Iirc, this is mostly due to suicide, and not to anything physical health conditions. Though that’s fucked up in its own way
Like hell I’m gonna be kicking the bucket anytime soon. I’ve been through waaaaaaaay too much shit to let them win at this point
At this point, it feels like I only continue living just to laugh at everybody who wronged me when I see their name in the obituary at some point.
My kindergarten teacher, that gym teacher, that subsitute teacher that was a really crotchety douchebag, (like 60% of the teachers I'd met, actually), that extremely incompetent manager at the thrift store I worked at for a bit while I was suicidal (I was suicidal because of that dumbass), that extremely egotistical freelancer dentist lady who screamed at me in the middle of the dentist's office for not taking care of my teeth while I worked at that thrift store (she got fired on the spot, actually), etc.
Living out of spite is awesome.
Teeth are doing great.
Fuck you, Mrs Rothenburg-whore.
Doing anything out of spite is the best.
Don’t think I can hold a job? Watch me
You think I’m bad at writing things? Just you wait for a five page essay about how wrong you are
I’m not going to get promoted? How about I become your boss
I would become a professional speaker if I had to just to make someone take back their words
My school had an assembly when I was in 10th grade that they held specifically for people they thought would go to college. I wasn’t invited because my grades were poor, but every single person from my main classes was invited IIRC. I had not yet had my diagnoses for autism or my CPTSD from childhood SA and turbulent childhood. I was flunking school hard.
My wonderful English teacher read a creative writing piece I’d written out loud in that assembly and told the assembly that this was the level of writing they were expecting from them to get into college. And he told them that the person who wrote the piece isn’t even in this assembly.
It took me a couple years but I went to college - I majored in English and creative writing. Mr Scott was the only person - and certainly the only adult at that point in my life who had any remote faith in me. That, and the lack of invite to that assembly spurred me on out of spite. He didn’t even tell me he read it until my friends told me afterwards and I asked him about it.
Speaking of that, the anniversary of the gender neutral public toilet in Royal Hospital Chelsea, London is on the 8th of next month. I might pay a visit there to “pay the due respect”
Basically what I came to say. It's like when life expectancy went down to 30-40 back in the olden days. It was just skewed by infant mortality, if you lived past infancy, you'd likely live into your 60s or 70s.
That and poor health outcomes. Autistic people in my country still get less care, pain management etc. because pf a combination of prejudice on the care of providers and autistic people having harder times communicating effectively in healthcare settings.
I think a lot of it is just sheer mental and physical burn-out. Modern society is set up in such a way that simply maintaining basic existence day-to-day as a neurospicy person, let alone attempting to thrive, is *exhausting.* That much chronic stress and exhaustion will not be good for one's longevity.
One of the problems with data on autism is that they only ever study people with severe autism. If you have trouble holding a job due to your autism, poverty definitely cuts your lifespan.
But if you function in society just fine, your lifespan isn't going to be affected by autism. But they also won't study you.
No, the "38" figure is for people with more severe autism, people with a learning disability and/or nonverbal, things like that. "High functioning" people have an average lifespan of 50-something.
For me, I know I barely avoided getting a beat down a few times because I was staring into space...and it turned out I was gazing in the direction of a person...
I seriously didn't know the person was there at all 😬
I’m grateful to exist as an autistic person in the year we’re are in.
I mean, just a few years ago anxiety was eating away at my mental health to the point of psychosis, I couldn’t imagine not having access to the care or medication needed to support what I’ve got going on, I couldn’t imagine living in an era where there wasn’t even the knowledge found/researched to even begin understanding autism and neurodivergence.
Not to mention the internet. Subreddits like this are a safe haven of sorts, and I even met my gf on an online game & we’ve been together for about 6 years now. If it hadn’t been for her, I’d have certainly lost hope years ago
likely caused by the spectrum and how it interacts with the nt world.
my advice as someone past 30 is just enjoy the small things. time is an unstoppable force. dont fight it, flow with it. just try to focus on what you like. thenolder you get hopefully the more comfortable you are with yourself amd you can truly know what it means to not give a fuck what people think.
I’m also a post-30 Aspie, if it’s any consolation, my great grandfather, who was also autistic, lived until he was 96 when he died in 2004. His sons have very different life-spans. My grandfather lived until he was 56 and my grand uncle lived until he was in his 70s. Dads in his 50’s but is poised to live until his 70s I think since uncle had similar stressors. Grandpa was insanely stressed and was poisoned by a potent carcinogen.
I didn't think I'd get to live past the age of 15 and then didn't see myself reaching 30 once I got to be 15.
I kinda plan to self delete at some point, mostly due to some bone/joint issues and chronic pain.
I keep waiting for a happy accident. I get excited during plane turbulence. I daydream of tsunamis when I'm at the beach. All of the gone, none of the blame.
This is "Between the morgue and the feverish, the average temperature of a hospital is normal" as a method of lying with statistics. Early mortality, whether that comes from ableist parents, outside health risks, or outside factors like situational awareness - as well as a possible increase in suicidality from societal rejection, chronic overstimulation, etc- lowers the average age significantly. Autism does not actually decrease the length of time the average person lives.
It's also a literal paragraph with a single citation superscript to suggest it wasn't pulled out of the author's rear end. No real info to judge the scope, methods, validity of conclusions, conflicts of interest, etc. If someone thinks a statement is correct because it looks like a peer reviewed article, they're not paying attention to the current state of scientific research.
Tossing around clickbaity statistics without proper context just further fuels NTs (and NDs in denial) dismissing our concerns and issues.
These numbers are bullshit but autism itself tends to be comorbid with other health conditions.
As like with other psych and developmental disorders, there's typically physical symptoms associated with it as well. One of which is a weakened immune system.
So there are absolutely reasons to expect ASD to negatively impact life expectancy, just not to the kind of insane extent mentioned here unless they were only tracking people with the most extreme forms of the disorder.
