transitioning towards living independently as an autistic adult
Transitioning towards living independently as an autistic adult is an impossible dream for many of us parents of autistic children. According to one study, only 19% of our autistic kids are able to achieve the goal of transitioning towards living independently as an autistic adult. It goes on to state that only 1 in 5 of our kids on the autism spectrum ever lived independently between high school and their twenties. https://drexel.edu/~/media/Files/autismoutcomes/publications/LCO%20Fact%20Sheet%20Living%20Arrangements.ashx.
Our autistic kids age out of the school system usually by the age of 21. With very few services for adults with autism, many of them are falling through the cracks of an overwhelmed system, as the rate of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is now 1 in 54, according to the CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/addm.html
Most of our autistic kids are unable to achieve the goal of transitioning towards living independently as an autistic adult secondary to impaired communication, lack of ability for self-care, the inability to manage money and pay bills, as well as getting and keeping a job. Most of our autistic kids grow into adulthood living at home with aging parents or confined to a residential or group home.
Lying awake at night wondering what will happen to our autistic kids after we are gone is the stuff of nightmares.
My last post was about my son Luke facing hurricane Elsa. Riding Out the Hurricane of Autism He survived the hurricane on his own, refusing my help to come rescue him. He wanted to show me, as well as himself, that he’s in control of his own life and life choices. As some of you may know by now, I never thought this day would come when he was a child. Luke was considered severely autistic at one point. He was nonverbal, his behavior was out of control and he couldn’t even tie his own shoes or count money. But when he was around the age of 12 I told him that he needed to start cleaning up after himself and taking care of himself, that I wouldn’t always be around to do everything for him. I started out by having him put his dishes in the dishwasher after each meal. He squawked and carried on, but with determination (gritting my teeth), patience and consistency, he finally got to where he would put away his dishes and clean the table without having a meltdown. I then moved on to having him wash his own clothes. I showed him how to load the washing machine and measure the detergent, and then how to remove the lint from the dryer filter. After he got the hang of self-care, I taught him how to count money and balance his checkbook.
Because we started at a young age, Luke was ready to transition from being a dependent child with autism to living independently as an adult. It also helped tremendously that we detoxed him for heavy metals, healed his leaky gut and removed dairy, gluten and sugar from his diet. The combination of biomedical treatments, speech therapy and getting him ready at a young age enabled Luke to succeed independently as an adult!
7 steps for transitioning towards living independently as an autistic adult:
- strengthen communication skills
- work on self-care skills
- work on household chores
- teach safety skills
- teach money management
- work on vocational skills while still in high school
- consider detoxing for heavy metals, if indicated, and addressing any leaky gut issues through a qualified healthcare provider
It’ll take hard work, determination, lots of patience and compassion, but our kids can fulfill our dreams of them transitioning towards living independently as an autistic adult. And then we’ll all be able to sleep in peace every night!
Latest posts by scarlett (see all)
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- Transitioning Towards Living Independently as an Autistic Adult - July 18, 2021
Hi, I work in an independent specialist school for kids with ASD. (In the UK) You are absolutely spot on highlighting those fundamental life skills and the earlier the better, so the skills can be practiced over and over, whilst they have time.
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