Autism & Life Expectancy 

I think the theory of it being because society hates us is correct. It's what makes me want to give up. That includes really nasty counselors and doctors.

As an autistic person that has tried to kill himself 3 times and failed, I absolutely agree that this world does not care about me, as society is currently constructed.

There have also been stories of autistic children being MURDERED by their caregivers. The most disturbing part is that people show sympathy for the killer for being "overwhelmed" by the victim.

A lot of autistic women are psychologically "fawning" to death: people-pleasing to diffuse conflict and re-establish safety. "Fawning" is a response to trauma. "Fawn types seek safety by merging with the wishes, needs and demands of others. They act as if they unconsciously believe that the price of admission to any relationship is the forfeiture of all their needs, rights, preferences and boundaries"-- Pete Walker, The 4F's: A Trauma Typology in Complex Trauma

I’m still alive and kicking at 68. I have not been diagnosed but all the tests that I’ve taken I score high as autistic. I have depression and PTSD and anxiety physical comorbidities are typical for somebody on the spectrum. I just wish that doctors could spend more than 15 minutes with each patient. When I told my GP that I felt I was on the spectrum he acted like I didn’t say anything and just went on with his business. Oh yes, I forgot to say I’m female. We need more people who are good at diagnosing somewhere on the spectrum and we need more doctors who are willing to work with people On the spectrum.

The trauma never ends. The stigma is terrible. It really isn't worth living with high functioning autism and severe adhd. Doctors/therapists are abjectly useless, and wider society demonstrates extreme intolerance. I read a comment today from a UK man who says all those on either spectrums should be" got rid of ". His words. Paradoxically, I do wish I could wind up dead, not to disparage myself at all, but simply to escape from human society, the cruelty and torment. Most days my existence is so painful that I can feel my personality drastically altering from what it once was. I'm not emotionally responsive anymore towards issues I once would have cared about. I feel as though my character has degraded. I don't have any hope left that ASD stigma will fade as time goes on. I wish things could have been better.

The idea that society hates us comes from us being portrayed as a burden and those expressing a desire for a cure.

i’m a suicide attempt survivor. this shite aint fun. but i’m here. and tomorrow i’ll be here too,, love you guys .💗

I definitely get sick of being on this earth more often than I should 😞

most people with Autism have PTSD, caused by living in an NT society similar to that of someone having been thru a tour in a warzone

My father had mental illness and committed suicide. My son has autism and I am currently in the process of getting my diagnosis. I appreciate you sharing this information and helping bring awareness and acceptance!

I'm currently age 36 and have been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome since a teenager in school. I was shocked to find out the average lifespan of Autism ranged between 36 to 54. I strongly feel as though I have the potential to live up to and above the age of 80. My only potential concern is about sustaining long-term employment in my 50's, 60's and 70's. However I'm hopeful that over time more and more companies will embrace neurodiversity in the workplace based on more understanding and awareness of Autism and Aspergers Syndrome.

A lot of people with autism don't recognize when they are physically or mentally unwell. Many have had truly horrendous experiences with medical/mental health professionals. Because we have been mistreated by the very people who are meant to help us, even if we recognize that we are unwell, we may be reluctant or unable to ask for help. Also, some with autism have unusual pain thresh holds, and don't really recognize they are unwell until they are severely unwell. A perfect case in point: In 2013, I went to the doctor for refills on my blood pressure meds. I had to go to the health department, as my family had lost our health insurance. When they took my blood pressure, it was 202/120. Immediately I was given an EKG. The doctor then asked me when I had had my heart attack? I asked him, "what heart attack?" He showed me on the EKG strip the evidence of prior heart attack, and the resulting damage. He was dumbfounded by the fact that I had literally walked into the clinic with my blood pressure at stroke levels and was unaware of any symptoms. I am medically trained (by my job) to recognize signs of heart attack/stroke, yet failed to recognize them in myself. Your example of your experience with chronic depression, and my experience with heart attack are but 2 of potentially many that occur in our population, that could have had very tragic outcomes. In my opinion, medical/mental health professionals MUST have a better understanding of ASD,and the problems likely to occur with people who are autistic, in order to avoid the barriers to autistic people getting proper care.

