did turning 30+ make your aspie symptoms worse?

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This happened to me, too. I always thought it was from the stress of raising kids without a lot of breaks, staying at home when I was used to working in the world, extra money stress and all that. To top it off, my kids may also be Aspie an I suspect they were more demanding in a way that NT kids are not. I do wonder about your daughter--lots of little girls slip through the cracks because they present differently than boys.

That happened to me also, though I feel like I didn't actually get the hang of college til grad school. It was a very free form college and a much more structured grad school, which made a difference.

Mine have definitely gotten worse as time has gone on... I'm 37 now and I just can't hold it together as well as I used to. Any little change really throws me into a tailspin and it's just not very fun. I feel weirder and more isolated, but the article link from a PP really helped alleviate my concerns about it (Thanks!).

Also I moved away from where I grew up a few years ago and I don't have as much support from people who have known me a long time, so that adds to it. Then again, I agree with some people here who have said it's gotten easier with age because I really don't give a crap as much about what people think.

Well, I didn't get diagnosed till I was in my 30s, and I've observed some things have got easier and some things harder.

The older I get, the more strategies I learn for dealing with different situations. And in particular, learning about Aspergers has helped a great deal with self-understanding.

But also, as I get older, I get tireder - I don't have the energy I had in my early 20s - and then I have less energy for employing the strategies. Also, I simply don't care as much. In my 20s, I wanted to try all kinds of things, and to try to prove to myself that I could be 'normal', but now I don't care. I'm okay with who I am, and am also very aware of limited energy and the importance of rationing it for the things that matter.

I also find sensory difficulties seem a lot more difficult as I get older. But then I'm not sure whether that is because I'm simply more aware of them. When I was younger, I'd never heard of sensory difficulties, and I would get overwhelmed and upset and unwell without knowing why, and without really thinking about it.

I do worry about what it will be like when I'm elderly, because surviving in the world with Aspergers does take an awful lot of mental energy and concentration, and I know when I'm unwell, I can't maintain this at all, so I imagine the same will happen when I'm elderly.

think of your life in cycles
i get very shy for 3-10yrs and then become very social
but social situations become more and more wearing(you get more tired the older you get)

I think a lot of the people who have gotten worse as time has gone on may have undiagnosed, untreated or undertreated comorbid affective disorders (such as bipolar, major depression, anxiety disorder, etc). Comorbid diagnoses are very, very common among autistic people. And, importantly, affective disorders do tend to get worse over time when they go untreated.

I strongly encourage anyone who feels that they are "getting worse", or are otherwise losing the ability to handle various situations and responsibilities in life, please go to a doctor (a different one, if your current doctor is overlooking or dismissing your distress) and get yourself evaluated for comorbid psychiatric disorders like bipolar, depression, or anxiety. There is a wide array of highly effective medications and other treatments (such as cognitive behavior therapy) available for affective disorders.

I am 29 now (30 in September), and it really did not get bad symptom-wise (not wanting to be around other people), until I was 24 or 25 years old. Before that, I had lots of friends, had girlfriends, and people thought I was "cool" (at least I hope ). But for the last 5 years or so, I have not been happy, and the symptoms of AS have taken pretty good control of my life.

As you get older your opportunities for social interaction change--your mandatory social interaction changes for educational settings to work settings. I think the work setting can be a trap in that some people may not get enough interaction--and not realize that they need to spend more time talking with the people they work with.

I was not identified as AS untill 31, I notice there are quite a few people who don't get diagnosed untill into their thirties. Maybe symptoms become more obvious due to changing social atmosphere or maybe symptoms worsen due to hormonal changes? Not sure just speculating . . .

I know just how you feel, kiwigoddess. Its so stressful "out there" but home alone, I find that I really like myself. I do think agining helps in the long run, but you might be in a short-term down-turn. You do owe it to you kids to sort your way through it, but few shrinks seem to understand AS.

At least you got us

We'll listen.....

I have improved vastly as I age. Here I am typing away to strangers. That would not have been possible for me a few years ago.

Hey, this is your first day, Oren - welcome aboard, stranger!

Mine got a little better.

I know the consensus might be depression, but I just can help thinking that maybe it is something else. Low thyroid and low iron levels can also feel this way. I have experienced both. I didn't feel ill, but each one did affect my personality. I just can't even imagine accomplishing anything with a low thyroid and low iron can make you feel agitated.

I didn't know about the anemia agitation but finally some one suggested it and low and behold, an inexpensive pill with few to no side effects cured me.

good luck!

I did not notice any difference at the time when I turned 30 (I'm 37 now) but things are getting harder to hide, etc the older I get

I am one who felt the symptoms get worse at 30, coincidentally, that is also the year I was diagnosed with AS. I am still trying to fake NT, but it just gets harder and harder with every setback and I want to lock myself away in my "Fortress of Solitude"... Sometimes I wonder if anyone outside my immediate family would know I am gone.