Autism in Older Adults: A Pilot, Descriptive Study

描述(由申请人提供)：对患有自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)的老年人(&gt；50岁)几乎一无所知。随着美国人口老龄化和最近对ASD高患病率的认识，很可能在不久的将来，患有ASD的老年人将给医疗体系和社会带来巨大负担。在这项先导性、探索性研究的目标1中，我们建议访问北卡罗来纳州的国家核心指标数据库，系统地检查可能是最脆弱的自闭症老年人、约100名患有自闭症和智力障碍(ID)的老年人的医疗/行为问题发生率、功能水平、支持和服务利用率，并与约1000名非ASD老年人和患有智障(ID)的老年人进行比较。尽管目标1撒下了一个广泛但浅层的网，但在目标2中，我们建议对行为模式和诊断、医疗条件、功能水平、支持与40名非ASD老年人对照，40名患有ASD的老年人获得护理和生活质量。这项研究的主要目的是为未来对患有ASD的老年人进行全面研究获得初步数据，为未来的临床实践、政策和培训提供信息。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Virtually nothing is known about older adults (> 50 years of age) with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). With the aging of the U.S. population and recent recognition of the high prevalence of ASD, it is likely that in the near future, older adults with ASD will impose a tremendous burden on the healthcare system and society. In Aim 1 of this pilot, exploratory study, we propose to access the National Core Indicators database in North Carolina, to systematically examine rates of medical/behavioral problems, level of function, support and service utilization in, perhaps the most vulnerable older individuals with ASD,~ 100 older adults with ASD and intellectual disability (ID), in comparison to ~ 1000 non-ASD, older adults with ID. Whereas Aim 1 casts a broad but shallow net, in Aim 2, we propose a much more detailed examination of behavioral patterns and diagnoses, medical conditions, level of function, support, access to care and quality of life in 40 older adults with ASD in comparison to 40 non-ASD older adult controls. The overarching aim of this study is to obtain preliminary data for a future comprehensive study of older adults with ASD, informing future clinical practice, policy and training.