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Autistics Die 18-30 years Earlier? True?

Hard to say, but this could be true due to the idea that people on the spectrum probably get more easily stressed in the real world. This amount of stress could possibly lower someone's life expectancy significantly. People on the spectrum do not know how to cope or deal with social situations and have a harder time learning what they can do.

One thing is for sure. More value needs to be placed on therapy and how much it's available and given out.
 
I'm 40 and I have no plans to leave this mortal coil yet.

Not till I'm married with at least 2 kids (yeah right, like THAT will ever happen!)
 
it probably doesnt help that many of us have communication/expression/language impairments and struggle with saying how we feel,this could lead to misdiagnosis and end up dying from something that could have been caught.

interaction can be an issue,if you struggle to interact you may struggle to make it known your not well and ask your support staff for a gp appointment or attend it yourself.

and for the autists with very complex and severe challenging behavior,it can be incredibly difficult for us to access an understanding doctor who isnt scared of us,mine isnt very bad as im on a lot of anti pyschs but when it was really bad i had to have home gp visits and they always said they cant diagnose much from home.
 
My therapist says that autistic's bodies are constantly in the "flight, fight or freeze" level of alertness. That has to take its toll that our bodies never "power down" so to speak. I know I can sense massive differances from my 30's to the mid 40's I am in now. And every meltdown/shutdown takes longer and longer to recover fully from as I get older. Mike
 
toothless said:
it probably doesnt help that many of us have communication/expression/language impairments and struggle with saying how we feel,this could lead to misdiagnosis and end up dying from something that could have been caught.

interaction can be an issue,if you struggle to interact you may struggle to make it known your not well and ask your support staff for a gp appointment or attend it yourself.

and for the autists with very complex and severe challenging behavior,it can be incredibly difficult for us to access an understanding doctor who isnt scared of us,mine isnt very bad as im on a lot of anti pyschs but when it was really bad i had to have home gp visits and they always said they cant diagnose much from home.
Click to expand...

Your equals you're.

I do see your point though.
 
artfull dodger said:
My therapist says that autistic's bodies are constantly in the "flight, fight or freeze" level of alertness. That has to take its toll that our bodies never "power down" so to speak. I know I can sense massive differances from my 30's to the mid 40's I am in now. And every meltdown/shutdown takes longer and longer to recover fully from as I get older. Mike
Click to expand...

That is well put. Same here. With each meltdown, wow......it's like a knife across the brain, literally, and I have to lie down and then the shame to melt down at my age.........AND the fight/flight 24/7.......and my rituals which are exhausting......and not being able to eat right...........

MERCY! I will be lucky to make to 56!!
 
toothless said:
it probably doesnt help that many of us have communication/expression/language impairments and struggle with saying how we feel,this could lead to misdiagnosis and end up dying from something that could have been caught.

interaction can be an issue,if you struggle to interact you may struggle to make it known your not well and ask your support staff for a gp appointment or attend it yourself.

and for the autists with very complex and severe challenging behavior,it can be incredibly difficult for us to access an understanding doctor who isnt scared of us,mine isnt very bad as im on a lot of anti pyschs but when it was really bad i had to have home gp visits and they always said they cant diagnose much from home.
Click to expand...

I never thought of that one......that we cannot communicate w our drs! Or, as happens to me, I really freak when people touch me. Have you seen the show Touch how that kid went nuts if you touch him? That's me, basically, though now I do not scream. Well I might yell at someone, but I don't scream uncontrollable like that poor kid on the Touch.

However, if a dr touches me, I go into massive shut down mode and can hardly hear what s/he is saying. One several occasions, I literally had the gown on and got up and WALKED OUT. I told the Dr I was in mental health crisis. They just looked at me like I was nuts. No help.

Then my therapist placed a note in my chart to not touch me or if they had to , then wear gloves. I cannot stand skin to skin. That is the worst.

I had a lump that "needed to be addressed." That was a laugh. The whole thing was a nightmare. I got through the ultrasound but when they wanted to biopsy? FORGET IT. I said no chance.

It turned out to go down, but I saw my limits. If they had wanted to do like maybe an operation ?? Ummmmm, pushing up daisies, friends.

I hope when I am evaluted by TEACCH they will offer some sort of support or i won't even make it to 56. I am afraid I am not going to be able to live on my own if I get ill.
 
You know, I have been pondering this a while, the whole idea of a shortened life. Today I realized this information can be very useful. How many people think they have all the time in the world and don't ? A lot.

Lots of famous people died this year (RIP to them all!!) and it has me thinking.

OK, so I might have a decade left. I might have less, even! SO what do i want to do in that time?

I certainly do not want to grind myself into oblivion anymore.

I sat down last night and asked myself what i even like to do because every waking moment for the last 3 decades has been fighting my autism, fighting to eat, fighting to do things that MATTER, reading all I can, new languages, memorizes very long poems, guilt over not doing more to help the world and the bees and the starving kids, and my family!!!!

