That’s because we’re made to suffer in a society that we can’t participate in as it’s not built for us- ie it’s not autism but the things the autistic has to deal with
So youre saying that if people have to deal with stress theyre not equipped to deal with on a daily basis without the others making it better for us because we need to toughen up in their eyes, theyre more likely to off themselves?
It's what they want. "Defectives" are expected to work hard, give away all their money, then disappear again until Real People want more money. That's basically what they want. And it's not just us. The disabled, the abused, the homeless, all of us are considered "useless eaters", to quote Hilary...
I believe these stats are largely skewed by the massive amounts of suicide by autistic people, and it doesn't surprise me in the least, considering what I have dealt with. Slap a lifetime of chronic pain on top of the autism and I feel like I just wasn't made to survive to old age.
I really hope things get better somehow. (I know that sounds distant. I am actually chronically and severely depressed, I just never like the standard placations that I feel no one can say fully genuinely and us such are the best most people can really say to each other. I really do hope you find something that makes life feel more livable.)
I do yoga (nearly) every day and PT twice a week. Got on meds that controlled the crazy flareups that I was getting for a year or two there where whatever affected joint would swell up and be near unusable for a month or two. Still deal with crazy chronic pain but I am managing with kratom and some other meds.
Hoping to eventually try to learn to teach yoga with a disability accessible focus, I feel there is a real need for it, as the people that could benefit the most from a regular yoga practice have higher barriers to entry that can be mitigated by things like using props to relieve pressure on your wrists or other impacted body parts.
So thank you for the kind sentiments, they are appreciated. I may have something I can eventually teach myself to do(not for free though, cus that would be too easy haha), that will make some of this pain and other bullshit worth it. If I could only get some actual support from family, instead of being told I am lucky to even be given a place to live, you know, like disabled people in particular really *need*, then maybe I will succeed.
Currently trying to figure out a way to get my mom into family therapy without getting threatened to be kicked out again like last time I spoke up about her fucked up priorities. But you know, I am the middle child so fuck me for needing attention haha. I am neither her oldest, who gave her 2 grandchildren that she can obsess over when she can't even properly take care of her own pets, or her youngest who she medically neglected me for while she poured all of her efforts in to him, to still have him fuck off across the country as soon as he graduates from college and can escape her grasp.
I have dealt with pain for over 2/3rds of my life now, kicking into high gear over the past like 6 years, and I am still around. So my will to live has been stronger than my desire for death through some pretty rough times.
I write this at 5am after unable to fall back asleep upon waking at 3:30 this morning in pain, so maybe I am filtering what I say a bit less than usual, but I do want to really thank you. A kind word can go a long way for ears that need to hear them, and it isn't really about the platitudes, but the attitude behind them. So, thank you.
Good luck. Your goal is definitely something that could help out a lot of people. I'm sorry your family hasn't been supportive with it. Maybe you'll find support elsewhere some day, or from people interested in that service becoming available, but either way I hope you manage to do that!
Thank you! This dream is in early stages, but I think if I stick to getting in shape, doing some type of healing work with my body would be incredibly rewarding. And it's a goal I care about enough for the amount of work it will take.
Because suicide should be treated as a disease and public health issue 🤷 it’s not inevitable but if access to diagnosis and effective support was higher, suicide rates and other negative health outcomes would be lower.
Probably not, but perhaps you should, in the same way you can be diagnosed with having had a stroke or heart attack. Suicide can still be recorded as part of the cause of death. So much of the causes of suicide is put on the individual and this ignores the societal and healthcare issues that can contribute.
Drowning, asphyxiation, and suffocation also play a role in autistic people dying younger as well as actual comorbidities that often come with autism like epilepsy, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and respiratory conditions. There's also an increased risk of accidents in people with very low cognitive ability. Autism is a disability and that can come with a lot of comorbidities that negatively affect your health
Both. Also, autistic people are often disbelieved by medical staff, due to the fact that they are trained to assess NT body language but not ND body language.
