Can Autistic Spectrum Disorders get worse?

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yes that has happend to me

(re: your avatar: richardbenson, you are becoming a handsome young man!)

well thank you sinsbodly that was very nice of you to say

yeah, old ladies can say stuff like that and get away with it!

Merle

It's common for people with autistic disorder to improve throughout childhood, and then the disorder returns in adolescence/young-adults to how it was when young and before it improved. They then say it improves around midlife (Wing, 1981).

My mother says apart from my speech, I "regressed" to how I was when little in relation to my distress to change, my need for routine, my rituals, and etcetera, since high school. Well, she says I'm worst now, but that's due to being an adult with self-awareness of my disability, and the expectations that are everywhere--I'm 26 and I'm no different in what I can and can't do compared to when I was 5.

you could write like you do now when you were 5?

Merle

Well, no, but that's my speech/verbal ability that improved, other than that, I'm the same in what I can achieve "objectively" for someone my age. School, work and socializing for example.

I know some bigger words, but that doesn't do much.

My impression of you is that you are coming to terms with your diagnosis and once you've got it lodged in your system you'll know what to do to work around it. That might take time but it's what seems to be happening. I think you're kind of wallowing in it at the moment, if you pardon the expression, and that won't last forever.

I think once we become older, structure basically goes out the window. It could accentuate our symptoms.

That's a big part of what seems to have happened with me.

For instance, when I began having to change classes all the time in school, I started being less able to hide stimming than before, and had more trouble with communication and other things.

There's also the fact that as a person gets older they are expected to do more and more things. For the person unable to do those things, that can result in what seems like a loss of abilities, even if all that happened is that they kept the same abilities they had and failed to gain abilities that were expected. It can also mean that a person uses up all their "spoons" (that word is linked to an explanation of my usage) on doing those things, or doing some of those things, and suddenly has no "spoons" left over for passing as normal, or even for doing things that they'd mastered but had difficulty mastering (such as speech, comprehension, motor planning, etc).

Not really, I've made marked improvements since being diagnosed midway through last year. I now know what I can and cannot do; before, I kept on trying to walk through the closed door, and I kept on hitting my head on it. Now, I've stepped a little to the side, and I've gone through the doorway that's made for me.

If I appear negative, that's just because I'm a negative person; depressed, somber, dark, and all that.

As anbuend said, there's not many expectations placed on the head of the 5 years old child; add another two decades to that, especially when the person hasn't gained the self-helps skills/abilities of his/her peers, and this promotes stress and anxiety when people expect the person who looks outwardly "normal" to do that which others his/her age do.

Seriously, I won't drink a cup of hot chocolate unless I have it prepared the same way each time; transpose this over everything I do. If there's a slight change to my expected plan/routine of the day, I'm unable to function for the rest of the day. Throw in my inability to stand in the presence of people without shutting down, and you have one disabled individual.

The truth is never wallowing; I swallow the truth.

YES!! oh yes, oh thank you for sharing the "Spoon Theory!" it says it better than I have EVER understood myself, but thank you, thank you. What a gift.

gratefully,
Merle

oh Danielismyname, that is so sad!

I never know what I cannot do, and I do it anyway! That is why my name is 'sins boldly' because I don't know I am 'sinning' by not knowing what I cannot do!

I never thought I had limitations, perhaps that is just part of my 'mind blindness'.

Merle

But why is it sad? Knowing what one can't do is very good. Usually. Unless one feels bad about it, that would be miserable. Well, I think it's good to know. I don't mind not being able to do something. That way I know I also know what not to try and fail and waste time with.

Or do you mean it somewhat differently? I think you do, I just don't get how you mean it, argh.

I would say it improves when u get older.

I seem to have had different symptoms at different stages of my life. Recently I have been having big social problems. Previous to that I was married and had a pleasant social life, but I was extremely fixed on routines and had a typical special interest (now I have many interests but only one very narrow one that approaches anything like obsession). Before that, at school I had again social problems, obsession with a person and was semi-mute. I am wondering what will come next, now that my social problems are getting better. Seems like I can gain in one area only to lose in another. Overall though I would say things are getting easier. Or is that just the medication?