Another Conor Seizure This Morning, Another Reminder of His Shortened Life Expectancy

People with autism die 16 years sooner on average than they otherwise would, and those whose autism is combined with intellectual disability die 30 years sooner.  Death comes earlier to autistic people, whatever the proximate cause. But epilepsy, which is diagnosed in 20-40% of autistic people, is a major cause of death, especially in those whose autism is severe and combined with learning difficulties. Among those who are autistic but with less severe symptoms, suicide is a common cause of death, especially among women. 

People with autism die 16 years earlier on average,says charity, Hawkes, Nigel. BMJ : British Medical Journal (Online); London352 (Mar 17, 2016)

I was reminded, yet again, of my son Conor's shortened life expectancy as summarized in the BMJ article above, when he suffered a tonic clonic, "grand mal" seizure shortly after 5:30 am. I sleep on a couch in the living room, which is near Conor's room, in the hope that if he suffers a seizure during the night I will hear him and can go to his aid. This morning I was up at 4:45 when he went to the washroom before going back to bed. He was smiling, in great spirits. 45 minutes later I heard what I first thought were laughing noises but quickly thought they seemed odd and I jumped up and went to his room where he was sitting up in a soft backed chair (where he often sits when waking before his 6:01 time for coming out of his room). He was in full convulsions with saliva coming out of his mouth and was not conscious. I was able to pull him up straight so he could clear his throat more easily and tilted is head a bit to his side It took awhile before he could respond to me verbally. He is still a bit tired but has had his meds, breakfast, time on "red computer" and is lying on the cozy couch watching Winnie the Pooh's Grand Adventure.