The UK Autism Foundation while welcoming Her Majesty’s Government’s Adult Autism Strategy, has now called for a strategy to cover all ages – they have asked for a strategy for children and a strategy for the elderly.

The charity is calling for further action on children and the elderly. Funding however will be key to any work.

Ivan Corea of UKAF said: ‘My son who has autism is 14 years old. Who will support him and look after him when he is 64? Parents and carers do ask the question what will happen to our children when we die?” According to the Office of National Statistics the population of the UK is ageing.

Over the last 25 years the percentage of the population aged 65 and over increased from 15 per cent in 1983 to 16 per cent in 2008, an increase of 1.5 million people in this age group. Over the same period, the percentage of the population aged 16 and under decreased from 21 per cent to 19 per cent.

This trend is projected to continue. By 2033, 23 per cent of the population will be aged 65 and over compared to 18 per cent aged 16 or younger.

The fastest population increase has been in the number of those aged 85 and over, the ’oldest old‘. In 1983, there were just over 600,000 people in the UK aged 85 and over. Since then the numbers have more than doubled reaching 1.3 million in 2008. By 2033 the number of people aged 85 and over is projected to more than double again to reach 3.2 million, and to account for 5 per cent of the total population.

UKAF is asking the next Government to face this serious issue of autism and the elderly. The political parties have been urged to form policies to tackle some of these issues in their manifestos.