Session 1: Being Autistic & Older: The Impact on Cognitive Aging and Health

Presenter: Professor Hilde Geurts  

About this Session:

In this session, she will first highlight why a specific focus on old age is relevant and how little is known. Based on this general overview, she will zoom into what we know about age-related diseases (like neurodegenerative disorders) and autism and why it is relevant to focus on this specific topic even though there is little knowledge about a wide range of topics that matter to autistic (older) adults. When someone experiences increased cognitive difficulties when aging, this is typically considered the first red flag to screen for the presence of neurocognitive disorders. In autistic older adults, there might be an increased risk for misdiagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders due to so-called diagnostic overshadowing as well as so-called phenotypic overlap. Both terms will be discussed, and recent research findings will be used to illustrate the challenges of this relatively young field of research.

About the Presenter:

Professor Dr. Hilde Geurts is a professor of clinical neuropsychology at the Department of Psychology of the University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands). She is head of the Department of Brain & Cognition and of the Dutch Autism and ADHD research group (d’Arc, www.dutcharc.nl). She is also affiliated with a mental health care institute that specializes in supporting autistic people across their lifespan, the “Dr. Leo Kannerhuis.” Her research focus has been on both autism and ADHD for over 25 years. First, she focused mainly on children, but currently, her focus is adulthood and older age. The topics she has studied range from quality of life to cognitive functioning. In all her work, she collaborates with autistic adults for specific projects and larger initiatives like the Academic Workplace Autism project (2014-2023). Co-creation fits both with embracing open science and aiming for science, which makes a difference in people’s lives.

Session Materials

Recorded on July 11, 2024