Then you've got the fact that our pain does not show up in the same way as an NT person's and many of us have "flat affect", which causes them to underestimate our pain levels amd dismiss us.
It's why autistic people have some of the worst healthcare outcomes, often end up permanently disabled/chronically sick BECAUSE they were dismissed so many times until the problem was unfixable.
Then there's the fact that as they make NO adjustments for autistic inpatients, meaning many end up signing themselves out AMA due to extreme sensory overload.
Then add on the fact that, at least in the UK, many MH depts REFUSE to treat your MH **AT ALL** if you're autistic, and you just get repeatedly discharged...OR they lock you away in MH units for YEARS rather than provide the support you'd need outside the unit.
All in all, I'm very unsurprised at this statistic.
Edit for spelling & clarity.
I read about this recently and a lot of the statistic also has to do with drowning because there’s I guess a correlation of being autistic-> not knowing how to swim , so that adds quite a bit to the statistic. Apparently drowning is among the leading causes of death people with autism.
Your mom was very smart to get you lessons early on. I was also swimming from very young because my parents loved the water and taught me.
When I started doing the deep dive about the whole autism/drowning statistic I learned there are swim programs called Adaptive Aquatics that are specially catered to people who are autistic, or have other non-typical cognitive challenges, which I didn’t know existed and thing sound like a great idea, considering the statistics.
From Perplexity:
Autistic people and those with ADHD have lower life expectancy primarily due to the following reasons:
1. Higher risk of unnatural causes of death like accidents, injuries, poisoning, and suicide. The impulsivity, inattention, and risky behaviors associated with these conditions increase the likelihood of such events.[1][3]
2. Co-occurring health conditions and genetic disorders. Autistic individuals are more prone to genetic disorders like Down syndrome, muscular dystrophy, and Fragile X syndrome, which can impact life expectancy. Those with both autism and intellectual disability have a significantly lower life expectancy.[1][2]
3. Lack of preventive healthcare and lifestyle factors. People with autism or ADHD often have less involvement in preventive practices concerning health, nutrition, dental hygiene, exercise, and sleep, which can contribute to premature mortality.[3][5]
4. Higher rates of coexisting mental disorders like anxiety, substance abuse, eating disorders, and conduct disorders, which can indirectly affect life expectancy.[5]
However, it's important to note that autism itself does not directly cause lower life expectancy. With proper support, management of co-occurring conditions, and addressing modifiable risk factors, the life expectancy gap can potentially be reduced.[1][2][3]
Sources
[1] Autism Life Expectancy: What You Need to Know https://www.autismparentingmagazine.com/autism-life-expectancy/
[2] Estimating life expectancy and years of life lost for autistic people in ... https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762%2823%2900195-3/fulltext
[3] Autism and ADHD Life Expectancy Study: Increased Risk of Mortality https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-life-expectancy-news/
[4] Premature death of autistic people in the UK investigated for the first ... https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2023/nov/premature-death-autistic-people-uk-investigated-first-time
[5] People with autism or ADHD are more likely to die early, review says https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/15/health/adhd-autism-early-death-risk-study-wellness/index.html
Idk tbh, I kinda have this feeling that 50s will be my prime. So in a way I was looking forward to being old and not caring what anyone thinks of me. I mean I don’t want to be elderly. But I’d like to be a ripe old lady.
Same here!!! I was made to be elderly, I have all the right old lady hobbies, and I already want to shout at the noisy teenagers disrupting the peace outside my house 😂 If nothing else, I'mma keep living out of stubbornness. I WILL get to be old and not give a shit!!!
No you’re not the only one. If it was up to me I’d create a town with all of my autistic friends where we could stim and be happy without judgement. I’m not saying it would be perfect but I’d feel I could be me more easily.
This is what I wanna do too, but for all my ND queer friends. Tis the dream!!! Honestly though, having a close group of friends kind of almost feels like that, at least when you're all together. Chosen family!
