The Detroit Free Press (4/26, Walsh-Sarnecki) reports, “The number of those diagnosed with autism has increased dramatically in the last 20 years, threatening to overwhelm the already limited services available for those…who are entering adulthood with the brain disorder.” While educational programs exist in schools to help children with autism, “most of those aging into adulthood will find an alarming lack of services designed to help transition into the next stage of their lives.” For many of these young adults with autism, it is difficult, if not impossible, to live a normal adult life. “Some experts estimate that 90% or more of adults with autism spend their lives in their parents’ home or group homes, playing video games or drawing pictures — over and over and over.” Not enough money exists on the state or local level to provide the special social skills training needed for young adults with autism to hold down a job successfully.
Related Links:
— “Lack of state services for aging autistic makes adulthood like ‘falling off a cliff’,”Peggy Walsh-Sarnecki , Detroit Free Press, April 25, 2012.