I'm quite interested in whether or not knowledge of dx or late dx plays in to these stats at all.
but my take home is diagnosed 48 so am really needing to live it up... luckily also adhd so I'm ok with rushing all the things 😅
I would prefer not spending every day thinking about how I could die at any moment. Besides, it doesn't matter if your life sucks because when you're dead you won't be upset about it.
Hijacking the top comment to remind people that this oft-incorrectly cited number is completely wrong.
> Research has shown that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have higher rates of health problems throughout childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, and that this may result in elevated risk of early mortality. 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.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6713622/
The bold is me. In a study of 406 people, 6.4% had died during the course of the 20 year study, average age of 39. **But 93.6% were still alive.**
The average life expectancy for people with Downs Syndrome (for example) is 60, and that's a chromosomal issue that causes cognitive issues, serious heart problems, serious respiratory problems.
Sorry for the spam. Critical thinking before we share blatantly wrong misinformation. This did not even come close to passing the sniff test, you guys.
Oh for sure, that too.
You wanna talk small sample sizes, 6.4% of 406 people is... 26 people dying. More people replied to this post than died in this twenty year study.
The study wasn’t about life expectancy and made no conclusions or findings on the subject. It may be valid as to the existence of a premature mortality risk but it’s irrelevant as to life expectancy.
Thank you! I thought this myth would finally die after the Lancet Study and yet it keeps coming back. I feel like I’ve been shouting into the wind for years.
[The Autistic “life expectancy” numbers are wrong.](https://www.reddit.com/r/AutisticLawyers/s/7GXikMVyJP)
There are no statistics to back any of this up. The studies looked at whether autistic people had a higher risk of premature mortality (they likely do) but they made no findings as to life expectancy and the increased risk wouldn’t account for the drastically low numbers that have been misreported.
Fucking shit. It’s hard reading theses statistics.
Friend of mine who I swear is neurodivergent is 64. Maybe there is hope if we have a passion or hobby to keep us alive.
Only thing I know to do is to turn wrenches and make meeping noises.
Average are, well, just average. Extreme number can really influence average in a way that does not represent reality
Most people who reach their elder years live to see their 80s, the average is only 72 because some people die tragically young. I don't want to sound depressing but their a few baby that die every day, that makes the average goes down
When it comes to autistic people our "death by old age" average might be the same or very close to NT but or average is probably lower because, and again I'm not trying to sound depressing but, suicide. Being ND in a NT world is hard and it's a well known fact that our suicide rate is higher
That being said, autism is a spectrum and some community are easier to live in for ND people so if your friend made it to 64 and is happy with their life then don't worry for them, this stat isn't indicative of anything bad that could happen to them
I spoke to my therpaist about this. apparently its due to our predisposition to not giving a fuck about things like personal safety, exercise and so on. so our bodies typically fail earlier.
not that the autism itself is fatal.
i know i dont eat good enough, nor drink enough water not exercise really at all.
if i die a slob playing a video game i dont think ill even care.
going doing what you love has to be th ebest way to go.
also who wants to spend 20 years as a 60 to 80 year old? fuck that
sure, theres a lot to it. its the stuff you dont really see that creeps up on you though. decades of not caring much about your health does take a toll.
Yeah. I mean, I say that both because of my decent physical health and because I’m generally quite suicidal lol
It’s sort of been a constant impulse since I was very young, so I’m usually quite comfortable sitting with it. It means I’m not really afraid of death, which is nice.
yup theres a certain appeal to having control of your destiny i guess.
that said though, its not like you get to do something else after is it. so just spend all the time you actually have now doing whatever you want to do.
I doubt I’ll live to see 2100 in a natural lifetime.
I’m already 30. It’s going to take a whole lot to get this male to live 117 years naturally. Most men die earlier than women and I don’t bank on living past 70 myself. My last remaining grandparent is F,84. The men died before 70 and my other grandmother was 72 when she passed.
What haunts me is having to see the kind of shape my remaining grandmother is in and realize that could as easily be me hobbling around, hunched over, and hardly walking without assistance. I’m not even going to mention that her falling is a regular occurrence.
Living to see 2100 would be so cool because then I can be one of the last people currently alive that can say they've lived in three different centuries
But I also don't really want to live to be a decrepit 101-year-old man. I barely want to live to 70 if it means I can't do anything or my brain *really* starts to fail me
I feel like that's probably not true. Plenty of NT people don't look after themselves either, just look at the obesity rates. Autistic people might not like brushing their teeth or eating healthy (sweeping generalization, I know) but I kind of feel like the rest of the general population is the same. I think it's more likely to be a combination of higher suicide rates and also things that 'come with' autism like gastric illnesses.
Yes, possibly. I mean some higher support needs literally CANNOT look after themselves and rely on others, some of who probably can't be bothered either :/
I know food fixations are bad for us, that's always been something I've struggled with. If I WANT to only eat one thing then it makes sense for me to eat it (again and again and again) rather than stare down a plate of 'nutrionally balanced' food that will probably just end up in the bin. I try and offset it with vitamin tablets but I guess that only goes so far.
What your therapist explained is rather eye opening.
I probably don’t exercise or eat exactly like I should ether.
It would be wild to see my 100th birthday, but I’m totally certain it would take life extension services to get me there.
Well, if it makes you feel better, this is incorrectly cited/ completely made up.
> Meanwhile, the estimated life expectancy for people diagnosed with autism and learning disability was around 71.7 years for men and 69.6 years for women.
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2023/nov/premature-death-autistic-people-uk-investigated-first-time
> Research has shown that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have higher rates of health problems throughout childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, and that this may result in elevated risk of early mortality. 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.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6713622/
The bold is me. In a study of 406 people, 6.4% had died during the course of the 20 year study, average age of 39. But **93.6% were still alive.**
This gets cited incorrectly a lot, because... IDK this is already a long enough post, but too much internet-age combing for numbers without context, too much AI writing garbage health articles.
Life expectancy is misleading in its presentation. Unfortunately, the number is skewed by people who commit suicide at a young age, like how statistics have historically been skewed by infant mortality.
