To think autism gets worse with each generation

Yes - I think there is still SOME shame (to some), but far far far less then there used to be. I wish I was diagnosed as a child!

Thanks. Most studies like this only use NHS data as researchers seldom have access to much else, so, with my researcher hat on, I'm always very suspicious as the 'reality' is likely to be extremely different. My husband and I will not he included in the statistic you quoted, for instance, and it is likely that the many autistic people we know (who all have jobs by the way) are not either, as I know quite a few went private for a diagnosis (as they could easily afford to). Always worth interrogating the data.

Or adults are just more used to masking than children are?

I think at least part of it is that there is (rightly so) no shame in having autism anymore. My MIL took great pride in that dh made it all the way to adulthood before being diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome. I remember a lot of parents encouraging their children to mask, to appear "normal" in public.

Yes . I worked with an autistic chap who needed support at work but he has 3 autistic children who can't function at all . They all seem to live in their bedrooms and have a huge amount of external agency support.
I don't know if it's generational but certainly in this example the children were more severely affected .

Almost none of us have "great lives". Even the ones who look like they have great lives are only showing part of it - the whole point is that it's a condition that hides itself, by definition.

Yes, I am (with accommodations) able to live a semblance of a fulfilling life as compared with someone whose deficits are in more basic areas, but to characterise it as a "great" life relative to someone who's not autistic would be a gross overstatement at best, and wilfully ignorant at worst.

I’m not sure. I haven’t looked at its data collection in that much detail. You can read more here and here.

Think you are mixing in co-occurring intellectual disabilities.

That's interesting - does the review state where their data has come from regarding who is autistic? I know many studies I have read previously rely on NHS data and don't have access to the private data (and obviously as many wealthier people- with jobs - may be more likely to get a private diagnosis, that's a major issue with data like this). I have a PhD in Education and when we were looking at SEN, this was always a stumbling block in our research - so much data gets omitted.

This. The spectrum is vast.

The Buckland Review commissioned by the government from earlier this year shows 3 in 10 autistic people are in work. This is lower than 5 in 10 disabled people as a whole population and lower than the 8 in 10 for non-disabled people.

This doesn’t significantly increase even for people who are capable of university. Research found autistic graduates are twice as likely to be unemployed after 15 months compared to non-disabled graduates. Only 36% found full time work.

This.

It can be very disabling
The individuals with lessor effects on their life and an work have relationships great lives are a world away from individuals who aren't able to toilet themselves, need very high level of support with violence and self harm are the forgotten ones.

Absolutely.

Surely that's only for autistic people diagnosed on the NHS? I'm autistic and in work (in fact, my husband and I both have very successful careers). The NAS has no way at all of knowing I'm autistic (diagnoaed privately), so I'm not included in their statistics. In fact, one could suggest that many people who have careers may have chosen to be diagnosed privately... which hugely skews the data, does it not? Happy to be proven wrong as this is very interesting...

The presumption and dismissiveness of the certain posters of the unseen and private struggles of people successfully masking and presenting as ‘normal’ is fucking unbelievable , isn’t it?

That’s good news @BrightYellowTrain to be fair I don’t check on life expectancies regularly, I was remembering a study I read some time ago.

@Worriedmotheroftwo I did a quick google and it appears according to the national autistic society (who I don’t actually rate but seem to be well regarded here) the employment rate is 22% so most are unemployed.

That's not what I said.

It's important to be aware, of course, that many autistic people weren't diagnosed more than a decade ago! I'm 37 and only recently realised I'm autistic, as is my husband, when our son was diagnosed! There is far more awareness now.

Read it again - that's not what she said, she just disagreed (rightly) with the assertion that most autistic people don't have those things.

That's not remotely the same thing.

It’s the second part that isn’t true. Having a job, family and friends does not mean one can’t have a substantial impairment (even though that isn’t the wording used now).

NAS’s statistics are based on more up to date research.

Trying to brush the increase in life expectancy off as because of “huge numbers of less overtly autistic people to the population” fails to understand the statistics. They break down life expectancy into those with autism with a LD and those with autism without a LD. And even the former has a higher life expectancy than in the 40s.

Is that true? Do most people with ASD have jobs and families now? If that is true that is a TOTALLY different group of people than even a decade ago.

I think it was a study from Denmark? It came out some years ago that said 40. There was lots of distress in the press (and on MN) about it at the time. Realistically if you add huge numbers of less overtly autistic people to the population the life expectancy will shift. I don’t believe they are the same or should ever have been lumped together but we are where we are.

You're spot on.

The poster who said
Most people with ASD do not work, marry, have kids and have friends. If you do your impairment is not substantial
is completely ignorant.

It doesn't matter what the opening post is, if it's about autism you can guarantee people will start playing fucking top trumps.

There are variations in many medical conditions, all with the same 'name' or 'diagnosis' - the important part is that the person is treated as an individual so their needs can be met/any treatment given. Doctors don't just look at a diagnosis, no medic does. They look at the person, at the individual. That's what any support is based on. This 'my DC autism is worse than yours' gets everybody nowhere. Backwards even.

According to the National Autistic Society’s statistics that were updated earlier this year:

“On average, autistic men without a learning disability had an estimated life expectancy of 74.6 years, and autistic women without a learning disability had an average of 76.8 years. For autistic people who also had a diagnosed learning disability, average estimated life expectancies were lower, with men having a life expectancy of 71.7 years and women having a life expectancy of 69.6 years. These estimates all have a degree of uncertainty, particularly for women due to the smaller numbers of women who have been diagnosed autistic.”

So, lower but not as low as in the 40s.