Published on 12, July, 2020
I was only recently diagnosed a few years ago, and I've been looking back and thinking about things I did when I was a child that were definitely signs of being on the spectrum.
I went through a very intense phase of eating everything with a spork, especially one meal in particular - rye bread with hummus on, topped with a little bit of green Tabasco sauce. This was after my enlightening experience of going to Leeds Festival for my birthday when I was 12 and camping over the weekend, having eaten everything using a spork.
That and eating any noodles or pasta with one of those spinning Pot Noodle forks.... good times. :-)
Looking back, I can realise why my mum definitely thought I was autistic.
I'd love to know if anyone has any similar things that they liked/did that looking back you realise were signs you were autistic.
Like many others here, noise has been a constant problem in my life. I couldn’t stand eating at the same dinner table as my family or near people at work because the chewing noise made me want to murder them. My dad always had the TV painfully loud. I wore headphones in the house to block out the noise of neighbours. The only meltdowns I’ve ever had - didn’t realise that’s that they were - were caused by noise and my inability to escape from it.
I thought I was just over sensitive or intolerant all my life but now I realise the true cause.
Another big clue was when I joined uni, made no friends and spent all my time lectures, tutorials and lunch times by myself speaking to no one. During this period I read a biography of a scientist and the introductory chapter mentioned that he had the same experience at uni and decided to sit in the refectory and observe people interacting and learn how to speak to people. I thought this was a great idea and did the same, with generally positive results for the rest of my life.
But I still had no idea I was autistic. I’d really like to send younger me a hug.
Edit: oh, and obsessive interests - my childhood was dominated by these.
Noise was a problem for me as a child. When my parents watched TV or my mum talked loudly on the phone in her phone voice lol I would hide under my bed with the duvet on my head. Noise was one of the biggest things I struggled with at school too. Until I read your post I hadn't considered it would be a sign of autism in myself at that age but actually I guess it probably was.
That's a lovely thought - if only we could send our younger selves a hug.