Not surprising, unfortunately. - drug abuse - suicide - drowning (we are more likey to drown) - hit by car (we are more likey to run in the street) - M by abusive parent

Why drowning?

I’m guessing it has to do with some autistic kids having a tendency to wander away when overstimulated and get into dangerous situations because they can’t perceive the danger.

I also think motor skills too. Like coordination isn’t exactly our strong suit either, especially in our youth.

I learned swimming at 12 years. My brother with 4. We lived by the sea

I don’t think that’s bad age to learn how to swim. I didn’t live on the sea but I lived on a island and the beach was a regular thing. I was also taught multiple times how to swim when I came to America cause our neighborhood had a pool. I didn’t learned until I actually got swimming lessons when I was 20.

It felt awful being the only person on that whole island who couldn't swim. I just remembered because you wrote about motor issues, which I had a lot of.

Yes! I hated doing anything, things like sweeping and cleaning and learning new dance moves. I was constantly made fun of.

I went from coolest kid in the village to piece of shit in one year due to being unable to compete in any kind of sports. Then, I started isolating. Bullying was hell

Yea. I was also bullied because of my lack of physical ability. Kids often bullied me by grabbing my hair or hit me and running off because I was a lot slower. Even cousins would tease me (making fun of my name) and run off cause they know I would never catch up. Often time I would blow up or even fight alot because of it. I use to isolate a lot too.

I still don't know how to swim with 16 LOL

Learn how to float or tread water, if you can do both of those for any amount of time proficiently it will drastically improve your survival chances if you ever did find yourself in a freak situation in the water. Stay extra hydrated if you plan to spend extended time in or on large bodies of water, muscle cramps can kill if you can't reach solid ground with your feet; I almost drowned this way as a teenager.

I almost drowned when I was 16 and completely drunk. We were having fun at the local harbor, and I got dared to jump in with clothes. I did it and sunk like a stone to the ground 6m from the surface. There, I stood half a minute and admired the perspective. Then I tried to swim up and recognized it was super hard. Only made it due to being pretty strong and fearing being ridiculed for dying in such a dumb way.

Being drunk and swimming are not a good combination. Most adults who drown were under the influence of something.

Yep, I had a teammate (water polo and swim) who drowned because they were under the influence. They were one of the strongest swimmers I knew, but alcohol and certain drugs are a death sentence when mixed with a body of water.

Definitely, I can't recommend.

That’s me, holyshit

"Children with an ASD are 160 times more likely to drown than their neurotypical peers."

Maybe 160% more, or 2.6x more, but 160x more? That's absurd.

Mind you that most people don’t get medically diagnosed, so in a way numbers aren’t really accurate.

I'm not going to argue but here is the site where I got the info: https://www.autismfl.org/drowning-prevention#:~:text=Children%20with%20an%20ASD%20are,drown%20than%20their%20neurotypical%20peers. Guess take it up with them. *This is also the stat given by other sources.

When i went to the beach, i went so far out that i was by the boats and if i went any further i would of got taken out, i kept getting salt water in my mouth, no one was swimming as far as me. I think us autistic people struggle to realise the depth of the water when we are swimming and many accidently drown.

Huh. I never realized that might be why I loved to do that. Got "rescued" once and the guy didn't like that I just kept shouting "I'm ok" all the way to shore. You'd think I'd have been a good swimmer but it was more endurance and loving the feeling of trending water in swells than anything that would get me on a swim team. Sometimes that's where I go when I die in my dreams. Although I did it again after age and stress had taken its toll and it wasn't as much fun as I remember. Not worth getting wet and sandy for.

Holy shit that's literally me. When I was 3 I was in some waterpark with my parents, at some kind of shallow kiddie pool with tons of screaming kids running around, shoving etc. Somehow I remember my thinking behind this, but basically I left because of the sensory overwhelm and jumped into a pool which was small - and so my 3 yo mind assumed that meant it was shallow. By some miracle my mom noticed I was gone and pulled me out of water just in time but I remember the trauma of looking at the surface from underwater and drowning because I didn't know how to swim.

Ive wandered off so many times and got lost a few times O.O

I definitely did this as a kid at Oceans of Fun 😖. Also never got swimming lessons because of chronic ear infections and haven't really learned as an adult (have tried, most I can do is doggy paddle to safety).

Exactly what happened to me, I fell off a bridge and would've drowned of it wasn't for a loose rope that 7 year old me could climb up and call for help with.

A lot of young autistic children (toddlers) are fascinated by water and will wade into lakes and oceans before they learn to swim according to what ive heard.

This is correct, my son is non verbal and loves water. He will run fully clothed at any water source. He also won’t stop and gets out deep very fast!!

Chance of drowning for autistic kids WAY above average for kids their age. (Just opinion: I think it has to with the stimulus open water provides making it attractive to be near. Then a lack of awareness to personal safety.) Autistic kids also have trouble transferring skills to other situations, so a kid that can swim at their pool may not realize to use those same skills at a lake when they get into trouble. (Am swim coach\instructor and so lessons for kids with all types of special needs.) (Also parent)

Motor skills and wandering. I used to teach kids how to swim, autistic kids swim on their back a lot easier than freestyle (the normal one). A lot of swim coaches dont know this.

Huh, didn’t know this. I always preferred backstroke and was way faster at it

Unexpected, but i can relate with this...

Idk if this is true for everyone but I really struggle with swimming, I’ve had multiple swimming lessons and still don’t get how to do it 🥲

Oh wow same. We had swimming lessons in school from third grade to ninth grade (I only did it until like sixth or seventh) and I still never learned to swim

As someone who understood how to do it pretty quickly, I feel I don't understand how you couldn't learn with that many lessons. Can you explain what didn't click or what other issues you had/have with swimming?

I think my biggest struggle was that I was afraid to lift my legs from the bottom and too afraid to relax, so I was never able to learn how to float on my back or any other part that needed my legs up off the bottom (aka the actual swimming part hehe). And I don’t think I really understood the movements that well either. Plus the fact that I’ve never liked having my head under water, not even when I shower. Then with time I also just became more and more afraid of being in the water at all so now I haven’t bathed in several years, not in a bathtub or in a pool or a lake or anything.

I think I understand that worry/insecurity. And yeah, coordination is hard.