As someone with Asperger's, I had long suspected this. The sheer number of hurdles that exist in a society not constructed towards high functioning autistic people, it just makes sense. Going back to my teens, when I really started realizing I was never going to be "normal" or fit into society, I have never believed I'd live to an old age. Even with the best efforts of my doctors, my anxiety, severe depression, and suicidal thoughts (with a few attempts) are always present. Frankly, I'm shocked I am still here at age 42. Things just aren't getting better for me, with more vision problems, serious allergies, chronic pain, and other issues gradually getting worse. At this point, making it to age 54 seems like a pipe dream.

I think society is a lot more strict on women to behave and look a certain way. A lot of us are also trained to think we have an expiry date. If you're not married by a certain age, you're done. So I can see how that would shift the balance a lot, and you'd reach the point of hopelessness a lot sooner. I've experienced suicidal ideation since age 16 too (just now over half my life), and mental health providers don't know how to deal with that. They can only deal with suicidal thoughts when it's acute and temporary, not when it's milder and never seems to go away. I saw a video from Dr Grande a few days back explaining both those types require different types of treatment, and I've never had a mental health provider who seemed to know that. And maybe it might not look as dangerous if you're not desperate to do it immediately, but after you've had 15 years to consider all your plans and options, getting it done right is much easier than someone who has thought about it for a short period of time of acute distress (so is more likely to survive the attempt).

It's also worth noting that a lot of people with autism have comorbid psychiatric disorders which can increase the risk of suicide.

I feel like not wanting to be here is my automatic response. It always has been. I found life so overwhelming and painful, and didnt understand what was wrong with me (i grew up undiagnosed). Counsellors, therapists, my family, used to say things like 'but you CAN help it, you need to try harder' while either punishing me or laughing at my struggles. I attempted several times in my teen years, and was institutionalised and misdiagnosed. Told i was to blame for the issues i had, told to work harder, put on meds that i didnt need. I was punished consistently for what is normal Autistic behaviour, and became totally perfectionistic and self hating. Im 25 now and know im Autistic, but all of that pain i grew up with, will never go away. Im usually a positive person but existing in this world, society, regularly has me going back to my default. 'theres no place for me here' 'im not meant for this world'. I know logically thats not inherently true, but it feels so true when youre living it every day.

Stephanie, this is right on. For my entire life I have been treated like a hypochondriac, first by family then by doctors as soon as I grew up. I just got diagnosed with Asperger's type autism, Level 2, at age 50. But I had to see a specialist privately, sidestepping the regular healthcare system, in order to even be considered for assessment. When I had the assessment my scores were very high on all the tests, extremely high on others, and it was easy for the psychologist to identify the autism despite all the 'masking' and despite my age.

It's hard to live in a society that wasn't designed for us not to go joker on you

I'm autistic snd it's a living 24/7 hell. I struggle with dark thoughts, feel like I don't belong here, feel like I'm a burden to society. It's chronic and painful.

I worked out I was on the spectrum. Somehow my 3 neurologists, schools, doctors, therapists and psychologists didn't work it out. It makes me so mad. My life has been a nightmare. I'm finally starting to get some help at age 30 but it's still hard to hold on sometimes. My stepdad was undiagnosed adhd and aspie and he took his own life last September. I'm an only child with a sole parent living elsewhere. I'm just... so tired of it all

Well one thing that I have found is that I feel like I am aging faster than the average person. I can't handle the higher stress work environments.

After being severely depressed for a long time my mother finally convinced me to see a doctor I'll never forget this licensed doctor looking at me (who couldnt look at her or speak from anxiety and stress) and then telling my mom that "her daughter doesn't like to come out of her room either that's just how teenagers are" I've been even more terrified then I was to begin with to get help since.

