‘I felt broken before being diagnosed at 70’

Throughout his life, Andrew Davis has felt that he doesn’t fit in, that there’s something broken about him, that he’s weird, that there’s something wrong with him.

That was until he discovered he had autism at the age of 70.

“It’s just who I am and how my brain is wired…how I experience the world is completely different,” he said.

Research shows that, like Andrew, there are many other people who spent their entire lives not knowing they were on Earth. autism spectrum.

Between 250,000 and 600,000 people over the age of 50 in the UK may have autism, but it is not diagnosed. A study of primary care records in the UK suggested.

That means more than 90% of people with autism over the age of 50 are undiagnosed, the researchers said.

“While autism has long been considered a childhood condition, it is a lifelong condition and people remain autistic as they get older,” Andrew says.

Andrew, now 72, retired in 2019 after a long and illustrious career.

He was a minister for the first ten years of the Welsh Government and also served as a member of Parliament (now known as the Welsh Government). Member for Senedd (MS);) Played for Swansea West from 1999 to 2011.

After resigning from Parliament, he served as Chairman of the then Abertawe Bro Morgan University Health Board for six years.

It may not be the easiest job for people who often have difficulty understanding and interacting with others.

Andrew, from Mount Pleasant, Swansea, said: “You can be in a group, but you have to follow the conversation, know what to say… you don’t know the rules of small talk.”

Since childhood, he preferred solitude and one-on-one friendships to groups.

This became harder to deal with in middle school.

“It was really, really hard,” he said.

“I felt like something was broken, something strange, something wrong.”

Although he found social rules and work structures easy to understand, he often felt “shocked” and “displaced” by the end of a long day. .

“People might have thought, ‘Oh, he’s quite aloof,’ but it’s a combination of shyness and not knowing what to say,” he says.

Andrew also experienced Hypersensitivity.

“I didn’t really enjoy discos or rock concerts. For example, the sound and lighting were almost overwhelming and felt uncomfortable,” he said.

Other sounds, such as his wife’s chewing gum and the barking of the neighbor’s dog, smells of caked fat and grease, and sights such as fluorescent lights have always made him extremely uncomfortable.

“I have no choice but to run,” he said.

“You try to ignore it, but it’s a physical, visceral reaction.”

What has always helped me in my work now turns out to be another characteristic of autism. Intense interest, also called excessive interest.

He said he often became absorbed in topics that interested him and would immerse himself in intense research.

“Most people would think, ‘That’s interesting’ and move on, but I want to dig deeper into the problem,” he said.

He said autism research became “another rabbit hole down which I disappeared.”

It was this tendency to get too excited about a topic that he first recognized as a possible autistic trait in himself.

He was talking to a colleague who had recently been diagnosed with autism.

This colleague was working with a consultant psychiatrist who took his side and said, “I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but you have typical autism symptoms.” “We have everything,” he said.

He noticed similarities between his colleague’s detailed research and long emails and his own “penny dropped.”

Andrew started reading and listening to podcasts about autism and decided to take an online survey designed by psychologist Professor Simon Baron-Cohen.

“I came out very firmly in the middle of the spectrum,” he said.

He then decided to seek a formal diagnosis, discovered the NHS waiting period was 3-4 years, and ultimately went private.

What does receiving a diagnosis mean to him?

“It just really convinced me…I’m not broken, I’m not weird, there’s nothing wrong with me. It’s just who I am and how my brain is wired,” he said. said.

“At this age, you look back on your life, from your role to your soul.

“I think it helps you come to terms with what’s happened in your life.”

Andrew has experienced depression since he was a teenager. research suggests According to the National Autistic Society, people with autism are more likely to experience depression than non-autistic people.

He also went through periods of poor health and now believes autism burnout syndrome.

Figures show that the proportion of people over 50 who are not diagnosed with autism is close to the proportion of children. One in 34 children is diagnosed with autism, compared to just one in 6,000 adults over 50..

Dr Gavin Stewart, a research fellow at King’s College London with an interest in aging and autism spectrum disorders, said: “There may be a huge number of underserved populations who deserve the support they need. is high,” he said.

He said one reason older people go undiagnosed is that autism was considered a very rare condition in the 1960s, when older people were younger, adding: “It’s much more common now.” “The prevalence rate reflects that.”

He said that for many older people, receiving a diagnosis is a “lightbulb moment”, meaning they gain a deeper understanding of their life experiences, as well as access to help and support from employers, residential care providers and others. He said the door would also be open.

He wants clinicians working in aged services to be more aware of undiagnosed people with autism.

“We know that people with autism often require additional help and support throughout their lives to support their mental health and ensure they lead happy lives.” said.

“Getting the right help and support can be a hugely important factor in ensuring they age well and I believe everyone has the right to live the best life possible. I am thinking.”