This problem has always been there, because I am sure that, if autism has been identified as such only in the last decades, the disability has always been there in all ages. I don’t believe in an “autism epidemic”. There has been only an epidemic of diagnoses and this has been amplified by a superficial media coverage and sometimes by an attempt to find some culprit for the phenomenon (modern society, vaccines, ecological deterioration, some drugs, diet, etc.). Most people autistic were formerly assisted by the extended family or headed for monasteries, or simply died by themselves in neglect. But now things are different. There are no monasteries or extended families anymore and the only option left (option is a sinister term as they know politicians who say “all options are open” meaning: war) is leaving the planet in absolute loneliness and neglect. Dependence, an inevitable occurrence in old age, is much more difficult to bear for people who all their life have suffered from an extreme vulnerability of their mental space. So, has anybody thought about what to do for old age autistic people? Or talked about the problem?
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Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.
--Samuel Beckett