Having Autism Results in Shorter Life Expectancy

Disturbing news emerged late last year from a study out of Sweden that concluded individuals with autism die an average of 16 years sooner than people without it. The leading causes of death cited for people with autism were heart disease, suicide and epilepsy.

In decades past, autism was thought to be a disorder affecting children, but now researchers are watching those children grow into adults and the findings are grim. The average life expectancy is 70 years for the general population and only 54 for those with ASD.

The suicide rate for girls with autism is higher than that of boys. And boys and girls who have autism but no other cognitive disabilities are nine times more likely to commit suicide.

Autism expert Dr. Tony Attwood cites differences between girls and boys with autism that can help explain the particular vulnerability of girls. Girls with autism often go undiagnosed because they are good at hiding their feelings and blending in, whereas as boys are socialized to be more boisterous and act out. Autism often surfaces as the “good girl” starts having serious depression and eating disorders when she heads into her teens. It becomes harder and harder to mask her inner turmoil and in a best case scenario, this leads to diagnosis and real help.

Bullying leaps to mind as a reason for both boys and girls to feel vulnerable to the point of despair. And children on the higher end of the spectrum are all the more aware of how little they fit in and how much their peers target them. Indeed, a March 2020 study found in a large clinical population of adolescents with ASD, that those who experienced bullying were nearly double the risk of later developing suicidal thoughts.

Schools need to provide more training to teachers about autism and teachers in turn need to educate other students about how to include and befriend students with autism. Strong anti-bullying programs must be implemented to protect the vulnerable. And of course, there’s the online world of bullying, which magnifies the impacts exponentially.

After surviving the trying years compulsory education, the transition to adulthood for those on the spectrum is equally perilous. Many end up adrift and utterly isolated after high school and the end of what services were available to them. Even for ASD individuals who further their education, 85% of college grads affected by autism are unemployed, compared to the pre-COVID national unemployment rate of 4.5%. There are programs to help young adults move forward into adulthood, but quite frankly, they cost a fortune. I’m happy for those who can afford it, but wish income equality didn’t rear its ugly head over such an important issue.

Having recently watched “Love on the Spectrum” on Netflix, I can’t help but think of the young adults on that show, all living with or very near their parents, each wearing their heart on their sleeve, wanting to find romantic love to bridge that isolation endemic to their existence. The poignancy of their situation is a slice of what it’s like to be marching to a different drummer yet still hopeful of finding someone who can pick up the beat.

So the news is in — ASD individuals are at great risk. Let this be a call to action.

Much more needs to be done to support individuals on the autism spectrum in every phase of their lives but in the midst of this pandemic, much is put on hold. This reminds me to research the views and policies of candidates. The Autism Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) has a wealth of current disability information and policy actions.

Let’s challenge the systemic issues that leave our ASD breathren living shorter lives.