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An Exploration of Why Autistic Adults Are Practicing Consensual Non-Monogamy
Autistic people are more likely to report difficulty making and sustaining relationships,1-3 leading to assumptions that they aren’t drawn to socializing, but we now know that autistic people desire and benefit from platonic, romantic, and physical relationships to a similar degree as...
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Autism, Technology, and Older Adults: Facing an Unexpected Set of Challenges
As an engineer who has been involved with technology his entire life, and an older adult on the autism spectrum, I have always felt that, in my case, there was always a strong connection between the two. Although the notion that autistics are generally inclined towards technology has become a...
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How Preparing Early Improves Independent Living in Adulthood
It is never too early to prepare for any skill, but especially skills needed to live independently. Many young adults feel that moving out on their own is a rite of passage, whether that be attending college to live in a dormitory, renting their own apartment, buying their first home, among many...
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Adult Sibling Support
Siblings often have the longest-lasting relationships of their lives with each other. With this lifelong connection, siblings have a great opportunity to support each other. In families where a person has a disability, the roles that siblings play may be different – not only in childhood and...
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What Happens When the Teacher Is on the Spectrum? An Interview with a Pre-Service Teacher with ASD
With more and more people with ASD becoming adults, enrollment in higher education is also increasing for this population. Science, technology, engineering, and math majors are popular with students with ASD but what about education? An undergraduate education major with ASD was interviewed about...
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Social Activities and Communities for Individuals with Autism: Meeting a Basic Human Need
Social activities, as engagement with a community to which one belongs, are an essential part of life for most people. Unfortunately, for autistics, there are often barriers that prevent them from participating in such. Before I address these issues, however, I need to emphasize that the commonly...
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How to Build a Satisfying Recreation Program for Adults with Disabilities
Andrew Auerbach, 63, has been going on weekend recreation trips with Chapel Haven Schleifer Center in New Haven, CT, since he arrived at the recreation program for adults with disabilities in 1977. Andy, who grew up on the Upper West Side of NYC, holds two part-time jobs during the week, so the...
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Supporting Pioneers: Building Better Networks for Adults Aging with Autism
Although traditionally understood as a childhood condition, autism is a lifelong disorder that presents in both children and adults. Many of the children with this disorder who were born during the last century and who are now reaching mid- and later-life did not receive formal diagnoses of autism....
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Autism After 65 – Making the Most of the Golden Years
For the most part, this article is not based on research. I am using personal life experiences and the reports of individuals with whom I have corresponded and/or personally known for many years through research for my previous book, The Partner’s Guide to Asperger Syndrome. Many of the subjects...
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Older Adults on the Spectrum Face a Variety and Number of Major Challenges
In spite of being fortunate enough to have avoided many of the challenges presented by aging on the autism spectrum, I nevertheless feel that I am in a position to write about these as an older adult on the spectrum who recently became a senior citizen. I was already a middle-aged adult (age 44) at...
