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Adults with "mild" autism can have problems equal to those with severe autism (study)

IntenseWorld

http://sfari.org/news-and-opinion/news/2011/people-with-milder-forms-of-autism-struggle-as-adults

"Contrary to popular assumption, people diagnosed with so-called mild forms of autism don’t fare any better in life than those with severe forms of the disorder. That’s the conclusion of a new study that suggests that even individuals with normal intelligence and language abilities struggle to fit into society because of their social and communication problems."

"The implication of our findings is that the consequences of having an autism spectrum disorder with profound difficulties in communication skills and social impairment can’t be compensated for by either high intellectual level or normal language function,” says lead investigator Anne Myhre, associate professor of mental health and addiction at the University of Oslo in Norway."

Basically the article says that without support and interventions, outcomes are just as severe as if the individuals had more a more severe form of autism.  Intelligence means that people are often not given the support and this is the consequence.

Let that be a lesson to all local authorities, schools, CAMHS and central government.

Parents

  • Longman has hit the nail on the metaphorical head. I experience the problems Longman mentions daily, and this is why it is surely a misnomer to label as 'mild' those with high-functioning AS; possibly yet another misnomer, for how high-functioning are we really, and how do you measure it?

    Yes, I appear very articulate, and I can fool people into thinking that I am far more emotionally and socially able than I really am; but then the cracks start to appear. After being in a social environment for long enough, particularly an unstructured and noisy one, I shut-down and have to make my exit. My stress and anxiety levels start to rise, and the social facade begins to crumble. Still, I try my hardest to keep appearances, but the anxiety and stress eventually burst out of me, and then I break-down with the stress.

    In fact, I find it very hard to deal with people, and can only really cater for my own needs. This is why I struggle with the give and take of friendships, and so I end up not bothering with them.

    Problems with sensory multi-tasking (too much noise and too many things going on) are also a problem, and I am lucky in not having any other sensory problems to contend with. But constant and unrelenting noise, hot stuffy rooms with people crowding in on me, all massively reduce my ability to function. And I am supposed to be 'mild'!.

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  • Longman has hit the nail on the metaphorical head. I experience the problems Longman mentions daily, and this is why it is surely a misnomer to label as 'mild' those with high-functioning AS; possibly yet another misnomer, for how high-functioning are we really, and how do you measure it?

    Yes, I appear very articulate, and I can fool people into thinking that I am far more emotionally and socially able than I really am; but then the cracks start to appear. After being in a social environment for long enough, particularly an unstructured and noisy one, I shut-down and have to make my exit. My stress and anxiety levels start to rise, and the social facade begins to crumble. Still, I try my hardest to keep appearances, but the anxiety and stress eventually burst out of me, and then I break-down with the stress.

    In fact, I find it very hard to deal with people, and can only really cater for my own needs. This is why I struggle with the give and take of friendships, and so I end up not bothering with them.

    Problems with sensory multi-tasking (too much noise and too many things going on) are also a problem, and I am lucky in not having any other sensory problems to contend with. But constant and unrelenting noise, hot stuffy rooms with people crowding in on me, all massively reduce my ability to function. And I am supposed to be 'mild'!.

Children
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