day programs for adults with developmental disabilities, which Eastern Ontario sorely lacks.
Originally posted here:
AUTISM’S NEW FRONTIERS, PART 3: Falling between the cracks