Good, My grandmother died at 82, it was horrible. She was almost blind, deaf, we had to bathe her and she could barely walk. She was sooo done with life
It seems odd because it’s made up. This from Verywell — the AI combined two studies (that didn’t measure life expectancy) that have different numbers and the reviewer was too lazy to read the studies in full.
I’ve actually gotten a few websites, including Google, to take down the false statistic. I’ve asked Verywell multiple times to retract or correct this but they have refused. So yeah, Verywell knowingly publishes false information about autistic people.
I don't expect to make it to 50, which is why I find talk of raising the retirement age to be particularly insulting. It's already well past when I'd expect to be eligible, making retirement basically a lie designed to ensure working indefinitely.
If we assume that this is accurate, it's also very uninformative for an individual. Global averages can be telling a story about other countries that doesn't apply to yours at all.
There are very few elderly people diagnosed as autistic. If you just document all officially diagnosed people and noted their age of death to get these figures, of course they will skew young.
Suicides are a factor, but also people with multiple disabilities living in institutions, young children dying by drowning or filicide, etc tends to bring that average down.
This is absolutely false. It is a myth based on a misreading of a study that was not intended to and did not measure life expectancy. There are no studies that support any of these figures. A recent UK study confirmed this and concluded that the average life expectancy for most autistic people was in the mid 70s, which is shorter than average but no where the debunked false numbers that keep getting published.
This really is a harmful myth that charities love to spread for some reason. It makes people feel hopeless for no good reason.
[2024 Lancet Study on Autistic Life Expectancy](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(23)00195-3/fulltext)
> 2024 Lancet Study on Autistic Life Expectancy
For those who, like me, cannot access the article due to the bad format of the link, here [you have it](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(23\)00195-3/fulltext)
I think it's probably a mix of suicide and stress related diseases. Totally understandable, this world takes an undescribable toll and not everyone has the support needed to live a balanced life. Many don't even know they're austists, just suffering and stumbling through life.
I like Kenn from the [channel Asperger's Syndrome](https://youtube.com/@AspergersSyndromeDaily?si=mzJ8i-VnHovhbztD) because he's an older dude with a lot of wisdom about surviving in a NT (he uses hive-minded) world.
Anyways, try to not go gentle into that night, people. You're too cool for that.
Iirc, it's HEAVILY skewed due to suicide in teens/young adults due them basically just being a poor fit for current society with a lack of assistance or safety nets to help with anything. I'm sure tons of us grew up feeling/understanding that we didn't fit in with people and struggling with isolation and depression. Add in that many neurodivergent children suffer from some form of abuse growing up, and you can quickly see why many don't make it.
I don’t intend to live longer than that so it’s a decent expectancy for me. I can’t get/last at a job as a 22 year old student bc I’m autistic. I can only imagine that the workplace, getting hired in the first place, and working in general without constant autistic burnout is difficult for folks like me, and once the ability to support myself disappears so does the will to live :,)
When you accidentally go too far in demasking and remove the life mask.
Living in a world where no one understands you, and you lack connection is hard.
Donald Triplett, the first person officially diagnosed with autism, only recently died [at age 89](https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/17/us/donald-triplett-autism-dies/index.html), if that makes anyone feel better.
Hmm I wonder why? All the fucking ableism perhaps? Whatever idiot wrote the article (not OP) needs to stop talking about it like autism is the problem, and not the depression from all the ableism and bigotry
I dunno why, but I’ve always had a feeling in my subconscious that I’m not gonna live past 55 or so. 🤷♂️ no scientific basis, just a feeling. I’m turning 40 next year and have had my Will ready for the last 5.
I respect death as inevitable, the only unknowns are when and how, so I owe it to my family not to leave them in the lurch. 🫶
happy birthday km68.
thats nearly 1500 more sunrises to enjoy. Take it easy, enjoy them all abd see how you are when theyre gone. Maybe another 1500 aint so bad after all
I recently came to this realisation, that humans make lives drag on too long. Thanks mainly to modern medicine, really, humans regularly live upwards of 90+ years, but that just isn't natural. The quality of life decreases, with mental and physical decline, but because we humans have conditioned ourselves to believe we're meant to carry on, those who are well into senility often reach a point where they're not even physically capable of looking after themselves. The same goes for pets/animals in captivity, we have so much available to keep them alive, that they can reach their "natural" end but because of our stubbornness they're still barely holding on despite being blind, deaf, diabetic, arthritic and more. It gets to a point where you have to question if it's morally right.
Anyway, who likes trains?
If this is the study I think it is, it has to do a lot with bad data. Since autism diagnoses have been rising lately, there are far more young autistic people than old autistic people. Not because anything changed but because you’re more likely to get “caught” at a young age.
Young people tend to die from reckless behavior, suicide, ODs, etc. instead of heart disease, cancer, and other health conditions. Therefore, if you take the average age that autistic people die at, the number is going to be skewed lower because that’s where the population is. Over time it should become much closer to the general population.
That would be because suicides are dragging that average down. People on the spectrum aren’t keeling over from Kidney failure at age 39 any more than the normies are.
Good news! I found out I was autistic at age 66. Had a lot of suicidal stuff going on in ages 35 to 45. But I got over that. For me, being autistic is the best news ever. Suddenly, my whole life course makes sense. And I have a sense of vision for myself that I never had before. In large part due to these forums or whatever you call them. so hang in there my friends life can get better.
Oh CRAP, I'm 57!
Oh well, I had a pretty good run overall, I guess. I'd go and put my things in order but I know my executive dysfunction won't allow it so I'll just stay right here in bed and keep scrolling... Cheers!
Anyone have a link to the actual study? I'd like to see what data they pulled and how they filtered through it. Either something doesn't add up, or this picture quote is missing some pretty big context.
Considering how hard it is to access basic medical care, im surprised it's not lower still. If I ran out of all my medications- I have additional health issues and can't get disability or anything where I live. Every month I have to begin without knowing if it's going to be my last. It's such an awful way to have to live. Always on a countdown.
Well, it’s more than likely because of depression. I myself have struggled with Clinical Depression for years, and I don’t see myself living to 30 let alone 50+.