I'd also like to add that the stress of being undiagnosed Autistic for years and years and years can cause chronic illness. When I asked my father what my grandfather had when he died (around age 60) my father replied "basically everything". He had ended up in the hospital after developing several chronic illnesses one after the other. Then he died. When I was a little girl my dad had psoriasis (autoimmune). It went away by the time the I was in 7th grade. Right about that time my father was diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis (autoimmune). One month later he was diagnosed with Crohns disease (autoimmune). Not to mention stomache and digestion and intestinal illnesses/issues are a huge part of our Neurodevelopmental difference, coupled with the stress of living as an Autistic person. My dad went on to being diagnosed with high blood pressure. Followed by Congestive heart failure. Followed by stage 3 kidney failure which took his life at the age of 63 on the morning of my 31st birthday in 2007. I had suicidal thoughts at the age of 13 (in 8th grade). It was 1990 and the stigma on mental health was strong. If you didn't live back than, you couldn't even begin to imagine. Thank goodness for the progress have made with that- we all should be grateful for. Still have a long way to go, but I would never be able to explain what it was like to go through that at that age during that period in time. No school counselors. Teachers not paying attention to major changes in a student's behavior (no acceptance, recognition, or empathy for why the student was acting different.) I would like to make something abundantly clear though. Recently looking back at that time (before I even received my recent Autism diagnosis at age 46), I thought about if the stigma about mental health had been less back then, if we had school counselors, and if my teachers had cared/had concern and had reached out to me. I thought, "Omg! I still wouldn't have been able to express myself, would have felt overwhelmed by all of the people trying to get me to talk to them, and don't think it (including the counseling) would have helped me." The rest of junior high and high school was constant stress, coupled by a few tamatic events the last half of my Senior year, and moving 7 different times in the period of 9 months (if I had only known the stress of change, let alone moving residents in a short period of time was so traumatic for an Autistic person...) All this to say that by 1997 I almost died. I had felt really sick, but not "traditional" sick. So I pushed myself, working a full time job that kept me on my feet all day, and pushing myself to not let anyone down anywhere else. I was constantly thirsy, always had to pee (which was coupled by weird pain in my lower back - my kidneys), was always nauseous, had trouble eating, was unusually dizzy, and breath felt weird while my heart pounded.) I have since learned that part of this lack of stopping to check in with myself was difficulty with Interoception. I went on for 2 weeks like this, until I had a meltdown. ONLY THEN, did I make a Dr's appointment. I had lost 20 ponds without even noticing that my body had changed. My symptoms were signs of type I (no working pancreas) diabetes. I had blood work done. Got a call very early the next morning to get to the Emergency Department immediately. My blood sugar was well over 700. I got there and they checked to see if I had gone into keto acidosis (caused by a toxin that is produced when your body is no longer able to turn insulin into energy, and ALL of your energy comes from fat being broken down in your body's desperate attempt to stay alive). If I had waited one or two more days I would have gone into a coma or have been dead. I now also have had Leukemia for a year. Do I believe that getting these illnesses are connected to being undiagnosed Autistic. Yes.

I have met too many abusive and neglectful healthcare workers, especially being hospitalized in Norfolk, Virginia. Been hospitalized around 50 times for extreme depression i've had since I was 5 as well as PTSD and was only diagnosed with autism a couple years ago. The school system I went through was a joke and helped laid the foundation for all the trauma I bear now, looking upon our hellish world today with the rise of fascism. I have to fight to stay alive.

My only guess on why autistic women have a higher risk of dying/suicide is maybe because most women that are autistic don’t know they are autistic and trying to find themselves ever since. They are some people that think that women can’t be autistic which isn’t true. It is rarer than Men and its hard to tell on a women since it’s isn’t as visible than men. Very sad that Autistic people die at a young age. Lets hope we can find any loving person that will help us be on track so we don’t be suicidal by feeling rejected and dying early.

I have always been suicidal, since I was 8-9 years old. My physical and mental health is very deteriorated right now and I do not have support from my family, other than from my father who is very ignorant to understand me better and to take it more calmly, also it's difficult to me to talk with my words to bring him more information. My sister thinks that I am a hypochondriac and mythomaniac, she says that autism is an invention of "science" to make money and that dentists are sadists, she despise hospitals ... she thinks that stones heal, yes for real, stones finded in the streets, she has drugged my parents with psychedelics giving them terribly false hopes that it will take away all their problems but it just put all their troubles and mental healt down the sewers, it makes me despise to anyone who thinks remotely in a "hippie" way, she also drugged me at my 21 years old, and by claiming her, she has been so offended, my father is my only company at the moment and I feel death close every time I wake up. I am about to go to therapy but it is very difficult because we are poor and also i need a doctor. So, I am an autistic woman living in povery in a country that does nearly nothing for disabilities and mental health systems (Mexico) I know i'm in high risk, and i hope my words don't put down some others, I just wanted to take this off my body 'cause it's freaking heartbreaking this reality and this lack of hope rather than these moments when i feel connect with the autistic comunity arround the world, arround internet. Thank you, Stephanie, your videos are very much informative and imparcial and I can feel the effort and passion you put in every one of them, I know that this research has ben difficult, I hope you're doing well.