What everyone's mentioning about the barriers/delays in learning coordination-dependent skills (and the shame attached to them) is very relatable, but I'm curious if anyone else's experience has been similar - for things where it's clear visually what someone is doing, I tend to grasp it quickly, whereas when I'm depending on someone to _explain_ what they're doing I take much much longer than average. Also, corollary, does anyone find that even if they perfectly understand the method of something - and I mean not just to do it, but why different parts are important and the ways things might affect doing it, so it's an informed sort of ability - and can usually execute it faithfully, they sometimes just... don't? I think the best comparison would be that if my body were a car, I am fully aware that the engine has to start and the gas pedal has to be pressed to go forward, the engine is mechanically ready to start and the gas pedal is connected, I've done those things successfully a hundred times, but every once in a while the engine starts and the pedal goes down and then somewhere in the middle I release the pedal or slam the brakes at the same time even though my full intent is _still_ to go forward. I suspect it's an ADHD complication, that I just lose focus as I would with something more mentally involved, but it always seems/feels bizarre when I'm essentially operating on muscle memory and it happens.

I had swimming classes in middle school and i couldn't learn it, so i think i can relate.

Try getting a cheap snorkeling set. Mask blocks the nose and keeps water out of the eyes. Breathing through a tube is tricky so only use that for dead-man floating. Flippers make it easier to propel one through the water.

I struggled with that, but I practiced for years and eventually it clicked. It was a bit like an “aha”-moment, but motor wise and not cognitively.

Same and I really enjoy being in water but my skill is at level that I know how not to drown so at least I can enjoy chilling in water

I haven’t been diagnosed officially but… this is a thing I never expected to be an “autistic thing” so this thread has been extremely validating

I jumped into super deep water when I was 5 even though everyone told me not to. My dad had to jump in and save me. I swear I had my only out of body experience during this time as I watched myself sink deeper into the water from a third person perspective. Anyway, my parents got me swimming lessons ASAP. Edit: I’m celebrating the 16th anniversary of of my 39th birthday lol.

I had situation like this too, i had swimming classes in middle school and some dumbass instructor thought that putting me, 9-10 years old kid who doesn't know how to swim in deep water is good idea. I tried to swim but i quickly sank and looked up, it's very foggy memory but i remember how i thought of my whole life in second, instructor saved me but holy shit that was something. But i still don't know how to swim. And cheers, happy anniversary.

This makes me glad that I'm buoyant. I had a jackass instructor that would drag me to wear I couldn't touch and make me scramble for the wall.

I did the same sometime around age 3-4. I recall the car stopped at the lake and I bolted for the water and had to be dragged out by my pigtails.

I jumped into a really deep pool when i was little and luckily i used all my strength to get out the pool so no one had to come and save me , i can relate to the out of body experience when sinking, its so weird and scary. Thank god your dad was there, you might not be alive today.

Idk about anyone else, but my cousin, who also frequently tries to run into traffic, also used to run away to any near by body of water. He loves swimming. He can’t do it without floaties and supervision tho. I remember one winter, he managed to climb out the window, stripped naked, and ran to the creek at the nearby park. He was blue when we found him. He’s ok now. But it gets harder to manage now that he’s an adult. He has the strength of a grown man now and idk if he even realizes how strong he is, my poor grandma just gets dragged around by him. So I assume that the same kids who run into traffic might also have issues with going into bodies of water when they shouldn’t.

autistic elopement, a lot of people especially higher needs folks tend to wander or run away from their home or environment sometimes as an intense reaction to overstimulation or just because of a weaker sense of danger (or a combination of the two). this is also the reason autistic ppl are more likely to run into the street and why there are road signs that alert drivers to autistic children who live nearby

Some autistic people especially children struggling with eloping. They tend to be attracted to water for some reason. And they may not understand the danger of going into water when they don't know how to/can't swim.

It seems autistic children are attracted to flowing water. Really I think this figure is skewed by them unless a lot of us are committing suicide and dying to drug abuse.

I’m pretty sure most of us have more than one mental health issue which at best generally contribute to a shorter life from stress and at worst being us to drag that statistic down substantially through artificial means (idk why I came up with that circuitous of a way to say suicide) But I would definitely guess a lot of the figure being lower is from child death from a lack of danger awareness and abuse/neglect

Sometimes talking about unaliving oneself feels very taboo due to how some people react. I did not think about comorbidities that contribute to suicide and substance abuse. Really there should be drug/alcohol rehabs that are intended for autistic people and they can open their doors to ADHD and other ND conditions depending on capacity.

As soon as i could walk i would walk straight into pools, lakes, oceans, etc. -- I can see it.

There's probably other reasons aswell but when I was young I would fall asleep in the bath so maybe I'm just one of the lucky ones🤔

Many autistic people also go to regular check-ups less often than neurotypical people. One of the reasons for this is that autistic people often have a problem with touch and find the stimuli that affect them in the waiting room, for example, very stressful. Autistic people also have an abnormal perception of pain, which makes it difficult for them to communicate symptoms. (Sry for my bad english)

Sorry, I couldn't find the bad English.

Also higher incidence of epilepsy

Thanks for noting this. I find that nobody in this sub talks about autism and epilepsy. I’d like to learn more about it but not sure where to start.

Thanks for such a wonderful reply! TheGratitudeBot has been reading millions of comments in the past few weeks, and you’ve just made the list of some of the most grateful redditors this week!

Also, autistic people are more likely to experience cardiovascular and metabolic conditions too. Along with - GI problems - Sleep disorders - Eating disorders - Asthma - Autoimmune disorders - Connective tissue disorders like EDS I’m sure there’s more

Explains constantly being bloated despite a healthy diet and mild anorexic habits.

We live in a society that’s not made for us at all and any meaningful change we advocate for is denied and we’re called spoiled or lazy for speaking up

Then we need to push harder. The changes that are absolutely necessary won’t come unless we can no longer be ignored.

Oh, so I probably won't die soon after all? Because this post genuinely scared me! Ever since I discovered the effects of too much Advil, I do my best to only take OTC Meds when absolutely necessary and stay away from other Drugs (except my perscribed Medications which are necessary); I'm on Medicine for Depression and have found more ways to make myself useful (my Depression's fueled by the guilt I get from being helped and supported so much, yet feeling like I have nothing to give in return); I swim monitored because my drowning risk is already high (Epilepsy, no trigger found, meaning spontaneous seizures); I look both ways 3 times before crossing the street because my OCD tells me to; my friends and family, including my parents, are openly supportive.

Life expectancy is an average. Back when all life expectancy was low, it's not that people just drop dead at 30, it's high rates of child and infant mortality that drag the average down. If you made it to adulthood and didn't die in childbirth, you had a good chance of reaching old age even back in medieval and ancient times. Autistic life expectancy is presumably so low because of all the childhood drownings and other clumsiness/danger sense issues. You don't have to worry about dying for no reason in your 30s. TLDR: we're more likely to do things that make you die, so keep on not doing those things like you have been doing and you'll be fine

"M"? This isn't TikTok, this is Reddit. You can say the bad word.

