A Spectrum of Obstacles

It is critical to improve access to healthcare for autistic people of all ages. This population have increased health risks and reduced life expectancy, yet face multiple obstacles to accessing the same healthcare that other population groups enjoy. The knock-on effect of poor access to healthcare on physical and mental health, on employment and the economy, on quality of life and mortality, leads us to request positive action now.

Hollywood films such as Rain Man and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape have introduced neurotypical audiences to the complex condition that is autism (with the help on non-autistic actors). But on Autistic Pride Day, those living with it speak for themselves, and celebrate the unique way that autism affects each of them.

from the United Kingdom

Baker Small apologises after series of tweets appeared to gloat at parents who failed to win funding of their children’s special needs provision

A law firm that specialises in contesting claims for children with special educational needs (SEN) has apologised after publishing a series of tweets that appeared to gloat at parents.

Emily Underwood

People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) die on average 18 years before the general population, according to a report released today by Autistica, a philanthropic group based in the United Kingdom. People with both ASD and an intellectual disability die even younger, on average 30 years earlier than those without the conditions.

Certain groups of autistic people die 30 years younger than their peers, say charity Autistica, calling for an immediate review into autism deaths.

Premature deaths among autistic people are at “shocking levels” according to a charity report which found that certain groups with the condition die 30 years younger than the general population.

•  Michael Fitzpatrick 

Autism's premature mortality rate

Donald Grey Triplett was the first person to be diagnosed with autism. The fulfilling life he has led offers an important lesson for today, John Donvan and Caren Zucker write.

After Rain Man, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, the next great autism portrayal the stage or screen might want to consider taking on is the life of one Donald Grey Triplett, an 82-year-old man living today in a small town in the southern United States, who was there at the very beginning, when the story of autism began.

These four misconceptions about autism are damaging and in desperate need of debunking, as Steve Silberman explores.

By Steve Silberman, 6 October 2015

from http://www.bbc.com/future/story/2015100…

Currently, the most high-profile person on the autistic spectrum in Britain is a garden designer with flamboyantly pink hair and muscly, tattooed arms.