Adult outcomes in autism: community inclusion and living skills.

M et al. tracked the adults who had been diagnosed with autism as kids. They asked how well these adults now shop, cook, ride the bus, and join clubs. They also looked at old IQ scores to see if smarts predicted life skills.

Most adults lived with parents and needed help every day. Even people with average or high IQs often could not pay bills or ride alone. Childhood IQ helped a little, but it did not guarantee independence.

van Schrojenstein Lantman-de Valk et al. (2006) saw the same group struggle: young adults with autism plus ID showed the worst behavior and the most mom stress. The two studies line up—poor skills go hand-in-hand with tough behavior.

Prigge et al. (2013) add a twist. They found adults who echoed speech most during tests also had the lowest daily-living scores. This supports M’s point: language control and real-life skills sink together.

Klein et al. (2024) just updated the ICF Core Sets for autism. They added sensory items and age bands. Use their new checklist while you target the very gaps M et al. revealed.

Stop waiting for “high-functioning” kids to catch up. Start teaching laundry, money, and bus routes early, no matter the IQ. Write goals for each adaptive domain and probe them yearly. M et al. show that without this work, even bright adults stay stuck at home.