Hurricane Autism Has Made Landfall

From our friends at the Age of Autism. Something we've been talking about for years . . . autism isn't just about children; there are thousands of adults on the spectrum.

Looking back over the last several weeks I’ve noticed a steadily increasing trend in the news — more and more stories are coming around the country talking about the aging out ofthe autism generation.  It’s not surprising that this isn’t a cause for alarm.  Mounting numbers of children with autism have been calmly accepted for the last several decades by doctors, health officials, and the media.  And of course, children grow up, so this is only to be expected

Experts Brace for Wave of Autistic Adults

Guido Abenes

BERKLEY, Calif. -- Guido Abenes appreciates their concern, but he'd really like his parents to stop worrying about him.
He's 25, he says, and he's doing fine. But he's also autistic, part of the generation of young adults who were born during the first big wave of autism cases in the United States two decades ago and are now struggling to strike out on their own.
"I tell them sometimes, 'Stop it, I'm doing things, I'm resourceful,' " said Abenes, who is a student at Cal State East Bay. "They're getting the message, I think. But they still worry."

Autism Program Aims at Young Adults

POQUOSON, Va. — Krystiann Henton is 18 years old but gets along better with her younger cousins than people her own age.

"I knew deep down inside that she wanted to make friends. She didn't know how," her mother, Sue Henton said.
She hopes that enrolling Krystiann, who has Asperger syndrome, in a new research study at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk will help with her daughter's social isolation.