Can Asperger's progress into more advanced autism?

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Hello everyone, I am new here. I am only familiar with Autism issues since few days, but these were intensive days and I feel like I grasp it well. I've also met Autistic people during that time.

Regarding Asperger's, I am more than familiar with it, because I have had it all my life - only realised recently. But what I think made me realise it, is the fact that it recently became more serious.

I would say, that my autistic behaviours deepen progressively since early twenties. Like most people with AS, I coped most of my life, also in social settings. But I no longer feel like I cope. I find it hard to focus and stay connected with everything that goes around. I was always falling into obsessive periods, starting up online businesses, writing books, conducting research or building systems - but only in the last year or two this went into extreme, where I was absent for months, working at the cost of sleep, nutrition, health and relationships with others.

I have two little children and because of my absentmindedness my fiance left me early this year. I fell into career mode and picked up two jobs and pushed my business to its limits. Now she is back with me, but I have really hard time staying focused, listening, keeping eye contact. She is the only person I known for years and the only person I know. There are hundreds of staff working in my workplace, all know me by name but I only know them from observation.

I am afraid that I am less able to cope. I feel like I only want to listen to the music and I feel very anxious, stressed and overloaded with having to go to work every day. Although I do not do nothing in my work, other than work on my projects and although everyone accepted this easily, having to be here or even answer a short question makes me feel very sick.

I just booked an appointment for referral for diagnosis. I have done this before but I panicked and did not go to my appointment.

Any thoughts?

Stress and having to cope with stuffs too hard to deal with can make Asperger/autistic traits more visible therefore you might seem more autistic. It's called autistic burnout. You just can't keep your act forever so your hidden nature shows up, especially when you already know that not everyone is like you and you really have harder time dealing with the society expectations than your peers.

http://disabilityableismautismandmother ... rnout.html
http://americanaspergers.forumotion.net ... ticle#1403

I'm definitely more aware of my traits when I'm going through a period of extreme anxiety. You sound very anxious, but most people would be after such a big change in circumstances. Relationship break-downs are very stressful.

Thank you guys, your opinion was very useful. I am spending more time in solitude and listening to the music and I feel like I am progressively becoming less sensitive and able to carry on. Million thank yous

With regard to the comments made by the starter of this thread, I don't know you so cannot give an accurate diagnosis. However it would make absolute sense for stresses in life to make you deal worse with things, some of the stresses you have mentioned would hit everybody hard. This would make coping mechanisms that you have created to workaround Aspergers difficulties less effective, making it seem that the Aspergers is getting worse but probably it is just you not dealing with things as well as you once were.

This is not meant as a criticism, as this happens to everyone.

It is good that it seems you are progressing, keep on battling there is light at the end of the tunnel.