I was 9 when first Diagnosed with autism I am 65 now I am still alive and doing good I have mostly trouble with lights and sound and talking to others I am targeted by marinist and sociopaths and one psychopath, but I am strong a fighter and I bounce back. I am still here I am planning on being here for a very long time healthy and in good shape for my age. I am one the very few who never been depressed my dad said because I am strong willed and a fighter. Growing up being bullied was a everyday thing just about but for me more adults than kids growing up and now it is the same adults. I think to survive a long life with autism you have to be strong, and a fighter never give up.

This is an important video and I thank you for posting it. Society hates all people who are 'different", not just autistics. We are a threat to their comfort and safety. But in this world a little kindness can go a long way. What you are doing is an act of kindness that will repay you. Thank you!

Huge hug to everyone on this boat 🥺🖤 Thank you for the video

Hey I feel ya completely. I also feel terrible that doctors don’t listen. I’m just thankful that my GP doesn’t do that. If I tell him I am having symptoms he will 100% have me screened for whatever could be wrong. Autistic people like us need to be seen by doctors who specialize in autistic people.

with those statistics I'm surprised I'm not suicidal or depressed 😳

Thank you for this video Stephanie. My main reason for coming out as a autistic was to shine a light on it. But there are many who don’t understand. I appreciate everything you are doing to bring attention to this issue. We’ve lost so many. My father and his mother included. I have sensory processing issues and alexithymia. If I didn’t decide to educate myself on where on the spectrum related to me. I wouldn’t have been able to recognize it in me or my children. I am 52. But I love life. And my wish is to continue to live out loud unafraid. If not for me then for my children. So thank you. ♥️🙏🏽

Great video. Anecdotally, I know of way too many autistic people who have died of SUDEP (sudden unexplained death in epilepsy), and think it is also underreported. I know personally or personally of three people with asd who have died of SUDEP, most with intellectual disability but some without, but I know people who know countless other people who have passed. I worry about losing several other autistic people in my life to it too. It haunts me especially because there’s no way to know how long many of the people I love have left- they could pass after a long life or of sudep next week despite controlled seizures. I also think the medical side effects of a lot of medications autistic people are put on can also lead to long term health issues and increased mortality, which is why I question the frequency of the use of antipsychotics in the asd population. Additionally, many autistic people (especially with ID) have genetic disorders causing metabolic dysfunction or which otherwise increase the risk of death. I think that many health issues in nonverbal people also go untreated as a consequence of behavioral models.

I am 25 & on the spectrum. This video is well made and I agree with many of your points. I spend at least one day a week backing away from the edge and it's becoming increasingly more difficult as I get older. Right now, I'm stressing over finding a new job and it's been the hardest it's ever been. My credentials and past experience are "shiny," but I'm terrible at interviews because they always seem like a life-or-death situation, especially with the anxiety-filled wait that comes after. That voice saying "you deserve a forever break" keeps getting stronger even after seeing many doctors, therapists, and psychologists. It was almost comforting to know that I don't have to live as long as NTs. I'm sorry if this sounds so dark.

Thank you for the video Stephanie. I'm not sure how much longer I will keep going for, the loneliness gets hard to handle sometimes. All the therapists I've seen say the same thing "just put yourself out there" it's not quite as easy as that when I got to my 40's and haven't been on a date of any sort.

Almost every word you said describes how I get treated although high functioning people still treat me like a naive idiot, like my words are just nonsense, like I am less than they know better. Tbh most NTs I know seem like the ones with learning difficulties. Their minds are so closed to anything outside their preferred knowledge bubble they’re not open to other opinions to leaning new information. They’re all like “if I can do or it everyone can” or “if its not a problem to me then its not a problem to anyone” calling us over sensitive when they can be very insensitive. Though in terms of stress shortening our lifespan I recently discovered about autisms short lifespan it’s really upsetting me not only is my current life and situation stressful with a family that isn’t helping and adding to that stress. My medication I need shortens my lifespan as it is I probably only have 14-24 years left to live most people say “live every day like it’s your last” would be nice If what makes me happy and what I’d like to do wasn’t behind locked doors that I am on a long ass waiting list to be let through those doors I don’t have the time to rely on the unreliable but I have no other choice.

It is a massive learning curve, at 55 learning partially at the autism show, NEC last year ppl talk about stimming, masking & how much in life l had been doing this. It completely f***s up your school life & everything else onwards. Learning recently on co-morbidity as opposed to depression was a breakthrough too

I can relate so well. Knowing how I feel is not normal, is what caused me to kind of make masking my special interest what is appropriate behaviour/inappropriate behaviour and how to avoid seeming inappropriate to others.

