new to this- what to expect long term - Autism Spectrum Message Board

indianacne · 06-05-2006, 06:55 PM

I work in the health care field so I see lots of kids with autism. My nephew was diagnosed at 23 months, now he is 2.5 years and has made good progress. He is doing ABA at home and will use 2-3 word phrases to communicate and when prompted can say 4-5 words at a time. His parents are very devoted to getting him the best therapies. he seems very bright in a lot of ways. I worry though because I have never seen any adults with autism. What happens to them? If they are mild or moderate do they function in society. I just want to know what to expect for his future- please let me know any experiences.

Liz Cook · 06-05-2006, 10:52 PM

oh there are adults everywhere with autism, i go to support group with a few

one lady there is a serious advocate and crosses the country giving lectures on autism awareness and teaches at adult care facilities on how the handle things like meltdowns, etc. the high functioning ones can blend but they still have their quirks. one of the ladies at group with pddnos has some pretty big social issues but is in a good relationship now and has a son from a previous relationship. high functioning aspergers can go pretty unnoticed... with my husband i just figured he was a jerk

as far as the "lower" functioning adults with autism... i worked in an adult care facility specifically for the mentally disabled (all with IQ's of 70 or less was the criteria for service) ranging from mild to the profound. the area i worked specifically was supported employment... i took clients to their jobs and assisted them with performing their job tasks (mostly cueing them to stay on task

). one of the gentlemen i worked with was diagnosed with fragile x syndrome (one of my two favorite consumers i might add) and his predominant diagnosis was mental retardation with seizure disorder but also autism. further down the functioning line... there were several other clients that were in the community with autism as an underlying issue and one with that as his main diagnosis with MR underlying... so there are adults with autism it just tends to get over looked more in generalized adult services. my son has a dual diagnosis of autism and mental retardation and at this point (though he could surprise us) it looks like we will be seeking services like where i worked for him in his adulthood.

also, rainman (:P) was based on a real person. i saw something on him on some educational channel (no advertising

) but he lived with his father and his father took care of all of his needs so there are probably tons more living at home until their parents are too old to take care of them anymore... my dh and i are hoping not to do that because when isaac is 50 or more imangine how hard it will be to transition to having to leave the nest! EGADS!

that would be unfair for him.

hope that helped some