Autism Doesn’t End at Childhood. Here’s the Reality
4/28/202617 min
A listener named Victoria wants to know what comes next for her autistic teenage son. This week on Paging Dr. Gupta, we look at how the needs of autistic kids change as they grow up. Plus, common misconceptions about independence, college, and work for autistic teens and adults, with insight from autism researcher and Arizona State University professor Dr. Joshua Anbar. If you want to get a glimpse into the lives of Victoria and Mason, see this photo essay. This episode was produced by Jennifer Lai and Kyra Dahring. Showrunner: Amanda Sealy Senior Producer: Dan Bloom Technical Director: Dan Dzula Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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First 90 secondsSanjay Gupta· Host0:00
[music] Hey there. Welcome to Paging Dr. Gupta. This is the place where we discuss the questions that matter the most to you, and today we decided we're gonna do something a little bit different. We wanna continue a conversation that I thought was really important based on a listener named Victoria. She had called in to ask about autism. She was very clear. She said she just wanted the facts, and for that, we did an episode with autism researcher Dr. Matthew Lerner, and he reminded us to put this moment into important perspective.
Matthew Lerner· Soundbite0:34
April is Autism Acceptance Month, but, uh, a- as the autistic people and families that I work with every day say, you know, every day is autism acceptance day [laughs] in my life, so I'm hoping that, uh, you know, we can keep having these conversations even, even beyond April.
Sanjay Gupta· Host0:48
And that made me realize that, look, this isn't just a one-episode conversation. This should be a longer-term conversation. In fact, Victoria had even more questions, especially when it comes to her 14-year-old autistic son, Mason.
Victoria1:03
What should families understand about how support needs can change as autistic kids grow into teens and young adults?
Sanjay Gupta· Host1:10
What does happen? How do support needs change when autistic kids grow into teens and young adults? To dig into this specifically, we wanted to bring in someone who not only studies this but is living it.
Joshua Anbar· Guest1:24
I was diagnosed with what was then called Asperger syndrome, uh, coming