Do you believe it's possible to regress in adulthood and other thoughts

[Jenisautistic]

I have had many issues growing up I feel like now that I am an adult. I find it harder and harder to be on the same level as others. I'm not thinking about or talking about fitting in. Also, I feel more and more like a child. Although, I don't really mind that

However, I feel my skills weakening in some areas, especially in expressive language if someone is being ablest or saying, something against some thing, I believe not only when I have your name on to make a clearer argument or education to them I would also be unable to understand, why am I feeling this way and what does differently makes it ablest or discriminatory

And my comprehension also a lot of times I feel like I am stimming more. I am repeating myself more and I'm doing the same tasks repeatedly I don't mind this so much but I am puzzled by it.

The frustration comes on when I try to learn/do new things or to read, or to even write my feelings out, sometimes even through speech to text like I do sometimes or explain/say

I am very blessed. I am part of a great organization and I'm going to be on the board soon of this organization. I have a self advocacy group where we present once a month to the individuals in the programs and I am part of the program which is a day habilitation program and it is a lot of fun and the people are very nice

I want to make a good impression I don't want to seem like I am not disabled, or don't seem to be or even that I am at a higher level although I no, the majority of them arehey are very good people and would not be thinking that as much

this group is a person first, which is good but flawed it has a person centered approach, which is amazing

Another thing is I want to represent the way that I am but I want to express myself in a way they will understand at least or try to because a lot of the times that I don't even know what I'm saying anymore
I want to be able to make memories and actually remember them and be able to reference them when I talk and I want to hear others opinions, and be able to understand their way of thinking and be able to have a discussion and help people understand things about non-verbal/non-speakers I want to be able to further my knowledge in someway, even though I will not be going to college

There are so many things I want to share but I also sometimes want to be able to reference things like or find information that can help them understand

I'm not sure if any of you know but disability advocate, Judie humann passed away on I believe March 4. I want to be like her someday, and I originally had the opportunity to see her over zoom with a group of people and I really wanted to talk to her personally

 

[AspieGamer91]

To answer the question of whether or not it can regress (or get worse), I'd say absolutely.

When I still saw my therapist/mentor, I asked her roughly the same question. She took a moment to think, and I still remember the images she created in my mind with her answer. It was something along these lines (not accurate quote though. I also made small edits so it isn't as graphic as how she said it):

"Your brain is worn out. Your mind is very vulnerable, which is not a bad thing in of itself, but without support, it can become a bad thing. Imagine your skin. Every sensory input is like something hard rubbing against it. Without any protection or support, it would eventually become a wound. And it will simply just get worse and worse until you protect it, and give it time to heal. Throughout your life, your mind has been naked to all of the inputs. So it makes sense that you can feel all the pain. And humans doesn't operate as well in pain compared to not in pain."

For me that makes a LOT of sense. Another analogy she gave me, I don't remember the context though, was this:

"We all carry a backpack. Over time more and more rocks are added - there's nothing we can do to stop that. Sometimes it's pebbles but other times it might be a boulder. Eventually your backpack is too heavy for your legs to carry, and if you continue to walk with it, you will end up with stress fractures in your bones. If you don't tend to those tiny fractures AND remove the rocks, those tiny fractures will develop and eventually you'll end up with major fractures. So it's important to not only tend to the symptoms you are experiencing now, but also the underlying cause.
In this analogy, the backpack is your mind. The rocks are your experiences. And the bones are your mental health. Sometimes we humans need to stop up for a while, to asses if it's viable to continue, or if there's something more important that needs our attention. Such as dealing with the rocks/experiences. Or seek help for fractures/help getting stable mentally again."

I don't know if you can use this, or even if it makes sense to you. For me it did make a lot of sense, so I'm sharing in the hopes that it might make some sense to you as well.

 

[Aspychata]

Can you jot down notes at the meetings so you can go over it later? Can you rehash with someone later about the meeting? Can you prepare before you go to the meetings? Maybe these steps will help you feel more on your game?

 

[Outdated]

I want to make a good impression I don't want to seem like I am not disabled, or don't seem to be or even that I am at a higher level although I no, the majority of them arehey are very good people and would not be thinking that as much

The fact that you are thinking about these sorts of things tells me that you will be a very valuable addition to their board.

It's difficult to find the right balance between pride and humility. To be able to stand your ground and be a strong advocate and yet to also allow people to see your weaknesses, your humanity.

You are a nice person with a good heart, I believe whatever just comes naturally to you will be what is right.

 

[Progster]

I've found that as I've go older, I've had more problems with anxiety and stress.

 

[Sarah S]

Short answer YES Jen. My mental (ie Adaptive and Kognitive ) age is 5 -9 (tested by valid testing that pros are using) in the first place from all my gazillion diagnosis. And as we both also have ID its sadly one of the traits for this diagnose (also from lower IQ than average) than our mental age is often lower than our peers as well as our reel age Jen.

And similar as Progster with age (and continuing never ending bombardment of negative stress 24 / 7 all my previous diagnosis has regressed to even worse than it was a little girl. and also multiplied to even more diagnosis

NON of this means were idiots and less adult than others though it only means that we do have certain disadvantages. in certain areas. Just keep on being YOU Jen.

