Ripe Old Age :)

Duh?? But I thought...

What is it like for those who are elderly and have AS? Not even sure what made me think of this. Are there a lot of symptoms of AS that are simply attributed to "aging," and lost on most people...maybe even the person with AS? :). Does AS become worse as we age, or does it seem to, because we ARE aging? Hmmmm... I've read on various pages and things, that it does seem to become worse as we age. I suppose it all depends. For instance, women (in particular) with AS, can have a lot of difficulty with fine motor skills and depth perception. They can also have poor muscle tone. Doesn't all this tend to get worse as we age anyway? Usually. But how much more profound would it be for someone who always had issues with these things, and aging is making it all much worse? Now, most people with AS tend to have very long memories; but oftentimes our short term memories really fail us. We must have things repeated for us many times. I know I need this a lot! :). In fact, this is how things make it into my long term memory. I'm pretty sure, this is how it works for NTs too, but as usual, for those with AS, it tends to be more frustrating and more profound.

Anyway, I know I have often gotten a reputation for not listening, not paying attention, and not caring what others are saying. I often can't retain what was said to me until I hear myself say it. I don't know why...I'll have to ask God one day. But anyway, people can become upset and frustrated with me... "I just said that!". That kinda thing. So, how is it when all of this is exacerbated by age? Sensory difficulties, sensitivity to light and sound; difficulty retaining what is said to you because your brain must process all that is going on around you, (stimuli)and it might be that the aging process has caused all these things to be even more profound than they already were. Can we have enough patience to say the same thing a thousand times... to be understanding when someone steps right on us or backs into us, because they literally don't know where their body is in terms of space? This is WEIRD, yes...at least, I think so. And I hate it! But it happens to me all this time! Can AS possibly be confused with Alzheimer's? I don't know. And I'm no doctor. This makes me wonder how much worse Alzheimer's is made if someone also has AS or HFA (??).

The thing is, it's expected that someone who is aging will have things like memory loss, moodiness, poor coordination and balance, that kinda thing. So how often are the intense challenges and struggles of someone with AS masked by aging? Add to this, the fact that many elderly people living with AS have been living with it all their lives... But nobody knew what it was! What do you have to tell yourself all your life just to make it through? How many elderly folks today just grew up with the label of "slow," "clumsy," or even "retarded"? Maybe they struggled socially and academically at school. Maybe boys were bullied terribly, but their parents just thought "Boys will be boys"? So can we discern AS or autism in an elderly person, and if so...how do we tell? I'm not sure. Hmmm...how would one even find out more about this? I wonder...