Why do we only see younger children with Autism?

[suzie_lea_2007]

It's probably due to how recently the disorder was identified.

I know and know of teens and people in their young 20's who have Autism/Asperger's

There probably are older people who have Autism but are either misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all.

[undir]

There are adults with autism too. You just haven't noticed them before.

Those with mild forms of autism learn to compensate for their lack of social skills, so when they are adults they almost blend in with others and are often just thought of as a little strange or eccentric.

Adults with severe forms of autism often live with their parents or in institutions and since they are not out on the job market or out in public much, they are not very noticeable.

Another reason is that it's not that long since autism was recognized as a diagnosis, so there are many adults out there who are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, so even if you'd meet them you wouldn't necessarily know they were autistic.

People, professionals and the media also focus on autism in children a lot because when it's detected early there is a chance to use early intervention to help the child develop skills they lack. With adults I get the feeling people think it's either too late to do anything to help or that whatever help they got in childhood was enough, so there are rather few resources, research or discussions about adults with autism.