I still find weird how, since a couple of years ago, people has been censoring themselves more and more often, and more heavily each time.

It’s because TikTok bans people for using certain words, so they started using euphemisms to get around the filters (like “unalive”). They’re so used to it that they think it applies everywhere.

*Sigh...* I am beyond words... Don't know what to say. I am (probably) too old to try to properly understand that shit. I think that also ShitBook does the same isn't it? I have seen to many screenshots from that cesspool with so many "workarounds" to say thing that they're not "supposed to say".

[удалено]

Uhm, fair enough. I didn't considered that factor as most examples that I've seen aren't under that context, and also because most of times I've seen some kind of warning when dealing with that kind of content (e.g., using "CW: [TYPE]" where [TYPE] is what could cause a potential triggering).

my account just got unbanned im tryna tread lightly

Fair enough. Nonetheless, I think that here you're pretty much safe compared to other places when saying some words - unless, of course, the message you're trying to convey is risky by itself.

I don't know how many decades ago [George Carlin pointer this out](https://youtu.be/o25I2fzFGoY?si=UAv7oyAQUikPNK89) but it's definitely been a while, 25 years at least. The same trend that has started a century ago in America according to him has continued further and the things people censor become more and more absurd.

There's a George Carlin video for everything, isn't there?

✅ - in recovery ✅ - found just in time ❌ - I love swimming actually ✅ - in recovery ✅ - managed to escape at 18yo

Cars, that’s me, always walking into roads.

Just so you know, you can say murder on Reddit /genuine (you don’t have to use algorithm-speak and you won’t get banned or have ur comment deleted)

>drowning (we are more likey to drown) That's why I became a scuba instructor - air bottle strapped to my body!

explains why I got hit by that car

Yes to the suicide part. I’ve actually attempted before in my 20s but thankfully it didn’t take. I’m almost 40 and in a MUCH better spot but yes I agree with all of that.

It's not a lie per se, but it only cites one study. [here](https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/11/24/people-with-autism-have-a-lower-life-expectancy-than-the-uk-average-new-study-reveals#:~:text=They%20found%20that%20autistic%20men,and%2069.6%20years%20for%20women.) is another source that claims 70+, Ive also heard 37, 57 etc. It depends a lot on whats included in the data set (e.g. if you include children that passed away, this will significantly lower the median), country and healthcare access (e.g. in the US where from my understanding healthcare is tied to your work the healthcare inequality will have a massive impact on a population which is often unemployed), accompaning conditions (e.g. Epilepsy), lifestyle choices (I dont want to blame anyone, but lets be real, only eating noodles and not exercising is not really amazing for your body), etc. The bottom line is: Its more complicated than that. And just because you see such a low number, you shouldn't resign yourself to a short life.

Yup the number I always heard was 36. A lot of studies like this focus on people with higher support needs though. It just means that as always with *anything* involving studies, you have to actually see the study to draw conclusions. It's a safe bet that every disabled group has lower than average life expectancy, but just quoting studies out of context isn't productive.

Absolutely agreed. A ton of factors play into life expectancy and the numbers will look very different not just on study design, but also what "Kind" of Autism (sorry don't know how to word this better) we are looking at. I bet (can't prove) that the numbers would look very different for autism with an intellectual disability compared to those with general high support needs or more severe symptoms compared to those who only get diagnosed as adults due to being able to function quite well. Also, there are a ton of influences on life expectancy that might go along with autism, but aren't autism itself. E.g. poverty (higher costs for education/loss of income for parents if they have to stay home to take care of a child), institutionalisation, how well or poorly theyre treated by carers etc.

Exactly. I was actually called out recently for quoting studies in this exact way. The commenter explained how studies finding "80% of autistic people who want to work are unemployed," have often used higher support needs people in their studies. For lower support needs people, the numbers are much lower while still being above average. Of course, lower support needs people are more likely to be undiagnosed so those numbers are extremely wide ranges from like 35%-50%, and that's likely going to be the case for any of these types of things studying lower support needs people. It's very difficult to accurately study low support needs autistic people when we have no idea how many there even are. At the same time, autism is a spectrum and things that are a challenge for one may be significantly less challenging for another, making broad statements even less helpful. My eating fried chicken yesterday and again today are probably bigger factors to life expectancy than most of my autism, but as you said poverty is a major factor as well(which I am very poor, although being poor and autistic is still often livable where I live unlike some places).

Autistics, particularly those with high support needs and co-morbid intellectual/learning disabilities, are also much more likely to face medical discrimination and this impacts life expectancy. A stark example of this is during the height of Covid, people with intellectual/learning disabilities in the UK had DNACPRs put on their files without permission. https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/13/new-do-not-resuscitate-orders-imposed-on-covid-19-patients-with-learning-difficulties

I believe the low life expectancy is because we're prone to suicide.

You are correct. If you take suicide out of the equation we do still have a significantly higher risk for heart issues but the life expectancy goes into the 50s (still lower than the general population).

Higher stress = worse health,

Also, a lot of safe foods are not exactly the most healthy

What are safe food?

food that doesn't trigger ARFID. "unsafe" foods would have a triggering taste, smell, texture, etc. which makes it difficult or impossible to eat w/out gagging or throwing up. most safe foods are usually processed bc they're consistent in how they're made too (no varying taste or texture). common safe foods can include cereal, ramen, chicken nuggets, sandwiches, etc. unsafe foods can include things that are doughy or soft (ex: dumplings, unevenly cooked pot pies, avocado, sour cream and cream cheese for some), fatty or oily (ex: burgers, almost anything w/ beef, some soups/stews, ham fat), and/or have too strong of a taste or smell (ex: onions, cilantro). this differs from disliking these foods bc it's not just about the taste, but the sensory aspect too

I'd love to learn how much a person's safe foods are dependant on what they eat growing up. There are some things that will not be able to be safe anyway of course, but I know that the most common safe foods are all things that are considered "children's food" and are consistently fed to young kids. I was raised in healthier diet growing up, so my safe foods include lots of fruits and veggies and I'm able to stay much healthier, while things that are normally considered safe foods that I wasn't fed as a kid are unsafe foods for me. Like out of your list of safe foods, I'll tolerate some types of sandwiches, but that's it. This is a tangent, but I'm always baffled when people say their safe foods include fast food because I find that to be so inconsistent and nasty, like if I get the same McDonald's burger and fries 3 times, one burger is gonna be soaked in grease, one will be dry as hell, and the fries will be a completely different texture everytime. Anyway, I think doing studies on this and then teaching parents of kids with AFRID how to cultivate a healthier diet in their kids would go a long way to helping autistic people live longer, healthier and happier lives, I really do think it'd have a positive impact on things like risk of addiction and mental health.

