Do things get better for us with time?

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Mine seems to be a curve of up and down.
I started out very bad as most do, then improved with middle age, and now it's getting worse again.

I think the experience most people are referring to here is just an increasing ability to "act" or fake your way through situations over time.
I'm at an age now where that is going away because my willingness to do so is decreasing.
A lifetime of bending over backwards to fit into a profoundly sick society just gets old, so I have to say that my experience is getting worse.

At your age I would guess things will be getting better with time.

I feel that way too.

Usually things do get better over the years but 'better' is kind of a misnomer.

Like being in a lifeboat on the sea, at first the water may be 6,000 feet deep but eventually things may get MUCH better and the depth may decrease to about 1,500 feet.
Unfortunately it's still waaaay over your head (but things are improving! right?) and you're still nowhere near dry land, Sesame Street, or a pizza delivery guy.

Love that analogy.

It's a crap shoot in the working world. You will be taken care of if your boss likes you, and you will be shunned if your boss does not understand or accommodate your AS symptoms. I think it is like any other social environment you find yourself in--some people like you and other people don't. You have no control over that. The only thing you can do is try to be polite and considerate of your co-workers. If you are in a toxic work environment, try to find another job. Don't settle for less, assuming that you will never do better because of your AS. We are capable of learning the social rules of the work place.

I have learned to adapt and except that fact that I'm very different then most people. I never had children, with my sensory issues I'm not able to handle kids crying and screaming very well. I never found a partner that could except my differences. I still have the same problems but handle them differently now.

I have learned to adapt and except that fact that I'm very different then most people. I never had children, with my sensory issues I'm not able to handle kids crying and screaming very well. I never found a partner that could except my differences. I still have the same problems but handle them differently now.

I have learned to adapt and except that fact that I'm very different then most people. I never had children, with my sensory issues I'm not able to handle kids crying and screaming very well. I never found a partner that could except my differences. I still have the same problems but handle them differently now.

I have learned to adapt and except that fact that I'm very different then most people. I never had children, with my sensory issues I'm not able to handle kids crying and screaming very well. I never found a partner that could except my differences. I still have the same problems but handle them differently now.

I have learned to adapt and except that fact that I'm very different then most people. I never had children, with my sensory issues I'm not able to handle kids crying and screaming very well. I never found a partner that could except my differences. I still have the same problems but handle them differently now.

Ups and downs, ups and downs, until the end.

You are what your genetic constitution is, but with life experiences you get better at communicating, learning to cope, identifying friends who are true friends and not enemies, better handling your job and complex tasks etc. However, if you have poor life experiences or make poor choices in life, you may find yourself worse off than when you were younger. Nothing in life is preordained. All up to the individual to determine his or her path. Anyone feeling sorry for themselves having AS should around. Many worse off people in the world.

I have been wondering about that some time ago too.
I agree with what some people said here. The fact that we become more aware of the gap between our behavior and a NT behavior is kind of a downside that make us feel more uncomfortable and can make some situations even harder to face. Also, as Skibum said, we gain responsibility so we can't just live the way we lived as kids where we could do what we wanted and (sometimes) do not face consequences for it. I can't just decide to do not leave my room if i'm feeling too overwhelmed because i need to work and i need to study and this can increase our stress level by an amount that take away our so precious control over ourselves.
We are pressured everywhere by our jobs, family, friends and needing to live with all this while "pretending that we are ok" can be so hard sometimes.
But some days are easier than the others.

Me three

Four.

You reach the point where it is blindingly obvious that society is the problem, and that there is absolutely nothing wrong with not fitting in.

What can however be extremely cruel is if the (in)human economic machine forces everyone, square peg or not, into 9 to 5 (or apparently 7 to 11 in places such as Korea) wage slavery, typically within organisations that are completely devoid of any purpose beyond producing abstract numbers. The planet is systematically being transformed from a living entity into a stream of profit figures in digital balance sheets. I guess the circus will continue for a while before it becomes clear that the answer is indeed 42.

My advice: If at all possible, drop out of wage slavery. Before doing so identify one or two other non-conformists with complementary talents. This step can easily take many years, but what we lack in social skills we can more than make up with perseverance. Then turn your talents into a business that is mostly harmless, and avoid any kind of professional investors like the plague. Finally, after several years of trial and error, use the flow of revenue not only to survive but also to construct an alternative non-hierarchical system of cooperation for non-conformists and discarded humans. Not necessarily a simplistic recipe for typical success, but a good recipe for keeping your sanity. My sanity and the enjoyment I get from working on something I consider useful is worth infinitely more than so-called success by traditional measures.

I agree. I think our society is still far from perfect. It might be better than it used to be, because I think our society is now more accepting of people who are different, but its still hard for people who have trouble fitting in.