How has your Autism changed as you have aged?

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My autism has changed as I have grown older. As a child / teenager, I was very socially inappropriate but extrovert. I would go up to people and socialise voluntarily, but I would very often offend people or just be plain weird. I had no clue of how to talk to people and I was bullied a lot because of how weird I was. I was also a troublemaker and I had violent meltdowns.

Now I am a loner and I don't like to socialise. I go out of my way NOT to socialise and I can stay in my bedroom for days and days. I still don't understand how people work but I don't care because I rarely associate with them. I still have violent meltdowns though. My facial expression / voice is more expressionless / monotonous now.

When I was a teenager, I had hopes of going to university the 'normal' way, and getting a job. Now I am at university, but I am part-time and I require a full-time support worker. I am unemployed, never had a job before, am on government disability benefits and am living in supported housing, due to mental illness and autism (but now primarily autism). I never predicted life would turn out this way when I was younger.

The ways it has changed? I have changed massively since I was a kid. I used to have zero social awareness and did not recognize the needs of others around me. For example: if another child wanted to play with me: it would only be on my terms or I would stop playing with them. I didn't care about other kids: I only used them for information to compile into my projects: where I would make lists of things that applied to them (i.e. type of bathing suit, names, ages). I loved reading (upon being tested, I appeared to read at a grade seven level in kindergarden) and compiling information on various subjects. I often talked in a formal, monotone voice and would often bring up my imaginary world full of series and patterns, regardless of whether the other person was interested.

The imaginary worlds I lived in mixed into reality to the point where teachers of mine became very concerned about my sense of reality. My parents, however, valued who I was and loved my world, which I often shared with them. I was also severely logic-based to the point if anything in my environment changed, I would react to it strongly and with intense emotion: for example, a cut on my finger or a lost mitten would send me screaming and unable to control myself. For many years, I also isolated myself from others because I had no idea how to please them.

Upon learning that other people had thoughts, feelings and experiences, I slowly became a highly emotion-based person. I also pushed myself to develop social skills to the point where I'm fairly good at them, and am able to use them (often naturally) to navigate my world. My interests also became much less intense and more socially based.

The ways it has stayed the same: I have always had a vivid inner world and highly creative way at looking at things. The intensity of this world and my creative thinking has decreased quite a lot, but it's still there. I don't seem to be grounded in reality much (which I see as a good thing in some ways) and am a strong "outside the box" thinker. I think those are fundamental aspects of my personality that would only exist if I had an ASD.

I would say that my social skills have improved also able to read facial expressions with ease comfortable in having a conversation or so however the downsides are sensory issues including bright lights and dislike touch.

It gets worse, since you dont just stay behind the curve, you fall further and further behind.

It's made me more thoughtful and sensitive and it's also made me very tolerant of people who have all kinds of differences.

As I have gotten older my autism is still quite evident to others but as someone else said, I have gotten more used to myself and the expectations of the world and the general population. My communication has improved, especially texting. My sensory processing has improved, I am more comfortable in new places. I still have VERY specific interests; however, now I apply these interests to real life.

I continue to learn ways to adapt in the neeurotypical world but I know that my autism will always be a part of who I am.

Autism is just a strange fact of life. We are born with it. whichever one it is. I am always aware of new information and off-beat comments that occur, as you do at an earlier age, but its how you process that info and use it to create a better strategy not just to ridicule people who are less clued up than you about it. I guess its more about thinking outside the box and yes Iv e even raised awareness myself on topics of employment and living to MPs who don't have much clue about it, I mean they just rely on the input from the jobcentre or national charities as a main driving tool..
Creating better awareness is not just about the facts its about recognising each and every individuals needs and getting experienced non- judgemental people to come and do us a favour in regards to work and stamina.
I'm all for getting a job, there might be some people who are just sitting on the doll- I make sure ever minute of my life counts even if that is just breathing thinking and typewriting a great deal, at least that's a positive step in the right direction.