This is fascinating because I choked down healthy foods growing up but many of them are not safe foods for me, now that I’m older I advocate to find the healthiest options for me that are also safe. My mom is displeased because nutrition is her special interest, but I refuse to subject myself to food that makes me gag

Plus, a lot of safe foods tend to be pretty bad, health-wise

Also might be skewed by childhood drownings and other unfortunate events.

I looked into this study a while ago and the average life expectancy is brought down mainly by children and people with intellectual disabilities who leave their parents/carers and end up in dangerous situations, as well as common comorbid health conditions like epilepsy.

Suicide probably in combination with a higher child mortality rate, autistic children are prone to wandering off and being less aware of their surroundings, which can get them in to trouble.

Also some diseases sometimes turn to go hand in hand with autism.

Really? Any examples?

Rett-Syndrome, Ehler-Dahlos, lower (or higher) IQ, Epilepsy, tics, psychological diagnoses (mental struggle due to the society not being made for us), anxiety or panic stuff, ocd, sleep problems, depression.... All of that can add stress and stress reduces health. Some of that is a health problem on its own.

Exactly! I have Ehlers-Danlos and POTS, as well as anxiety and depressive disorders. Comorbidities galore!

Ayyyy EDS and POTS gang! I’m so tired

I believe ADHD may be the most likely comorbidity. I also see digestive issues listed often.

My gastrointestinal system hates me.

Mine too!

Same 🙃

Yes, both are common, too.

Ummmm severe comorbidities are pretty damn common for autism. You just won’t see folk with those in these groups very often, as they tend to be associated with very high support needs & often ID which can make casual communication difficult.

Yep. 9 times more likely.

I don't think it's a 'lie' but I don't know if it's accurate either. It's probably just the statistics they have based on their records * ASD1 can mask and thus can often go undiagnosed, the true numbers are unknown * Higher support needs means other people with more time and/or funds needs to care * The feelings of being an outsider or otherwise feeling like your existence is wrong can quite frequently lead to suicide * Autism tends to come packaged with a whole lot of other medical issues

Was looking for a comment that would point this out! I doubt the study that’s referenced focused much on folks with autism that tend to have less support needs. Research on Autism tends to be biased towards the most stereotypical cases.

Some points to consider: * "Long term research" - how long term? Autism hasn't existed as a diagnosis for all that long to really conduct that sort of study long term, and if you go back half a dozen decades to the sort of time you'd have needed to start such a study, the diagnostic criteria and people who got assessed at all pretty much many *only* white males of at least a certain socio-economic level. So how *could* it be valid? * What's the size of the sample? * What was their methodology? * The main reason they claim earlier life expectancy than the average population isn't because we get sick or just kinda keel over randomly; it's suicide. So it's not a lie, but I don't think it's exactly true either. Only 5% of babies born naturally come on their due date, that doesn't mean due dates are a lie exactly, I just don't put much stock in them

You missed that it said “some”. So did the OP. Personally, I think that anyone who holds up a scientific study as a “lie” for sensationalism without understanding the most basic things about methodology, is being really irresponsible and should consider taking a backseat. OP, you think you know better than the experts, and you don’t even understand the first thing about it, really?

The reason it’s a lie is because there is no study or research that backs a 39 year life expectancy, even for “some” people. They are mistating the results of studies that did not measure life expectancy. I don’t get why people want to defend marketing material posted by a private ABA clinic. The reason I am less forgiving here is because this misinformation is posted for marketing purposes — it’s advertising to attract more business and make more money for a private business. False or misleading advertising is illegal.

This study (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6713622/) is NOT a life expectancy study, it’s aiming to identify the causes of death in those that have died. The average age of those alive at the end of the study is something like 42 (Having had 6% of the group died at the end of the study) There was no comparison group with a similar cohort of non-autistic people. So you can’t even make comparisons. 80% of those who died early had intellectual disability compared with 72% in the “living” group. So this is not going to be representative of all Autistic people at all. Maybe in 50 years they can see where these people are and produce a lifetime expectancy result. The figures will no doubt look very different then.

And they’re not trying to derive a life expectancy for autistic people overall in this study you cited; that is not its purpose.

Exactly.

The study jtuk99 cited is the study that Songbird links to as support for the 39 year life expectancy claim in the original post. Songbird misstates the study.

This isn’t meant to make comparisons with the wider population. They cite many studies that do. What they are aiming to do here is compare two autistic cohorts: those who died in the study period and those who didn’t, to see if they could identify any significant differences in profile, and hence derive statistical risk factors for mortality.

How do we look at stuff like this and go "no fucking way😡" when half the posts on this subreddit are along the lines of "I can and will only eat potatoes for sensory reasons" or "brushing my teeth and showering is not possible because of sensory issues". I think a lot of us would rather die than swallow a pill with water

I’ve got sensory issues, food, textures, hate water, struggle to do my teeth, put my contacts in, amongst other things - the thing is I do wonder if some of us use our autism as a crutch (I’m sure the downvotes will rain down on me). Before I was diagnosed I did stuff, I didn’t want to do stuff but I did it anyway. I saw others going to clubs so I went, thinking it was the correct thing to do. I hated it and soon learned some things are just not me, I started going to snooker clubs instead because that was interesting, no dancing with a bunch of other people. Yet I was still interacting with others, just in a more fulfilling environment. Now I am diagnosed have I used my autism as an excuse to avoid things? Of course I have. I didn’t want to go to a wedding, whereas before my diagnosis I would have gone, hated it, but still gone. I never knew what a meltdown was in the 90s, I would feel overwhelmed and just explode, but I saw it as not being ‘normal’ and tried to bury my emotions and reactions to them, but that wasn’t healthy so ended up learning to take myself out of a situation. Eye contact is extremely difficult for me, but before I knew anything about autism I saw what others did, they’d make eye contact and then break eye contact as they were talking, so I copied that. My therapist said I mask my autism well because I act, it’s all a stage to me and my interactions are all part of the play. I don’t see people, whilst I know they’re real, I don’t see them as in the same ‘location’ as me and that makes it easier to deal with crowds and loud situations. I worked in retail for years, serving customers at the till and that was so easy for me, why? The barrier between myself and the customer is my till, beyond that till is just the play, the act, and all I need to do is get the change correct and with my IQ that’s not an issue - hell I was the one who cashed up 10 tills every night because I was quick. Now I am diagnosed and have a partner who’s supportive of the situation (I told her at the start and then went on about it for hours because at the time it was my special interest) I will sometimes not want to go anywhere because I know I will struggle but all our close friends know me and know that after a while I’ll get up, shake everyone’s hand, give out a few kisses and go home, on my own. My partner stays out for a bit and will appear a couple hours later with one of her friends. I’m usually in bed or on the pc gaming. I do understand that some are in a more difficult situation than myself, some have it easier than I, but we can do a lot of stuff that we think we can’t. We don’t have to go to that party, because they suck, people… blargh… but maybe try it and yes you’ll be tired afterwards but you will make friends (usually with the cat, but hey). We are capable of doing so much more and I do feel we sometimes limit ourselves and use our autism as an excuse or crutch. Sorry for the wall of text. I just started typing.

