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.
I can think of a few.
Before I can remember: According to my mum, I could be left alone for ages as a toddler - no calling for attention, and hyper-focused on one toy or jigsaw or whatever until another was suggested.
1980: My earliest retained memories at 2 and 3 year old respectively, both coming from telly programmes: the 16th March ep of Rentaghost and 18th Oct ep of Doctor Who. Atypically early and precise compare with the average person I think.
Same year: Hearing 'Carillon' by Sky played on vinyl and registering that I was experiencing a new emotion (pleasantly deep melancholy) for the first time. A lightbulb moment: the right kind of 'sadness' can be nourishing to the soul, even uplifting. That nuance of understanding becoming vividly snapshotted, there and then, in my mind and heart for all time.
1981: Noticing I was experiencing my first ear-worm at 3 years old. Heartsong (the Holiday Programme theme) was still going round with perfect recall in a loop having heard it the night before. Storing the significance of that moment even though it wasn't some big external event, 'just' an 'oh, this is new' - something I suspect the average NT mind wouldn't do.
1984: ripping up a Boss Cat comic and stuffing the resultant shreds deep into each of my ears to drown out the world after being told I couldn't wear my beloved blue anorak outside on a warm day. Having to be taken to casualty to get my ears syringed because the paper was stuffed so deep I was basically deaf and my mum could only do so much with tweezers.
The very next day: Fell off my bike, and went straight back to casualty. The resultant cast was something I kept meticulously clean, even though the established 'cool' thing to do was have classmates write stuff on it. I refused to allow that and only ended up in the entire six weeks with one tiny thing written in pencil by my mum. It was 'mark my words!' - a pun on my name.
1986: Flipping out over the news that the Christmas tree would be in a different part of the house than the established tradition. Remaining inconsolable for hours.
Same year: Having what I now recognise as a mini-meltdown over the overwhelm of an early Christmas present from an aunt requiring performative joy when I wasn't prepared and already feeling burned out.
1989: Faking illness after my first day of secondary school, after getting complete sensory overwhelm and extreme social anxiety. Continuing to fake it until I could no longer get away with it, re-starting too late to every regain lost ground on the comfort or friendships front (even an NT person would have struggled with catching up, but it was way worse for me).
I'm sure others will occur, those are just the ones that most immediately do.
Shardovan said:1981: Noticing I was experiencing my first ear-worm at 3 years old. Heartsong (the Holiday Programme theme) was still going round with perfect recall in a loop having heard it the night before
I just listened to it on YouTube and it gave me goosebumps! An instant warm feeling from deep childhood ️
Yeah, I'm still very fond of it.