Published on 12, July, 2020
I'm a researcher but also a parent of two autistic adults. I'm conducting a research study as part of my post-graduate degree focusing on older and elderly autistic adults, in particular the support they receive once they reach retirement age; where they are living; who's advocating for them; and just how safe are they. I'm interested in hearing families' views and experiences and if anyone is happy to share this information with me please reply to this post. Thank you.
I have a father in his late 70s who has undiagnosed ASD. Not just an uninformed guess - lots of other family on the spectrum, some with a diagnosis. Happy to speak about our experience.
I imagine that few people of my father’s age have a diagnosis - there wasn’t any understanding of ASD when they were young and my father had no self-awareness - despite his grandchildren being diagnosed. Most of his family agree that he is probably high functioning but affected much more than we thought. This only became clear after the death of my mother who micro-managed most aspects of his life for all of his adult life until now.