Increasing frequency of non-verbal incidents with age?

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I read somewhere that verbal skills diminish with age in autistic people. Now, this is true of all people, but the point made is that this is greatly exacerbated in those with ASD. I've seen this seemingly confirmed by aspies in their 40s 50s and 60s who say that they have definitely had greater difficulty speaking and communicating ideas as they got older. I was wondering if any older members of the forum could offer anecdotes that confirm or refute this.

I'm in my early 20s, still very young, yet I could even offer up some supporting evidence of this. I've had two nonverbal incidents within six months, which is incredibly unusual for me. The first time I remember being nonverbal was when I was 13, (I usually maintain verbal ability through meltdown.) with isolated incidents occurring rarely, maybe once every year or two. But I seem to be going nonverbal much more frequently as I've gotten past 21. Maybe it's just a phase, I haven't lived long enough to get good data on this topic. But I was wondering if anyone has noticed their verbal skills decreasing with age.

I think you are correct . I am 21 and until recently have never been nonverbal but in the last 3 months it's happened twice

Supposedly, incidents of decreased verbal ability happen when something else is going on. So like, if you're physically ill, or very stressed out, or going through some kind of major life issue.

It's kind of like if you're in the cold and your body shuts off energy to your hands and feet in order to keep your torso warm? Essential functions only? Aspies and auties may not be able to talk for a little while so their bodies can take care of their minds and emotions first.

I had my first severe incident of being non-verbal when I was 17 and a senior in high school. They have gotten more and more frequent since then.