Autistic regression? Becoming more autistic with age?

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You are welcome. I am just paying it forward. When I read a thread about "Autistic Burnout" here on WP and then followed up that sure explained a lot.

I can relate to a lot of these posts also. I won't restate what has already been said, but I'll just add an extra bit I've noticed about myself. I think what has happened as I have aged and matured is that I've become more confident in my skin, more proud of being myself I guess. The result is that I am less afraid to "put my autism out there" in what probably seems like small ways.

Such as:
Asking if we can put the TV on as background noise when a friend/partner is about to eat something noisy.
Telling guests that I'm ready for them to leave, rather than just waiting for them to make the call.
Warning a friend that I might be a bit high-strung for a few minutes when we meet up at a cafe, as I will have had to find a car park in a new, busy street.

And I think doing all of this has just made me feel "more autistic", because my needs and quirks are out in the open rather than being kept inside my head all the time. I'm acknowledging them and announcing them and making them a bigger deal externally. So that extra focus can give the illusion that my condition is "getting worse", but ironically it's actually just being better managed.

You might be experiencing something called 'autistic burnout'. It is when the strain of behaving neurotypical breaks down and causes you to be, well, burned out. your energy. it may make you appear more autistic, regress.

Although I've improved in some ways, such as understanding of social situations, my comfort level in social situations has worsened. When I was younger, I could attend an organized group or event and be comfortable and enjoy it, unless someone did something to upset me. But toward the end of high school, I started becoming really uncomfortable with organized activities. I would have my hands over my ears a lot of the time, and meltdowns happened frequently.

Its difficult to say whether it gets worse as you get older. I know for me my folks have told me that all mental conditions worsen as you get older. So since autism is related to the brain it is a possibility that they could be right. But I think more so if someone burns themselves out then maybe that can cause the regression.

Many thanks for all the responses. I'm a bit tied up right now, but (if anyone is waiting on an individual response?) I'll be back in a bit to reply properly.

I've read that autism can start being troublesome when our lives get so complicated, it exceeds our coping mechanisms. That makes sense, based on my experience.

I have mild Aspergers but I never even knew I was on the spectrum, I thought I was "normal". When I had issues I assumed others had similar problems and just "sucked it up".

Then around age 40, juggling work and family life, I had a burn-out which lasted several months. I had family relationship issues and trying to solve them just led to repeated meltdowns. After a long record of previous employment, I was struggling to find work which I could handle. When I got a good job, I had difficulty with emotional regulation. It was as if I'd suddenly "contracted" autism.

It was only when I thought back to my childhood that I realised the ASD was always there, I'd just developed extensive coping mechanisms. I think my brain uses "deep compensation" to work around the deficits, without me even being aware a lot of the time. But even the best compensation only works up to a point, ultimately the ASD is still there.

And, as others have pointed out, I think perimenopause has an adverse effect as well. When the oestrogen supply shuts down it plays havoc with sleep cycles and emotional regulation.

Plus, you know, trying to "fit in" never really got me anywhere. I'm past caring. It feels like time to let go and just be myself.

Hi kraftiekortie (can I call you "kraftie"?). Sorry for the delayed reply.

Eeegad!! Stop with the compliments already; you'll give me an ego (Just kidding. You're good.)

You're right, though: the struggle in real time (for me) is real, heh. That's when my social anxiety is strongest. It's supposed to be that people grow out of social anxiety, but mine seems to have increased over time. I think it complicates things, draining my ability to cope and thus bringing more aspects of my autism that to the fore, and exaggerating existing ones.

I can see possibilities going either way as I age.
In one way I see the possibility for things to become easier as next year I reach the earliest age after which I can (albeit with a discount) claim the pension from the day job for which I have had a wee stoppage on every payslip for the last 32 years.

Other claims on executive function are arising though, as my mother becomes older and more infirm, meaning a number of practical matters come in my in tray for attention.

I notice I am less tolerant of background noise. A loud concert if OK - I am there to listen to, enjoy and get lost in the music. A loud club on the other hand is not - I cannot do any social stuff over noise loud enough that I have to raise my voice and others have to raise theirs and it has gone from being annoying to actually distressing.

I went through a bit of an autistic regression lately (I’m 28) due to a traumatic incident. But I never tried to act NT in my life.