I’m autistic and old, over 60.
Being autistic has certainly had its challenges including a lot of comorbid health issues.
I’ve survived horrendous bullying in grade school and high school, I’ve survived sexual and emotional abuse, I’ve survived a bad marriage and divorce, and I’ve survived a serious autoimmune disease which includes its own comorbid condition of frontal lobe epilepsy.
I’m still alive, enjoying most days, and I plan to be around for awhile.
Therefore, the attached article caught my attention especially since it was posted by numerous websites and my Google Alert newsfeed was inundated by it.
Do you agree? Autistics die younger than non-autistics?
I suspect it is partially true, but I doubt we can generalize with such an ominous prediction.
Furthermore, like many autistics, I suffer depression daily, and this kind of news tidbit could really fuel that comorbid condition.
[To be continued]
Washington Post article:
People on the autism spectrum live an average of 18 fewer years than everyone else, study finds
The Mind of an Autistic Savant 
I can’t stand these kind of ‘doomsday’ predictions for any part of the population. You define yourself. I LOVE people on the spectrum (my son in particular) and love hearing from people like yourself. I started a blog on home-based early intervention and things I’ve been using to help connect with my son in a way he understands and finds less invasive. He’s coming along in leaps and bounds. I’m sure you plan to be around for quite some time yet. The media will always ‘spin’ everything to make a story and not thing of the consequence it has on the psyche of our culture.
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My site is http://www.asdearlyinterventionathome.com if you’d like to support x
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