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Autism and only children

TheCatWoman

I'm an only child and was the typical "lonely only", i only ever played wit one child before I went to school, where I was overwhelmed, obviously. But I wonder how being an only child affects autism? I think quite a few of things I really struggle with are made worse by being an only child, like my almost total lack of competitiveness, did I not learn competition because there was no one to compete with? I have an intellectual understanding of competitiveness, but it's not something I really feel, I'm far more likely to just walk away from competitive situations, I rarely have any sense of achievement either, more a feeling of 'oh well thats that then'. I think I'm also very highly affected by noise and other distractions, I know others are too.

It would be really good if there are any other only children here who are autistic?

Parents

  • I was an only child until age 5 when my sibling arrived, and rarely played with other kids before I went to school. I didn't want a sibling, I was quite happy doing things on my own, and because of the age gap we were not close. I did have a few cousins around my age who I would be taken to visit occasionally - I got on ok with them, and we were not competitive. I would sometimes play with my younger sibling when I was primary school age, because I could be in charge and direct the play. But once I got into my teens I didn't want a younger sibling hanging around me if I went out to meet my favourite cousin. I sound like an awful big sister, but I wasn't horrible and didn't tease my sibling, I just would have preferred to be an only child. I did feel very different as a child, even different from my own family, and once wondered if I was adopted (I wasn't)

    I am also not really competitive, I wonder if that's a common autistic female trait?

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  • I was an only child until age 5 when my sibling arrived, and rarely played with other kids before I went to school. I didn't want a sibling, I was quite happy doing things on my own, and because of the age gap we were not close. I did have a few cousins around my age who I would be taken to visit occasionally - I got on ok with them, and we were not competitive. I would sometimes play with my younger sibling when I was primary school age, because I could be in charge and direct the play. But once I got into my teens I didn't want a younger sibling hanging around me if I went out to meet my favourite cousin. I sound like an awful big sister, but I wasn't horrible and didn't tease my sibling, I just would have preferred to be an only child. I did feel very different as a child, even different from my own family, and once wondered if I was adopted (I wasn't)

    I am also not really competitive, I wonder if that's a common autistic female trait?

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