by Nathaniel R. Geyer, DrPH, CPH, GISP
In March 2023, I reached my fourth decade on Earth, with my adoptive family and two nieces. Over my third decade, I earned my doctorate and second master’s degrees, published around 20 peer-reviewed articles. I am also the president of Capital Region Civitan Club, in Harrisburg, PA, and a board member of the Autism Society of Greater Harrisburg Area.
The challenges of being an autistic at forty is most people are expected to be married, live independent lives, and have children. I have chosen to live with my family for economic reasons, so that I can save money for the rest of my life. Although I do not have a family nor children, I can work full time, drive daily, and choose to make life spectacular each day.
Around forty is when most people have a mid-life crisis. I am aware of this and want to minimize this as much as possible. However, my primary care physician has left her practice and I am forced to change doctors. I am still collecting benefits from my full-time job of 13 years and am mostly happy with my work and want to be a productive member of society. I am a strong self-advocate and want all autistics to be aware of any physical or mental issues.
Too often I have noticed that even at age 40 that life skills have been deferred to parents and guardians. Many of them are elderly or passed away with little to know contingency plans in place to have autistic child survive into elderly years. Over my third decade, I learned how to do laundry, make my bed, cook, care for children, and have friends outside of family and placed of employment.
It is my hope that autistic adults choose not to estrange themselves from parents and families and develop a social network of family and friends to help them survive into elderly years.
On June 15, 2023, I was saddened to hear that the first autistic case, Donald Triplett, passed away at age 89 years. Donald lived a long life due to his wealthy family choosing not to send him away and finding a good place of employment at a bank, which empathized his strengths and minimized his deficiency. As a result, he drove, played golf, traveled, and lived in his childhood home until his death.
My hope is that I live to my eighth decade and live such a productive quality of life. Although we never met personally, I honored him with a moment of silence at my autism support group in Harrisburg, PA.
This story was submitted to the 2023 Pennsylvania Autism Training Conference.
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