Supporting Families with Autistic Adults

Autism is a forever condition. There is no cure only better management and typically no matter where people are on the spectrum, that requires lifelong external support in varying degrees.

Support for autistic adults falls mainly to family and partners, many of whom are not well versed in knowing how to support someone with autism and for the majority will learn by trial and error which can be very stressful. The support families are getting to support autistic adults is typically non-existent with providers, research and funding being concentrated on finding better ways to support autistic children.

Awareness and understanding about autism is still not fully understood among the general population, and the diagnostic and assessment procedures were not well developed in the past to diagnose autism in adults as children. Therefore most people and their families diagnosed with ASD as adults are not able to get support they need to learn ways to manage the challenges of autism effectively.

Further, adults with autism are more likely to live with multiple comorbid conditions such as seizure disorders (17 times more likely), osteoporosis (women are 11 times more likely) and Parkinson’s disease (over six times more likely) (Decker, 2022). These kind of health issues pose significant challenges for those on the spectrum who need to access services for medical and therapeutic interventions and find it very challenging with the pervasive and significant deficits of autism.

The financial, social and psychological burden on families supporting autistic adults can be damaging to their own health and well-being and affect the level of support they can provide when they themselves are feeling overwhelmed with high levels of stress and strain (Karst JS, Van Hecke AV, 2012).

Along with providing adequate care/support to autistic adults, especially ones in their senior years, it's important for family and partners to be mindful of the impact on their own health and well-being and learn ways to implement self-care interventions in their daily routines and seek assistance if the burden becomes too great (Abimbola Farinde, 2021).?

Supporting an autistic adult? Want to get more support with supporting your autistic adult and learn ways to manage your own health and well-being to manage stress and strain? Join our new Facebook Support Group: Living with Autistic Adults

Host of Living with Autistic Adults; a support group for family/partners of adults on the autistic spectrum to enhance coping skills and resilience for improving quality of life, health and well-being.