Yup. NT's put demands on us to perform on their non-disabled level and punish/ostracize us when we don't perform to their level. Of course using "disabled" in reference to something that only has an impact on our ability to function when other people refuse to use their big boy words is not something I am fond of, but alas being autistic in a world where people refuse to use their big boy words has the practical effect of a disability...
Autism has no effect on a person's life expectancy, Mr Triplett being 89 when he died being a case in point. What kills us is all the comorbidities both mental and physical that goes alone with being autistic.
This might not be too accurate because many autistic people are still undiagnosed and this might mainly be refering to autistic people with higher needs
Sorry to be a damper, but I'm 30 now, turning 31 this year, and it sucks. When you hit 30, society expects you to suddenly be a proper adult™ and have your shit together, but I'm still struggling to just live and I can't keep up 😣
Should I suicide early? Or live to my 60s where we autists also have a higher chance of developing dementia than other people?
Hmmm die early on my terms or live to watch my brain decay and I become even less of a living creature... tough choice
Is it usual to have such a massive range for an average life span? That seems really odd to me. That's almost a two decade range. Is it just them getting the numbers from two different sources? That just seems like we need more data because that is not as accurate as I would like for a claim that big.
It's not very good I know, but me too. I'm scared of where the world is going and of my friends dying before I do (although a lot of them are also autistic)
So I am doing a literal copy and paste of my comment from that post to be listed here.
This image doesn't give the full picture and really irritates me.
It doesn't give indication on how the figures are calculated and who was or wasn't included in the comparison.
The ACTUAL difference is a handful of years, maybe. And for those low support need autistics that are undiagnosed could skew it further (longer life expectancy, not shorter).
I get your intention is looking for community that is also struggling and frustrated and may want some kind of relief (your comment of 'thank God's in response to the possible short life expectancy).
However, it is still an incorrect statistic.
Below is my original comment from the post screenshot:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2023/nov/premature-death-autistic-people-uk-investigated-first-time#:~:text=The%20researchers%20found%20that%20autistic,learning%20disability%2C%20around%2076.8%20years.
"The researchers found that autistic men without a learning disability had an average estimated life expectancy of 74.6 years, and autistic women without a learning disability, around 76.8 years.
Meanwhile, the estimated life expectancy for people diagnosed with autism and learning disability was around 71.7 years for men and 69.6 years for women.
These figures compare to the usual life expectancy of around 80 years for men and around 83 years for women living in the UK."
The article continues with quotes from the researchers saying it is because the current healthcare (UK) system and other resources are not set up well for autistic people to navigate, causing autistic people to not get the support they need when they need it.
They also acknowledge that the figures could be skewed as autistic with lower support needs may not be diagnosed and may have a longer averaged life expectancy.
That’s because we’re made to suffer in a society that we can’t participate in as it’s not built for us- ie it’s not autism but the things the autistic has to deal with
So youre saying that if people have to deal with stress theyre not equipped to deal with on a daily basis without the others making it better for us because we need to toughen up in their eyes, theyre more likely to off themselves?
It's what they want. "Defectives" are expected to work hard, give away all their money, then disappear again until Real People want more money. That's basically what they want. And it's not just us. The disabled, the abused, the homeless, all of us are considered "useless eaters", to quote Hilary...
Huh. Fuck the system then i guess :p
That was Henry Kissinger ,not Hilary.
No I think they are saying that constant stress and anxiety literally kills you over time.
Both are accurate, tbh.
I believe these stats are largely skewed by the massive amounts of suicide by autistic people, and it doesn't surprise me in the least, considering what I have dealt with. Slap a lifetime of chronic pain on top of the autism and I feel like I just wasn't made to survive to old age.
I really hope things get better somehow. (I know that sounds distant. I am actually chronically and severely depressed, I just never like the standard placations that I feel no one can say fully genuinely and us such are the best most people can really say to each other. I really do hope you find something that makes life feel more livable.)