And reg memory my shortime memory is that of a Goldfish, for some reason im better on long term. (Both based on Adaptive and kognitive skills) Have you tried using a small recorder instead of writing? I know i have Dyslexia so im way better expressing my self verbally.

Aspie Gamer

MOST informative indeed and i agree 101 % I know it's all the heavy backpack i have collected since i was a little girl to now that is the main reason for my regression and adding new diagnosis to my already damaged brain from birth.

 

[autism-and-autotune]

I have had many issues growing up I feel like now that I am an adult. I find it harder and harder to be on the same level as others. I'm not thinking about or talking about fitting in. Also, I feel more and more like a child. Although, I don't really mind that

However, I feel my skills weakening in some areas, especially in expressive language if someone is being ablest or saying, something against some thing, I believe not only when I have your name on to make a clearer argument or education to them I would also be unable to understand, why am I feeling this way and what does differently makes it ablest or discriminatory

And my comprehension also a lot of times I feel like I am stimming more. I am repeating myself more and I'm doing the same tasks repeatedly I don't mind this so much but I am puzzled by it.

The frustration comes on when I try to learn/do new things or to read, or to even write my feelings out, sometimes even through speech to text like I do sometimes or explain/say

I am very blessed. I am part of a great organization and I'm going to be on the board soon of this organization. I have a self advocacy group where we present once a month to the individuals in the programs and I am part of the program which is a day habilitation program and it is a lot of fun and the people are very nice

I want to make a good impression I don't want to seem like I am not disabled, or don't seem to be or even that I am at a higher level although I no, the majority of them arehey are very good people and would not be thinking that as much

this group is a person first, which is good but flawed it has a person centered approach, which is amazing

Another thing is I want to represent the way that I am but I want to express myself in a way they will understand at least or try to because a lot of the times that I don't even know what I'm saying anymore
I want to be able to make memories and actually remember them and be able to reference them when I talk and I want to hear others opinions, and be able to understand their way of thinking and be able to have a discussion and help people understand things about non-verbal/non-speakers I want to be able to further my knowledge in someway, even though I will not be going to college

There are so many things I want to share but I also sometimes want to be able to reference things like or find information that can help them understand

I'm not sure if any of you know but disability advocate, Judie humann passed away on I believe March 4. I want to be like her someday, and I originally had the opportunity to see her over zoom with a group of people and I really wanted to talk to her personally

Reading your words has been very helpful to me. Since my diagnosis, I wonder if some traits of my autism have become more severe simply because now I know that I have autism. I get more tired when having to mask and monitor my daily existence in public.

 

[Rodafina]

I am definitely having that experience, Jen. I relate to what others and you have said here. It feels like the stress of living is cumulative and I wonder if some of the confusion will ever go away. Also though, this is the first time in my life (I am 42 now) that I have the chance to speak with other autistic people, so even though things are harder now, they also make more sense, and at least I am very grateful for that.

I think one of the things that I finally accepted is that feelings will rarely be static - going up and down back-and-forth and most often a confusing mix of everything.

Thank you for sharing this post, it was helpful to read it and everyone’s responses. Based on what you’ve shared on the forum, I think you will be a great asset to the organization. Just keep being your awesome self as much as possible and never feel bad about leaning on any supports that you have built up around you.

 

[Kayla55]

I have had many issues growing up I feel like now that I am an adult. I find it harder and harder to be on the same level as others. I'm not thinking about or talking about fitting in. Also, I feel more and more like a child. Although, I don't really mind that

However, I feel my skills weakening in some areas, especially in expressive language if someone is being ablest or saying, something against some thing, I believe not only when I have your name on to make a clearer argument or education to them I would also be unable to understand, why am I feeling this way and what does differently makes it ablest or discriminatory

And my comprehension also a lot of times I feel like I am stimming more. I am repeating myself more and I'm doing the same tasks repeatedly I don't mind this so much but I am puzzled by it.

The frustration comes on when I try to learn/do new things or to read, or to even write my feelings out, sometimes even through speech to text like I do sometimes or explain/say

I am very blessed. I am part of a great organization and I'm going to be on the board soon of this organization. I have a self advocacy group where we present once a month to the individuals in the programs and I am part of the program which is a day habilitation program and it is a lot of fun and the people are very nice

I want to make a good impression I don't want to seem like I am not disabled, or don't seem to be or even that I am at a higher level although I no, the majority of them arehey are very good people and would not be thinking that as much

this group is a person first, which is good but flawed it has a person centered approach, which is amazing

Another thing is I want to represent the way that I am but I want to express myself in a way they will understand at least or try to because a lot of the times that I don't even know what I'm saying anymore
I want to be able to make memories and actually remember them and be able to reference them when I talk and I want to hear others opinions, and be able to understand their way of thinking and be able to have a discussion and help people understand things about non-verbal/non-speakers I want to be able to further my knowledge in someway, even though I will not be going to college

There are so many things I want to share but I also sometimes want to be able to reference things like or find information that can help them understand

I'm not sure if any of you know but disability advocate, Judie humann passed away on I believe March 4. I want to be like her someday, and I originally had the opportunity to see her over zoom with a group of people and I really wanted to talk to her personally

The complex 500 model Lego set is coming into place, we struggle when we young as we are just so complex. I'm glad it's making sense to you, you know more you know who you are.
These are best years for asd cause now you creating your projects.
Well this was my similar experience