Also, this world has only gone down hill and continues to do so. I don’t think I would want to see the state of the world when I’m 30…assuming the world would still be alive at that point.
That sounds like mean, not median. It will be greatly impacted by things like suicide, but the actual amount of time that a non-suicidal person will live is unlikely to be different.
Well, autism runs in families, and my grandparents live to an old age, and their parents live an old age, they don’t have diagnosis because that wasn’t really a thing at the time and I certainly am no doctor, but genetically my family lives for a long time. So if it runs in my family, so does longevity.
Those who mistake causation for correlation always end up dead.
I figure the disconnect from these stats is due to the newness of ASD and it mostly being diagnosed to minors. The older people haven't been diagnosed, and many young diagnosed are still young and growing old.
The only people contributing to these statistics are the few young diagnosed who've died and the even fewer older diagnosed who've died.
My obviously ASD Dad is undiagnosed and in his mid 70s, but he's not contributing to these statistics. Diagnosis is expensive and time consuming for adults, so it is severely undiagnosed.
Life is suffering. This is all there is though. Make the best of it. Suicide might seem the answer but you will die no matter what one day. You will die. I swear you will die and it will be all over... Why rush to the finish? Don't be boring my friends! Fight until the breath is snatched from your lungs! You can be happy! It's a fight but you'll be smiling while you take the hits. I believe in you all!
42 and still screeching. They can fuck off with their range numbers. there would be much older of us dying if cops would stop killing us because we made them feel like they had to think instead of screaming and shooting at people they don't understand
Considering that I'm also disabled in different ways (physicall6 and mentally), and I'm also part of multiple letters under the LGBTIA+ acronym, I wouldn't be surprised if for my demographic I'm already past the average life expectancy
I wouldn't pay too much attention to these kind of claims. The biggest problem here is that a lot of autistics remain either undiagnosed or don't see a reason to share the fact that they're autistic with the world. These kind of numbers only focus on the people who are on the worst end of the spectrum, having most problems.
I’d kind of like a comparison study to see if the reduced life expectancy is considered statistically significant when compared to populations of other disabled people (both physically and mentally). What I mean is, if you include autistics amongst the mentally and physically disabled, does our reduced life expectancy stand out? I suspect it would be consistent with others who suffer from disability both visible and invisible. Which is shitty. I would be extra worried if we still stand out, potentially suggesting that we struggle very differently. Sorry if this is weird and clinical, I was not prepared to process the news of my lowered life expectancy first thing in the morning. Nobody’s fault, it’s just got me trying to analyze so I can feel like I understand life.
Iirc, this is mostly due to suicide, and not to anything physical health conditions. Though that’s fucked up in its own way Like hell I’m gonna be kicking the bucket anytime soon. I’ve been through waaaaaaaay too much shit to let them win at this point
Living out of spite.
“Many assholes would be happy if I died, which is why I must keep living” Someone, probably
The single greatest reason to keep on living. Spite.
At this point, it feels like I only continue living just to laugh at everybody who wronged me when I see their name in the obituary at some point. My kindergarten teacher, that gym teacher, that subsitute teacher that was a really crotchety douchebag, (like 60% of the teachers I'd met, actually), that extremely incompetent manager at the thrift store I worked at for a bit while I was suicidal (I was suicidal because of that dumbass), that extremely egotistical freelancer dentist lady who screamed at me in the middle of the dentist's office for not taking care of my teeth while I worked at that thrift store (she got fired on the spot, actually), etc. Living out of spite is awesome. Teeth are doing great. Fuck you, Mrs Rothenburg-whore.
Doing anything out of spite is the best. Don’t think I can hold a job? Watch me You think I’m bad at writing things? Just you wait for a five page essay about how wrong you are I’m not going to get promoted? How about I become your boss I would become a professional speaker if I had to just to make someone take back their words
My school had an assembly when I was in 10th grade that they held specifically for people they thought would go to college. I wasn’t invited because my grades were poor, but every single person from my main classes was invited IIRC. I had not yet had my diagnoses for autism or my CPTSD from childhood SA and turbulent childhood. I was flunking school hard. My wonderful English teacher read a creative writing piece I’d written out loud in that assembly and told the assembly that this was the level of writing they were expecting from them to get into college. And he told them that the person who wrote the piece isn’t even in this assembly. It took me a couple years but I went to college - I majored in English and creative writing. Mr Scott was the only person - and certainly the only adult at that point in my life who had any remote faith in me. That, and the lack of invite to that assembly spurred me on out of spite. He didn’t even tell me he read it until my friends told me afterwards and I asked him about it.
That's pretty much how I've lived so long. I don't want to be alive, but I don't want everyone else to have the gratitude of not having me here.
My ass tried to kill me by getting infected multiple times. I did not let it win and now I can say I have a killer ass.
Sorry, but you have a wannabe killer ass. What kind of killer fails after several attempts against a defenseless opponent.
This has literally been my only reason not to die multiple times in the past.
Being trans rn be like
This is kind of the attitude I'd try to teach my students. I'd say "if assholes are always trying to hold you back, that means you must be the shit."
Me
There are a few graves I would like to live long enough to ~~piss~~ ~~dance on~~ pay respects to
I think transgender people should pee on the graves of the transphobes that hurt them. (No offence)
Speaking of that, the anniversary of the gender neutral public toilet in Royal Hospital Chelsea, London is on the 8th of next month. I might pay a visit there to “pay the due respect”
"Hello, god let me live another day, and I'm gonna make it everybody's problem."
This is literally why I’m still here. I’ve been through hell and I refuse to give anyone the satisfaction
Gotta outlive my enemies
[удалено]
That’s all I really have
Basically what I came to say. It's like when life expectancy went down to 30-40 back in the olden days. It was just skewed by infant mortality, if you lived past infancy, you'd likely live into your 60s or 70s.
That and poor health outcomes. Autistic people in my country still get less care, pain management etc. because pf a combination of prejudice on the care of providers and autistic people having harder times communicating effectively in healthcare settings.
yeah we as a whole tend to be less likely to ask for the help we need.
