Before autism diagnoses, patients poorly treated and institutionalized

Jessica Wright | Atlantic | December 11, 2015

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For these reasons, what autism looks like in older adulthood, and what it means to age with autism, are still mysteries, says Piven. “We don’t have that concept with autism that people live a whole life: What happened to them as they got older? This is just a huge area of no knowledge. There’s almost nothing written about autism and geriatric populations.”So far, the few studies of older adults with autism suggest they suffer from myriad health conditions and lack appropriate support.

In studying this lost generation, Piven’s team and a few others are uncovering hints about the nature of aging with autism—along with some harrowing stories.One reason older adults with autism are hard to find is that for decades, many of them were literally hidden, says David Mandell, an associate professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania. Until the 1980s, it was common practice to institutionalize people with the disorder.

Read full, original post: Autism’s Lost Generation