Early emerging autism spectrum disorder symptom levels often declined across development, according to an analysis of a prospective population-based cohort published in American Journal of Psychiatry. However, impairment continued to manifest into adulthood for certain individuals.
Masking? Avoiding things you couldn’t avoid as a child?
autism is I believe also a sensory disorder,
As we age, we become more attuned to being able to handle what we sense, this might be what’s going on for anybody on that spectrum
For example, there are people in the ASD spectrum who aren’t able to cope with excessive or loud sound environments, as they age though, their tolerance might be better because they’re better able to receive the stimulus
Honestly, imo, ASD people are very hyper sensitive or aware which is what takes away from social requirements like mirroring and controlling emotional expression; we aren’t disabled or weird, we’re just taking a different route to achieving social ability
Personally I’ve literally just left an interview where I disclosed Aspergers and he was shocked and kept saying, you have really developed yourself and it’s hard to see think that you would be social deficient in any way
If you put an ASD person in a difficult situation, I have complete faith said person will figure out what is needed to get through the situation because from experience, friends who have had the label too, dramatically changed after going through different experiences, from employment or university and voluntary work - they all grew in the community or social skills
That’s my take at least
What about sz?
Does it get better or worse?
In my case it’s getting worse
The worst for me is repetitive sounds that stop-start-stop again etc . For example things like drilling or hammering.
Light bothers me as much as it used to. Loud noise bothers me as much as it used to. Crowds bother me as much as they used to. I’m just better able to say no as an adult than I was when I was a kid when I encounter meltdown situations.
What I would guess, based on my own experiences with sensory issues as a child and from raising kids, is that as our experiences grow, we start to develop a wider understanding of the range of discomforts we feel, and learn how to filter out unpleasant sensations. I think being more comfortable also helps. We learn how to mostly avoid the things that really bother us, and so we can cope more easily with the unexpected minor irritations when they pop up.
As a child I would SCREAM if my mom tried to put my socks on with the seam facing in. They had to be inside out or I would throw a fit. I remember the sheer agony of feeling the seam touching my toes. Now, it doesn’t bother me much at all. I notice it for the first 2 or 3 minutes of wearing the sock, but it isn’t painful and I get used to it quickly. It just doesn’t feel as bad as it used to. Maybe because I have experienced much more severe discomfort, so that one doesn’t seem like much in comparison.
When Starlet first came to live with us, he wore bulky headphones everywhere. They weren’t plugged in, he just felt more comfortable with them on. As he has gotten more used to us and to the idea of being in public spaces, he has started leaving his headphones at home more and more often. He also used to wear his clothes inside out, and now I rarely see that.
I would guess that he now believes we won’t kick him out if he has a sensory meltdown, so he is less on edge when we go places. Being less on edge takes away that hypervigilance that keeps him extra focused on the sensory issues that upset him, so he doesn’t get as overwhelmed.
also, there’s been studies that show autistic people actually communicate perfectly fine, socially. But only with other autistic people. So also, it could partially be a case of finding people who are similar to you, and communicate in the same way you do.
The same study showed a similar thing for NT people. Basically, NT people communicate great with other NT people, autistic people communicate great with other autistic people, and the problems crop up on BOTH sides when the two groups communicate with each other.
Double empathy.
Yes and no. People with ASD (I keep wanting to say Aspies) are very rule-based. When I worked in IT most of the other people with ASD operated on rules similar to mine and we got along. A lot of the people with ASD I’ve encountered outside of IT operate on a set of rules so different from mine that I can’t be around them for more than ten minutes as the urge to slap them with an overly ripe trout becomes unbearable. Avoid avoid avoid.
Well it would make sense that some people have incompatible personalities even if they share some common traits. And sensory issues can manifest in very clashing ways. Mr. Star hates sudden loud noises. Starlet stims by making random tea kettle screeches. Not good when they’re both having bad sensory days.
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