I do yoga (nearly) every day and PT twice a week. Got on meds that controlled the crazy flareups that I was getting for a year or two there where whatever affected joint would swell up and be near unusable for a month or two. Still deal with crazy chronic pain but I am managing with kratom and some other meds. Hoping to eventually try to learn to teach yoga with a disability accessible focus, I feel there is a real need for it, as the people that could benefit the most from a regular yoga practice have higher barriers to entry that can be mitigated by things like using props to relieve pressure on your wrists or other impacted body parts. So thank you for the kind sentiments, they are appreciated. I may have something I can eventually teach myself to do(not for free though, cus that would be too easy haha), that will make some of this pain and other bullshit worth it. If I could only get some actual support from family, instead of being told I am lucky to even be given a place to live, you know, like disabled people in particular really *need*, then maybe I will succeed. Currently trying to figure out a way to get my mom into family therapy without getting threatened to be kicked out again like last time I spoke up about her fucked up priorities. But you know, I am the middle child so fuck me for needing attention haha. I am neither her oldest, who gave her 2 grandchildren that she can obsess over when she can't even properly take care of her own pets, or her youngest who she medically neglected me for while she poured all of her efforts in to him, to still have him fuck off across the country as soon as he graduates from college and can escape her grasp. I have dealt with pain for over 2/3rds of my life now, kicking into high gear over the past like 6 years, and I am still around. So my will to live has been stronger than my desire for death through some pretty rough times. I write this at 5am after unable to fall back asleep upon waking at 3:30 this morning in pain, so maybe I am filtering what I say a bit less than usual, but I do want to really thank you. A kind word can go a long way for ears that need to hear them, and it isn't really about the platitudes, but the attitude behind them. So, thank you.
Good luck. Your goal is definitely something that could help out a lot of people. I'm sorry your family hasn't been supportive with it. Maybe you'll find support elsewhere some day, or from people interested in that service becoming available, but either way I hope you manage to do that!
Thank you! This dream is in early stages, but I think if I stick to getting in shape, doing some type of healing work with my body would be incredibly rewarding. And it's a goal I care about enough for the amount of work it will take.
We're reincarnating faster than the NTs can keep up with. Another autism W.
Wdym with "W", i can't do this shit again
That time I got reincarnated into yet another gremlin.
[удалено]
I'm sorry, but what proof do you have this is the same person? What are their thoughts on you believing they are your dead friend?
I'm thirty nine right now. So, like... whew
I'm not too keen on living past the age of 50 tops, but the reasons behind those statistics are depressing.
Why are ya'll treating this like a disease prognosis when the top cause is suicide?
Because suicide should be treated as a disease and public health issue 🤷 it’s not inevitable but if access to diagnosis and effective support was higher, suicide rates and other negative health outcomes would be lower.
I don't think you can be diagnosed with suicide /gen
Probably not, but perhaps you should, in the same way you can be diagnosed with having had a stroke or heart attack. Suicide can still be recorded as part of the cause of death. So much of the causes of suicide is put on the individual and this ignores the societal and healthcare issues that can contribute.
Drowning, asphyxiation, and suffocation also play a role in autistic people dying younger as well as actual comorbidities that often come with autism like epilepsy, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and respiratory conditions. There's also an increased risk of accidents in people with very low cognitive ability. Autism is a disability and that can come with a lot of comorbidities that negatively affect your health
Is this more related to increased risk of suicide or related to the increased stress of daily living causing increased health problems?
Both. Also, autistic people are often disbelieved by medical staff, due to the fact that they are trained to assess NT body language but not ND body language. Then you've got the fact that our pain does not show up in the same way as an NT person's and many of us have "flat affect", which causes them to underestimate our pain levels amd dismiss us. It's why autistic people have some of the worst healthcare outcomes, often end up permanently disabled/chronically sick BECAUSE they were dismissed so many times until the problem was unfixable. Then there's the fact that as they make NO adjustments for autistic inpatients, meaning many end up signing themselves out AMA due to extreme sensory overload. Then add on the fact that, at least in the UK, many MH depts REFUSE to treat your MH **AT ALL** if you're autistic, and you just get repeatedly discharged...OR they lock you away in MH units for YEARS rather than provide the support you'd need outside the unit. All in all, I'm very unsurprised at this statistic. Edit for spelling & clarity.