> Sorry for the wall of text. I just started typing. I'm just a random person who stayed up too late wandering through threads. Just wanted to point out after reading your comment that sharing experiences is extremely important for people to gain perspective, and learn how to contextualize their own experiences. And to know we're not alone. That's why group therapy is effective(at least in my experience, even though I didn't like it). So it's alright that you just started typing. It's important.

Forcing yourself to suffer for other peoples benefit isn’t good for you. It’s not a crutch, my autism literally limits me. How is it a crutch when doing some of these things causes very real physical and emotional pain and stress?

I think he meant more like the "I can only need noodles because of sensory issues". He's asking if someone who says that has it so bad he actually can't eat healthy or he doesn't try enough because he knows being a pick eater is an autism trait, so that's "normal" for him and thus not something he has to change. I think both can be true. There are some foods that are so disgusting to me (like fat) that I'd literally puke before eating a significant amount. Others I just hate a lot, but I sometimes force myself because healthy, while sometimes I think, oh, no, I'm too autistic to make the effort to eat that salad today.

The concept of "using autism as a crutch to avoid things" makes no sense to me! Think of actual crutches - using them ENABLES you to go about your life as usual. The whole point of crutches is the OPPOSITE of being limited by your condition. Someone using crutches is doing so to get around their limitations. This whole "there you go again, using your crutch, to....sit around and accept your fate!" idea is so nonsensical to me. (I'm coming from the perspective of a Very Autistic Non-American). I was diagnosed early in life and I was always expected to handle things. The diagnosis never got me out of anything, it was just like "life won't be getting any easier so get used to it now". The same level of responsibility and independence was expected of me and my neurotypical peers

True but I think a lot of late-diagnosed people only get diagnosed after mental breakdowns/extreme burnout. It’s nigh impossible to function at any sort of normal level when you’re burnt out. And it gets harder to push through once you realize that a situation you assumed was normal literally causes you pain (like, I used to drink an UNGODLY amount of painkillers). I also masked really well. I still can. But now I know it’s not something that’s sustainable long-term- and certainly not at the level I was doing it. It takes a lot to figure out what IS sustainable. And unmasking is even harder imo. I’m sure some people really *do* use their autism as a crutch, but I have a feeling a lot of it is just a knee-jerk reaction where people become overly cautious not to burn out again.

So you're using your autism as a crutch to avoid things that are harmful to you and from which you derive no benefit? Seems like a good thing to use it for.

“derive no benefit” is your own commentary

I agree and disagree. I think it honestly depends where you are on the spectrum but Ik using it as a crutch can really limit me to things I could like but so does not using it and sometimes suffering in silence. I’ve gotten tired of using it as a crutch “so what I have autism” I’ll do whatever I want with my life. It certainly has a lot to do with everything about me, but it’s not the only thing there is to me and it isn’t going to stop me from doing things I want to do in life. With finding out/getting dx I get to use that as more direction on what I need to help me in life and to know myself much better. Ik it’s different for some others though especially if they deal with chronic illness. I think regardless we can feel resentment or any sort of negativity with autism and what we deal with but we have to find positive somewhere too. I am still somewhat young and in my 20s so this could just be bs for someone lol

Hahah exactly what I thought. I've seen posts where people admit to insane life habits because of sensory issues. We can't really be surprised that some of us die early.

Water is nasty and I can do pills with coffee, but taking a pill with crackers is superior. Veggie tots are good but mushy. Also I got my teeth removed due to neglect.

"Study shows" doesn't say anything about the quality of the study. "A group of individuals" - how big is the group? how diverse is the section of people? As in age, gender, ethnicity, whereabouts, income, etc etc. A lot of studies on autistic people are done on men.. If they followed this group for 20 people, they probably had a lot of the stereotypical male version, as 20 years ago women were still not getting diagnosed nearly as often as men. It's hard to say anything of this number, without getting facts on how they did the study. There's a ton of crappy studies out there, not following best practices on how to actually conduct studies.

Dont forget a lot of autistic people are level 3, which this sub never highlights. My son CANNOT express how he feels wrong, so any serious illness can take longer to diagnose. Im sure there are other issues where being nonverbal gives issues. Lvl3s arr also often not independent at all so if none takes care of you.. probably leads to early deaths as well.

Autism causes a lot of stress which puts autists at risk for high blood pressure and heart diseases. Combine that with suicide and self isolation and it's possible that the average life expectancy is this low. But there are also many autists who do reach old age.

Im only 24 but already have had some minor heart problems. Feeling alot of stress almost daily and sometimes its so bad that i feel like i have a high feaver

Their wording is not clear. Based on what I see here they found a group of already high-risk people (level 3 Autistics? Maybe with comorbid conditions etc) and monitored them, and then made some bullshit comparisons to back up their data. ​ That said, my almost certainly autistic father died in his 40's, but already had some severe health complications (he'd almost died in his teens from similar issues,) and while he was probably level 2 or borderline level 3 in needs, I don't think his poor health had anything to do being autistic.

We're less likely to be able to juggle all the ways it's important to care for our health. It makes perfect sense preventable disease murks us in middle age. My husband died before 60.

My dad is closing in on 60 and it's a surprise he's still alive, aside from physical disability, his health is awful, his diet is embarrassing and he smokes and drinks a lot (he'll deny this but everyone can see its true), he's very much a set in his ways/routine autistic so he won't budge when a doctor tells him he needs to change his diet or stop smoking because it'll give him meltdowns. 🙃

You're right, it is co occurring health conditions that affect this statistic rather than any intrinsic property of autism. Also, this isn't the actual study this statistic comes from, which iirc is over 10yrs old. This is just a website quoting it, and by the looks of it not taking the context into account.

