• Replies 36 replies
  • Subscribers 96 subscribers
  • Views 2303 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Related
Hints and tips
  • To quote someone's message, first select/highlight the relevant text, and then use the Quote button that appears
  • To "mention" someone, type @ followed by the start of the forum name, and choose from the list; that person will get a notification of being mentioned

Signs of autism in your childhood

Deleted User

Before I sign off to do something sensible, I've been thinking about this a lot recently.

It's particularly pertinent for us late diagnosed.

There are a lot of things I remember, so here are just some.

Stuttering?

Pica.

'Habits' including nail, cuticle and lip eating (which I still do).

Very limited foods eaten.

Very sensitive to smells, tastes, textures and sounds (I was putting cotton wool in my ears as a child).

Collecting where I could (we were poor) - the collection I remember loving was little cars.

How about you?

Parents

  • What I now see as signs of autism are not typical (or should I say, not atypical!)

    I had no speech delay as far as I'm aware, ate pretty much every food put in front of me (although no choice in the 1960s, you are what you were given or went hungry and were shamed by being told people were starving in other countries). I slept well, in fact I always struggled to get up for school. I always read well - I don't have many memories before age 7, but I do remember reading "The cat in the hat" at infant school, and I can't remember ever not being able to read! I wasn't obviously dyspraxic either, as I do know I could write my name before I started school (and my real name has 7 letters),

    The things I now see as autism "clues" are:

    I had an imaginary friend pre-school, and she was an adult. (I preferred talking to adults rather than kids)

    I found school anxiety inducing and overwhelming, was bullied for a bit, and didn't achieve my potential. I was a "daydreamer" who sat in the reading corner as much as I could in Junior school, then in secondary school  tried to sit as far back as possible and was very quiet in classes. I hated PE as I couldn't throw or catch a ball and was no good at running or jumping over things.(poor gross motor skills) I have always got tired quickly - the sleeping well as a child I believe was autistic burn out from being overwhelmed at school.

    I found it difficult to make and keep friends, and generally wasn't invited to parties (and the couple of times I was, I got sick with anxiety and couldn't go) but I quite liked time on my own, reading, drawing, colouring, building with Lego, making little farms with little plastic farm animals. I collected costume dolls when I was younger, then at 11 got obsessively interested in horses and music, and started a model horse collection and taught myself to play guitar. 

    None of these things were seen as autism in those days though, and I just thought I was sensitive.

Reply

  • What I now see as signs of autism are not typical (or should I say, not atypical!)

    I had no speech delay as far as I'm aware, ate pretty much every food put in front of me (although no choice in the 1960s, you are what you were given or went hungry and were shamed by being told people were starving in other countries). I slept well, in fact I always struggled to get up for school. I always read well - I don't have many memories before age 7, but I do remember reading "The cat in the hat" at infant school, and I can't remember ever not being able to read! I wasn't obviously dyspraxic either, as I do know I could write my name before I started school (and my real name has 7 letters),

    The things I now see as autism "clues" are:

    I had an imaginary friend pre-school, and she was an adult. (I preferred talking to adults rather than kids)

    I found school anxiety inducing and overwhelming, was bullied for a bit, and didn't achieve my potential. I was a "daydreamer" who sat in the reading corner as much as I could in Junior school, then in secondary school  tried to sit as far back as possible and was very quiet in classes. I hated PE as I couldn't throw or catch a ball and was no good at running or jumping over things.(poor gross motor skills) I have always got tired quickly - the sleeping well as a child I believe was autistic burn out from being overwhelmed at school.

    I found it difficult to make and keep friends, and generally wasn't invited to parties (and the couple of times I was, I got sick with anxiety and couldn't go) but I quite liked time on my own, reading, drawing, colouring, building with Lego, making little farms with little plastic farm animals. I collected costume dolls when I was younger, then at 11 got obsessively interested in horses and music, and started a model horse collection and taught myself to play guitar. 

    None of these things were seen as autism in those days though, and I just thought I was sensitive.

Children
  • in reply to Lotus

    I hated PE and was really bad at it because of dyspraxia, it was worse at secondary school, I could not do the gymnasium stuff like rope climbing or vaulting and I was really stif in my body. Hockey, netball and tennis were bad too and as for athletics I don;t even want to go there.

    I was never an autodidact like Pixie though, and it never occured to me that you could teach yourself to do things.

    I had a model horse collection too and a model stable and farm, I think many girls of about 8 or 9 did, it seemed to be a fashion then I don't know if it still is? I was never allowed to go riding though, too dangerous and expensive. Oddly enough pretty much everything was too dangerous and expensive.