Autistic Children Becoming Adults

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  • #599489
    shmoel
    Member

    What happens to autistic children after they become adults (i.e. age 21)? Who cares for them from adulthood into old age? I’m sure we all have encountered autistic children throughout our life, yet we rarely see the autistic adults. Where are they?

    #811188
    mommamia22
    Participant

    It depends upon each individuals level of functioning and competency. A person with autism who might be developmentally delayed in other ways can live in a group home (ohel/bais Ezra and many other agencies have them) with round the clock supervision and care. They can go to workshops during the day and return to the group home afterwards. Someone who is higher functioning and capable of taking on a more independent lifestyle can live in supportive apartments (with staff checking in on them periodically, but not with them constantly) and they can hold jobs. People with aspergers (higher functioning with autism) may be able to live very independent full lifestyles.

    #811189
    mommamia22
    Participant

    There’s actually a woman with autism who, with encouragement, was able to go to college and eventually became a university professor. She actually changed the face of animal care in the united states by recognizing years ago the brutal treatment cattle and livestock were undergoing. She formulated a plan that allowed slaughterhouses to move the cattle in an efficient way without terrorizing, injuring or drowning them, which had formerly been occurring across the nation.

    People began to understand that individuals with autism can be very intelligent and can contribute greatly to society. Their unique way of seeing the world, which they were once ridiculed for, then began to be seen as a gift.

    #811190

    mommania, the woman of whom you speak is Temple Grandin. read her books.

    #811191
    shmoel
    Member

    Grandin seems to be the exceptional standout. It seems many autistic people disappear from the public once they become an adult.

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