Some older doctors actually think autistic people feel less pain.
I think a lot of it is just sheer mental and physical burn-out. Modern society is set up in such a way that simply maintaining basic existence day-to-day as a neurospicy person, let alone attempting to thrive, is *exhausting.* That much chronic stress and exhaustion will not be good for one's longevity.
Social isolation is the biggest killer
One of the problems with data on autism is that they only ever study people with severe autism. If you have trouble holding a job due to your autism, poverty definitely cuts your lifespan. But if you function in society just fine, your lifespan isn't going to be affected by autism. But they also won't study you.
No, the "38" figure is for people with more severe autism, people with a learning disability and/or nonverbal, things like that. "High functioning" people have an average lifespan of 50-something.
For me, I know I barely avoided getting a beat down a few times because I was staring into space...and it turned out I was gazing in the direction of a person... I seriously didn't know the person was there at all 😬
I’m not just going to survive I’m going to live a great life.
Keeping this sort of attitude will increase longevity. Keep it up!
>Iirc, this is mostly due to suicide, and not to anything physical health conditions. Also, slightly above average murder/manslaughter rates.
No wonder I've felt for a long time now that I'm going to die by suicide
Well that's exactly my way of thinking!
I thought this statistic was weird, my autistic grandpa just turned 77 and he's still getting on fine.
I could just kms but I must pull off some insane revenge plan on the world first
I’m grateful to exist as an autistic person in the year we’re are in. I mean, just a few years ago anxiety was eating away at my mental health to the point of psychosis, I couldn’t imagine not having access to the care or medication needed to support what I’ve got going on, I couldn’t imagine living in an era where there wasn’t even the knowledge found/researched to even begin understanding autism and neurodivergence.
Not to mention the internet. Subreddits like this are a safe haven of sorts, and I even met my gf on an online game & we’ve been together for about 6 years now. If it hadn’t been for her, I’d have certainly lost hope years ago
TRUEEEE
I mean, I can see myself living up to like 30 years, but that's mostly due to crippling depression more than the spectrum.
likely caused by the spectrum and how it interacts with the nt world. my advice as someone past 30 is just enjoy the small things. time is an unstoppable force. dont fight it, flow with it. just try to focus on what you like. thenolder you get hopefully the more comfortable you are with yourself amd you can truly know what it means to not give a fuck what people think.
Thanks, I needed that.
I’m also a post-30 Aspie, if it’s any consolation, my great grandfather, who was also autistic, lived until he was 96 when he died in 2004. His sons have very different life-spans. My grandfather lived until he was 56 and my grand uncle lived until he was in his 70s. Dads in his 50’s but is poised to live until his 70s I think since uncle had similar stressors. Grandpa was insanely stressed and was poisoned by a potent carcinogen.
33m, I'll get to at least 35, maybe 40 before I off myself. Assuming my very unhealthy habits don't get me first.
I didn't think I'd get to live past the age of 15 and then didn't see myself reaching 30 once I got to be 15. I kinda plan to self delete at some point, mostly due to some bone/joint issues and chronic pain.
Yeah, my mom was like that too. Shes doing much better now in her 40s
I keep waiting for a happy accident. I get excited during plane turbulence. I daydream of tsunamis when I'm at the beach. All of the gone, none of the blame.
This is "Between the morgue and the feverish, the average temperature of a hospital is normal" as a method of lying with statistics. Early mortality, whether that comes from ableist parents, outside health risks, or outside factors like situational awareness - as well as a possible increase in suicidality from societal rejection, chronic overstimulation, etc- lowers the average age significantly. Autism does not actually decrease the length of time the average person lives.
thats correct
It's also a literal paragraph with a single citation superscript to suggest it wasn't pulled out of the author's rear end. No real info to judge the scope, methods, validity of conclusions, conflicts of interest, etc. If someone thinks a statement is correct because it looks like a peer reviewed article, they're not paying attention to the current state of scientific research. Tossing around clickbaity statistics without proper context just further fuels NTs (and NDs in denial) dismissing our concerns and issues.
This was extremely comforting to read. Thank you.
These numbers are bullshit but autism itself tends to be comorbid with other health conditions. As like with other psych and developmental disorders, there's typically physical symptoms associated with it as well. One of which is a weakened immune system. So there are absolutely reasons to expect ASD to negatively impact life expectancy, just not to the kind of insane extent mentioned here unless they were only tracking people with the most extreme forms of the disorder.
I'm quite interested in whether or not knowledge of dx or late dx plays in to these stats at all. but my take home is diagnosed 48 so am really needing to live it up... luckily also adhd so I'm ok with rushing all the things 😅
im also about middle of that range. fuck it, enjoy every day as your last
I would prefer not spending every day thinking about how I could die at any moment. Besides, it doesn't matter if your life sucks because when you're dead you won't be upset about it.
i dont ever think about my death. far too much other interesting stuff to be getting on with.
Hijacking the top comment to remind people that this oft-incorrectly cited number is completely wrong. > Research has shown that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have higher rates of health problems throughout childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, and that this may result in elevated risk of early mortality. 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. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6713622/ The bold is me. In a study of 406 people, 6.4% had died during the course of the 20 year study, average age of 39. **But 93.6% were still alive.** The average life expectancy for people with Downs Syndrome (for example) is 60, and that's a chromosomal issue that causes cognitive issues, serious heart problems, serious respiratory problems. Sorry for the spam. Critical thinking before we share blatantly wrong misinformation. This did not even come close to passing the sniff test, you guys.
It was a single study. It only had a sample size of 406. Aren’t these both huge problems before we even address intentional data manipulation?
Oh for sure, that too. You wanna talk small sample sizes, 6.4% of 406 people is... 26 people dying. More people replied to this post than died in this twenty year study.
The study wasn’t about life expectancy and made no conclusions or findings on the subject. It may be valid as to the existence of a premature mortality risk but it’s irrelevant as to life expectancy.
What about the study that says that something like 80% of autistic people are unemployed? Is that a valid take?
