Autistics die a lot younger then the general population

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If one has "uncomplicated" autism, I don't believe lifespan is affected.

If one has a genetic syndrome in addition to autism, lifespan could very well be affected.

It is not me who split autistics into different catagories, the study found a 14 year difference in lifespan between those with and without "intellectual disability" which is pretty much the definition of the low and high functioning labels.

I hope we both do not need to be sensitive about cancer soon.

How, does one find out if they have a genetic syndrome?

Sometimes, a genetic syndrome is obvious--like Down Syndrome, for example.

When it's not so obvious, genetic testing is performed.

Even if a genetic difference is found, it doesn't mean lifespan is affected.

Well the result shouldn't be too surprising. Of course people with epilepsy that die at a young age and children/young adults that commit suicide are going to bring the average life expectancy down. Reminds me of high school where you could get multiple A's on your tests, but if you totally bombed just a single test it would require you to get so many A's to bring your average back to an A. I skipped a large assignment once because of anxiety and got 0/60 when tests are usually on 20. I still passed (barely), somehow.

The myth: In 1900, world life expectancy was just 31 years! Reality: In 1900, childhood deaths due to disease (mostly the result of poor hygiene) lowered the life expectancy artificially. Individuals who lived to adulthood ended up living about as long as we do today.

Similarly, in autistic life expectancy, these reported figures are also artificially exaggerated because they conflate unusually frequent younger deaths with the overall autism community. Could a disproportionate number of autistic individuals be successfully suicidal? I suspect so. Could the ("hidden") autistic community be dying in greater numbers because a disproporationate number of its people are living unhealthy lifestyles (alcohol, drug abuse)? Yes.

Statistics can seem damning when they aren't really so.

I would purport that around 1900, people tended to live in their 60's through 80's; whereas people today tend to live to their 70s through 90s.

People would find it ridiculous, these days, if someone would cease all working activity at age 65. That wasn't the case in the early 20th century. This is owing to the rigors of life then.

If you look at photographs of 30-year-old people in 1900, versus 30-year-old people today, you'd see a vast difference. People in their 30s then tended to look in their 40s, or even 50s, then.

It's weird because I never knew autism was such an unhealthy condition until I came on WP. I always thought autism was just a neurological disorder, different wiring of the brain, but otherwise physically normal (unless a person has a physical condition as well as autism).

I read people with Down's Syndrome have less life span than NTs, with other health conditions like heart disease or whatever it is, but I never thought autism alone causes one to be of ill health and die early. I've always been physically healthy, and no physical abnormalities. When I was diagnosed with AS, I wasn't checked for any physical conditions.

Autism, in and of itself, does not cause any physical ailments.

Many people with autism has ailments which people with such things as anxiety and depression suffer from.

Yes, I knew that too. But I don't know why everything else becomes associated with autism when I visit autism forums though. I know hearing and sight problems can be associated with autism because of sensory issues with sounds, and most people with autism seem to wear glasses.

When I saw the thread title, my initial reaction was: "Well, good!" Because given how unpleasant many autistics' lives are, I don't want a long life. Just enough to outlive all my older family members, so they don't have to deal with the tragedy of outliving me. Plus, I refuse to ever get married or have kids, given how men get treated in relationships nowadays, so no one will really benefit from me living long, either.

But when I read the explanations, I wasn't surprised. After all, all autistics have two ever-present elements in their lives: fear and stress. It's fear during childhood, when harmless household objects (like a heating vent) terrify you, and stress during adulthood, when you struggle to cope with social expectations. There's also some overlap between the two. So it's only a matter of time before they take a toll on a person's nervous system and shorten their lifespan.

Not sure this is the thread to ask about the 'association of autism with everything' question.

If you read the links, you would see the associations they speak of.

If you're autistic, it will affect everything. Period. Just like being male or female or transgendered affects everything. Just like being right or left handed affects everything.

Just because you're pissed off doesn't mean the findings are invalid. But, this thread is about mortality and ASD. And, there are strong correlations.

But, if you want to question how it affects 'everything' that would ba different thread because it is so wide ranging.

I'm autistic and I'm healthy. I'm also happy to be alive.

And in all sincerity, I am glad too.

I agree. I also choose to be happy and live life to the fullest. I talk about these things on WP, but I don't dwell on them. My time will come when it comes and I've got a lot of living to do in the meantime. I also find the findings very valid. I also disagree that autism is an unhealthy condition on it's own. If I tried really hard to be like my NT peers, I'd be very miserable.