Jun Heguri (pseudonym) Parent of Rett patient
I was informed by the Japan Rett Syndrome Association that the average age of its Rett patients is 29, including those who have withdrawn. The number of data is still small, but it seems to be close to the average age of RETT patients nationwide. Since the average age of Japanese people is 48.4 years old, it is estimated that the number of people over 60 years old who are RET patients is extremely small. A sober analysis suggests that they are not living as long as healthy people.
Below is a document about the life expectancy of people with developmental disabilities and intellectual disabilities. I would like you to read it. My child is a girl, but since she was diagnosed with Rett Syndrome when she was 3 years old, I have always believed that her parents would live longer than their daughter.
Certainly, recently there is a great possibility that even after the death of a parent, Rett patients can continue to live while receiving various welfare assistance. However, after taking care of my child, we, patient’s parents want be called to heaven.
The Psychotherapy Institute has published the following research. The actual life expectancy of people with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
Although there are no direct life expectancy data for people with developmental or intellectual disabilities, some predictions can be made from relevant data.
The average life expectancy in Japan is 80 years for men and 87 years for women. According to the simplified life table of 2016, the average life expectancy for men is 80.98 years and the average life expectancy for women is 87.14 years. We are about to enter an era of 80 years of life, or rather 90 years for women, and we will look at the average life expectancy of people with developmental disabilities and intellectual disabilities based on this average life expectancy. 9% of people aged 65 and older with intellectual disabilities .
There was such data in the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare’s “2014 Trends in Disability Health and Welfare Measures”.
This is a breakdown of the physically handicapped, intellectually handicapped and mentally handicapped by age.
● Persons with physical disabilities ⇒ 31% under 65 years old 69% over 65 years old
● Persons with intellectual disabilities ⇒ 91% under 65 years old 9% over 65 years old
● People with mental disabilities ⇒ 64% under 65 years old 34% over 65 years old You can see that the percentage of people with intellectual disabilities aged 65 and over is remarkably low.
Less than 10% live past age 65. The proportion of persons with mental disabilities is also considerably lower than that of persons with physical disabilities.
People who live with various burdens As I mentioned at the beginning,
There is no direct data on average life expectancy for people with developmental disabilities and intellectual disabilities in Japan. From the data of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare,
it can be inferred that the average life expectancy of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities is considerably lower than that of healthy people.
I will explain the cause later, but in summary, people with intellectual disabilities live with various burdens, which wears out their mind and body and shortens their lives.
Daily difficulties caused by intellectual disability People with intellectual disabilities generally cannot do things that people without disabilities normally do. In addition, common sense and way of thinking are different. “For this reason, it interferes not only with daily life but also with social life.
As a result, we live with loads of different kinds. Stress due to inability to adapt to surroundings If you have a disability, you will be under a lot of stress from those around you.
It is believed that this stress induces secondary disorders such as mental illness, and damages the mind and body like body blows, shortening life expectancy.
Stress causes various mental illnesses. In addition, it is believed that accidents and side effects of medications have a negative impact on the life expectancy of people with intellectual disabilities.
In addition, some people explain the short life expectancy of elderly people with intellectual disabilities on the grounds that they are hard to find in the city.
However, this is due to the fact that many people with intellectual disabilities live in institutions, and this fact cannot explain the short life expectancy. to live longer .
It is a fact that people with intellectual disabilities have shorter life spans than healthy people.
However, with advances in medical technology and an increase in the number of effective drugs, life expectancy does not appear to be significantly shorter than in the past.
Depending on how you live, you can live longer. create a more stress-free environment
As we have already seen, the main culprit that shortens lifespans is stress. The point is how to ensure a stress-free living environment. By doing this, if the energy of the mind and body increases, naturally it will lead to a longer life. Daily care increases the chances of living a long and healthy life
Thanks to advances in medical technology and the development of national welfare policies, support services for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities have been enhanced.
Although there are no statistics, it is predicted that the average life expectancy will surely increase compared to the past. Don’t give up, think positively, don’t neglect your daily care, and live by supporting each other.