As I sat there, do you know I could not think of a single thing I would LIKE to do?!! I thought of things I should do, but not one thing I LIKE to do.

I love my family but know I do not want to hurt them ever again. Meltdowns are scary for them. I don't even like to watch TV. I don't even have a tv!! My travel episodes are way worse than Rain Man. I can't "hang with friends." I have none.

But I am determined to find a little happiness in this life before I die. Open to options......
 
Rich Allen said:
Your equals you're.

I do see your point though.
Click to expand...
hi rich,have you seen my signature? i have asked for people to stop grammar naziing me because it is really upsetting me,you regulary do this and i know you do it because you have an innocent impulsion to correct like many aspies but you also need to consider the circumstances of the person doing the spelling/grammar, for me my mild intellectual disability and my significantly severe classic autism cause cognitive and processing issues that affect my ability to type perfect grammar/spelling.
also when people grammar nazi me it makes me think they are being nasty to me as i cant distinguish between the person being deliberately nasty and trying to make me feel inferior,and the aspie who is innocently but inapropriately telling me how to write.

sorry to off topic your thread okrad.
 
OkRad said:
I never thought of that one......that we cannot communicate w our drs! Or, as happens to me, I really freak when people touch me. Have you seen the show Touch how that kid went nuts if you touch him? That's me, basically, though now I do not scream. Well I might yell at someone, but I don't scream uncontrollable like that poor kid on the Touch.

However, if a dr touches me, I go into massive shut down mode and can hardly hear what s/he is saying. One several occasions, I literally had the gown on and got up and WALKED OUT. I told the Dr I was in mental health crisis. They just looked at me like I was nuts. No help.

Then my therapist placed a note in my chart to not touch me or if they had to , then wear gloves. I cannot stand skin to skin. That is the worst.

I had a lump that "needed to be addressed." That was a laugh. The whole thing was a nightmare. I got through the ultrasound but when they wanted to biopsy? FORGET IT. I said no chance.

It turned out to go down, but I saw my limits. If they had wanted to do like maybe an operation ?? Ummmmm, pushing up daisies, friends.

I hope when I am evaluted by TEACCH they will offer some sort of support or i won't even make it to 56. I am afraid I am not going to be able to live on my own if I get ill.
Click to expand...
oh yes,i know exactly what you mean! i have an aversion to touch as well especially when it is light touch,i have had a boob lump as well and it was months before anyone spotted it and i kept hitting out at the gp when he tried to touch me so i was referred to the nightingale centre,and i had to be sedated with diazepam so a doctor could press down on the lump with hard touch,he said its just a non tumour thing so i dont need to go to the stress of being in hospital to have it out.
i think you need some more understanding doctors okrad-have you ever heard of a traffic light passport?
these are commonly used for those of us with LD/ID-i have one but its not really describing well as staff have given their opinion instead of mine,go on google;search traffic light passport template and have a look through them all to see which one suits you best,print it off and fill it in,then carry it with you at all times when you go to the doctors/hospital,id say to give your doctors surgery a copy.

have you thought of supported living? i dont necessarily mean living with other people,you could have your own flat but have support as and when needed,i get 24/7 support but you can have very little support or none at all at times,ive lived with two guys before who had two hours of support a day-one of them aspie the other LD with CP.
 
OkRad said:
OK, so I might have a decade left. I might have less, even! SO what do i want to do in that time?
Click to expand...

I've been having the same kinds of thoughts. I'm only 24 so you might laugh at that, but I feel like those 24 years have for the most part been completely wasted on anxiety, depression and surviving all the crap from my family (it's a miracle that I managed to get out of that toxic abyss tbh), and I have no way to know how much time remains.

My plans from here are pretty straight-forward; move to the apartment I've managed to buy, try to get some of the education I missed out on due to the problems at home, get a job, and hopefully, find a way to meet someone and be less alone. That's really the biggest problem I have at the moment. I could accomplish anything and it'd still feel hollow if there's no one to share the joy with.

I recommend starting a diary of sorts if you haven't, there's something so satisfying about writing things down and knowing that if I die tomorrow, those memories won't just disappear with me.
 
toothless said:
oh yes,i know exactly what you mean! i have an aversion to touch as well especially when it is light touch,i have had a boob lump as well and it was months before anyone spotted it and i kept hitting out at the gp when he tried to touch me so i was referred to the nightingale centre,and i had to be sedated with diazepam so a doctor could press down on the lump with hard touch,he said its just a non tumour thing so i dont need to go to the stress of being in hospital to have it out.
i think you need some more understanding doctors okrad-have you ever heard of a traffic light passport?
these are commonly used for those of us with LD/ID-i have one but its not really describing well as staff have given their opinion instead of mine,go on google;search traffic light passport template and have a look through them all to see which one suits you best,print it off and fill it in,then carry it with you at all times when you go to the doctors/hospital,id say to give your doctors surgery a copy.

have you thought of supported living? i dont necessarily mean living with other people,you could have your own flat but have support as and when needed,i get 24/7 support but you can have very little support or none at all at times,ive lived with two guys before who had two hours of support a day-one of them aspie the other LD with CP.
Click to expand...