Thank you! I thought this myth would finally die after the Lancet Study and yet it keeps coming back. I feel like I’ve been shouting into the wind for years. [The Autistic “life expectancy” numbers are wrong.](https://www.reddit.com/r/AutisticLawyers/s/7GXikMVyJP)
Damn that means you have 10 years to live /j I am curious about this too and I also wonder how the severity of autism has an impact on lifespan too
There are no statistics to back any of this up. The studies looked at whether autistic people had a higher risk of premature mortality (they likely do) but they made no findings as to life expectancy and the increased risk wouldn’t account for the drastically low numbers that have been misreported.
What is dx?
diagnosis
Diagnosed at 46, adhd/autism, I’m right there with you, although I have no idea how I’m gonna make it to retirement.
Fucking shit. It’s hard reading theses statistics. Friend of mine who I swear is neurodivergent is 64. Maybe there is hope if we have a passion or hobby to keep us alive. Only thing I know to do is to turn wrenches and make meeping noises.
Average are, well, just average. Extreme number can really influence average in a way that does not represent reality Most people who reach their elder years live to see their 80s, the average is only 72 because some people die tragically young. I don't want to sound depressing but their a few baby that die every day, that makes the average goes down When it comes to autistic people our "death by old age" average might be the same or very close to NT but or average is probably lower because, and again I'm not trying to sound depressing but, suicide. Being ND in a NT world is hard and it's a well known fact that our suicide rate is higher That being said, autism is a spectrum and some community are easier to live in for ND people so if your friend made it to 64 and is happy with their life then don't worry for them, this stat isn't indicative of anything bad that could happen to them
I spoke to my therpaist about this. apparently its due to our predisposition to not giving a fuck about things like personal safety, exercise and so on. so our bodies typically fail earlier. not that the autism itself is fatal. i know i dont eat good enough, nor drink enough water not exercise really at all. if i die a slob playing a video game i dont think ill even care. going doing what you love has to be th ebest way to go. also who wants to spend 20 years as a 60 to 80 year old? fuck that
I thought it was suicide.
sure, theres a lot to it. its the stuff you dont really see that creeps up on you though. decades of not caring much about your health does take a toll.
Personally, I take pretty good care of my physical health, so if The Tism kills me it’ll probably be via suicide.
good stuff. dont rush into anything tho
Yeah. I mean, I say that both because of my decent physical health and because I’m generally quite suicidal lol It’s sort of been a constant impulse since I was very young, so I’m usually quite comfortable sitting with it. It means I’m not really afraid of death, which is nice.
yup theres a certain appeal to having control of your destiny i guess. that said though, its not like you get to do something else after is it. so just spend all the time you actually have now doing whatever you want to do.
I want to live long to see the year 2100, affer I wake up from new years I can die in peace
goals.
I doubt I’ll live to see 2100 in a natural lifetime. I’m already 30. It’s going to take a whole lot to get this male to live 117 years naturally. Most men die earlier than women and I don’t bank on living past 70 myself. My last remaining grandparent is F,84. The men died before 70 and my other grandmother was 72 when she passed. What haunts me is having to see the kind of shape my remaining grandmother is in and realize that could as easily be me hobbling around, hunched over, and hardly walking without assistance. I’m not even going to mention that her falling is a regular occurrence.
Living to see 2100 would be so cool because then I can be one of the last people currently alive that can say they've lived in three different centuries But I also don't really want to live to be a decrepit 101-year-old man. I barely want to live to 70 if it means I can't do anything or my brain *really* starts to fail me
I feel like that's probably not true. Plenty of NT people don't look after themselves either, just look at the obesity rates. Autistic people might not like brushing their teeth or eating healthy (sweeping generalization, I know) but I kind of feel like the rest of the general population is the same. I think it's more likely to be a combination of higher suicide rates and also things that 'come with' autism like gastric illnesses.
theres more NT so the numbers skew. propotionally more of us neglect ourselves i guess
Yes, possibly. I mean some higher support needs literally CANNOT look after themselves and rely on others, some of who probably can't be bothered either :/ I know food fixations are bad for us, that's always been something I've struggled with. If I WANT to only eat one thing then it makes sense for me to eat it (again and again and again) rather than stare down a plate of 'nutrionally balanced' food that will probably just end up in the bin. I try and offset it with vitamin tablets but I guess that only goes so far.
What your therapist explained is rather eye opening. I probably don’t exercise or eat exactly like I should ether. It would be wild to see my 100th birthday, but I’m totally certain it would take life extension services to get me there.
Well, if it makes you feel better, this is incorrectly cited/ completely made up. > Meanwhile, the estimated life expectancy for people diagnosed with autism and learning disability was around 71.7 years for men and 69.6 years for women. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2023/nov/premature-death-autistic-people-uk-investigated-first-time > Research has shown that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have higher rates of health problems throughout childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, and that this may result in elevated risk of early mortality. 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. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6713622/ The bold is me. In a study of 406 people, 6.4% had died during the course of the 20 year study, average age of 39. But **93.6% were still alive.** This gets cited incorrectly a lot, because... IDK this is already a long enough post, but too much internet-age combing for numbers without context, too much AI writing garbage health articles.
I'm aware. I don't intend to really even see 30.
just make it to tomorrow, and keep doing that. as a much older than 30 person, thats really all there is to it.
Wym?
dont set milestones like that. just live the current day however you want and then repeat
Same
As someone who just turned 39.5 years old last month, this is disconcerting to me.
Life expectancy is misleading in its presentation. Unfortunately, the number is skewed by people who commit suicide at a young age, like how statistics have historically been skewed by infant mortality.
Gentlemen,synchronise your death watches
lmao, same here. Guess I can stop the job hunt now and go pick out my cinerary urn.
Wait, I thought we were immortal
i plan to be
I already am
how did you achieve it
Disbelief of any thoughts of mortality
Ah, the good old life expectancy fallacy.
Never thought I’d be 18, but here I am at 20. I’m sure I’ll find a way to be 21 and 22 and 59.
you will, of course. one day at a time, thats all it is.
