Many autistic adults are discovering their autism for the first time in adulthood; others have navigated their lives to date with the knowledge of being autistic but are still finding new challenges in their adult lives. We created this presentation to help autistic adults understand themselves through the lens of autism, discover ideas and strategies to meet their challenges and assist professionals involved in helping autistic adults. We draw on the latest research and our combined 80 years of experience as clinical psychologists to describe many ideas and strategies to help. 

Our topics include:

• Coping mechanisms for growing up and being autistic in a world dominated by neurotypicals
• Leaving home and becoming independent
• Creating or extending a social network
• Understanding and accepting the authentic self
• Finding and keeping a partner
• Being a parent
• Employment issues
• Managing executive function challenges
• Autism over the adult lifespan
• Mental health, including managing anxiety and depression
• Physical health
• The effects of the discovery of autism later in life
• Well-being as an autistic adult