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Has your Autism changed as you have grown older?

Sparticus

Sparticus

Jewish man kissing a Catholic woman....
I think my autism has increased as I've gotten older. Not sure...when I was young, the word "autism" was not widely known or recognized. Except in severe cases. So I was able to blend in with the NT's. As I got older like in my 20s and in college, I started getting more hyper. Recently I've become more aware [only found out I have autism a few years ago] of how limited my social functioning is.

In the past I chalked it up to depression, social anxiety, panic attacks etc. But know I now that every social interaction for me is a potential nightmare...maybe I'm just more informed/aware? how about you? Has your Autism changed as you grew older?
 
Sportster you brought up excellent points especially about recognizing triggers, avoiding crowded areas, noisy places etc. Yup I agree, the world does seem to make less sense.
 
Everyone grows and changes. We all learn to cope with our difficulties so has it changed in and of itself probably not it is always as it was...am I more aware of its effects on me and other people absolutely. Am I more aware of the difference yes do I try to reduce some of it yes but I never try to change the core of who I am.
 
I think my willingness to put up with all the subtle nuances of relationships is diminishing. It feels like it is getting harder, but perhaps I'm growing weary of the effort. It could look like my traits are getting worse, but the reality is that I'm trying to hide it less.
 
I hit the "Quote" button by mistake instead of the reply button...not sure what happened!@ :D
Me too I think...tired of putting up with social b*llsh*t. Just be real and stop all the childhood crap...something like that.
I think I might just be becoming more aware and maybe able [please!] to stop certain social anxiety stuff...


Christy said:
I think my willingness to put up with all the subtle nuances of relationships is diminishing. It feels like it is getting harder, but perhaps I'm growing weary of the effort. It could look like my traits are getting worse, but the reality is that I'm trying to hide it less.
Click to expand...
 
Sparticus said:
I hit the "Quote" button by mistake instead of the reply button...not sure what happened!@ :D
Me too I think...tired of putting up with social b*llsh*t. Just be real and stop all the childhood crap...something like that.
I think I might just be becoming more aware and maybe able [please!] to stop certain social anxiety stuff...
Click to expand...

Good point Sparticus, I'm definitely learning to not care what other people think (although I have a long way to go with this). I've never been able to please everybody, and now I know I probably can't please them as their expectations are aligned with what an NT can deliver. I'm realising my ability to be happy is aligned with my willingness to accept myself and reject obligations put on me by other people. What is changing is my ability to do this.
 
For me I have recently found out I have aspergers, in the last year have been learning to put put trust in others instead of trying to do everything my self. I try not to care about what others think but can be worry about it.
 
Thanks! I'm trying to learn to not care what others think. Sometimes I succeed but I still people please and am becoming more aware of that. That's wise-"my willingness to accept myself and reject obligations put on me by other people." I'm a student trying to learn that. Anyhoo me Pirate Nano battery cells are low...and I'm tired.

{TV Announcer Voice} "Thanks everyone for playing "has your autism changed as you grew older. Tune in tomorrow.
Same Bat Channel, same Bat time."

Christy said:
Good point Sparticus, I'm definitely learning to not care what other people think (although I have a long way to go with this). I've never been able to please everybody, and now I know I probably can't please them as their expectations are aligned with what an NT can deliver. I'm realising my ability to be happy is aligned with my willingness to accept myself and reject obligations put on me by other people. What is changing is my ability to do this.
Click to expand...
 
Yes mine has definitely increased over the years. The other day I came across some old files of email correspondence to various people online about projects and relationships, from around 10 years ago. I remember it, and it was good, but I am not that guy anymore. It feels like as time goes on, more links in my head go missing and I just don't have the ability to be that way again.
 
Sparticus said:
Thanks! I'm trying to learn to not care what others think. Sometimes I succeed but I still people please and am becoming more aware of that. That's wise-"my willingness to accept myself and reject obligations put on me by other people." I'm a student trying to learn that. Anyhoo me Pirate Nano battery cells are low...and I'm tired.

{TV Announcer Voice} "Thanks everyone for playing "has your autism changed as you grew older. Tune in tomorrow.
Same Bat Channel, same Bat time."
Click to expand...
I believe it was, "Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel". In case you care.
 
Sparticus said:
I think my autism has increased as I've gotten older. Not sure...when I was young, the word "autism" was not widely known or recognized. Except in severe cases. So I was able to blend in with the NT's. As I got older like in my 20s and in college, I started getting more hyper. Recently I've become more aware [only found out I have autism a few years ago] of how limited my social functioning is.

In the past I chalked it up to depression, social anxiety, panic attacks etc. But know I now that every social interaction for me is a potential nightmare...maybe I'm just more informed/aware? how about you? Has your Autism changed as you grew older?
Click to expand...
I know that I have worked a lot on the behaviors I did not like and have made great progress. I also know that some of my success is due to me discovering what I really want in life and learning not to care as much about pleasing others. I just recently found out that I am an Aspie so I am still in the early stages of discovering how it really effects me, and about how really different I am. Part of that is discovering how far off my perception of social interactions is from what is actually going on.
 
I have found that some "symptoms" have diminished, others have gotten stronger.
As an example of one that diminished, I used to be horrible at recognizing sarcasm. With greater experience, I've gotten better at recognising those things.
However, I used to have a circle of friends (yes, really) now I have one and am amazed that I have even one, and am so so isolated from anyone beyond that one.
 
My social skills have improved a lot. I have been preaching in churches for the last 16 years. I still am pretty uncomfortable with the social aspects of going to different churches and having to make small talk with people before and after the service. I have had some strange anxiety attacks the last year that I never had when I was younger like when it started snowing really heavy and I had the sense that I wouldn't make it home.
 
Ste11aeres said:
I have found that some "symptoms" have diminished, others have gotten stronger.
As an example of one that diminished, I used to be horrible at recognizing sarcasm. With greater experience, I've gotten better at recognising those things.
However, I used to have a circle of friends (yes, really) now I have one and am amazed that I have even one, and am so so isolated from anyone beyond that one.
Click to expand...

Yes, sarcasm is a problem for me. I can dish it out at times, but I cannot process it when it's aimed at me. These days I just consciously try to avoid dealing with it by ignoring it even when I can recognize it.

Your isolation sounds so familiar. I'm glad though you have your one Aspie friend though. One more than I have. Isolation is a strange thing for me. At times it's as comfortable as an old shoe...but other times it makes me very sad. I hope you're dealing with it better than I am at the moment. Nice to hear you might be getting a dog in the near future.
 
I,m the same way with sarcasm. I tend to take things too serious and sometimes see it as criticism.
 
The last girl I dated was supposedly so sarcastic. She would always say the same kind of things that she absolutely knew seriously burned me in the past, then later on when I questioned it she would say it was all in sarcasm. I'd say please don't do that. I couldn't tell one bit no matter how hard I tried that it was supposed to be sarcasm. Well I knew I couldn't live that way so that was one of the things that drove me away.
 
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