Adolescence as a risk factor for depression in autism

It has been said that you can’t understand a mind except in the context of the world it lives in. Often an inability to shift your frame of reference may not allow you to understand why an autistic individual thinks or behaves the way they do. For many autistic individuals their behaviors may be colored by a mood disorder. I have a friend whom I would describe first and foremost as a gifted writer. I would not dare to question him as to the autism literature because it is quite evident that he has encyclopedic knowledge on the subject. Yet he puts himself down whenever praise is bestowed upon him. He grieves for the person he could have been without autism in a way that expresses self-guilt. I worry about him, as he lives in another state and his ruminations, pessimism, and feelings of worthlessness/helplessness, make me believe he is…