How about an older autistic?

I can only speak to my experience, but life didn't seem that difficult to me. As a child, a lot of the things that separated me from others, I didn't notice, or know were different from anyone else. So while, in another life, my mother may have stressed about my behavior, or lack of friends, personally this just wasn't on my radar at all.

As I because an adolescent, yes, I started noticing that I was somehow "different" from others, and emotionally, yes, that was hard. But it's important to know I was not diagnosed until I was 22 years old. For this reason, I feel like the self-hatred and difficulty I had in my pre-teen-teen years was avoidable, if I had just known what it was that made me different.

As an adult, life is as hard as I make it. If I put surviving, and making it day-to-day as my goal, then it's not all that hard. If I try to "pass" and be "normal", then it is very, very stressful. I like to say, in this family, we "redefine normal everyday".

My life looks different from the average, but today, I love it, and its' mine. :) So does it get easier? Yes, and no. It all depends on attitude, and what you call "easy". The sooner your child knows and accepts that they are different and that's ok, the easier they will have it. And the less commited you/they are to "passing"

We have a saying "why worry when you can pray'!
I do a lot of praying my faith keeps me grounded.

We all worry about the future, but no one knows eat the future holds. I have to keep yelling myself worry less about the future and enjoy my son now. Autism has become an epidemic, for that reason I believe there will be a lot more studies and research for finding treatments hopefully a cure, at that least that is what I'm praying for.
Who knows what 5 years from now will look like. We will have a lot more answers than we do today.
They have a long road ahead of them and they need us to be able to take things one day at a time for them.
I know for me I can't afford to worry about the future and not that the thought has not cross my mind, I just can't afford to lose focus of the here and now and what my son needs from me.
Things have a way of working themselves out.
I do the best I can, trust God and pray that he will change me situation.
Just my 2 cents.
Recovering worrier!
Good all you parents I know it's hard but hang in there.
Remember there is nothing more powerful than a mother's love for her child.

I think it depends on what tools you give ur child. Like speach therapy etc. If u start them young and stay consistent with therapy you will see great improvement. U as a parent have to teach ur child as well u cant be lazy and just let the professional's do it all. Most important never treat ur child like they have autism. Treat them just like any other child. They will get that mindset that they are very different which may mess with their progress.

I focus on what my son can do instead of wondering what he wont be able to do. For me I just avoid that deep dark place of worrying. Its hard. Prayer has helped me a lot.