Can Autism become worse?

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I was diagnosed at 11 with Autism (and a bunch of other stuff). I've noticed that instead of getting better and learning to cope, it's becoming worse.

I've become less verbal, I'm using my PECS cards a lot more, I'm having more meltdowns than normal (I had a meltdown over a waiting line I wasn't even in), I've started getting stricter with my routines and timetables. My sensory issues are still the same (ie; I still can't cope with noise, touch, textures or certain colours), I've become even more dependent on my mum to help me get dressed in the morning (she has to tell me what to do because for some reason... I need clarification on the simplest of things). I'm getting lost more easily, if I see something then I'll go straight to it. My mum and I went to the O2 last weekend and I got lost 6 times (4 of those times being down in the underground). I've become less aware of my surroundings, I've almost been run over almost 8 times this week alone and I've only left the house three times this week. I've been waking my mum up in the middle of the night, every night when before it used to be maybe once or twice a week.

My stimming has gotten bad, I'm rocking back and forth, flapping hands (this is usual) but I've started making noises again (I stopped this years ago). I've been hitting my head a lot too and doing stupid crap on impulse (like getting my finger jammed in one of my toys... again). Nothing has happened in my life, nothing has changed except it being the summer holidays and so no college. My mum is going in for surgery (removing cancerous cells) next week but it's not making me nervous or worried because she's going to be awake during this (they'll be giving her an epidural) as she won't wake up if given anaesthetic.

Is it possible that Autism can become worse as you get older? Should I expect this to get any worse throughout the year or what? It's like I'm going backwards, all the hard work I've gone through to help me has just gone to waste. What's happening?

http://archive.autistics.org/library/more-autistic.html <--- this lists some reasons why it may seem like you're getting 'more autistic'

what your describing is actually something that i have experienced also. for me it was because as i got older people expected me to do more with less support. so where i was able to do some things with a lot of support i turned only able to do very few things because there was only a little support.

It ebbs and flows. There may be a lot of stresses in your life that you are not even aware are there. That happens to me a lot. Your symptoms get worse but you can't figure out why. Sometimes when my hormones are changing I get stressed too and that makes things worse as far as my symptoms. You are 17 so you may be having some hormonal things going on as well. And sometimes a lot of little things happening at once can make my symptoms worse. I might not realize how stressful they are but they can really add up. Also as you mature in age you start to see things and experience things from changing perspectives and things that may not have stressed you before might start to even without you realizing it. And even though you don't think you feel stressed about your mom's operation you may be much more stressed about it than you realize as well.

I can totally relate to this. People expect me to do much more on my own, my learning disabilities are more prevalent and auditory interpretation speed is slowing. My room used to be clean all the time, but now clothes, Legos, and various bottles and knick-knacks cover the floor. I spend more time away from others to cope, on my computer or playing with my turtles.

But I'm not sure if I am ready for college or independent living at all.

Could it be anxiety? Getting older, more stress, more anxiety, functioning level drops and so do coping skills.

I noticed that when we bought our house and I was faced with an impending wedding, a new job, studying for my master's degree and, as people like to tell me, "[my] life finally coming together", everything got worse. I have meltdowns about three times a week now, or not, if I have to deal with contractors, wedding vendors and mentally preparing for a wedding ceremony. I'm grumpy all the time. I stim so much my knuckles and fingers have semipermanent bite marks and calluses on them now. I'm even more rigid than ever and since my partner started being forced to watch The Big Bang Theory with me because we've started moving in together, he's noticed that I tend to repeat stuff from there verbatim in response when other people talk to me. I'm also exhausted a lot because I feel like acting like I've got Mt crap together daily is harder and harder. I wasn't like that before and my counselor did suggest that stress and anxiety can contribute to all these. Adaptive behaviour takes energy so you'll have a bit less to cope with added stress and anxiety when they get added on.

Maybe you are more aware of your problems as you get older.
Sometimes, it's good not to be aware of problems.

Know what you mean. But think a lot if it has to do with the overload of stuff as a teen. So much more stuff to deal with. So many more responsibilities. That time to learn to be independent as possible. Transforming form kid to adult. I often fear my autism is starting to get worse, or that I've reached my limit and will never progress further. Lots of times I regress.

Maybe you should treat your autism symptoms naturally. If you want to learn more ask goldfish21.

with the Autism Spectrum increase - sometimes quite noticeably. My eye contact skills which took me decades to develop drop, I meltdown more and I talk to myself louder and somewhat jerky movements increase to a more noticeable level. In a more relaxed situation the those same traits decrease just as significantly.

Life is full of ups and downs, one of my severely AS friends got worse from 12 to 14 and everyone thinks that she was faking it, turned out all she needed was a change of scenery because she had become resigned and stressed. My stimming got worse once over some exams and I was craving watermelon despite only eating it once, I ate a whole watermelon and felt so much more awake and alert and much less AS.

I feel like mine is getting worse, but I think it's just because I'm in a transitional stage of life and growing up and my problems are impacting everything more than they did when I was a kid.

Yes.

In hindsight, I've had symptoms all of my life but there was a period of about 4 or 5 years up until a year or two ago where my symptoms got significantly worse. Then I figured out what was causing them and how to treat it. I've since reduced my symptoms by over 95% and have gotten back to work and life in a big way over the last year or so. See the link in my signature for my story and what I've done.

Cliff notes: Symptoms caused by intestinal infection. Infection got worse, so did symptoms. Treated digestive issues via diet & herbal treatments. Symptoms are minimized. True story.

oddly i find that things with "RED 40" in it tends to affect my overall better or worse autism things (it gets worse with if i eat things with that-yet im so addicted to these shwans cherry italian ice things lol).. but thats the only thing ive noticed with me that makes it worse (in terms of what is consumed)... well... that and cheese *drools*

I remember I got worse too and so did my anxiety and I think my parents thought I was faking it too because they would get mad at me whenever I got upset or had anxiety. I felt abandoned. I figured when I was older it was because they were trying to get their house done being built and we had all just moved in and still were transitioning and still had the other house to clean out to rent out so they couldn't handle me right now. But no my mom said it was because I was acting like a two year old. She also said I was trying to be Asperger's and then she said it was my school therapist doing it. But I remember all those years were hard and 16 was the worst. I also had moderate depression too that year according to my therapist based on a test he gave me. I tie it all down to hormones, teens, depression, and anxiety was why I got worse and that can be hard for someone with ASD.

But I got better again. It was actually relieving to read online about autistic people getting worse because it meant I wasn't crazy or faking it.

Wow, that's bloody awful. My mum sometimes finds it hard to deal with me but she's never accused me of 'trying to be autistic' or something stupid like that, she kind of just gets on with it because she understands how difficult things are for me. I've had depression in the past too, it was just after I got kicked out of my 2nd high school (just after I received a diagnosis) and missed Year 8, a whole year of schooling. For the whole year I was alone and constantly in my bedroom. I also began taking medication for my ADHD but the problem was that they gave me too much of a high prescription and it caused my depression to worsen and... I won't get into the details as that year is still quite personal but let's just say it was a very dark time in my life that I never wish to repeat.

I can't understand how your parents thought/(still think?) you were faking... I doubt someone would be pathetic enough to fake autism/aspergers. Does your mum still think you're 'faking' or what? I really can't understand the concept of your own mother not believing you.