Fournier is president of the National Autism Association and also has a year-old daughter with severe autism. The results of the study stunned her. Fournier said the information has motivated her organization and other groups to push for more research on the effects and treatment of autism.
The study findings were recently published in the British Journal of Psychiatry. Now, researchers have the opportunity to follow a significant number of adults with autism. Between and scientists from the Karolinska Institute looked at more than 27, people in Sweden diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder ASD. During that time, less than 1 percent of the general population died.
The mortality rate for the group with ASD was 2. What the researchers also discovered was that average life expectancy for the general population was about 70 years old. In the ASD group, the average age was about Perhaps more startling, people with ASD that also had cognitive disabilities had an average life expectancy just under 40 years old.
The researchers reported suicide was one of the leading causes of early death among people with ASD. In fact, the researchers concluded suicide rates of people with ASD who had no cognitive disability were nine times higher than the general population. Previous studies had shown that 30 percent to 50 percent of people with ASD have considered suicide, according to a report issued last week by the nonprofit organization Autistica.
In addition, bullying can be a daily occurrence for people with ASD. Anxiety and depression are common responses to such treatment. Both of those mental health stresses are leading factors in suicide. Autism and Safety Facts. National Autism Association. Tackling Early Death in Autism. October October 12, Autism. Communication struggles. Some people with autism don't talk at all, and others have limited verbal abilities.
They may not be able to describe symptoms or body changes to their families or their doctors, and that can lead to missed intervention opportunities. For example, people with autism have higher epilepsy rates. Researchers say seizures can get missed in people who can't communicate clearly. That could lead to the disease worsening and life-threatening episodes. Fatal accidents. People with autism may wander or run from their families, and often, they're drawn to pools or large bodies of water.
These episodes can lead to drowning, which researchers call a " classic cause " of premature death in people with autism. Gastrointestinal distress. Experts say people with autism are eight times more likely to have chronic GI problems than their peers.
Some develop chronic constipation, which can lead to life-threatening complications, including prolapse of the rectum. A poor diet that is low in fiber, which is often preferred by people with autism, plays a role. Researchers say people with autism and no learning disability die early due to suicide. At the same time their genetically identical siblings who did not experience such adverse physical events often did not develop autism. Recognising the physical problems in individuals with autism can be challenging.
The paper explains the main reasons why and how to overcome them. One of the barriers to effective identification of physical issues in autism is that their expression can be atypical.
However, the largest roadblock to better recognition and treatment of health problems in autism, as identified by the authors of this paper, is the framework within which most healthcare professional operate, and how they view their patients with autism. In many cases a healthcare professional will erroneously believe that autism is solely a behavioural dysfunction. He or she will not be familiar or not even aware of the mountain of scientific data on the intrinsic connection between autism and physical health.
A considerable volume of scientific evidence points to the possibility of an underlying physical cause to such behaviours. To avert diagnostic overshadowing, screening for physical conditions should be initiated when such behaviours are observed. As a result of the wrong paradigm in which they see their patients with autism, the healthcare professional will not be attuned to the high risk their patient faces and the physical strain they could be under.
This can happen even when the symptoms could be indicative of serious and potentially deadly medical issues. Finally, the authors recommend that in order to reduce morbidity and preventable death in autism it is of utmost importance to provide regular physical health checks and to maintain high level of clinical suspicion towards physical health problems in autism.
Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. Autism Science and Research News. Children with autism between 5 and 7 years of age are at the greatest risk of dying by drowning. Given that wandering off or running away is a common occurrence with this demographic, a family with access to a body of water anything from a swimming pool to a pond, lake, or river will have to invest in swimming lessons and water safety precautions.
While many might assume that those challenges end with socio-emotional language limitations, the fact that autistic people have a higher mortality rate adds to the burden. The lower-than-average lifespan for autistic people also has racial and gender overtones. When the patients in question are Black, Latinx or otherwise non-white, those encounters are more likely to result in death.
Wright suggests that a parent or a caregiver should find a specialist or a primary care physician who has training in working with autistic patients or otherwise demonstrates the necessary awareness and empathy for what the experience must be like for an autistic person.
Beyond that, Wright recommended that there be more training for health care professionals so that autism can be recognized and appropriately responded to in a clinical setting. Additionally, too many people continue to associate autism with pediatrics when in reality many people with autism spectrum disorder receive the proper diagnosis in adulthood.
Wright concluded that autism is an issue for every level of health care. For most people with autism spectrum disorder, continues Sarah Kurchak in Vox, the stress and exhaustion of living with autism are the more insidious contributors to shorter lifespans.
Autistic people have to develop many different coping strategies to have a healthy life, build self-esteem, defy stereotypes, or simply make it through the day. Autism has been connected to sleep disorders , which can cause insomnia, chronic fatigue, and a number of other physical and psychological problems, particularly when combined with the anxiety that many people on the spectrum have. One way that this problem can be addressed is by educating parents, caregivers, and health care professionals to recognize the signs of depression in individuals with autism as early as possible while continuing to improve their social relationships and skills.
This can further teach people with autism how they can cope with the feelings of isolation and frustration that naturally arise from having autism spectrum disorder.
If suicidal ideation arises, they have a system in place to process those thoughts in a healthy manner and to get support. Bullying also has to be addressed. Physical and verbal attacks prevent autistic children and adolescents from developing socially, and they can lead to depression and suicidal ideation on their own.
Parents concerned about this can seek out school programs that offer integrated classrooms, where students with special needs are part of the general education classrooms.
This naturally helps children with autism who have difficulty fitting in. It also gives non-autistic children a chance to know children with autism, so they are less likely to see those children as targets.
0コメント