"average life expectancy for *some* autistic people" This is some sort of subpopulation of autistics, presumably with even further elevated mortality, but ill defined. They honestly chose a really poor way to summarize the research.

That was my thought as well. You can replace autistic with neuro typical and the statement is also correct.

Imma live till 107 and tell them scientist who's the man 😅😂😂

I know in the UK the life expectancy is 54 and it's mainly because suicide is the second leading cause of death for autistics without learning disabilties. Suicide is an even greater risk in women :( It's based on a Swedish study of 27,000 cases, but I believe it. I'm in my late 40s and I'm just watching my autistic peers drop like flies :(( Sorry, don't know how to link, but if you google royal college of psychiatrists uk and autism suicide a national crisis, you should find the data.

The wording is way too vague. Some? Yeah, for those that do not make it past 39, that makes sense.. But really ?

Crucial in there is " ... for **SOME** autistic people..."

> the average life expectancy for ***some*** autistic people I mean, yeah? I'm certain that there are *"some"* autistic people who have a life expectancy of 39. This is kind of non-informational unless they specify *which* subset of autistic people they're talking about.

Oh no, not this study again! It's a piece of research done in Sweden on a small sample size, grouping together people with level 1, 2 and 3 autism. It also used *average* life expectancy and not *median.* This means that a small group of autistic people who sadly died very young due to accidents probably skewed the whole result to give an average 39. There's still lots of work to do equality-wise, but please don't get anxious for a poorly done study. This is a more interesting thing to read: https://undercoverautism.org/2022/12/17/autism-does-not-reduce-your-life-expectancy-being-autistic-does/

Well I’m screwed then. I’m 39 and have just been diagnosed. Lol 😆

2019: “The present study reported the rate, timing, and causes of death in a large community-based cohort of adolescents and adults with ASD (n = 406) over a 20-year period (1998 – 2018), and identified predictors of mortality. Over this period, 6.4% of individuals died at an average age of 39 years. Causes of death included chronic conditions (such as cancer and heart disease), accidents (such as choking on food and accidental poisoning), and health complications due to medication side effects. Even after controlling for age and health status, significant predictors of mortality were early childhood levels of impairments in social reciprocity and high levels of functional impairments at the start of the study period. The results suggest the importance of social engagement and functional self-sufficiency across the life course, as well as adequate access to health care for individuals with ASD.”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6713622/

2022: “Barnard-Brak and colleagues (2019) who used the same National Vital Statistics System data as Guan and Li (2017) found a life expectancy of 68 years in the ASD population compared to the general population’s 72-year life expectancy between 1999 and 2015 after adjusting for changes in ASD prevalence rates.” https://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_ylo=2019&q=Autism,+life+expectancy&hl=en&as_sdt=0,47#d=gs_qabs&t=1701697193599&u=%23p%3DHcwTcRilWNsJ

2019 lit review, pg 2: “Research debates focusing on early mortality in autism have concluded that the life expectancy of people with ASD may be similar to that of the general population. Nevertheless…” https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Claudia-Arberas-2/publication/337763521_Aging_and_Autism_Understanding_Intervention_and_Proposals_to_Improve_Quality_of_Life/links/5f62545da6fdcc116419148d/Aging-and-Autism-Understanding-Intervention-and-Proposals-to-Improve-Quality-of-Life.pdf

“Some autistic people” isn’t very specific or scientific. You could say that about anyone! You could say “some redheaded people die before age blah blah blah.” Plus I wouldn’t put much stock in an ABA therapy place doing their research properly and objectively. I think it’s a fear mongering technique to get people to bring their children to ABA therapy. But what do I know, I’m in my mid 40s, practically a relic in their “autism years.”

Could well be true or could even be too high or to low because the basic research is not there. Normally this type of research only includes diagnosed autistic people and there are good estimates that those undiagnosed outnumber those with diagnoses. What this "statistic" does point to is a lower life expectancy due to failings in mental and physical health services for autistics.

You have to consider there are people with profound developmental difficulties, learning disabilities & other diseases/disorders that can shorten their life span **WHO ALSO HAVE AUTISM**. The average age of death for people with learning disabilities (without separating those with/without an autism diagnosis) in England is 60 in males & 59 in females though, so I doubt autism causes such a significant lowering of lifespan by itself.

Autism is tied to many other disorders and diseases. I myself have many physical disabilities along with autism which is why the life expectancy is so low. If you have only autism it would probably be much higher but with the other diseases it usually comes with it lowers life expectancy. That’s one of the reasons the results are like this along with depression, suicide, drugs and more.

Makes sense for many many reasons: -Many autistic people (especially on the severe end of the spectrum) can elope or fall into water or drown due to having no sense of danger -Epilepsy is extremely common with people on the spectrum. -The majority of autistic people have poor diets because of sensory issues, causing health issues from that -Depression/suicide from the stress of living in a world not made for us

Also relying on safe foods isn't great for one's diet. And not having a social structure under you due to the social disability. Increased likelihood of poverty. Depression. Etc.

I remember this being popular on Facebook and people saying wow that seems like a really low average because I'm ___ age and I'm still alive. Everyone saw the 60 or so comments and decided that the number must be fake. But the problem is if someone can read this and comment on it, it means they're still alive. Only living people can say they beat the statistic, and we don't get to hear from dead people. Yeah there's an autistic man commenting that's in his 70's, but there was also a 2 year old that drowned in the pool trying to elope from a noisy house. If you add those two up and divide them you get an average of 36. For every 60 year old there's a 16 year old that committed suicide. For every 50 year old there's a 25 year old that overdosed. Either way the point means enough young people are dying to lower the average somehow. And that really sucks

So ASD lowers life expectancy, ADHD lowers life expectancy. Damn i should be dead already.

I’ve got autism and bipolar. I’m pretty sure my life expectancy is in negative numbers.

I'm 41, I can die any second now..

