Do sensory issues get more difficult with time?

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Matt d
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20 Oct 2021, 9:30 pm

I have finally been truly diagnosed with autism at the age of 30. And was wondering if my future will become more difficult. I have noticed from when I was younger some things have become more difficult, or honestly I just will not do, its too much!



Edna3362
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20 Oct 2021, 10:54 pm

It depends.

There's gaining and losing tolerance to stimuli reaction, and intensity/quantity threshold.
Some overcome with therapy, some with time and maturity, and some by accomodations.

There's also distortion or clarity in sensory processing. Either by deliberate practice or overuse/sensory abuse.

And then there's the age related loses which may gain more sensory tolerance and yet also more distortions by weakening said senses.


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mohsart
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21 Oct 2021, 3:14 am

I've become more sensetive when it comes to sound, smell, and touch.
I'm less sensetive when it comes to food.
I'm more or less as sensetive as before (=not) when it comes to light.

/Mats


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21 Oct 2021, 3:35 am

I feel like I'm more sensitive to sounds and smells than I used to be, but I think it's more that my tolerance has just plummeted as I've gotten older. I used to be better at just putting up with things but as I've gotten older this part has definitely gotten worse. I just don't want to put the effort into pretending I'm OK all the time.



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21 Oct 2021, 5:06 am

Depends on the individual. Over time I've become less sensitive.



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21 Oct 2021, 5:25 am

I am not sure if I am less sensitive as much as I have learned new ways to do things, learned what situations to avoid, learned how to make certain experiences less distressing, etc. I do not have the same sensory issues as I have had in the past. things have changed and most of those frustrating and painful things have been left behind.
We are not static or hard wired, staying always just the same, but we grow, change, and adapt as we age.
Thinking back to my childhood,and to my younger adulthood, I can see that I am no longer the same, do not have the same stims, the same behaviors, etc.

A "work in progress" That's what I think we all are, right up 'til the time we leave this life.


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21 Oct 2021, 5:01 pm

My sensory issues vary with stress and lack of sleep, not age.



Edna3362
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21 Oct 2021, 9:02 pm

Mine varies in mental health, stress and sensitivity. And then age, time and reactivity.


The former three are consequences that are either temporary or chronic in effect, and bodily fluctuations whether internally via hormones or externally via what I consume.

The latter three is about self knowledge and self management, and long term developmental fluctuations involving self regulation.


:lol: Yes. Mine has fluctuations within fluctuations.

I've been insensitive, been sensitive. Been avoidant, been a sensory seeker, been irresponsive, been alexithymic so to speak... Been reactive, been stoic. Been appropriate and inappropriate...

Had it really easy at age 5, got worse by age 10, improving around age 15, losing the improvements since 20, regaining since 25 -- which is basically last year.

So far I think I had it a bit easier than most.
Not as painful or as trigger inducing. Just trickier, more subtle and more confusing.


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22 Oct 2021, 4:53 pm

Everyone is different. Some people get better as they develop coping strategies. Some get worse as they become neurologically depleted. I am of the group that has gotten much worse.


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24 Oct 2021, 10:51 am

I'm 30 (was diagnosed when I was 24) and I do find that things have got worse as I've gotten older. I'd say that things improved up until my early 20s and then I started to regress again.

I think in my experience (my sensory issues get worse with more stress) the issue is that as you age more is expected of you and you're expected to be more independent and this causes more stress for us autistic folks. I also find that it's like I'm stuck development wise in my late teens/early twenties in that fully adapting to proper adult life has always been a struggle so I've lost touch with a lot of school/uni friends who have properly grown up as it were and are fully on track career wise and settled down with their own families.

That being said I've held down stressful jobs with a lot of responsibility. However, I certainly feel like my peers from when I was younger have matured a lot more than I have.



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25 Oct 2021, 2:19 pm

It depends how you deal with them. If your default approach is "put up with it, pretend it's not bothering me, and don't take time to recover from overload" that will cause chronic stress, and the problems caused by chronic stress progressively get worse the longer you're dealing with that stress. But if you take good care of yourself, avoid unnecessary stress and take breaks when you need them, sensory issues will often get less bad, or at least you get better at dealing with them.



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25 Oct 2021, 5:45 pm

Things have gotten worse for me, especially my ability to socialize.

People suck anyway :)


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