A study by the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) researchers has shown that a late diagnosis of autism has significant negative ramifications, especially in males.
The study, published in Current Psychology, explored the first-hand experiences of ten adult males, aged 25 years and above, who were diagnosed with autism during adulthood.
Through in-depth interviews, the researchers sought to explore and understand symptoms and challenges in childhood associated with autism that were missed or misdiagnosed, the ramifications, and the impact of receiving a diagnosis of autism in adulthood.
Autism is defined as a pervasive neurodevelopmental disorder associated with atypical functioning and qualitative impairments in individuals across three major areas: social interaction, social communication, and restricted, repetitive behaviour.
“The findings show that late diagnosis negatively impacts individuals’ psychological well-being due to factors such as social isolation, bullying and psychological distress caused by a lack of understanding of autism-related difficulties.”
Dr Anastasia Maw, the co-author of the study, said: “The clinical implication for these findings emphasizes the urgent need for teachers and mental health professionals to be trained to better screen, assess and diagnose milder presentations of autism as early as possible. Parents need to be provided psychoeducation to raise awareness for the disorder and to access available support services.”
Maw said they found that indicators of autism are evident during early and later childhood. “However, these symptoms are either overlooked or normalised by parents or teachers or understood as due to a psychiatric disorder other than autism by mental health practitioners.
“As these individuals progressed through life, they encountered numerous challenges and adopted various strategies to cope with some of their autism-related difficulties. Some of these coping mechanisms were maladaptive, while those that were considered as being adaptive, had unintended negative consequences.”
Maw added that the participants whose families and friends were accepting, and supportive following disclosure of the diagnosis resulted participants being more accepting of their diagnosis and finding adaptive ways to manage some of their challenges, including disclosure in the workplace, which then allowed for requests for accommodations.
“The participants who chose not to disclose their diagnosis to their employers due to various reasons, such as the possibility of being labelled and the stigma attached to conditions on the autism spectrum, did not express the same level of acceptance of their diagnosis as those who had disclosed and received support from their families and friends,” she concluded.
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