Autism Into Adulthood — Making the Transition

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From September/October 2008 issue of "Social Work Today":
"Children with autism mature into adults who want to attend college, work, and have a social life. What services are needed to help them achieve these milestones?
Every day we see or hear another story in the news, on television, on the Internet, or in a popular magazine about issues related to children with autism. Awareness is growing, and more research is helping parents better understand their children’s unique behaviors and needs. Healthcare, education, and social services offer options for parents of young children with autism that did not exist years ago.
But what happens when children diagnosed on the autistic spectrum grow up? Increasingly, parents of older teenagers and young adults are seeking assistance for transitioning to adulthood, and adults who have grown up with an autism diagnosis or who may be newly diagnosed are facing challenges with employment, social relationships, and daily living".
Read More: http://www.socialworktoday.com/archive/090208p12.shtml

yes yes, here in the Uk once you reach 18, you are no longer affected by AS.
however in the real world, As is a developmental delay so even thou legally we are over 18 and adults, you will find most As fail to mature emotionally psycholigically by about early to mid 30's.

Thank you, to OP for putting up this link.

Delay & density on part of the professionals (in recognizing, let alone learning how to properly deal with, the adult AS population) is the sort of thing that makes me feel like screaming, because I wasn't dx'd AS until age 30.
No one knew how to handle, interpret, and treat me (as in: behave towards-not meaning "cure") growing up, before this dx was in common use (when I was variously branded with all manner of not-quite-right diagnoses). Nor do they know what to make of me now, as an adult (with a dx that is so strongly thought of as being only valid for kids), either.

According to the UK's mental health service, you lose all your problems (mine being AS, TS, OCD, dyspraxia, dystonia and an undiagnosed seizure disorder) when you are 17 and regain them at 40. If only I was so lucky! There is no service for 18 to 39 year olds AT ALL.

_________________
I have HFA, ADHD, OCD & Tourette syndrome. I love animals, especially my bunnies and hamster. I skate in a roller derby team (but I'll try not to bite )

that's a well-written article.

Even if there were a few courses you could do it would help. I mean, I don't know about anyone else, but I'm a pretty high-functioning Aspergian and I am very independent, live on my own, lots of friends, full-time job etc. So to them I don't need any help, it only exists (if at all) for people much lower down on the spectrum. But that doesn't mean anything - I wouldn't have a clue how to write a cheque, how taxes work or what I'm meant to pay, how to go about getting a mortgage or loans, how to fill in various forms, or anything at all that you need to survive in the real world. I still have to ask my parents those kinds of things if they ever come up or just get my partner to do them, and they're always so surprised that I don't know - it's always assumed you pick them up by osmosis like everyone else does. Something like that would certainly help us live more independently I'm sure.

One of the people quoted in that article evaluated me at an autism center. The center was TOTALLY geared towards children, and I don't believe that they evaluate many adults. It seemed to be quite a scramble for them to find adult-appropriate tests judging from the quality of the photocopies.

So we get through the interviews and the testing, and, because I have good communication skills, the "red flags" for PDD that I had during my childhood now "have nothing to do" with PDD wiring. They said that I'm intellectually gifted, "and sometimes really smart people have problems." They gave me a diagnosis for an anxiety disorder, and suggested some medication.

I don't know why I bothered. There are NO OFFICIAL CRITERIA for adolescents and adults, or examples of how Aspies change as they mature. And if you have found successful coping mechanisms for communication (but still have some significant problems) you are out of luck.

In high school I became fixated with developing appropriate communication - that became my obsession, and having worked on it for thirty years, communication is quite natural seeming, but I still have to curb myself from talking about my interests, knowing what is appropriate to say, or knowing where to start a conversation. Having to work so hard to communicate, and naturally not really knowing (ever) how my communication will be received or if I will have the energy to continue conversations leads to the social anxiety I experience.

Who would really want an Asperger's or Pervasive Developmental Disorder label. I might be crazy for pursuing a label, but PDD is the only thing that I have found that explains my experience. My psychotherapist actually apologized to me for how my case was evaluated at the autism center.

When the article says that "adult autism and related issues have been neglected," it ain't no lie.

Z