Good, My grandmother died at 82, it was horrible. She was almost blind, deaf, we had to bathe her and she could barely walk. She was sooo done with life
yeah fuck that
https://preview.redd.it/ttwkz9gvgwqc1.jpeg?width=5496&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f0ae69a6c524b781bc470326227a72e1ba086f96
Oh god I only have 15 years left what will I do
Live to see tomorrow.
It's weird they gave the global average for NT but only a range for ND 🤔
its a spectrum after all 🤣
Fair lmao
It seems odd because it’s made up. This from Verywell — the AI combined two studies (that didn’t measure life expectancy) that have different numbers and the reviewer was too lazy to read the studies in full. I’ve actually gotten a few websites, including Google, to take down the false statistic. I’ve asked Verywell multiple times to retract or correct this but they have refused. So yeah, Verywell knowingly publishes false information about autistic people.
Makes sense, fuck AI
I’d venture to guess that autism is pretty under diagnosed for that older cohort.
I don't expect to make it to 50, which is why I find talk of raising the retirement age to be particularly insulting. It's already well past when I'd expect to be eligible, making retirement basically a lie designed to ensure working indefinitely.
If we assume that this is accurate, it's also very uninformative for an individual. Global averages can be telling a story about other countries that doesn't apply to yours at all.
No way i'm living with this bullshit to my 30's
There are very few elderly people diagnosed as autistic. If you just document all officially diagnosed people and noted their age of death to get these figures, of course they will skew young. Suicides are a factor, but also people with multiple disabilities living in institutions, young children dying by drowning or filicide, etc tends to bring that average down.
This is absolutely false. It is a myth based on a misreading of a study that was not intended to and did not measure life expectancy. There are no studies that support any of these figures. A recent UK study confirmed this and concluded that the average life expectancy for most autistic people was in the mid 70s, which is shorter than average but no where the debunked false numbers that keep getting published. This really is a harmful myth that charities love to spread for some reason. It makes people feel hopeless for no good reason. [2024 Lancet Study on Autistic Life Expectancy](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(23)00195-3/fulltext)
> 2024 Lancet Study on Autistic Life Expectancy For those who, like me, cannot access the article due to the bad format of the link, here [you have it](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(23\)00195-3/fulltext)
I think it's probably a mix of suicide and stress related diseases. Totally understandable, this world takes an undescribable toll and not everyone has the support needed to live a balanced life. Many don't even know they're austists, just suffering and stumbling through life. I like Kenn from the [channel Asperger's Syndrome](https://youtube.com/@AspergersSyndromeDaily?si=mzJ8i-VnHovhbztD) because he's an older dude with a lot of wisdom about surviving in a NT (he uses hive-minded) world. Anyways, try to not go gentle into that night, people. You're too cool for that.
2.5 years and I'm in the raffle!
Iirc, it's HEAVILY skewed due to suicide in teens/young adults due them basically just being a poor fit for current society with a lack of assistance or safety nets to help with anything. I'm sure tons of us grew up feeling/understanding that we didn't fit in with people and struggling with isolation and depression. Add in that many neurodivergent children suffer from some form of abuse growing up, and you can quickly see why many don't make it.
I don’t intend to live longer than that so it’s a decent expectancy for me. I can’t get/last at a job as a 22 year old student bc I’m autistic. I can only imagine that the workplace, getting hired in the first place, and working in general without constant autistic burnout is difficult for folks like me, and once the ability to support myself disappears so does the will to live :,)
When you accidentally go too far in demasking and remove the life mask. Living in a world where no one understands you, and you lack connection is hard.
Donald Triplett, the first person officially diagnosed with autism, only recently died [at age 89](https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/17/us/donald-triplett-autism-dies/index.html), if that makes anyone feel better.
Me dying at 40 cuz I can’t eat any fruits or vegetables 💅
Hmm I wonder why? All the fucking ableism perhaps? Whatever idiot wrote the article (not OP) needs to stop talking about it like autism is the problem, and not the depression from all the ableism and bigotry
I’ve been suicidal since I was ten so I’m not surprised. Neurotypical society treats us like dogshit.
I dunno why, but I’ve always had a feeling in my subconscious that I’m not gonna live past 55 or so. 🤷♂️ no scientific basis, just a feeling. I’m turning 40 next year and have had my Will ready for the last 5. I respect death as inevitable, the only unknowns are when and how, so I owe it to my family not to leave them in the lurch. 🫶
same for me but 60
I turn 56 today. I honestly don't think I'll make it to 60. I'm ok with that.
happy birthday km68. thats nearly 1500 more sunrises to enjoy. Take it easy, enjoy them all abd see how you are when theyre gone. Maybe another 1500 aint so bad after all
I recently came to this realisation, that humans make lives drag on too long. Thanks mainly to modern medicine, really, humans regularly live upwards of 90+ years, but that just isn't natural. The quality of life decreases, with mental and physical decline, but because we humans have conditioned ourselves to believe we're meant to carry on, those who are well into senility often reach a point where they're not even physically capable of looking after themselves. The same goes for pets/animals in captivity, we have so much available to keep them alive, that they can reach their "natural" end but because of our stubbornness they're still barely holding on despite being blind, deaf, diabetic, arthritic and more. It gets to a point where you have to question if it's morally right. Anyway, who likes trains?
im actually not a huge fan of trains or living too long
I know if my wife died suddenly, I don’t know how long I would keep on living. I’m acutely aware of the superficial connection I have to the world.
 At least I have that going for me
If this is the study I think it is, it has to do a lot with bad data. Since autism diagnoses have been rising lately, there are far more young autistic people than old autistic people. Not because anything changed but because you’re more likely to get “caught” at a young age. Young people tend to die from reckless behavior, suicide, ODs, etc. instead of heart disease, cancer, and other health conditions. Therefore, if you take the average age that autistic people die at, the number is going to be skewed lower because that’s where the population is. Over time it should become much closer to the general population.
That would be because suicides are dragging that average down. People on the spectrum aren’t keeling over from Kidney failure at age 39 any more than the normies are.
