No need to take my word for it. I’d be happy to explain.

For those of us who are diagnosed or self-aware as being autistic late into adulthood, we will often fail to sufficiently integrate into society. Social integration is starting a family, having kids, and raising them. Economic integration is consistent employment in one or more fields to work towards financial independence, stability, and eventually some form of retirement. Everyone goes through life to integrate. So it happens to everyone at some point.

But integration poses the most challenge for us because autism is not widely accepted. Therefore, the reasonable accommodations are rarely applied when, or as early, as we need them. Some of us will manage to settle down and have a family, but lose our job. There’s social integration but not economic. Some will excel early in life with a job that fits our monotropic interest, but fail to develop any social life. Eventually, lacking enough of either one, or both, will cause greater levels of depression and stress.

I happen to have some writing of my own to explain some of the issues this stress causes. Check out my “Autistic Chronophobia Revisited” article. You’ll see what happened to me as I failed with both categories of integration. Also, “A Christmas Memory” is an excellent example of not knowing what I know now, but experiencing a surge of stress and depression.

NIMH does define autism as a neurological—and—developmental disorder. This is the developmental aspect that gets so little attention, especially into adulthood.