Parents of children with autism and intellectual disability should take note. Seizures can be deadly and many with autism and ID will eventually suffer from seizures.

Parents of children with autism and intellectual disability should take note. Seizures can be deadly and many with autism and ID will eventually suffer from seizures.

Disney Channel star Cameron Boyce died this weekend at 20 from a seizure while sleeping. The young actor had already built an accomplished acting career and was engaged in social issues as well. I am not asserting that he was autistic just that he died from a seizure. 

The 2015 Autistica UK Report "Personal Tragedies, Public Crisis" examined studies on premature death in autism. They found that persons with autism and intellectual disability die on average 30 years earlier than persons in the general population with the primary trigger being a seizure. Many with autism and intellectual disability including my son also suffer from epilepsy and seizures which may not appear until adolescence as it did in my son''s case. Parents of children with autism and intellectual disability should ask their family doctors or any health care professionals in their children's lives about epilepsy and seizure risks.