What does autism look like? We have all seen the stereotyped description of the young boy who plays by himself, rocks or spins around, won’t make eye contact when spoken to, loves trains and gets upset if anything in his environment is moved or out of place. This may describe the experience of some autistic children. But what if I told you that autism might also look like a middle-aged man or woman who can communicate and make eye contact, but who also retreats often to their own space? Someone who knows they are a bit different but can’t quite identify why. Well, I could be describing myself at this point and in fact I am.

It actually should be no surprise to find autistic adults of all ages in our communities. No one grows out of autism when they become an adult. They may just learn to mask it better. Autism is a lifelong difference.

But where are all the autistic older people? The answer to this question also goes to the heart of the ‘Autism Epidemic’ theory which suggests that because diagnosis rates are increasing, there must be environmental factors at play. The reality is that autistic children become autistic adults and often then have autistic children, so the cycle continues.

I believe that one reason that the numbers of autism diagnoses are increasing is that adults like me are getting diagnosed for the first time. Let’s be clear, when we were children perhaps back in the 1970s or 1980s or even earlier, the understanding of autism was so narrow that very many of us were missed. We were autistic, but perhaps just not recognised as such. So now we have whole generations of undiagnosed autistic adults walking around who do not know anything about their autism. They only know that they are different from everyone around them and life is all the more challenging because of that. Again, this was my experience.

Until very recently there was a considerable amount of publicly available information about autism in children, but very little about adults. With the advent of social media platforms like YouTube, this is changing, with many great content creators now talking about what autism looks like in adults. This is fantastic and has helped me on my journey to autistic discovery. This can help autistic adults of all ages. As someone moving well into middle age, my life experience and focus is different than that of a young adult. So after receiving my formal autism diagnosis at the age of 56, I realised there was a need for more voices talking about autism in older people and the @Autistic-Older-Adult channel was born.

Over the last 18 months I have endeavoured to create content to help all autistic adults but in particular older adults find a place where their life experiences are visible and validated. In doing so, I hope to help other autistic people like me find their way home. As the channel has grown, I have been really inspired by the response and the overwhelming message that this is helping people feel seen for the first time.

I am fully aware that most of the autism content available, while extremely helpful to those who can access it, is available primarily in western languages and contexts. As someone who has had the privilege of working as part of an international disability development organisation in the past, I am all too aware that the world is a big and very diverse place. I have determined to make my content as broadly available as possible by providing it both dubbed and subtitled in many regionally-diverse but commonly spoken languages. To this end new episodes are now available dubbed into 21 languages and beyond that subtitled into a further 22 languages.

I know that there are many millions of undiagnosed autistic adults who most likely are struggling to exist in a world not made for how their autistic brains function and process information. It’s my hope that by providing a little bit of support through information about autism in older adults and camaraderie by sharing stories from my life’s journey, we can grow into a better understanding of our autistic selves and maybe even start to like ourselves along the way.

The autistic path is hard, but it can also be beautiful.

If you would be interested in travelling this autistic path with me. You are welcome to join in @Autistic-Older-Adult. Everyone is welcome, Autistic or Autistic-Curious, all ages, nationalities and faiths. The issues we talk about are relevant to a wider age group but focused towards older autistic adults. Issues range from what autism actually is, to common autistic traits and experiences, to co-occurring conditions like ADHD, Dyslexia and many more. All content is free and publicly available.

Phil Lawson
2026
https://www.youtube.com/@Autistic-Older-Adult

About Phil Lawson

Phil is a scientist who left science due to the overwhelm of navigating communication in professional environments, an amateur sports person who stopped competing due to the complexities of social interactions, a musician who struggled being perceived, and a small business owner who finds it difficult to accept new clients due to the difficulties navigating new relationships. Yes, Phil is autistic.

Phil has also actively been involved in disability support and advocacy for much of his working life and also works as a touring live sound engineer and studio engineer, recording and producing music, audio books and voice overs.

Phil also secretly likes trains.