My symptoms improved as I did things like heavy exercise, eating only food without preservatives, practiced communicating (it can be learned with trial and error) and learned more about the world and other peoples viewpoints. I learned small-talk and actually enjoy it now. I interview well. Understanding other people and how to deal with them has definitely been a special-interest of mine but it's served me well.

However, the real problem which is the sensory overload did not really change. I found myself surrounded by people and having fun but I couldn't go to sleep. I did customer oriented jobs (waitress, tech support) with high pressure but I would have to lie on the floor in the fetal position for hours after I got home and then I couldn't sleep.

I also raised 3 kids, 1 or more also on the autism spectrum. This was exhausting and gave me serious on-going anxiety. You can't quit this job and I believe the lack of sleep and permanent anxiety wrecked my health. I also could not clean. I have no sense of order and just walk around in circles so I got complained at for 20 years while I worked all day and all evening. I once went 7 years without a day off. I really loved this job but it was a case of biting off more than I could chew.

What I should have done differently was to try the customer service positions for a finite period of time just as a drill to learn from and then establish a slower paced, intellect based career. I could have handled one child ok and if I had any help and family support I probably could have handled the whole brood.

I am now disabled (frequent migraines) and notice some regression from lack of social activities. The sensory overload from driving and loud bright places is the same. It's very mechanical though does seem better if I'm not worried about getting lost or something or when I'm out having fun with a friend.

Diagnoses: PDD-NOS and ADHD(space cadet version)

hiya cattails welcome to our club you had a full plate for sure.

It has changed a little. Through out my childhood / teen years I...
Was very introverted and hardly ever talked to people, if I did it was usually to tell them to quit ticking me off .
Hated being in groups; it made me uncomfortable.
Didn't have very good social skills at all.
Basically, if you've ever seen a cornered cat about to scratch you that was me most days.

Now I'm a little more friendly (and not as easily ticked off), am better in groups (not great but better), and after intensive study of acceptable social behavior, I am able to carry myself a lot better in conversation.
I guess what really helped me was being diagnosed. Before that everyone who knew me just thought I was (literally) crazy, but finding out that there wasn't anything wrong with being myself, and that there were other people going through similar situations, made me open up a little and try to do better.
That being said, I still behave a lot in the same way I always have; I still have my obsessions, I won't wear uncomfortable clothes (no matter how good I look in them), I don't always know when people are joking, I have a VERY active imagination, and when I get excited I let out a high pitched squeel and geek out completely.

My anxiety has gotten worse, I seem to be more prone to meltdowns. I seem to be able to channel my thoughts better instead of repeating things in my head. I don’t tic my head so often and no longer blink my eyes. I can also get to sleep better. My social skills have improved but I still don’t care to be around people or have friends. I can look people in the eye better but not if I’m feeling too much stress.

Interesting question, and one I thought I would have a better answer to.

I thought that I was doing much better than I had in the past, but with the exception of a couple of areas, I'm as bad as I ever was. I'm still a slob, I still can't get motivated to accomplish anything (inertia?), I still suffer from social anxiety, I'm still clumsy, I still zone out, I still "stim" constantly -- if I can't rock (my favorite), I'll bounce my leg, wring my hands or wiggle my toes. My anxiety has gotten MUCH worse, in that I didn't have panic attacks until 8 years ago. The only areas where I can see improvement is that I can start conversations with new people and sustain it, and my self-esteem has come up some. In some ways I think I'm worse, but I know that it's only because I'm aware of my traits now -- I'm undiagnosed but am 99% sure I'm an Aspie -- so I notice them more. But I asked my mother, who I live with, if I was worse in the last year since I discovered ASD, and she said no.

I don't think my autism has changed very much at all.... but I have learned a ton of skills and my abilities have grown/developed quite a lot since I was a child -- some of them leaps and bounds.

My Asperger's hasn't changed, but my coping abilities have improved to compensate.

I was only diagnosed last year at 46. Since then I've read a lot, and I can now recognise my Aspie reactions to various situations. Which means I can remove myself, or deal with that situation, knowing why I'm so upset over it.