Issues In Adulthood

Opposing Views ran an article Adults With Autism - Where Are They Now?. The article analyzes a number of key issues related to autistic adults with any range of abilities and disabilities, including, among an number of other critical items, autism's history relative to older generations of adults,

Complicating researchers' attempts to get at the core issues that determine the quality of life for adults with autism is the disorder's short history. Autism-like disorders were described for the first time, in the United States and Austria, only two generations ago, and the defining characteristics are still rapidly evolving today.

In the recent past, children with severe autistic symptoms likely faced years of institutionalization. They were diagnosed with mental illness, most commonly childhood schizophrenia or infantile psychosis, reflecting the prevailing theory that autism-related disorders in children represented the early onset of adult psychosis. Not until the 1970s did autism begin to emerge as its own disorder.

issues with housing and support,

A shortage of employment and housing assistance, and other services, hinders what otherwise might be a relatively high level of independence – not only improving the quality of life for individuals with ASDs and their families, but also saving the costs of providing a lifetime of public services to adults who want to become productive members of society.

"catch-22's" like having to choose between employment and support,

One man participating in the study, who lived in a hostel, expressed a desire to live more independently; however, though he was skilled in his profession as a charcoal burner, he couldn’t afford to move elsewhere. Another man, this one working in a graveyard, faced the difficult choice of giving up his job to move into assisted-living housing or keeping the job he preferred and continuing to live at home.

and the need for better training in self-advocacy and self-determination,

Perhaps most important of all, we need to reach the adults with autism themselves and ask: What are your goals? Which supports are helpful (and which are not)? Where do you want to live? How can society make you feel more at home?

A 2004 UK study is quoted as saying,

"[D]edicated services for adults with autism would not seem to have kept pace with the growth in specialist educational provision for children. A focus on access to more extensive and appropriate supported living and employment schemes could help to ensure much greater progress in the future."

The problems that face adults on the spectrum today are starting to be clearly defined. The next step will be to figure out some solutions.