I am not a doctor but, for most people, being autistic seems to bring some health issues with it.
In fact for me my diagnosis has explained why I have certain health issues, instead of just assuming that these health issues were a result of being a teacher. Given how stressful teaching can be this was a logical, but incorrect, assumption for me to make.
According to the medical articles I have read,
"Adults with autism are at an increased risk for diabetes, depression and a number of other health problems"
A frequently occurring health issue which appears in articles on autism and health issues is epilepsy;
"Autism frequently co-occurs with any of a long list of other conditions. But none may be more closely linked than epilepsy. Nearly half of all autistic people have epilepsy, according to some reports, suggesting that the two conditions share underlying biology. For example, both conditions are characterized by overly excitable brains.
It’s not yet clear whether epilepsy contributes to autism or is a consequence of the condition, however."
Another frequently mentioned health issue, in these articles, is the area of mental health (particularly anxiety/depression). Given how stressful teaching can be it's probably not very surprising that mental health issues are common in the profession. However if you have autism it appears that you have a far higher likelihood of suffering from mental health issues.
Some reports state that ...
"people with autism are four times more likely than neurotypicals to experience depression over the course of their lives, although scientists are unsure why. Their rates of depression rise with intelligence and with age. In fact ........ more than 70 percent of autistic youth have mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety, and these are thought to often persist or worsen into adulthood."
The graphic below shows the increased chance autistic adults have of suffering from various health conditions, compared to neurotypical adults. Please don't panic though as you aren't meant to have them all! 🙂
The only obvious advice I can give is that if you're in any doubt about your health, then please seek professional advice.
