Autism Soccer: Elderly Living with Autism: An Invisible Generation

What would have been of those with autism if they were diagnosed on time?

If you say the word “autism” to a crowd, most people will think about children, but this is a lifelong condition. Children with autism will eventually grow up to be adults with autism. Little is known about how the symptoms change as they age. This is because autism is a relatively new disorder, first described in 1943 and not regularly identified until the 1970s, which led into misdiagnosis and more often than not, no diagnosis at all for most children around that time. It’s only now, that those people first diagnosed are reaching an older age, that we can start to learn whether the disorder changes over a lifetime, meaning that we learn from them

There have been some inferences that symptoms reduce as people get older. These reports, describing fewer difficulties that come with an older age, are often from people with autism themselves and from their families as witnesses.

Older people with autism are commonly misunderstood and misdiagnosed by health professionals. Missing out on the vital care and therapies which could enhance their lives. The number of undiagnosed people over 60 in Scotland is thought to be currently around 11,600, leading to them being known as “the invisible generation”. Diagnostic tests have improved and made more efficient in recent years, thus increasing the number of children who are diagnosed with autism, but there are still a huge and worrisome number of “the invisible generation” out there, who without proper diagnosis could be missing out on help entitled to them.

Autism in the Elderly: Realities and Reflections

Much of the Elderly Autistic Population don’t know they live with autism, but that doesn’t stop it from affecting their lives. That’s because as a diagnosis, the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is only a few decades old, which means very little is known about aging with autism as we exposed earlier in this article. And while countless seniors have unknowingly lived and adapted (showing human adaptive capabilities) to their autism, those seniors may find their special needs unfulfilled as they age.

Throughout their lives, autistic people have an increased risk for depression and anxiety, a problem that usually only becomes worse they older they get. Unfortunately, this isn’t restricted to only mental health problems. Conditions like epilepsy, hearing impairments, vision problems, cardiovascular problems, sleep disorders, and metabolic issues are also far more common among autistic seniors. Even the rate of suicide among autistic adults is nearly five times as high as it is in those without autism.

Senior people with autism have built coping skills over the course of a lifetime. But time marches on and erodes their faculties, the comfortable routines, and solitude that an autistic person craves may be lost. Caretakers who are inexperienced at dealing with autistic seniors may only make things worse for them, leaving them with unmet and unrecognized needs.

Autistic seniors need regularity. A regular routine with familiar caregivers is ideal for them. Breaks in routine or over-stimulating surroundings, like the presence of excessive noise, can be both agitating and distressing to an autistic person (and all seniors in general). Autistic people are often hypersensitive to stimulation, and overstimulation can lead to emotional outbursts and confusion.

Even though they struggle with social interaction, autistic people have very similar social needs to everyone else. That’s why it’s critical for the people responsible for them to understand how an autistic individual socializes and relates to others, and then to help to accommodate those individual needs. Boisterous settings with large crowds are generally undesirable, with autistic people tending to prefer more intimate settings where they can simultaneously explore their interests, no different of children at all.

Seniors have a hard enough time getting out and socializing without autism. While there’s still much we don’t know about aging with it and that we need to learn, one thing we do know here at Autism Soccer is that with our help, compassion, and understanding, even a condition like autism can’t prevent them from making the most out of their golden years.