Love and Connection, a Longing for Autistic Adults Alicia Bagley
What is Autism? Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects 1 in 54 children in the United States today. It can come in a wide variety of conditions that are recognized including challenges with social skills, speech, nonverbal communication, and repetitive behaviors. Autism can look different for each person. It is described as a spectrum. Some may have mild autistic tendencies, while others may have more severe. Love and Connection on the Spectrum. All of the children who are once diagnosed with autism soon grow up and long for the things any neurotypical person would want, but often times have a much harder time achieving it. It is difficult for anyone to find that genuine connection, but for people on the spectrum, it becomes an even bigger challenge given that many times autism affects a person’s understanding and expression of emotion. People with autism may struggle socially, but their desire and want to have relationships isn’t any less than a neurotypical person. There is a lack of community for adults on the spectrum in the Sacramento area, making it even harder for them to build relationships. Why does it matter? Facts provided by Autism Speaks.
“Over the next decade, an estimated 707,000 to 1,116,000 teens (70,700 to 111,600 each year) will enter adulthood and age out of school based autism services.”	“Of the nearly 18,000 people with autism who used state-funded vocational rehabilitation programs in 2014, only 60 percent left the program with a job. Of these, 80 percent worked part-time at a median weekly rate of $160, putting them well below the poverty level.”	“The cost of caring for Americans with autism had reached $268 billion in 2015 and would rise to $461 billion by 2025 in the absence of more-effective interventions and support across the life span.”
Because of the lack of services for Autistic adults, many feel lonely or out of place, yearning for connection. Once an autistic person ages out of the K-12 system, resources start to dwindle and the few available are incredibly costly.
Where/What is the Solution? With the lack of community available for Autistic adults, the solution is to provide one. A community in the Sacramento area where Autistic adults have the opportunity to make friends, learn, and feel like they belong. That is why I have created a plan for an Autistic Club where members will have the opportunity to meet in person weekly by attending social/dating workshops, going on fieldtrips, and attending events such as dances or carnivals. Hopefully a club like this could give these deserving adults a connection and community that they feel they belong in. A purpose. To learn more about Autism and gain a new perspective on dating, watch Love on the Spectrum, a reality series on Netflix. Alicia Bagley takes full responsibility for the information posted. The information on this page represents that of Alicia Bagley and not that of California State University, Sacramento.