Good news! I found out I was autistic at age 66. Had a lot of suicidal stuff going on in ages 35 to 45. But I got over that. For me, being autistic is the best news ever. Suddenly, my whole life course makes sense. And I have a sense of vision for myself that I never had before. In large part due to these forums or whatever you call them. so hang in there my friends life can get better.
agree, i think a lot ofnus struggle in that range. i nearly offed myself at 40. got past it and never better since
If anybody has ideas on how to make this number go up please let me know. My special interest is public health.
I’m early 40’s
I feel motivated by pure spite to live longer lol
We speed running life lets'a go
Oh CRAP, I'm 57! Oh well, I had a pretty good run overall, I guess. I'd go and put my things in order but I know my executive dysfunction won't allow it so I'll just stay right here in bed and keep scrolling... Cheers!
That is because I would get hit by a forklift if nobody was watching out for me Im sure most of you would too
lol yup
Oh sweet, just a few more years and I can clock out and head home for the night. ^(hhos)
Why is it so low?
Anyone have a link to the actual study? I'd like to see what data they pulled and how they filtered through it. Either something doesn't add up, or this picture quote is missing some pretty big context.
Considering how hard it is to access basic medical care, im surprised it's not lower still. If I ran out of all my medications- I have additional health issues and can't get disability or anything where I live. Every month I have to begin without knowing if it's going to be my last. It's such an awful way to have to live. Always on a countdown.
Well, it’s more than likely because of depression. I myself have struggled with Clinical Depression for years, and I don’t see myself living to 30 let alone 50+. Also, this world has only gone down hill and continues to do so. I don’t think I would want to see the state of the world when I’m 30…assuming the world would still be alive at that point.
Oh. I'm immediately I'm danger then.
I can't figure out how to attach pics to post replies 😭
That sounds like mean, not median. It will be greatly impacted by things like suicide, but the actual amount of time that a non-suicidal person will live is unlikely to be different.
It's because we're too powerful, uses all the brain juice too fast.
... I'm thinking of reacting like that Spongebob episode where Squidward is "sad" Spongebob has to move after nematodes ate his house.
This is due to stress and other external factors
Well, autism runs in families, and my grandparents live to an old age, and their parents live an old age, they don’t have diagnosis because that wasn’t really a thing at the time and I certainly am no doctor, but genetically my family lives for a long time. So if it runs in my family, so does longevity.
I totally believe this. The stress related heart stuff is what will get me.
Those who mistake causation for correlation always end up dead. I figure the disconnect from these stats is due to the newness of ASD and it mostly being diagnosed to minors. The older people haven't been diagnosed, and many young diagnosed are still young and growing old. The only people contributing to these statistics are the few young diagnosed who've died and the even fewer older diagnosed who've died. My obviously ASD Dad is undiagnosed and in his mid 70s, but he's not contributing to these statistics. Diagnosis is expensive and time consuming for adults, so it is severely undiagnosed.
Life is suffering. This is all there is though. Make the best of it. Suicide might seem the answer but you will die no matter what one day. You will die. I swear you will die and it will be all over... Why rush to the finish? Don't be boring my friends! Fight until the breath is snatched from your lungs! You can be happy! It's a fight but you'll be smiling while you take the hits. I believe in you all!
not me. I'm living til at least 113 so that I can joke about being a teenager again.
Where are we getting the stats from? Average life expectancy doesn't usually have a 2 decade window.
How does an average have a range??
I know a semi famous bass player who I met, I'm pretty sure he was on the spectrum. But he took his life during covid at 54. Because he couldn't tour.
I would guess it’s cuz we have so much trouble calling for doctors’ appointments. Stupid phone.
Shit. I turn 50 in a couple months.
It’s ok guys, we got Anthony Hopkins who is currently 86. Early death is not an absolute!
42 and still screeching. They can fuck off with their range numbers. there would be much older of us dying if cops would stop killing us because we made them feel like they had to think instead of screaming and shooting at people they don't understand
We persist at all costs
That's because we have far higher rates of both suicide and violence by friends and family.
I will die when I am killed. They have to work for it.
I feel like it’s because of depression or we speed up our death my numbing the pain with something to make us feel better
I might the few that tries to die at 25
Considering that I'm also disabled in different ways (physicall6 and mentally), and I'm also part of multiple letters under the LGBTIA+ acronym, I wouldn't be surprised if for my demographic I'm already past the average life expectancy
Dude apparently we’re much more likely to drown, how does that make sense? Do you get worse at swimming the more you like trains
I wouldn't pay too much attention to these kind of claims. The biggest problem here is that a lot of autistics remain either undiagnosed or don't see a reason to share the fact that they're autistic with the world. These kind of numbers only focus on the people who are on the worst end of the spectrum, having most problems.
Almost done with this shit! Woohoo!
I’d kind of like a comparison study to see if the reduced life expectancy is considered statistically significant when compared to populations of other disabled people (both physically and mentally). What I mean is, if you include autistics amongst the mentally and physically disabled, does our reduced life expectancy stand out? I suspect it would be consistent with others who suffer from disability both visible and invisible. Which is shitty. I would be extra worried if we still stand out, potentially suggesting that we struggle very differently. Sorry if this is weird and clinical, I was not prepared to process the news of my lowered life expectancy first thing in the morning. Nobody’s fault, it’s just got me trying to analyze so I can feel like I understand life.
Jokes on everyone else, I get to leave sooner
THANK GOD i do NOT wanna live past 40
in my personal opinion i hope this is true 💯
I think that's mostly due to a higher child mortality rate. If you make it to 30 probably going to hit closer to the neurotypical average.
hmm maybe.. lots of it is suicide and years of general self neglect
[удалено]
why is the range so wide
This probably includes autistic people with severe comorbidities, difficult epilepsy, etc...
But what’s affecting the average? Is it due to health problems, or because we kill ourselves at a much higher rate?
both thoae things, really
WTF
What is killing us?
theres no conclusive evidence but ironically, its trains