Trajectories, Long-Term Outcomes and Family Experiences of 76 Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Chamak et al. (2016) tracked 76 French adults with autism for many years. They wanted to see where these adults lived, worked, and how their families felt about support services.

The team used medical records and family interviews. Most adults had severe autism and needed daily help.

Two out of three adults had very poor outcomes. None lived on their own. Most lived in group homes or with aging parents.

Families said services stopped almost completely after high school. Parents felt alone and worried about the future.

Billstedt et al. (2005) saw the same bleak picture in Sweden. They followed 120 adults and found 78 percent had poor outcomes. Only four lived alone.

Antaki et al. (2008) looked different at first. Half of their adults had fair or good lives. The split comes from earlier diagnosis and stronger early skills, not from real disagreement.

Whaling et al. (2025) and Liu et al. (2024) show the problem is global. Caregivers in the U.S., China, and the Netherlands all say the same: services drop off after school.

If you write transition plans, start adult goals at 14, not 21. Push for housing referrals, day programs, and caregiver respite before the school bus stops coming. These data say the cliff is real and deep.