Great video as usual. I’m loving the new background, but agree that the light reflection is a tad distracting. I love that the CC is complete, punctuation marks and everything. That’s so rare in videos these days, yet so helpful.

It’s tough as an autistic child (esp. undiagnosed) because anxiety is normal and has been normal for my whole life. My parents were upset with me that I didn’t tell them about my bad mental health until I was a teenager. But I didn’t know that it wasn’t normal to always be afraid of things blowing up, or thinking that I was going to be poisoned (psychosis, not autism). I knew I could tell my parents everything, but as a child I rarely even thought to discuss my worries.

As an Autism person I was really unwell for years I would go to the doctor and tell him some was not right he would give me some pain killers and told me that I was fake it got so bad that I one Day I fainted at work and I got some really help just so people know please listen to us some can tell what happening

Suicide definitely plays a huge part. It's dragging down our average, as are the physical comorbids (things like POTS and EDS)

This video was posted a day before my 20th birthday... and I unironically was diagnosed with mild autism... At a psych ward once.. no wonder I unusually hate everything especially when things don't go my way.. or when people pick on me.. for a sadistic pleasure.. beyond fucked up..

Girl, you nailed it. So timely for me personally. God bless you♥️🤗♥️

As someone who has ASD, TBI, AvPD, depression, and type 1 diabetes, I'm disappointed I haven't died yet, I'm ready to get tf off this ride!

currently struggling with this reality right now. Autism is amazing but a serious fucker sometimes. It's because society shoves us down to honestly feel untouchable and it's constant stress for many of us. I love things about mine but damn I see why the stress for so long does something later...

I’ve been battling depression before I was diagnosed as mild ASD and adhd. I think it’s wrong that doctors don’t investigate and just assume we are lying.

August 2023 and just seeing this. You've put together the best presentation on this that I've seen because you made it personal with your feelings and experiences.

Thank you so much for doing this video. My beloved daughter died by suicide when she was 23 . She struggled so deeply and we only finally got an accurate diagnosis of autism months before she died, after a decade of being misdiagnosed repeatedly. The awareness about girls and autism twenty years ago wasn’t there .

I subscribed to your channel a bit before I got my official diagnosis. I can't tell you how much your videos have helped me navigate understanding myself as a neurodivergent woman.

I was told I had a sinus infection when I was about 20. I disagreed with the doctor and she didn’t listen I knew I felt like I was dying but that’s all I could really explain it as a headache, low fever, weird heart rate and blood pressure and a general internal bad feeling... I said my nose had been a little runny which in the grand scheme it was very average but she took that and ran with it instead of asking any other questions and she ignored me when I disagreed and sent me home. I went to my parents house(my parents always thought I was being dramatic hypochondriac growing up so they also thought nothing of it) and slept about 18 hours which is highly unusual for me. when I woke up I had obvious signs of sepsis. I thought I was just groggy when I woke up I didn’t realize I was mostly in a confused mental state by this point. I was lucky I showed my mom the inflamed blood vessels on my arm at all because I figured she would blow it off and kinda showed it to her jokingly. Lucky my mom knew this was a very bad sign and rushed me to the ER where they triaged me as a 2 which is just under someone having a extreme major event like a gun shot to the abdomen etc. I got set up on some of the strongest antibiotics known at the time and the doctor told me if it had been another hour or so we would have likely amputated your arm. Another 24 hours without coming in you would likely be dead. I came back the next day and received another huge dose of antibiotics and was fine after that but I’ve had chronic health issues that intensified dramatically from that point on and if I would have been listened to or understood as not dramatic but in serious need of help much of the damage done to my body could have been prevented

I will be 65 this year but was only diagnosed 10 years ago after long-term unemployment which continues to this day. Recently I had a dream where a doctor said that I would die at age 67 so in case this will be true I am becoming more actively religious and spoke to a priest earlier today.

I appreciate you saying that I matter, but I cannot see it. I am tired. Almost 51. Thank you for this video. I wish it would be heard. I wish I was loved. i hide in a dark apartment every day for years now waiting for this to end. I'm sorry to share negativity. I'm just sorry to be here... Thank you though. You seem sweet.

My son is autistic and he said he will have to just adapt, I told him no we can adapt too. It’s not just his responsibility! Just like every other autistic individuals.

Yeah,, I hear you. I decided a long time ago that I would probably die during a grand mal seizure. But I can't afford to think about it, let alone worry. My mother always told me I was courageous. I get it. Thanks, Stephanie.