I am not sure I would qualify for supportive living because I am "HFA/deve dis" and in the states (and Canada, where I could alos go), they really think if you can walk, you are ok. It's infuriating.

I am interested in knowing more about the traffic light template. I looked it up but only could find things for explaining traffic lights to kids, like in school! I do have a letter my Therapist gave me to give to Drs to tell them not to touch me.

Again, here in the US , if you can SAY to a Dr :"I Have Autism," then they think, "You just talked. Of course you don't have autism."

Either they need to rename what I have or get drs up to speed. Right now, they are killing whose of us who DO NOT FUNCTION well at all, yet are "HFA!"
 
OkRad said:
Can this be true? Is this just bad science? If this is true, the mortality rate is higher than schizophrenia.

Premature autism deaths are 'hidden crisis' says charity


http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/03/people-autism-spectrum-die-18-years-younger-average
Click to expand...

Well, I do not know if Aspies have shorter lives just because they are Aspies. But I do not think so. I will be 71 next month and I do not see myself as old. How old is "old" anyway?

I think that if autistic people die younger, it is from stress. Living in a world where almost everyone else different from yourself, is stressful. Stress and anxiety are bad for anyone's mental health, whether you are autistic or not. I believe that the key to how much stress affects you, is how much you let it affect you. If you need help with that, then professional consoling is certainly in order.
 
I can say that as I grow older, recovery time from a major melt/shutdown takes longer and longer. Right now, I am flirting with a major burnout. I have no interest in much of anything right now, nor the energy to do anything about it. Usualy in bed much earlier than right now, but the better half is sick and I am avoiding her as much as possible so I don't catch it. Mike
 
OkRad said:
I am not sure I would qualify for supportive living because I am "HFA/deve dis" and in the states (and Canada, where I could alos go), they really think if you can walk, you are ok. It's infuriating.

I am interested in knowing more about the traffic light template. I looked it up but only could find things for explaining traffic lights to kids, like in school! I do have a letter my Therapist gave me to give to Drs to tell them not to touch me.

Again, here in the US , if you can SAY to a Dr :"I Have Autism," then they think, "You just talked. Of course you don't have autism."

Either they need to rename what I have or get drs up to speed. Right now, they are killing whose of us who DO NOT FUNCTION well at all, yet are "HFA!"
Click to expand...
OkRad said:
I am not sure I would qualify for supportive living because I am "HFA/deve dis" and in the states (and Canada, where I could alos go), they really think if you can walk, you are ok. It's infuriating.

I am interested in knowing more about the traffic light template. I looked it up but only could find things for explaining traffic lights to kids, like in school! I do have a letter my Therapist gave me to give to Drs to tell them not to touch me.

Again, here in the US , if you can SAY to a Dr :"I Have Autism," then they think, "You just talked. Of course you don't have autism."

Either they need to rename what I have or get drs up to speed. Right now, they are killing whose of us who DO NOT FUNCTION well at all, yet are "HFA!"
Click to expand...
ive had a look on google and i can see your frustration with lack of support,the UK definitely has better support for adult aspies,i know a lot of aspies complain about lack of services in the UK but i have come across quite a few independant ones.
ive found a link of support groups in all states of america that might be of interest?
Aspergers Support Groups: United States
most groups on it are for parents but some of those let adult aspies in and some are only for adult aspies, it could be a good starting place going to one of those as someone may know of local support.

have you thought about looking for sensory integration therapy? i know a lot of people struggle to find this as its ignorantly aimed at kids but i had it as an adult and it changed my life.

i know that you can have social skills classes to,you could enquire at a local american autism association about this if you were interested.

as for the traffic light system,i think you found the right ones-they arent for kids theyre called easy read format,designed for those of us who struggle to understand complex language [i have to constantly look at a dictionary and thesaurus app to understand words and find alternatives] or...you might need pictures to help you process information,really for people with ID or autism as being aspie doesnt mean you cant struggle to process language,especially if you think in a visual format.

you could also write yourself a one page profile,of all your difficulties,your likes,dislikes and how you could be supported better by the medical folk.
i have a THREE page profile [theyre supposed to be one page for some reason],i made it myself on open office or libre office [i forget which one i have as i go between two laptops]-waffled on for to long about my dislikes though ive tailored it towards support staff more than medical people but if you wanted to have a look for an idea of how to do it i can get a pic of it.
 
i think it's a mixture of us having higher amounts of stress, having problems communicating with doctors and the horrifyingly high rate of suicidal tendencies. It's a perfect storm, and all three of these things can feed into the other. For example: "I'm feeling suicidal, but I'm not sure whether it's appropriate to speak to the doctor about it, as I debate this in my head I start getting a headache."
 
I hope so. I enjoy life very little. But I am stuck here, so I try to give a worthy account of myself. But I have nothing to look forward to and dont see things getting any better. Honestly, departure would be great news. But it's not up to me.
 
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