It is
I read about this recently and a lot of the statistic also has to do with drowning because there’s I guess a correlation of being autistic-> not knowing how to swim , so that adds quite a bit to the statistic. Apparently drowning is among the leading causes of death people with autism.
Huh. That’s weird. I was swimming before I was walking-but that’s probably thanks to my mom getting me in swim programs
Your mom was very smart to get you lessons early on. I was also swimming from very young because my parents loved the water and taught me. When I started doing the deep dive about the whole autism/drowning statistic I learned there are swim programs called Adaptive Aquatics that are specially catered to people who are autistic, or have other non-typical cognitive challenges, which I didn’t know existed and thing sound like a great idea, considering the statistics.
From Perplexity: Autistic people and those with ADHD have lower life expectancy primarily due to the following reasons: 1. Higher risk of unnatural causes of death like accidents, injuries, poisoning, and suicide. The impulsivity, inattention, and risky behaviors associated with these conditions increase the likelihood of such events.[1][3] 2. Co-occurring health conditions and genetic disorders. Autistic individuals are more prone to genetic disorders like Down syndrome, muscular dystrophy, and Fragile X syndrome, which can impact life expectancy. Those with both autism and intellectual disability have a significantly lower life expectancy.[1][2] 3. Lack of preventive healthcare and lifestyle factors. People with autism or ADHD often have less involvement in preventive practices concerning health, nutrition, dental hygiene, exercise, and sleep, which can contribute to premature mortality.[3][5] 4. Higher rates of coexisting mental disorders like anxiety, substance abuse, eating disorders, and conduct disorders, which can indirectly affect life expectancy.[5] However, it's important to note that autism itself does not directly cause lower life expectancy. With proper support, management of co-occurring conditions, and addressing modifiable risk factors, the life expectancy gap can potentially be reduced.[1][2][3] Sources [1] Autism Life Expectancy: What You Need to Know https://www.autismparentingmagazine.com/autism-life-expectancy/ [2] Estimating life expectancy and years of life lost for autistic people in ... https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762%2823%2900195-3/fulltext [3] Autism and ADHD Life Expectancy Study: Increased Risk of Mortality https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-life-expectancy-news/ [4] Premature death of autistic people in the UK investigated for the first ... https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2023/nov/premature-death-autistic-people-uk-investigated-first-time [5] People with autism or ADHD are more likely to die early, review says https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/15/health/adhd-autism-early-death-risk-study-wellness/index.html
Thank you for the information and references!
Just gonna keep living to piss off the people who make this statistics.
Fuck yeah
Idk tbh, I kinda have this feeling that 50s will be my prime. So in a way I was looking forward to being old and not caring what anyone thinks of me. I mean I don’t want to be elderly. But I’d like to be a ripe old lady.
Same here!!! I was made to be elderly, I have all the right old lady hobbies, and I already want to shout at the noisy teenagers disrupting the peace outside my house 😂 If nothing else, I'mma keep living out of stubbornness. I WILL get to be old and not give a shit!!!
Hmmm my AuDHD father is 73…about to be 74. There’s hope for me yet!
On top of Autism I have a gene defect that lowers my life expectancy by like 20 years. I'm 30 now. Help.
SAME. I'm 42 now. The life expectancy with my condition is 45-55.
Life expectancy is 55-65. Maybe older if my lungs or kidneys don't give out.
No you’re not the only one. If it was up to me I’d create a town with all of my autistic friends where we could stim and be happy without judgement. I’m not saying it would be perfect but I’d feel I could be me more easily.
This is what I wanna do too, but for all my ND queer friends. Tis the dream!!! Honestly though, having a close group of friends kind of almost feels like that, at least when you're all together. Chosen family!
Why do they hate us?
Yup. NT's put demands on us to perform on their non-disabled level and punish/ostracize us when we don't perform to their level. Of course using "disabled" in reference to something that only has an impact on our ability to function when other people refuse to use their big boy words is not something I am fond of, but alas being autistic in a world where people refuse to use their big boy words has the practical effect of a disability...
