preschool classroom source Article

Difficulties Of An Autistic Adult
By Jonathan Sullivan
That's right, autistic kids grow up. This entire text has been devoted to the autistic child, but what about autistic adults? What kinds of difficulties do autistic adults have when they are in our society, at the workplace, or raising a family of their own? Many autistic adults work, go to school, and live a semi-normal life. There are autistic professors at universities, autistic doctors, and there are some autistic adults that work at Burger King. Remember each autistic person is an individual and has different abilities according to their autism.

One of the challenges the autistic adults have the face is assumptions about their ability to do a task. An employer or co-worker will not assign a specific work related task to an autistic adult employee because it is assumed that they cannot do the task or will not do it correctly. These assumptions are picked up by the autistic adult and emotional pain is felt when they are judged by their peers. They have a want and a right to try any task that is put before another peer and not be prejudged.

The world also has trouble with the autistic adult not being able to initiate a conversation or other social interaction. Most autistic adults have trouble giving eye contact and in the work place there are people that do not understand this and will be offended because of it. Shaking hands and other social gestures are sometimes difficult for them. Some adults will even avoid using the bathroom because the interaction in a closed public restroom is to much for them to bear. The employer should be educated on the behaviors of their autistic employee and precautions should be put in place to avoid embarrassment and miscommunication.

Hygiene is another problem for the autistic adult. Some autistic adults have a hard time combing their hair or brushing

their teeth. Sensitivity in these areas cause them to avoid grooming or bathing all together. Some avoid and some just give up. They know they have problems and after awhile it is easier to ignore them than to face them at all. Simple chores like laundry may be ignored and the employees and other adults in the workplace can make some pretty cruel comments about the cleanliness of the adult.

Eating and nutrition are sometimes a problem for the autistic adult. They will refuse any food that offends their senses or gives them a bad feeling. Sometimes they will not know how to prepare food and will eat less nutritious foods in substitute. The act of deciding what too much food is and what is to little is another issue. Sometimes an autistic adult will gorge themselves when eating, while another individual will eat just enough to stay alive. Some autistic adults have quirks about what and how they eat. Foods sometimes need to be separated from other foods or a mixture of foods will cause a bad reaction.

If you have an autistic child that is an adult or you are an autistic adult reading this, the only way that the uninformed public to understand what autism is and how it affects the individual is awareness and education. Hopefully the world will learn and understand the special nature of an autistic child and adult and they can embrace the uniqueness and understand their issues.

Learn about autism statistics and types of autism at the Autism Diagnosis site.