Sounding a wake-up call: Improving the lives of adults with autism

摘要

After making the initial diagnosis of autistic disorder in a child younger than 3 years, the examination room is often silent and filled with sadness. I have learned to sit quietly with the parents, often as tears run down their cheeks. After a few minutes, one of the parents, usually the mother, asks me if their child will go to college and get married. Because there are sparse data to guide my response, I base it on my experience caring for adults with autism during the past 25 years. My answer is not one the parents hope to hear. It has been unusual for one of my patients with autistic disorder to "go away" to a 4-year college and be successful, at least in the manner that one of their typical peers might. The individual may have the intellect to master the coursework, but the lack of structure and social demands are often too much to overcome. The young adult may live in a single room in the dormitory and the parents may continue to function as the person's external ego, calling to wake him up and telling him when to take his medication, go to class, and go to bed.