Living and Coping With Autism Spectrum Disorders
For so many parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, the most daunting day ahead of them is that day on which their child moves out of the house, out of the immediate grasp of their parents’ helping hands, to live on their own. Often accompanying the fear of that day is the question of if their child will be well-suited enough for life on their own and whether or not they will be able to handle the daily demands of independent living. The worry is as reasonable as it is common. A parent’s concern for their child’s well-being is forever, and so too is it naturally amplified when the child is autistic and has displayed a need for assistance for so long. Fortunately however, it is a struggle people have confronted and surpassed for generations now, leaving in their wake wisdom and the most discerning, comprehensive, and compassionate solutions they could find.
Variations of Autistic Disorders
Autism Spectrum Disorders affect roughly 1%-2% of the worldwide population and the numbers of children diagnosed seem to be progressively growing each year. The term Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) encompasses the three branches of the autism disorder: Autism, Asperger Syndrome, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS).
Autism
Autism is a developmental disorder displayed by roughly six out of every 1,000 children. It is generally apparent by age five, and is often characterized – though not limited to – delayed learning processes (displaying particular difficulties with the adoption of language) and apprehensions or awkward behavior in social situations. Autistic individuals are generally reluctant to socialize with others, but when they do they may not be receptive to the other person’s conversational tactics (such as attempts to change the topic or indications of discomfort). Their social interaction seems to consist more of delivering monologues than actually conversing. Autistic individuals may be very reliant on routine and are prone to respond to change with tantrums or severe anxiety. They will rarely make eye-contact with others and may display an interest in stacking or aligning household items. Many are acutely sensitive to touch and may feel great pain at the slightest bump or jolt.
Asperger Syndrome
Asperger Syndrome is defined by the same characteristics as those of autism. However, it is placed on the milder end of the ASD continuum.
One notable point of distinction between Asperger Syndrome and Autism lies within the shared characteristic of having very limited interests. With Asperger Syndrome, the individual’s interest is likely to be something conceptual, such as a type of intellectual dynamic or subject (math or a particular branch of science is common, but it can also be something more abstract or esoteric), whereas the limited interests of an individual suffering from severe autism may revolve around just one particular object, something very simple. Those suffering from Asperger Syndrome generally exhibit a social ineptitude and an overall awkwardness.
Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS)
PDD is often referred to as “atypical autism,” as it expresses very few of the diagnostic criteria of other autistic disorders. Individuals with PDD are often somewhat socially inept and exhibit repetitive behavior. While individual’s diagnosed with PDD share a few similar characteristics to those with other autistic disorders, PDD is generally much milder than any of the other autistic disorders.
Preparing for Adulthood
It is important that, as parents of an autistic child, you look into the options available for your child’s future while he or she is still very young. See if there are local services available, and research those nearest to you. If there is no available aid for disabled adults – be it a facility in which your child may live once mature or perhaps an organization that can visit and assist your independent child with such tasks as financial organization – you may find it to be to your advantage to take some steps toward having such a service established in your area. Also keep in mind that, as many of these residential facilities as there may be, there still are not enough, and many homes for the disabled have a lengthy residential waiting list. This is why it is important to check on your options while the child is still young, so you have the time to prepare. A guiding factor in your search for aid is in gauging the extent of assistance your child is going to need. If self-reliant and capable of living on his or her own, your child may still be eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance, which offers income to those who can’t work because of a disability, or Supplemental Security Income.
Living Independently with Autistic Disorders
Autistic adults capable of working generally prosper in jobs that require little social interaction. For example, when applying for work in retail stores, they may feel most secure day-to-day knowing that they’ll be working in the stock room and not confronting and tending to customers every day.
An online video of the Princeton Child Development Institute’s Adult Life Skills program focuses on Bob, a 42-year-old, who works as a custodian at the College of New Jersey. At the time of this video, Bob has worked at the college for over fifteen years. In the morning, Bob is instructed patiently and meticulously by his boss on what his tasks will be for the day, which he carries out dutifully, stopping at one point to eat the lunch he’s packed for himself. Bob shares an apartment with an autistic woman, and is visited regularly by therapists who come to his aid with certain tasks. Though Bob still suffers from his autism, he is a liberating example – for parents, particularly – of the independence their child might achieve. Simple household chores, being entitled to such small decisions as what he’ll eat on a particular night, manage to remind Bob of his independence, and thus become pleasant tasks. Bob is not only independent; he’s happy.
Matt, a 29-year-old with autism, lives on his own as well. However, his disorder poses more of an obstacle than Bob’s. Matt is a college graduate and prodigiously gifted student of calculus. However, his social reservations can sometimes be crippling. Though he may write at a mature or even professional level when given the time to really organize his thoughts, extemporaneous conversation is a tremendous struggle due not only to his shyness, but also to his tremendous struggle with the extemporaneous formulation of language. But Matt gets by. His mother, his current employer, and a couple of therapists come together to form a job-search team wherein they contact likely employers as well as compile a “social story,” a sort of resume that points out the strengths and weaknesses of autistic applicants. As with Bob, and as with others, Matt will get by.