The literature on autism is chock full of studies of the condition in children. But studies on what autism looks like in adulthood are far fewer. Last week, one of these rare reports found that the quality of life for adults with autism is determined more by their ability to independently navigate and adapt to the minutiae of daily life — from budgeting for weekly expenses to changing a light bulb — than by their cognitive or language ability.
The literature on autism is chock full of studies of the condition in children. But studies on what autism looks like in adulthood are far fewer. Last week, one of these rare reports found that the quality of life for adults with autism is determined more by their ability to independently navigate and adapt to the minutiae of daily life — from budgeting for weekly expenses to changing a light bulb — than by their cognitive or language ability.
Researchers from the University of Utah surveyed 41 adults with autism — 38 of whom are Mormons — who had participated in a large prevalence study of the disorder in the 1980s, when they were children. The researchers asked the participants, now about 32 years old, how they fare in their daily life: Do they live with their parents? Are they employed? Do they drive?
The answers are mixed: About half of the 41 participants have part- or full-time jobs, 11 have higher intelligence quotients (IQs) than they did as children, 6 live on their own, and 3 are married with children. At the same time, 25 suffer from anxiety or mood disorders, 8 have lower IQs, and 18 have never dated.
A 2007 Swedish study had found that childhood language ability and IQ are crucial factors in predicting a stable adult life. But the new study finds that those factors are not as important as coping skills — which is good news for families who turn to behavioral therapies.
In the Swedish study, as well as in long-term studies of autism in England and Canada, the participants were not as well integrated into work and social situations, and had a lower quality of life overall. The Utah participants may have fared better because the Mormon culture has strong family ties and does not stigmatize those with autism, the researchers say. Now that’s ‘Big Love’.
