Aging Adults with Autism Face Challenges

LOS ANGELES -- New research is coming out of a major autism conference. One of the biggest concerns parents who have kids with autism is what will happen to them when they become adults. With so many more kids being diagnosed, scientists are looking to the future and what's in store for these individuals.
At the International Meeting for Autism Research in San Diego, scientists examined what happens to these kids as they age.
Researchers found the older a child with autism gets, they experience fewer behavior problems and they hang on to their functional abilities. But compared to other adults, those with autism were significantly more likely to be in poor health. And they experienced a more rapid decline after age 45.

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Call it mother's intuition. Linda Powell's only son Samuel was just two months old when she said she knew something was wrong.
"I had a colorful mobile over the changing area and he didn't focus on it at all," Powell said. "Usually by that time they're able to see some colors. I even switched to a mobile with all these different vibrant colors, and he still didn't focus."
That wasn't the only red flag. Samuel made long humming sounds instead of the "da's" and "ga's" of babbling babies his age. And although he liked toys, he didn't play like his curious peers.
Despite the warning signs, it would be three years before Samuel's unusual behavior had a name: Autism.