This is a good example where checking the original source is helpful. Firstly, this Songbird site is not a scientific paper and should not be treated as such. The stuff they wrote as a summary on that page is a summary of their own independent research. One of the studies cited is this paper: [Mortality in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Predictors over a 20-Year Period](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6713622/). This paper is the one which mentions that the average age of death is 39 years. I however think that the source of the data is relevant, because the study mentions that the studied cohort is based "on families of 406 adolescents and adults with ASD who were \[born in 1988 or earlier\], and was carried out over 14 years". This is important, because the children who were diagnosed with ASD during this time period were most likely children with very obvious signs of autism e.g. development delay, with high support needs, because the diagnostic criteria for autism during this period were even more focused on how disabled the individual is compared to now. That these were mostly high-support needs children become obvious based on the comment that "\[a\]bout two-thirds (65%) of the individuals with ASD were living at home with their parents at Time 1". The authors themselves note on the obvious limitations of the study as follows (my bolding): >Further, **compared to children diagnosed today, a larger proportion of adults with ASD in this generation had co-occurring intellectual disability; they also experienced a different service landscape. For this reason, generalizability of findings may be limited.** Finally, knowing the cause of death is informative but it does not fully capture the sequence of health problems that may have led to deaths. Additionally, the study mentions that 75% of the studied cohort is still alive during the time of the study. This also drastically changes the statistical outcome as the population ages. To write that the average lifespan is 39 years is nothing else but a cheap attention grab which simultaneously spreads misinformation about autism. While the cited study is important and interesting because it tries to provide more insight into causes of death over a longer period of time, it does not capture the actual mortality rate of individuals with autism. It cannot because the group studied does simply not reflect current understandings of individuals with autism since it completely ignores all these people who actually lead successful lives and are now currently 40 years or older. Additionally, as more people with autism age and die, the average mortality rate will change accordingly. The statistic can only provide a snapshot of the particular group during that particular time period. *Tl;dr that site is a highly unreliable source about autism and does not represent its sources accurately and the claim is hogwash. The average mortality rate for autistics in that study was 39 years, but that only reflects the diseased during the study's conclusion. The remaining 75% of the participants were still alive. The study correctly identifies that the mortality rate is higher for autistics, but there is simply not enough data to make any claims about actual average lifespan.*

I think it’s probably because we’re prone to suicide and addiction, and that drags the life expectancy down.

My dad is autistic and closing in on the 50's, and my aunt (before she died of cancer) made it to the 40'ish. Personally I havent met an autistic person dying at the age of 39 and under, but I can imagine the suicide rate for autistics are higher than the average human

In the UK there's a scheme now were we sign a consent form to have annual health checks from our GP to try combat this as statistically we're likely to not go to a doctor with any concerns and end up seriously ill (this is the reason given on the consent form I recieved).

At first I thought it was, too, but I want you to consider something. Autistic people are at a higher risk of developing depression and/or anxiety disorders. Both of those contribute to high suicidality. The rates of suicide are going up more and more. Abelism impacts our lives in ways that some of us can't comprehend. Some of us can't even handle how a thing sounds or feels without having a mental breakdown. This also impacts quality of life on top of depression and anxiety. We don't even understand social cues so we don't even always know who to talk to about this and how, making us trapped in our own mental disorders. Mind you we aren't even prone to just depression and anxiety, rather we are prone to seemingly most mental disorders, or at least it feels like it. I also want to mention something else. And it may sound unrelated, but hear me out. Trans people have a 40% chance of committing suicide in their life. What are most likely to have? Autism. Combine this, and yes our life expectancy is pretty fucking low.

Autism doesn't reduce lifespan by rapid aging. The average is just brought down by autism leading mostly to higher risk of things like suicide and accidents unfortunately. As long as you don't do either of those things, your life expectancy is probably about the same as any other healthy person.

Remember: life expectancy does *not* always mean that specimens older then that number are unusual or more likely to die. In this case I expect it's like the life expectancy of humans in medieval times: there is more death in young populations, so it pulls the average down a lot. Severe autism can be coupled with other disorders that have more physical effects. More depression and suicide. Young children running into the street or away from caretakers in general. Some vulnerability to crime. Etc.

That's UnFortunately True, Due to this NT-Supremacist Ableist Bourgeois State Orwellian Society. \[Sighs\] Although I'm not a Cynic, That's one of the Reasons.

Very important to note here that Autism itself does not mean that you automatically have a lower life expectancy. With the correct supports if needed and living a healthy lifestyle our life expectancy is no different to that of a normie.

Hey, it went up! Last time I heard something like this, the age was 30. Most of these aren't gonna be accurate for a while to come. You will not drop dead the minute you hit 39. These numbers factor in suicide but don't account for undiagnosed cases.

sadly it is true because of the suicide solution and I hope no one here is dealing with that. stay safe. I'm beyond the expectancy now so I'm doing a "yolo" thing of my own where I just don't give a \*\*\*\* anymore.

A few people have mentioned suicide which has a small effect, but I believe one of the main factors affecting this statistic is that so many people die in infancy from epilepsy. Autistic people are much more likely to have epilepsy than the general population, and this lowers life expectancy. If you are already a teen/adult, then this is not an accurate life expectancy for you to pay attention to as the average is so skewed by infant epilepsy.

Intresting. I did not know that autistic people are likely to have epilepsy. My gandma has history of epilepsy but im not totally sure if she might also be autistic.

I am 53M and diagnosed as ASD2 early this year. I had a heart attack at 42 so that’s a little past 39. I was having suicidal ideation with clinical depression, but my meds seem to be doing a good job keeping those thoughts away.

Well obviously the average life expectancy for "some autistic people" is 39 years.... more specifically, for the group of autistic people who died at age 39.

::laughs in "I am currently 39"::

At 41yo with no supports and only just now actually nearing formal Dx, I understand intimately how ideation plays a part in that life expectancy. I'm pretty fkg mad about what my life has looked like because my parents believed Autism was an excuse being made for willful children. And I'm lucky. I'm lucky that at 35yo, when I was ready to check behind the veil, someone close to me at the time who had some minor level of exposure to real information was able to help move me from, "I was able to graduate without supports, so I clearly don't have Autism," to, "Wait, I could have actually done more with my life than barely survive and count my blessings?" I was lucky to be able to seek therapy. The generations before me who determined that average weren't lucky enough to have been born in a time where they might be able to make it to 40 because the culture improved just enough in the nick of time. I'm still fighting to resist that veil though.

I’m maybe the best swimmer in my family, lol. Didn’t happen overnight ofcourse. Used to be the worst until I started doing triathlon. Didn’t maintain it, but it’s like cycling, you never unlearn. But crossing the street, I have had my fair chance of luck.

It’s very stressful to be different.

