Devontae has lived a long life and has come to understand himself well. Now at age 56, he is able to reflect on what it has meant to live a life with and autism spectrum disorder. It seems that the aging process has led to a "mellowing" of Devontae's moods and symptoms associated with OCD, and now he is taking stock of where he has come.
Devontae was never quite able to commit to an intimate relationship with a woman, and he has lived his life in the company of his parents. He was saddened profoundly by the passing of his father when he was 47. His dad had had cancer, and all of the efforts of the family to help him fight the disease ultimately came to naught. Devontae missed his father terribly, and the death provided him an opportunity to reconnect somewhat with his Islamic faith. Devontae took to wearing clothing that one might find on a daily sojourn in Marrakech or Riyadh. His co-workers did not think much of it since they knew that he was "a little weird" anyway. For Devontae, it was a way to keep a connection with his father.
As the years went by, Devontae took to spending more and more time with his mother. She was not in good health either and, after retiring, kept to herself and looked forward to visits from her son on a daily basis. She helps him with certain tasks of daily living, and he helps her to look after the yard and shop for groceries.
1) Is there any evidence for the symptoms of an Autism Spectrum Disorder decreasing over time?
2) Provide statistics for people with Autism finding life partners.
3) Describe the manner in which those with Autism experience the death of a loved one. While we know that there is extreme variability in the degree of disability associated with Autism (particularly in Devontae's case), provide information based on current research.
Through studies, there is evidence that symptoms of an Autism Spectrum Disorder may decrease over time. Like every study, there is never one hundred percent that everyone will all do the same thing. Lucky for Devontae, his symptoms seemed to decrease over his life span. As children with autism grow older they are more likely to learn how to deal with their disorder so it may not be as prominent in their life as they grow into adults. They have overcome barriers throughout their entire life and learn what works well for them. This comes from early intervention and receiving therapy throughout their entire childhood for repetitive behaviors, emotional/mental problems, and communication problems. But their IQ will not change a considerable amount where they will be able to live life like someone with an average IQ and as research has shown only about 3% of adults with autism are able to live fully independently on their own. The autism stays with them throughout their life causing problems where they cannot function as normal adult would be able to since it is a neuro-developmental disorder. Therefore the symptoms are reduced but they are still undeveloped, not hitting milestones they should be for any point in their life, including when they get to middle adulthood.
ReplyDeleteStatistics for people with Autism finding life partners:
ReplyDelete• In several outcome studies we see the same pattern. Of the 16 autistic adults without intellectual disability from Szatmari et al. (1989), only one was married, even though 4 were dating regularly. Average age at follow-up was 26.1. From a recent outcome study out of Utah involving 41 autistic adults, we learn that only "a few" were married.
o One problem with these findings is that adults in outcome studies are young adults. Additionally, we should not assume that diagnosed autistic adults, first identified when they were children, are representative of all autistics from the general population, known and unknown. Current understanding of autism is different to what it was in the past.
o Once again, the NHS adult prevalence study proves useful in addressing these sorts of limitations in available data. The report tells us that the prevalence of ASD in three marital status groups is as follows.
Married/cohabitating: 0.5%
Single: 2.5%
Widowed/divorced/separated: 0.6%
o There's also information on a "base" population that is not exactly representative of the general population, but it's probably close enough to being representative that it can be used to come up with estimated proportions of autistics and non-autistics in each of the categories.
Married/Cohabitating Single Widowed/divorced/separated
Autistics 33% 57% 10%
Non-Autistics 61% 22% 15%
(Kanner et al. 1972)
• Another myth currently being dispelled about individuals with autism involves their inability to sustain meaningful marital relationships. Autism expert Tony Attwood has laid this falsehood to rest by quoting studies on the attitudes towards marriage. Asking what marriage meant to them, neurotypical individuals typically responded with "being in love," while those with autism consistently cited the elements of having a lifelong friend and helpmate. Many marriages come undone when one or the other spouse falls out of love or becomes bored. People with autism, whose core values in a mate are an abiding friendship and routines, are actually much better suited for the lifelong commitments of marriage than their neurotypical counterparts. Dr. Attwood believes that people with autism are the forerunners of a higher evolution and that it is incumbent upon the rest of us to realize this fact. Their burgeoning and continuing success, both professionally and personally, bears out this wisdom. (Austim Key)
“The reaction may be delayed weeks or even months - where little or no reaction may be seen initially, it may suddenly manifest in strange ways (for example, linking the deceased to some unconnected event). This is simply the way the autistic child is processing and learning to live with the change.” (Miller) Since death means change it is hard for an autistic child to cope with and understand since they do not deal with change easily. The child with autism will more than likely not be able to understand the concepts of passing away and heaven, therefore they will becomes overwhelmed. Those with Autism usually resort back to a familiar place trying to find comfort as they deal with the loss of a loved one, therefore their obsessive-compulsive disorder may become worse as they know that is something that will always be there. It’s important for family and friends to respect this kind of coping mechanism because the person with autism feels safe with this action. It is also important for their support network of family, friends, and mentors to be there for them. The obsessive-disorder compulsions will more than likely be brought about in Devontae’s case as he had these compulsions as he grew which he can connect with his father. Devontae, based on current research will resort back into his own world seeking self-stimulation. Every case for each child is autism is different because the degree of severity, each reaction is going to be different. The less they are able to communicate clearly and express themselves then they are more likely to have a harder time dealing with death as they cannot show what they are feeling in ways that others can as someone passes away.
ReplyDeleteReferences:
Autism and Death. (n.d.). Autism Help. Retrieved June 27, 2012, from www.autismhelp.info/family/autism-and-death/categories,id,2316,1-1.aspx
Autism Information. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved on June 26, 2012 from http://www.hhs.gov/autism/
Miller, G. (n.d.). Being Autistic and Dealing with Death. Autism spectrum disorders | Signs of autism. Retrieved June 26, 2012, from http://autism.lovetoknow.com/Being_Autis
Natural Variation - Autism Blog: Marriage Among Autistics, Or Why the NHS Study Obliterates CADD. (n.d.). Natural Variation - Autism Blog. Retrieved June 27, 2012, from http://autismnaturalvariation.blogspot.com/2009/11/marriage-among-autistics-or-why-nhs.html
Successful Careers and Marriages Likely for Many with Autism | Autism Key. (n.d.). Autism Key. Retrieved June 27, 2012, from http://www.autismkey.com/successful-careers-and-marriages-likely-for-many-with-autism/