Hardly any info about adults with AS?

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Jamesy
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19 Dec 2012, 12:34 pm

Does it ever piss you off that most resources when it comes too aspergers seem too be about children but not adults with AS?

Just Google aspergers and aggression and all the articles are about aspie children but hardly anything about adults. :x

Don't people in the medical field realise yet that AS is not something you grow out of?



Joe90
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19 Dec 2012, 12:45 pm

Yes, it annoys me aswell. Like when I go on Youtube to see if there is any videos where you actually see an adult on the spectrum having a meltdown, or some other action that I can watch and see what it's like to actually see another grown person doing some sort of Aspie behaviour. Instead, it always shows toddlers or kids having a screaming fit on the floor, which is interesting for a while but gets boring because it's just like any child.

There are a lot of videos of an Aspie talking about something to do with their AS, and some are great what I like to watch more than once, but others just mumble and you can't really hear what they are saying.

And often when I try to look for different tests on ASDs online, it is normally aimed at children, or parents with children on the spectrum, and some questions are hard to answer as an adult.


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ianorlin
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19 Dec 2012, 12:58 pm

Why should we ever stop supporting people that need it? Some may be fine with a few accommodations at school but are horrible at finding a job.



deltafunction
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19 Dec 2012, 1:08 pm

Sad to say but right now the advocacy is mainly for children right now. The lobbying groups lobby for children and get government officials to fund research for children. Psychologists are paid to work in schools then study children and write books about their findings which are bought by parents. If we had more advocacy by major autism groups to fund research on adults then I'm sure we would find more resources. I don't think we're as profitable of a group right now and we are easier to ignore.

It looks like the generation of parents of autistic kids who have had support throughout school is realizing the lack of transition programs and fearing what happens after their child turns 21. In the near future, we may find more resources for adults at our disposal.



applesauce
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19 Dec 2012, 2:00 pm

It's because the children all have parents to flap for them and get their attention. Which is great, but aside from getting a distorted viewpoint (from the parent, not the child), it means you get forgotten once you reach adulthood. Apparently we don't have a voice of our own. Guess they haven't seen this site, then...



ADoyle90815
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19 Dec 2012, 2:21 pm

deltafunction wrote:
Sad to say but right now the advocacy is mainly for children right now. The lobbying groups lobby for children and get government officials to fund research for children. Psychologists are paid to work in schools then study children and write books about their findings which are bought by parents. If we had more advocacy by major autism groups to fund research on adults then I'm sure we would find more resources. I don't think we're as profitable of a group right now and we are easier to ignore.

It looks like the generation of parents of autistic kids who have had support throughout school is realizing the lack of transition programs and fearing what happens after their child turns 21. In the near future, we may find more resources for adults at our disposal.


That's a possibility, as once parents realize that their autistic children are growing up, they're going to start pushing for more resources for adults, but it's going to take a few more years. On Facebook, when there were posts saying not to blame autism for the school shooting, I said that it's not just children who face stigmatization, that there are adults on the autism spectrum that face it as well. With adults, it might mean that we won't be hired if we disclose our disability.



tall-p
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19 Dec 2012, 2:47 pm

Jamesy wrote:
Don't people in the medical field realise yet that AS is not something you grow out of?

There's no treatment... All they have is pills for anxiety or depression.


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Marcia
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19 Dec 2012, 2:48 pm

applesauce wrote:
It's because the children all have parents to flap for them ...


My son can, and does, flap for himself. :wink:



emimeni
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19 Dec 2012, 11:25 pm

This is true for a lot of disabilities that develop pre-adolescence. Society likes to pretend that developmentally disabled people disappear the instant they go through puberty, and it's been pretending that since surviving puberty, and also living outside of an institution past puberty, was a reasonable possibility for people with developmental disabilities. This is a problem that, unfortunately, isn't going away soon.


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Jasmine90
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19 Dec 2012, 11:50 pm

It's the same for tourette's, I've found. But that is something many people eventually grow out of, so it's kind of understandable. But I still find it frustrating being unable to connect with other adults with tourette's, particularly those who have grown up with it from childhood.

I wouldn't be surprised if it's like that with a lot of disabilities.



emimeni
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20 Dec 2012, 1:15 am

Jasmine90 wrote:
I wouldn't be surprised if it's like that with a lot of disabilities.


Yes! Exactly what I was saying.


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20 Dec 2012, 2:48 pm

Jamesy wrote:
Does it ever piss you off that most resources when it comes too aspergers seem too be about children but not adults with AS?

Just Google aspergers and aggression and all the articles are about aspie children but hardly anything about adults. :x

Don't people in the medical field realise yet that AS is not something you grow out of?
I was thinking the same thoughts, it's almost like adults are an afterthought compared to the kiddies. :?


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TPE2
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21 Dec 2012, 6:48 am

The irony of that is that, if you read some research papers on AS written before 1993, a classical complain of the researchers was "there are few studies about children with AS; almost all research is about adults and adolescents".



jacked
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21 Dec 2012, 8:55 am

Jamesy wrote:
Does it ever piss you off that most resources when it comes too aspergers seem too be about children but not adults with AS?

Just Google aspergers and aggression and all the articles are about aspie children but hardly anything about adults. :x

Don't people in the medical field realize yet that AS is not something you grow out of?


Of course adults have it and continue to suffer but this is actually a learning disorder, we learn as we go.
so adults in some cases may be harder to detect because they have learned social cues, and understand their differences much better than a child.

My father was told by a "nurse" that he does not have it, although he thinks he does and I know it for a fact because my neurologist told me so.
He is 63 and still lacks empathy but otherwise is a good person.
But you can not expect him to explain to people how he was when he was 20, he would rather that part of himself in the past.
So detection at 63 would only be possible if he wanted to be diagnosed.



BraveMurderDay
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21 Dec 2012, 2:33 pm

Some of these children should be adults by now you'd think. I've heard people ask this question about why it's all about children for 8-10 years now, lol.



windtreeman
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21 Dec 2012, 2:51 pm

In some ways, I think adults with Asperger's have a terrifically more challenging time than children; though perhaps, the bullying and school difficulties are a (physical but not mental) thing of the past, we're supposed to be self-sufficient, independent little family builders with an income, house and a social life. How many of us are living the way a majority of the worlds' developed countries' adults take for granted? It almost baffles me that two people can actually find each other, get married, have children, buy a house, work until retirement and have grandchildren. That sequence of events sounds next to impossible and yet neurotypical people have been doing it for decades. I think we need substantially more help. The problem is, the people most willing to represent our issues as adults, are likely those suffering from AS...and as far as I'm aware, we're not naturally adept representatives for anything :). That's why I'm particularly thankful for people with Asperger's who are capable writers or find public speaking bearable.


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