[Rayquaza7]

I have a friend I have known since childhood that's been diagnosed with autism. However up until three years ago you would have never noticed. He was always very social and just an all around normal teenage boy. A few summers ago he smoked lots of pot. Multiple times a day, every day(not sure if that's a factor or not as this match's the timeframe when he changed). After this summer he changed. Throughout our junior year he went through a phase where he was obsessed with school shootings such as Columbine and idolized the shooters. He's since moved past that. However the way he talks still is not normal. He says alot of edgy stuff that no one finds funny but he says it anyway. Excessive use of the n word even though I know he's not racist. He will throw the n word into a sentence even if it makes no sense. It's hard to have a real conversation with him anymore because he will just respond with something like "that's gay" or "oof" or the n word. He even told me and a friend that he feels the need to say edgy stuff and if he doesn't then he doesn't feel good. On top of all this he has really bad anger issues and is pretty agressive with some of the things he says. He also slacks off when it comes to school but I don't know if that is relevant. Another thing I have noticed with him is that he has unusual verbal "tics" I guess you would call them. He often rubs his hands together when talking as well as running his hand through his hair like he's fixing it. He also borderline sexually assaulted a female friend of ours while she was high. There's lots more I could go on about but I just wanted to give the highlights and see what's going on. Is this just really bad autism or is there something more that's wrong with my friend and what should I do? To anyone who read this whole thing and responds, thank you so much!

[Thunder Bow]

I say away from him. Tell law enforcement if you think he is a threat.

[Skeezyks]

Hello Rayquaza: I see this is your first post here on PC. So... welcome to PsychCentral! I don't know if you plan to continue on with us or if you're just here seeking answers to this particular concern. However, if you plan to continue on... may I suggest you introduce yourself on the New Members Introductions forum? Here's a link:

https://forums.psychcentral.com/new-...introductions/

We here on PC can't diagnose your friend. Our purpose here is to provide one another with support & to share information & experiences. And I'm certainly no expert when it comes to autism either. But from what little bit I do know about it, what you describe does not sound like autism to me.

Could your friend's pot smoking have caused, or exacerbated, his troubling behavior? My personal, non-professional opinion is yes it certainly could. From my perspective... smoking pot, or using any other kinds of "street drugs", is sort-of like throwing gasoline on mental health issues. Perhaps your friend was struggling with some underlying mental health issues that he was able to control prior to his pot smoking. But smoking pot brought it all to a head, so to speak.

But then, of course, the other possibility here is simply that his personality is changing. From what you wrote, it sounds like he's probably a teenager. And one's teenage years can be a period of rapid & intense change. In the end, it's just difficult to know.

Unfortunately, there's not much of anything you can do to help him either. And, in fact, from the sound of things, perhaps he is becoming someone you would be best steering clear of. On the other hand, if you do want to continue being there for him, simply let him know you're available to talk about what's going in with him, should he ever want to. (From what you wrote, it doesn't sound as though that's likely.) Please keep in mind though that, in the end, you only have control over what you do. So you have to take care of yourself first. I wish you well...

[Nike007]

I can't say anything for sure. I am not too familiar with drug use. It's totally possible that something happened because of this.

I have autism too, but I can say that sometimes people with autism say things because they hear it from a favourite movie or TV show or a person they idol. For me, I used to say the same phrase from a TV show over and over again. My stepbrother copies what my dad says because he really likes my dad and his own dad isn't a good person.

Looking up about shootings is an interesting topic, but people with autism may have a special interest. For me, which I do, I am really interested in learning about mental illnesses. Topics vary of course.

Tics are common. Normally, people with autism call it stimming. Like, sometime I will shake my hands for no reason, or I will rock.

Aggression is also common among autism. Some people with autism go on medication to help manage the aggression levels. It is not okay to sexually assault anyone though, and it should be reported. That is not part of autism.

Most of it is a part of autism, just not really appropriate though. Is it possible that the people he's been hanging with are not a positive influence, like when he was doing drugs? This could influence the change in interests and sayings.

Hope this helps.

The social awkwardness and inappropriate behaviour sounds more like Aspergers to me (on the Autism Spectrum) but of course it is not our place to give a definitive diagnosis.

I see two options (his racist behavior is a no-go, game changer for me). Either you intervene or walk away. Have a very frank heart to heart. Advise him you will not tolerate such antics else you will end the friendship - and stick to this threat.

[Mountaindewed]

Wow. this sounds exactly like me when I was 12-15. I also have autism.

I personally just snapped out of it and realized I wasn’t cute.

[elladeker]

Interesting thoughts, I really thought about it.