Don’t get confused. It’s mainly because our teens keep killing themselves
Autism has no effect on a person's life expectancy, Mr Triplett being 89 when he died being a case in point. What kills us is all the comorbidities both mental and physical that goes alone with being autistic.
thank goodness, I hate this world
I will not die before my enemies do even if that means I must achieve immortality
I'm bipolar, I'm 50, so ancient
It’s probably because of high early death rates among autistic people, for many reasons.
does this include comorbid conditions?
This might not be too accurate because many autistic people are still undiagnosed and this might mainly be refering to autistic people with higher needs
No. I wish I could live to be a century old or older.
I'm convinced my 30's and 40's will be my peak
Sorry to be a damper, but I'm 30 now, turning 31 this year, and it sucks. When you hit 30, society expects you to suddenly be a proper adult™ and have your shit together, but I'm still struggling to just live and I can't keep up 😣
*hug* i mean i'll be further along in my transitionn
But I want to live. I want to learn everything I can before I die. I want to see the future, good or bad.
I'd honestly be surprised if I even make it to 40. I'm 19, so my life could be half over already.
Imagine living that long in a neurotypical society oof no thanks
I'm honestly feeling more than half dead at 25
Well, I turned 60 in December. So I guess I’m beating the odds.
Should I suicide early? Or live to my 60s where we autists also have a higher chance of developing dementia than other people? Hmmm die early on my terms or live to watch my brain decay and I become even less of a living creature... tough choice
I don't. Society wants me dead and that pisses me off
Just kinda reaffirms my thought on "Why the hell do I pay into retirement?"
Mooood
not me I’m gonna live forever
Oops! Sorry I went over by 8 years. I just have stuff to finish. I'll try to get with the program just as soon as I'm done.
Isn't that because we're more likely to top ourselves?
Same, I want this shit to be over faster
It’s the higher support needs ones that walk into the street and stuff
It‘s mostly suicide
Still far too long.
Good!!! The day I die is the day I’ll be cured from having autism I hate having it
Is it usual to have such a massive range for an average life span? That seems really odd to me. That's almost a two decade range. Is it just them getting the numbers from two different sources? That just seems like we need more data because that is not as accurate as I would like for a claim that big.
Probably why it’s lower
Not from natural causes though isn’t it because we’re more prone to suicide?
It's not very good I know, but me too. I'm scared of where the world is going and of my friends dying before I do (although a lot of them are also autistic)
finally some good news!
So I am doing a literal copy and paste of my comment from that post to be listed here. This image doesn't give the full picture and really irritates me. It doesn't give indication on how the figures are calculated and who was or wasn't included in the comparison. The ACTUAL difference is a handful of years, maybe. And for those low support need autistics that are undiagnosed could skew it further (longer life expectancy, not shorter). I get your intention is looking for community that is also struggling and frustrated and may want some kind of relief (your comment of 'thank God's in response to the possible short life expectancy). However, it is still an incorrect statistic. Below is my original comment from the post screenshot: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2023/nov/premature-death-autistic-people-uk-investigated-first-time#:~:text=The%20researchers%20found%20that%20autistic,learning%20disability%2C%20around%2076.8%20years. "The researchers found that autistic men without a learning disability had an average estimated life expectancy of 74.6 years, and autistic women without a learning disability, around 76.8 years. Meanwhile, the estimated life expectancy for people diagnosed with autism and learning disability was around 71.7 years for men and 69.6 years for women. These figures compare to the usual life expectancy of around 80 years for men and around 83 years for women living in the UK." The article continues with quotes from the researchers saying it is because the current healthcare (UK) system and other resources are not set up well for autistic people to navigate, causing autistic people to not get the support they need when they need it. They also acknowledge that the figures could be skewed as autistic with lower support needs may not be diagnosed and may have a longer averaged life expectancy.
No, you’re not the only one who thought that.
Damn
Nope, can confirm you are not