Abstract

An article by Associate Professor Amanda Richdale in InPhych magazine.

Adulthood has been a neglected area of research into autism spectrum disorder (autism) but is currently experiencing an increase in interest. Recent UK data estimate the prevalence of autism in adults at 1.1 per cent (Brugha et al., 2016). In early data from the Autism CRC Australian Longitudinal Study of School Leavers with Autism aged 15 to 25 years, half of participants self-reported diagnosis at nine years of age or older. The Autism CRC Australian Longitudinal Study of Adults with Autism (ALSAA; age 25+ years) found that 94 per cent of self-reporting individuals received an autism diagnosis at 10 years or older. Thus, many adolescents and adults with autism may not be identified until they come to the psychologist’s attention when they present with other psychological problems.

Citation

Richdale, A. (2017, April). Adults with autism: What do we know and what are the implications for psychology? InPsych, 39. Australian Psychological Society.