Being autistic comes with its many challenges, as well as many joys. One of the largest misconceptions I see in our society is the belief that autism only affects children. While that is where our stories begin, autism is a lifelong diagnosis.
When it comes to autism acceptance, it is essential to recognize some of the biggest challenges of autism at any age. While some issues do affect us primarily in either childhood or adulthood, certain aspects continue lifelong. To help people better understand, here is a quick list of the most common and challenging aspects of autism at any age or stage in life.
Sleep Problems
During my childhood, sleep was something that always escaped me. Even as an adult, I continue to have sleep problems, to the point of having to take medications for insomnia. For all three of my autistic children, they each have insomnia and other sleep disorders.
It is said that anywhere from 40- to 80-percent of autistic individuals struggle with sleep disturbances. Having a sleep disorder affects not only sleep, but also waking hours. Until we were able to get my middle daughter’s sleep apnea and insomnia under control, she had severe meltdowns due to the lack of sleep she was receiving at night. For myself, the sleep disturbances made it where I struggled with working outside of the home and even with household chores.