AUTISM AFTER 16 AND ADULTHOOD
Health and Wellness
Multiple agencies offering educational, social, medical and mental health services are no longer available when a child becomes an adult. There is also the challenge of finding clinicians who are comfortable with treating adults with "childhood" disorders. There are different conditions that occur with autism and also need to be treated. These conditions are called comorbid conditions. One issue with comorbid conditions is figuring out which symptom goes to which diagnosis.
Sensory issues that can accompany autism can make a person a picky eater. When a person is an adult they make their own food choices so a guardian will not be there to make sure they eat healthily. A person with autism may not have the skills to cook. Healthy eating choices are a good habit to get into. Medications can also be used to help a person with autism.
For a person with executive functioning disorder, managing medications and dosage may be hard. The long term effects of some medication that is prescribed for people with autism is not fully known. It is much less likely that an adult primary care staff person received training on autism and a child primary care staff person. Some people with autism avoid the doctor's office because of sensory issues. A doctor's visit also requires communication between the individual and the doctor which may be hard to do in a stressful setting. Direct medical costs are estimated to be $305,956 over a 66-year lifespan for a person with autism. Adults with autism earn less income than the general population. Federal law allows employers to pay disabled employees less than minimum wage if the disability limits productivity. The p\Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act permits dependent coverage for healthcare until the age of 26.
Transition planning
Transition planning if figuring out what a person is going to do in the next stage of their life and gaining the skills and resources necessary to do it in a school system. Transaction planning is a process required by law which involves post-high school goal-setting and implementation for students aged 14-22 who have Individualised Education Plans(IEP's). All states are required to begin transition planning by the time a person turns 16, and some states require that you start when a person turns 14. Transition planning generally asks a person to create a vision for a person's future, the set of skills and abilities needed to achieve the vision, and A set of activities, classes, experiences and/or supports required to help your child build the skills and abilities he needs to achieve the vision.
In order to put together a transition plan the person in the school system needs to have a vision about what they want to do when they leave high school. With these goals, a person may be unrealistic because they can not get past the one idea that they had. Transition assessments help a student determine what they are interested in and passionate about. The transition plan is legally mandated, but the items included in the plan are not. To turn visions into legally mandated objectives, the team would have to transfer those goals into quantifiable goals on an IEP.
College and Autism
Tasks may take longer including tasks like getting dressed and transitioning between activities. College is often the first step to living on your own. Some people find the responsibility of staying on track and organized hard to deal with. Learning life skills may be learned at a different pace than peers. In college, thier is less educational supports and services because of aging out of children's services.