Findings of a recent study have indicated that the age at which autism is diagnosed does not affect the individual’s quality of life.
Researchers from the University of Bath and King’s College London conducted the first-of-its-kind study to investigate the correlation between the age at which individuals become aware of their autism and its impact on their quality of life.
The study’s results, published in the journal Autism, showed the age at which someone learned they were autistic did not have a strong connection to their quality of life. Furthermore, the effects were disproportionate based on gender– autistic women had a better quality of life compared to men, while people who had additional mental health conditions like anxiety tended to have a lower quality of life.
The study involved 300 adults with autism, who were asked to share the age at which they became aware of their autism. In addition to this, the researchers collected detailed information about their socio-demographic background, including their current age, gender, ethnicity, relationship status, living arrangements, educational level, employment status, household income, and any additional mental health conditions they may have. The participants’ level of autistic personality traits was also assessed during the study.
“For some people, finding out they are autistic sooner rather than later was linked to a better quality of life. For others, finding out later was better. Overall, there was no overall link between the age they found out and their quality of life,” said Lucy Livingston, senior research fellow at the University of Bath and lecturer in Psychology at King’s College London, in a news release.
“Our findings revealed that having more autistic personality characteristics–irrespective of when you learn you are autistic–was the strongest link to poor outcomes across all areas of quality of life. We are now following up on this finding to look more closely at how different autistic…
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