Thank you for sharing this video Stephany. It makes me realize how important education, social, healthcare and community support is essential for helping, not hurting, people like me and others with autism.

I feel you very strongly with this, thank you for this video. The world is already so incredibly hard and difficult for us and then we get treated in such an abysmal way by doctors, psychologists and society in general? Sometimes I wish we could all just have our own fluffy planet where everyone would get accepted regardless of outward/visible behaviour. Anyways, great video again. Lighting, set up and distance are all fantastic in my opinion. You also did a great job covering the topic. Thank you so much 💕

I have autism and I have a hard time explaining my thoughts relating how I feel on a difficult topic and I feel very misunderstood most of the time it’s very stressful and this leads to suicidal thoughts. I feel much better shutting people out of my life because I know I don’t have to listen and feel like a problem when I never intentionally try to be a problem for others. I just can be myself without judgment, criticism and people just not understanding. I would be more social if I didn’t experience this on a regular basis.

Thank you for making another great video Stephanie. You hit on some really important points that I have personally had to deal in clinics. From my experience, The most important part in getting the proper medical help is being insistent with your doctor on the issues that you’re having. Don’t let them walk over you, be very clear on the issues that you’re having and that you want some type of analysis done. In the instances where I am not being taken seriously by them I just do not take the doctor seriously, then I find another physician. As far as the depression aspect of the video, yes I’ve had to deal with a lot of depression in my early 20s when I was living on my own and going to school and working for the first time in my life. I have found that through all of that stress and self hatred that it was kind of a pointless thing to constantly compare myself to others. My message to all autistic people struggling with depression is Live for yourself not for others. People may label you as a freak, weirdo, and any other negative connotation associated with autism but at the end of the day it’s not about their happiness it’s about your happiness. If people don’t like you for being you then they can go screw themselves. Again, love the video and can’t wait for the next one

I didn't watch the video yet but I'd like to mention a few things. For one, working on your mental and physical health is a must if you wish to improve your life expectancy. Obesity and cardiovascular problems are among the top causes of death not just to us autistic people but also to people in the general population. Eat healthy and try to at least do 30 minutes or more of cardio on most days. Getting into good routines like this can absolutely add years to your life expectancy. Secondly, if you need mental health support you can use wonderful resources like RU-vid and reddit to learn about things like dialectic behavior therapy, meditation, coping strategies etc. You can speak to a psychiatrist and hopefully receive meds you can use during dire situations, like when you can feel a panic attack coming. Relying on meds is bad, but there is nothing wrong with using them on rare occasions to help abate overwhelmingly challenging experiences. I believe that we have the potential to live just as long as neurotypical people if we work towards bettering ourselves and maintain a healthy and hopeful attitude. There are many resources we have today that we didn't always have, take advantage of them.

This is so true to me. Being undiagnosed hurts and trying to share my thoughts about what is happening on the inside is a struggle. I try to focus on the positive aspect of things when negative things happen. 😢😪😌

I always feel like I'm a burden to everyone I meet. Grade school was just nonstop bullying and never feeling like I belong essentially being the "weird lonely kid". The world seems to be getting more unforgiving for neurodivergent individuals, and I hope that we can find solice in our own company. People are well aware we exist and they choose to not just ignore, but actively work against us.

Glad that you finally tackled this topic. This is something that had me rattled for a while. Not gonna lie, I even had a bout of suicidal thoughts after learning about this. However, I luckily had my parents and my friends to talk to about this. Now that I've seen this video, I feel even more at peace now that ideas on how to decrease this statistic have been proposed

Very good, and very needed video. Thank you Stephanie. For those struggling right now, do what Stephanie advised. Go seek help, doesn't matter where or who or how, only that you do. I've had to make several attempts, but when I finally refused to back down (and was very blunt), I got the help I needed, and my life is a LOT better nowadays. You might not believe it now, but yours can too.

I'm autistic, and I am now 40. I am excited to see where my life takes me. I want to get old and grey, and live my life out with my partner.

Yet another amazing video Stephanie, thank you so much. You brought tears to my eyes. You put everything into the words I could never find. I've been left out my whole life. I was reminded yesterday that I am always picked last. For a side note: I wonder if there is a correlation between an increased risk of seizures from medicinal side effects for autistic folks. The only seizure I have had was from a bad reaction to Wellbutrin.

