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Three years ago my youngest son who has autism left the school he’d been attending since he was three and a half years old.

It was a small special needs school which was earmarked for closure, but remarkably the headmistress realised the need for such a facility, and built it up in size to such an extent it’s now really over subscribed and there’s a long waiting list for children with a diverse range of disabilities to go there.

Since that time, my son has attended a residential college for young learners with disabilities in a different county. It was quite a wrench when he first went away, but we saw him regularly, both at the college and when he came home for weekends and holidays.

He was a very lucky young man, as indeed are all the individuals who have the opportunity to go to what is for them, the equivalent of a less disadvantaged person going to college or university.

However, nothing lasts for ever, and this week my son “graduated”.

It was a beautiful ceremony, very emotional, and yet again I got to wear a posh frock and feel good about the results of my   7 minute workout

Each of the “graduates” had their photographs taken with the county Director of Education, and when they went up on the stage at the local theatre to receive their certificates, the audience were given a brief overview of their achievements and their future plans.

Then on a huge screen we were treated to a brief video of their life at the college, showing their high points, all to the sound of their favourite piece of music.

It was interesting to see how many of the students chose something by Lady Gaga.  I guess she’s very different too!

Anyway, listening to the summary of each young person’s life, I felt somewhat sad to realise how many of them had nowhere to go after college.  No wonder many of them were visibly upset and confused.

Apparently, many of the students behave in an unusual manner towards the end of their college experience, and it’s very difficult for those with communication problems to express their feelings.

My son is one of them, and as a result I brought him home with me straight after the graduation ceremony. It was a decision many parents made, and one which they actually had some control over.

It’s after college, the real problems begin.

To be perfectly honest, the future for people with disabilities, and not just autism, can be quite bleak. I know life is getting tougher for “normal” people too. Daily we hear of more redundancies, job losses and of course natural disasters which all have an effect.

Life is tough!

When you have a child with a disability, they go through what is known a “transition” phase from the age of about fifteen. It’s supposedly a transition from childhood to adult services.  The big problem is the services provided for adults with disabilities are far more scarce than those for children, so many people are understandably concerned what their children are actually transitioning to.

Unquestionably, the biggest problem with people with autism is their inability to appropriately communicate and lack of social skills. The autistic spectrum is vast and you’ll never find two autistic individuals the same.   Although many have mild-to-moderate mental retardation, many have none at all. In fact some are very articulate.

Not so my son, who doesn’t really speak.

The prospect of an autistic adult finding a paid job is not good. One study suggests only 20% will ever gain employment and of those who do get a job, a huge percentage will find themselves both under employed and under paid.

Many will need support in the workplace, and whilst autistic children are legally entitled to support, once they reach adult hood that all changes. That makes it more difficult for them to even access vocational work, because let’s face it, most employers take on staff to make their lives easier, not to have the additional responsibility of looking after someone else.

Autistic adults tended to live full lives. Autism is not a terminal illness. It’s a life long disability, and affects not only the individuals concerned but their families as well. If they have nowhere to go after childhood, they need support, and this usually falls on the shoulders of their parents or immediate family. This means their carers can’t go out to work full-time even if they wanted to.  Financially it can be a problem for all concerned and a huge strain on relationships.

Unfortunatley, it’s not a problem that’s  going to go away because the number of autistic adults will continue to increase. Depending on where you live,  one in 110 children, mostly boys, are diagnosed with autism and the numbers have been increasingly rising over the years.

Generally speaking these individuals are hard workers, loyal, have good attitudes, like routines and don’t mind repetitive work. They like order so there are many opportunities which could be made available to them by forward thinking and open minded business owners.

However, this is unlikely to happen in the near future, and I suspect there are many aging parents who’ll find themselves having to both house and entertain their autistic offspring  until they die.

My son has been lucky. He and two other young men with disabilities are going into supported living about 20 miles from where I live.  It will be another huge change for him after the busy and bustling life of college, where his education and training went on from the time he got up until the time he went to bed.  In a mixed environment with a huge number of different faces he was able to improve his independence, social, and communication skills.

Now, his circle of influence will be much smaller, and whilst he has a roof over his head, his entertainment and ways to occupy his time will have to be bought in. It’s going to be a huge challenge, and I hope he doesn’t become a couch potato because he doesn’t understand the importance of healthy eating and exercise.

Maybe I’ll  invest in a 7MinuteWorkout membership for him as he certainly needs to lose some weight.  That  way he can enjoy his favourite pastime, i.e. watching videos,  can follow the routines (something he’s comfortable with) and can exercise at home without having to spend a lot of money on expensive gym membership fees.

It’s a healthy and beneficial way to spend some of his time, because as I said, autism is not a terminal illness. My son could have a very long future ahead of him.

Please wish him and all the other vulnerable disabled adults in this world good luck!

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