Although autistic people are at increased risk of mental health difficulties such as depression and anxiety, they are less likely to receive the support they need than people without autism, says Northeastern University professor Matthew Goodwin.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
In a commentary Goodwin co-authored for the medical journal Lancet, he says that specialized training of medical professionals and novel interventions geared to people with sensory issues can help break down barriers that stand between individuals with autism and better mental health.
It’s a pressing issue, since about 80 million people around the globe have autism and face a lifetime prevalence of anxiety and depressive disorders of about 40%, according to the article.
Chillingly, Goodwin and fellow researchers say autistic people are three times more likely to die by suicide than people without autism.
Autism is a neurological and developmental disorder that affects how people interact with others, communicate and learn, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
First described by Dr. Leo Kanner in 1943, symptoms of autism typically appear in the first two years of life and include delayed language skills, avoidance of eye contact, obsessive interests and unusual body movements such as rocking or flapping hands.
“Many features of autism — such as socialization challenges, limited communication abilities, sensory sensitivities, executive function issues and intellectual impairment — can complicate social interactions, increase stress and reduce coping skills that can collectively lead to anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation,” Goodwin says.
Complicating this challenging scenario is the fact “most medical and mental health providers are not trained in autism and thus not equipped to provide adequate mental health supports,” says Goodwin, director of Northeastern’s Computational Behavioral Science Laboratory.
One example the Lancet commentary gave is when autistic women with eating disorders are assumed to have body image issues but are actually confused and challenged by the process of food shopping and cooking. They may also suffer from food sensitivities.
Misdiagnoses and inappropriate care can lead to feelings of hopelessness, isolation and despair in autistic people and their caregivers, the article says.
In addition, crowded waiting rooms, overstimulating offices and reliance on verbal instructions and coaching can cause autistic individuals to experience debilitating sensory overload, Goodwin says.
“Many autistic individuals report that they find the number of instructions they receive, from scheduling to following prescribed intervention regimes, complicated, confusing and hard to remember or follow,” he says.
It’s not as though autism is an extremely rare condition.
Only officially recognized by Congress as a disability in 1990, autism diagnoses now include one in 36 children, a number that experts say corresponds to growing awareness of the condition.
Goodwin says it’s important that medical and mental health professionals receive better training in autism via overviews of the condition, clinical rounds and adoption of evidence-based procedures to accommodate the needs of autistic people.
Interventions could include improving parental sensitivity to the needs of autistic children and also providing mental health supports for caregivers raising a child with autism, he says.
Partnering with underserved communities and co-designing interventions with the help of autistic individuals will help raise the quality of care where it’s needed most, the article says.