I think that a big reason for this, is that many people with level three autism combined with intellectual disabilities also have physical disabilities. Those physical disabilities can shorten peoples life expectancy, primarily if a heart condition or respiratory condition is involved. For instance, autism and cerebral palsy often go hand-in-hand, and cerebral palsy can have a negative impact on the muscles around your lungs.

Anybody here on the Spectrum also lived with drug/ alcohol addiction and cant stay out of jail / prison?

One statistic that I wonder about, is the toll it takes on our nervous system. Are autistic people dying younger because of that?

Thank you for this video. I got diagnosed in the age of 44. I think of sui***e roughly once a week. I gave up trying after my 4th attempt, excepting that I'm not able to. Thank you again for making this video. You shurely saved life's.

I got sad when I saw that it really touched you on camera :c I really get mad with these issues just like you say , I’m mentally ill and I’m educating myself oh autistic and neurodivergent matters , but I get upset when I realize how unserious this mental health problems are for outsiders ... I hope things get better and that statistics DO get down ❤️ thank you for your videos ❤️

With the part of the video when you said autistic voices need to be taken seriously, it just reminds me of not just health, but everything, like jobs in my case. I don’t know if I already wrote this in a comment in one of your videos, but I dealt with unemployment from the summer of 2017 to October of 2019, but even then, I only work 6 hours a week because I work through vocational rehabilitation on-the-job training. And the only other person who wanted to hire me for her dance studio is having problems opening her studio. It seems like almost no one takes prospective autistic employees seriously, and I feel like unemployment and ableism from employers can definitely throw autistic people into depression, and maybe even s***ide. I know I definitely felt depressed about not being hired for a very long time, but not to the point of having s******l thoughts. But I think I did have an existential crisis because I felt like I wasn’t contributing to society by not being employed; I was 21 when I finally found the on-the-job training job. Thank you for the video.

The Australian Senate Select Committee on Autism in 2022 found the average life expectancy of someone with Autism is 20 to 30 years sooner than the rest of the community 😟😟😟

Thank you, Stephanie, for talking about this distressing issue. Thank you for being passionate. Thank you for your concluding message

As a late diagnosis female , I realised there are a lot of discrimination against us when I came out . And the incredible pain threshold was true .

This totally hit home.

The struggle is really real for me at the moment! Bless your heart u are such a beautiful amazing girl! Thank u for your channel! I getting very little help at the moment and this is actually so helpful to know that I’m not alone..,, l feel so alone! I’m 47 years old and only just been diagnosed! I have struggled all my life! I’m so exhausted! Xxxx 💜

My grandma died at 97 and was autistic....

I was so close to die so many times, because of doctors, and unlucky (or lucky?) circumstances, I was bullied by my teachers and even my psychiatrist, nobody knew I may be autistic, and treated me like shit, like I was a lazy person and a liar, even tho everything was as close to perfection as I could made it. Been suicidal and depressed most of my life without knowing, and pressured to act, and be, a normal person, without knowing what that means. Now, at 20, after years of thinking I was a failure, I finally found peace with myself. Thank you.

Love how doctors dismiss it as anxiety and depression when you have health issues. Was having trouble breathing each day more, low energy, braing fog and body aches for 5 years till i got fed up and went a specialist for them to take me seriously and they found what i had.

Love the background, but it's a little hard to focus. The circle light is reflecting in your glasses and I keep focusing in on that. Interesting information. I'm planning on living until I'm in my 80s or 90s. Hopefully I have good genes that allow me to keep living a long (healthy) life

Self appointed wrong people are catering for our needs. Imagine the cancer ward functioning in this fashion... Comorbidities are caused solely by wrong treatments provided by personel not trained for catering autistic people

I still worry I’m gonna unalive myself someday or just stop trying to participate in society/dating etc in general. Maybe that loneliness will kill me in the end. Or the chain smoking. Or a bunch of other things. It gets harder and harder

I also struggled with trying to unalive myself many times. And when I go to the hospital for physical issues, they don't take it seriously. My blood family abused me in every category for 30 years with the excuse that it's difficult to have an autistic child. They prevented me going to college, and wanted to keep me hidden away so they won't be embarrassed. About a year ago, a relative SAed me, and in trying to get some space, just wanting to take a break from being around the person who did that... I got disowned. And being that I'm in a survivorship trust, they tried and are probably still trying to kill me so that they can inherit my inheritance.

