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What is the need
What is the need
Autistic people experience
Staggeringly lower life expectancy (53.9 years vs 70.2 in general population).
High suicide rate [2] and high suicide risk. 40% of adults who attempted suicide self-reported high autistic traits. 41% of autistic children showed signs of suicide ideation.
High rate of mental health problems.
Only 16% of autistic people are employed while 77% want to work.
Autistic adults are vulnerable to many types of negative life experience, including employment difficulties, financial hardship, domestic abuse and ‘mate-crime’. Individuals with the highest number of negative life experiences also experienced the highest number of current anxiety and depression symptoms and the lowest current life satisfaction.
Financial hardship: 45% of autistic adults said they had had a period of life without enough money to meet basic needs, compared to 25% of the non-autistic adults.
Domestic abuse: 20% of autistic adults that had been in a relationship had been sexual abused by their partner, compared to 9% of the non-autistic adults, and ‘mate-crime’: 70% said they had been bullied by someone they considered to be a friend, compared to 31% of the non-autistic adults.
78% of autistic adults experienced sexually abuse, – an almost three-fold increased risk; sexual perpetrators actively target ND individuals.
Lower quality of life (QoL) than the general population in the UK.
Being in a relationship and receiving support, being employed, and having someone to talk to, someone to do things with are positive predictors of Qol
Better wellbeing in adults correlate with positive autism identity, understanding and recognition of contribution to society, perceived belonging, perceived social support and autism-led spaces, i.e. being amongst autistic people.
Alternatively, interventions aimed at neurotypical populations that promote ASD acceptance may lead to increased QoL that is not dependent on autistic people changing who they are.
“This research highlights the challenges that autistic adults face in our society. With the right support many of these events are preventable”, said Sarah Griffiths.
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