Does aspergers affect the lifespan of someone in anyway?

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I don't think it would since it's a neurological disorder. However, I am quite curious as I don't really see many people past 55 on these forums. Does anyone have any idea why?

It is just possible that most people withen that age range aren't used to using technology like the internet

I don't see any reason why it would, beyond the fact that people with Asperger's and other neurological disorders are probably more likely to get depressed, which lowers lifespan on average due to suicide and lack of support from social circles, etc.

I think it is because Asperger's is a fairly recent addition to our list of clinical psychology terms.

That makes sense

I wouldn't know but I think it could go either way do to the difference in judgement.

Its unusual (though becoming less so all the time) for anyone over the age of 20 to even be diagnosed, but that's not because there aren't any Autistic adults, its because the DSM didn't include AS until 1994, so it wasn't being assessed within the school system and nobody diagnosed it. They just told kids with AS and HFA that they were weird and pushed them on through.

Most of the people you see here that are 30 or older discovered their AS by accident, because of information available on the Internet. This is the reason you hear idiots in the media talk about an 'epidemic' of Autism. There are no more people with Autism now than there ever were before, there are just more of them getting diagnosed.

I had no idea what AS was until I was 45, and didn't get diagnosed until just before I turned 50.

Common sense man, older people do not use technology as much as the younger generations do. Younger people are more comfortable with communication online with strangers I guess. Come on aspies are supose to be bright.

A lot of older people were not diagnosed with Aspergers because it was not a diagnosis when they were a children. I did not know about until I stumbled across a tv show that was talking about the autism spectrum. Maybe the 50-80 year old do not know they have it.

There's a couple of people on here in their 60's and 70's.

I am more on the autism side of aspergers. Hence, I would have never though of that.

I guess that extra stress and difficult living conditions that can arise from having autism/AS could lead to a reduced lifespan.

I had a Grandmother I'm sure had AS and she lived to be more than 90. Unfortunately, the last decade of her life she also had Alzheimer's, so the physical health and life span were not as much a blessing for her as they might have been. As far as I can tell, though, having AS in no way affected either.