Lost both my siblings to suicide. Older sister, younger brother. It’s my belief they were both ASD and possibly ADHD. Neither was ever diagnosed, and I only got my diagnosis last year at age 40 after many years of struggle and being misdiagnosed, and never getting proper help. Now I also have psoriatic arthritis and possible POTS hEDS or heart issues that we’re looking into. My meltdowns are often depressive meltdowns, which are incredibly painful and take days to weeks to recover from, during which my self-esteem is insanely low. I would assume my sibs and I would(ve) be(en) considered “high functioning” or “low support needs”, but my sister was not. She never could work at all, and took much longer to finish high school. This was in no way connected to her intelligence. She was possibly even savant in music, and was learning Ancient Greek. My brother was taking after my dad in being rather a mechanical genius, my talents are in art. Even though I’ve escaped suicide so far, my added physical issues are making it much harder, especially since the arthritis affected my dominant hand, making my art more difficult and now painful. This does scare me. I wasn’t even offered physio after I left the hospital. I’ve been through so many therapists and am about to finally try one who deals with autism, so I hope it works out, because I’ve made it clear I will NOT do therapy again if it doesn’t, and I’ll never ever go into hospital again for depression/suicidal issues. It did more damage than good. My sister was once told AT THE PSYCH WARD, “How can you expect your family to want you back home when you act like this?” She was sexually assaulted once in hospital too, by a worker. I DO NOT trust the so called “professionals” in the mental health field. I’m not giving up, I believe there is a reason to keep going, it won’t make anyone in the mental health field change by my dying. They will obliviously continue on, just telling themselves that I wasn’t strong enough, I took the “easy” way, etc. And never realize that it was them, anyway. So, it would serve no positive purpose. Except to end the pain of it. Which is tempting sometimes, I admit. But, I’ve never been a quitter or letting others ‘win’, which is kinda how I see all this, and since it keeps me going during the really dark moments, I’m going to keep seeing it that way, lol!

Depression we are born on this earth without asking. Then we know one day were going to die. Then on top of that being autistic and having to feel different, bullied for being differnet at school not all lucky once go though school not being bullided. Depression from masking. Depression from having to think NT everyday in government make it up as you go along. I have no idear what's going to be decide tomorrow. I have had all 3 reason for depression all at the same time.

Good evening, I am a single mother to my disabled son. He is nine years old and was born with autism adhd sed and odd. We have been fighting to access services and unable to access any of the disability services our state has to offer. Now we are homeless and my son is finally getting the services that we needs while I am staying in this hotel. The Department of Child Welfare refuses to offer any assistance and are quietly watching us go to the street so they can take my child instead of helping us find stable housing in the community. They have offered us money to leave the state but refuse to help us access disability services. We will be on the street Thursday and my son will lose all of his medical services if he cannot continue to go to school. They continue to refer us to resources they know cannot help and shelters that are full. Please help us. The agencies are well aware that there is housing available and are claiming a false housing crisis but there are units available.

for those who have trouble communicating or feel worse after talk therapy, I've heard that hypnotic therapy helps for some

This video needs more views, likes, and comments so that people know about this.

I don’t understand this can I still live the normal life span if I have autism or is it just everyone with autism die younger????

Great video - really well spoken and very informative. Awesome work

Thanks. I relate. Struggled with this since age 12 or so. Wish I had support.

Thank you for doing this research and sharing it with us. Much respect to you.

I have been hospitalised due to suicide attempts a few times. I have got a lot better coping but I’m so exhausted!!! Xxx

Honestly the one thing I've personally noticed about autism and life expectancy was because of how much their parents mistook them for misbehaving kids and shook them where it caused them to die from sbs. As someone who's survived shaken baby syndrome a lot of neurodivergent kids are more likely to die of abuse. I also almost died of child abuse

I like the background and the way you have things. Wow, that does seem young. I wonder though how many died younger who are in a relationship or has a partner. That is quite the list. I know not always can my male partner always put into words why he is feeling a certain way and then we both get frustrated. He does talk about most things with me. Thank you for sharing a video like this.

Another aspect I have found is that Autistic people also have more of a chance of having a high pain threshold, which means that it takes more intense pain than normal for a person to even feel said pain.

I really needed to hear this today, thank you ❤

I was a teen and bullied often. I thought of suicide back then, but only my faith in God helped me move forward. He doesn’t want us to succumb to the voices of death but find healing and comfort in Jesus. I wasn’t healed of the autistic traits that i am now exploring in my fifties. I was healed of the negative self image, and Jesus can do that and way more for you.