Getting older with Aspergers

I'm only in my mid-30s but I definitely feel that over time, my autism has become... well, I wouldn't say worse, but perhaps more obvious to both myself and others. Knowing that there's a rational explanation for why I can't tolerate certain things has made me less likely to just 'grin and bear it', for one thing. I've also developed a number of physical disabilities over the course of my adult life so far, and I definitely think that dealing with chronic pain/limited energy has made it easier to reach that sensory point of no return that results in a meltdown.

I can certainly relate to this so much. I too am in my 50s and appear to be getting more autistic as I age.

• My masks are broken.
• My sensory sensitivities have become significantly worse.
• I wake up in an incredibly anxious state every single day.
• I can meltdown at the slightest trigger and far more frequently than I ever did before.
• Life has become overwhelming and I don't seem to be able to do things that I previously could.
• I am increasingly losing the ability to speak.
• Executive function has vanished.
• Memory is shot to pieces and I have to have lists everywhere.
• I seem to spend endless days trying very hard but achieving very little.

I have read that autistic burnout can affect us differently as we get older. We become increasingly less able to recover completely and regain what we were able to do before. Autistic regression is a term usually used in relation to children but I believe it can happen to autistic adults later in life too.

The symptoms of autistic burnout listed in this article https://theautisticadvocate.com/2018/05/an-autistic-burnout/ include:

• A growing lethargy
• An increase in irritability
• An increase in anxiety
• An increase in over-sensitivity to sensory information
• A dramatic decrease in sensitivity to sensory information
• Heightened Auditory processing disorder
• A decrease in verbal language
• A decrease in text language
• An increase in Shutdowns and heightened withdrawn state
• An increase in the frequency and severity of Meltdowns
• A diminished ability for the person to self-regulate their emotional state
• The slowing down of the thought processes
• Brain fog
• Memory loss 
• A decrease in your ability to effectively communicate what you want 
• A decrease in motivation
• An inability to generate momentum of body and of action
• An increase of rigidity, narrowing of thinking
• A feeling like your vision is tighter or narrower
• Extreme forgetfulness
• Extreme overwhelm
• A massive increase in guilt
• An increase in Executive Dysfunction
• An increase in Demand Avoidance

I'm sure many of us can identify with so much on that list.

I think what brought me to seeking a diagnosis was age depleting the energy bank (which was never great to start with) for functioning without burnout. The gaps are shorter now. I hit crisis point with it, and the relief of diagnosis explained so much about why, even when I was two decades younger, I would sleep mid-evening out of sheer exhaustion. My mum kept saying 'there's something now right, go get blood tests etc.' She was right, but on the wrong track. 

Bear in mind they were saying that in 1978!

I just realised I've lived more than half of that 'long ago' referenced at the start of Boney M's Rasputin. Sobering. 

I'm 31 and it feels like it is getting worse over time for me too. I can't mask very well at all anymore, even though I was actually really good at it back in my teens and early 20's. I guess we just get more and more tired of it all as we get older. 

Good morning.  I would need some disambiguation of "getting worse" before I could reliably comment, but If you mean "more entrenched with more overt manifestations".....then yes, most definitely.  I would imagine that any late diagnosed adults in this place would also inevitably agree with that by self-evident default.

However, older age groups do become more entrenched whether auti or normie, so I'm not sure this is a autism specific thing.