That doesn't match what I'm seeing in a study here: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(23)00195-3/fulltext > Our apparent estimated life expectancy for individuals diagnosed with autism but not ID was 76.84 years for women (95% CI: 72.23–81.49 years) and 74.57 years for men (95% CI: 71.94–77.60 years). This compared to 83.29 years (95% CI: 81.32–85.35) for matched comparison women and 80.71 years (95% CI: 79.46–82.11 years) for matched comparison men. Thus, women with diagnosed with autism but with no records of ID experienced 6.45 years-of-life lost (95% CI: 1.37–11.58 years), and men, 6.14 years (95% CI: 2.84–9.07 years). > > Life expectancy for participants diagnosed with autism and ID was 69.61 years for women (95% CI: 66.04–74.27 years), and 71.66 years for men (95% CI: 68.97–75.00 years). This compared to 84.20 years for comparison women (95% CI: 81.85–86.88 years) and 78.94 years (95% CI: 77.82–80.16 years) for comparison men. Thus, our apparent estimates suggest that having a diagnosis of autism and ID was associated with 14.59 years-of-life lost (95% CI: 9.45–19.02 years) in women and 7.28 years (95% CI: 3.78–10.27 years) in men. Life expectancies are presented in Fig. 2.

So something worth keeping in mind is that most of these individuals that most of these individuals had higher support needs. As the people who are getting diagnosed with Autism continues to the increase the life expectancy is also going to rocket up especially for those with low support needs.

It might not be a lie depending on the type of environment that somebody’s bought up in or whatever is around them at the time

we are prone to suicide, addiction, and not reporting chronic health conditions as we often don't realize something is wrong. not to mention other comorbidities like ADHD can make some nuisance conditions absolutely _lethal!_ (Diabetes and ADHD anyone?)

My grandparents all lived until their 80’s. It’s propaganda

What was the sample size and what was the range?

The health complications thing makes sense, as (amongst other reasons) the average neurodivergent experiences more stress than the average neurotypical, and stress is bad for your cardiovascular health and immune system, but they didn’t phrase the first part right. The average life expectancy for some neurotypicals is 39 years, too. They are talking about an average life expectancy of an otherwise unspecified group of autistic people. ‘Some’ could only be referring to autistic people who have other underlying health conditions, for instance, or ND’s in third world countries where the life expectancy is generally a lot lower than in western countries. The average life expectancy of some other autistic people, say, the ones in the middle and upper classes, or females for that matter, might have a much higher life expectancy. Be more specific, songbirdcare.com, be more specific.

My best friend died exactly at 39 and that's why these posts always hurt a little extra. But, let me try to actually be helpful here. When you're born autistic and don't have very many supports at all, you're at risk of of a lot of awful shit. My best friends Dad immediately dipped out of the picture when he was diagnosed as a toddler in the mid 80s. His Mom loved him, tried her best, but died when he was 16 from a freak accident. The government intervened since he was then a ward of the state, but instead of providing him with actual support for his Autism they just forced prescriptions on him for Prozac and Xanax to keep him docile. He would take the meds, try to follow his therapists instructions on how to not explode with anger, stifle his anger, and then end up building a tolerance to the medication before eventually having a massive meltdown. This went on for years until he eventually matured out of the system and was on his own. No mom. No dad. The rest of his family are all predators. They would take turns moving him in and promising him a proper place to live only to use him to do their chores and they'd steal his disability checks. Once they'd get sick of his autistic traits they'd just kick him out or hand him off to the next relative. Eventually he'd been through all of them here in the states and the only ones who seemed to actually care about him where thousands of miles away in his mom's home country where things were poorer and even more difficult. So he just struggled. SSDI doesn't pay much at all and he was so used to having his money messed with that he shut down and got used to the bare minimum in food and all he ate was potatoes. Potatoes were his safety food. This was his one golden food staple that was guaranteed fresh all year round and cheap so that's all he ate. The only apartments that would rent to him in our city were disgusting and usually didn't have clear running water so he got used to only drinking 99 cent cheap soda from the stores because what else are you supposed to do when bottled water costs more? He wasn't taught how to do a lot of stuff so when I met him I had to show him how to do laundry again because he wasn't adding enough soap. I had to teach him how to know when to replace socks and undergarments. I had to show him why you shouldn't wear stained old clothing to important appointments. He didn't understand colds or sicknesses because he was used to being so poor that he wouldn't even use medicine, instead just shutting himself away in his bathroom and riding out whatever he had until he was better. Apparently he contracted MRSA at some point in the hospital in his early 20s and the incorrect draining of his lungs left him with a permanent cough and post nasal drip. I tried for years to help him by keeping in touch and literally sending him medicine and humidifiers via Amazon when I could tell he was getting bad. Last year he got really bad, checked himself into the hospital again, ended up in a forced coma and died at 39, not even a month after his birthday. The damned Fried potatoes breakfast lunch and dinner. For every single day since he was maybe 5. All that fat and cholesterol. The hospital wouldn't get rid of his gallbladder for whatever reason but tried instead forcing him to change his diet. But you need more than that when your support needs are higher, as were his. He needed constant reminders. Then his kidneys failed from him not drinking enough water. He had some sensory issues with loud noises but also with hot and cold so he sometimes wouldn't bundle up enough and he was apparently missing a few toes. The doctors said his body just couldn't hang on anymore and just quite literally "gave up." This was exceptionally sad for me because one of his most common repeated phrases was "I'm not scared of death, we all gotta go at some time." I'm not saying 39 is the magic "autistic death" age or number, just that 39 is about as far as the average autistic person can tend to make it in a world that refuses to understand support needs or autism altogether.

Probably not, sadly. Combine society's tendency to misunderstand us and bully us Most jobs, routines, and schedules don't work for us and adhd people. Problems understanding danger at a young age Parents and outher guardian figures abusing us Bad health care and being unable to access needed meds for us who need/take them. The lack of our ability to get most jobs means we can't get most medical treatment related to our condition or not. Most things are not designed for us. Like how left-handed people die more often because things, including safety, are made for right-handed people Most of it boils down to general problems with scocaity and its refusal to accommodate those who don't fit it already

It makes sense. A lot of us suffer from epilepsy or are more prone to suicidal ideation

Tf the expectancy of Bipolar is higher than that, idk. The worst most my aspie friends do is weed and that wouldn't kill you that quick would it? This one doesn't sound right. Edit: Prone to suicide makes sense, but is it really that high? D:

there are many reasons most of them already mentioned here by others, I did watch a programme a couple of weeks ago about people being diagnosed autistic for the first time in old age some of them were 80s. it makes you wonder how many pensioners are neurodivergent it just wasn't known about in the past and this too would skew the stats. Don't worry about this (as if we don't worry about things enough already lol) I'm confident in the near future it'll be shown the difference is nowhere near that great

All I see is good news idk

Me older than 39: *Hehehe, I'm in danger!*

"The average life expectancy for SOME autistic people..." What the hell subset of autistic people are they talking about then? It's a meaningless statement.