Abstract
This study examined how age of autism diagnosis relates to adult life satisfaction in a sample of 769 self-reporting autistic adults. We analyzed how demographic and clinical variables related to age of diagnosis and then analyzed the relationship between age of diagnosis and scores on four measures of life satisfaction while controlling for variables significantly associated with age of diagnosis. Participants diagnosed in adulthood were older, less likely to have an intellectual disability, more likely to be assigned female at birth, more likely to identify as a sexual minority, and had higher self-reported autistic traits than those diagnosed earlier. Controlling for these factors, participants diagnosed between ages 3 and 5 reported higher levels of flourishing, autonomy satisfaction, and social satisfaction than those diagnosed in adulthood. Diagnosis before 3 was also associated with more social satisfaction and autonomy satisfaction than adult diagnosis. Individuals diagnosed in adulthood did not significantly differ from those diagnosed between ages 6 and 11 or 12 and 17 on any outcome. These findings indicate that age of autism diagnosis is nonlinearly related to adult life satisfaction. Early childhood diagnosis was associated with more life satisfaction, but beyond early childhood, age of diagnosis was not reliably linked to adult life satisfaction.Lay AbstractMore people are getting diagnosed with autism as teens and adults, and autism affects people throughout their lives. We need to know what factors, including age of diagnosis, affect how autistic adults are doing so that we can support them and create a world where they can thrive. In this study, we wanted to understand how people's age of diagnosis relates to their life satisfaction as adults. Most of the research about the age of autism diagnosis focuses on childhood diagnosis and outcomes; thus, we wanted to study a wider range of diagnosis ages (including adult diagnosis) and life satisfaction in adulthood, an understudied area that is a focus for the autistic community. We surveyed 769 autistic adults about the age they were diagnosed, aspects of their identity (e.g., race/ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual orientation), and four measures of life satisfaction: flourishing and satisfaction with social relationships, employment/school, and autonomy. We used this data to look for patterns about how parts of adults' identity relate to their age of diagnosis and how age of diagnosis relates to life satisfaction. We found that people diagnosed between 3 and 5 years old reported more flourishing and more satisfaction with their autonomy and social lives than people diagnosed as adults. However, people diagnosed later in childhood or adolescence were not more satisfied with those things than people diagnosed as adults. This suggests there may be something especially helpful about being diagnosed early. It is important to note, however, that because the study was correlational, we cannot say that being diagnosed early causes better outcomes in adulthood.