Study: Many autistic young adults not receiving adequate health services

By Staff Writer

A new report in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine reveals that medical services for many autistic individuals declines after they leave high school.

Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis analyzed data from a survey of parents of autistic young adults between the ages of 19 and 23, and then compared those rates to the amount of treatment that they had received six years earlier. After high school, approximately 9 percent of autistic young adults received speech therapy, compared to 74 percent six years earlier.

Furthermore, only 42 percent of children with the developmental disorder had case managers after secondary school, which fell from about 67 percent. The adjusted odds of not receiving any of these services was more than three times higher for African-Americans compared to white youths.

The study's authors said that these findings reveal that many young adults with autism are not receiving the healthcare that they need in order to transition toward healthy and independent adult lives.

Teens who have developmental disorders or learning disabilities may benefit from wilderness therapy programs, which can help these individuals socially and academically.