Throwing furniture and other objects

an autistic lady,in her 50's that i had worked with for 4 years started having behaviours that started from going in the garden and throwing her coat over the fence through to almost emptying her room of furniture and other contents, at times throwing items down the stairs, then to the downstairs furniture, turning over dining tables, chairs and sofas and throwing books, ornaments etc also hurting staff.This all escalated within a 2-3 month period. has anyone got any ideas or suggestions as to what this might be about?