Were you slow to grow as a child?

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I'm wondering if slow growth is typical for those of us on the spectrum...I mean, the whole developmental aspect of the disability...I'm not talking about adults, but rather kids...from my own experience growing up, I was one of the smallest kids in my class from ages 8 to 14. In fact, during the middle school years, I was the smallest. People thought I was 9 or 10 years old. At 13, I was just under 5 feet tall and weighed 77 lbs. So, bullying was a double-edged sword, both due to my small stature and my eccentric behaviours. However, today I'm medium height and weigh 200 lbs, with a noticeable muscular physique, and I haven't had any physical bullying problems for many years (just psych bullying from occasional female managers at past jobs, but that's for another thread).

So, as an adult, I most definitely did not fit the stereotype of looking like Sheldon Cooper. But growing up, I definitely looked pencil-necked and scrawny, and well, nerdy. Funny thing is, my younger brother who'd I describe as borderline autistic e.g. his only real hobby is computer programming, he's never really been into sports, he had somewhat flat nonverbal as a teen - but was otherwise sociable and was able to use theory of mind - well, get this, he was also one of the smallest in his class around the same age range as me, but today he's 6-foot-2 and not skinny but not fat either. So maybe the slow physical development during ages 8-14 is a genetic thing for those on the spectrum...who knows?

in grade school, i was tall for my age. probably because of overeating. turned out to be average height.

I was actually tall for my age so I always weighed more and wore bigger shoes and clothing sizes. By age eight I went from a size eight to a size 14 and that size fit me for two years until 4th grade and then I was between sizes and then I had to wear Junior clothes at age 10 due to being between two sizes and then size 16 was too small for me. I stopped wearing children shoes around age eight and wore a small woman shoe size and then by 5th grade I was wearing a size ten and still do. People always thought I was older because of my height and I was skinny until 6th grade and now I am skinny again. I grew up to be 5 '7.' I only grew an inch since age 12. I also started puberty at age 9 and got a woman's body at age 12 and big breasts. It was not easy. But I weigh less now than I did in 6th grade. I went from 90 lbs all the way up to I don't know what in 6th grade. I gained a lot of weight that year due to the medicine I was on and I remember being at 142 at the end of the year and then I weighed more after that. I think the most I ever weighed was at 170. I never looked fat, just pudgy because of the way my body stores fat and handles food. Now I am at 127. I am no twig and I do have curves. I would describe myself as average built.

Oh yeah as a child I would sometimes get "how old are you?" because they thought I was older. One time I got on the bus for school in 6th grade and we had a sub bus driver and she asks me how old I am and I say twelve and another girl sitting in the seat says I go to their school. The driver thought I was a Junior high student taking the elementary bus to school because I had missed it. if that girl hadn't spoken up, I may have been kicked off the bus and would have had a day off from school because none of my parents were home. But my brothers were with too when we got on. Then after school, the driver had the nerve to talk to me as if she still thought I was in junior high and I told her my dad had to work so he had us kids take the bus to school and he always drove us to school but this day he could not and my mom works too so we had to take the bus since they were both working. I still got to ride it home. I always hated getting asked how old I was because they wouldn't be asking other kids my age that. Then after a while asking me how old I was became "You don't look (my age), you look much older" so I started taking offense to it. I don't anymore because people now think I am younger. I used to think I had the same disease Robin Williams had in the movie Jack except mine wasn't bad as his because he aged a lot quicker than me and I only looked a few years older than my age while he looked 30 years older.

I was tall for my age until I reached middle school, head and shoulders taller than most other kids. However, I stopped growing at 5'4", which I'm happy with.

When I was tall, people tended to think I was my actual age. Once I was average height, people became more likely to mistake me for being younger than I really was. People still often think I'm a young teen or sometimes even younger and I'm in my 20s.

I'm pretty sure I was normal in my rate of growth but I was a short kid and I'm a short adult.

I was 4 feet tall at age 8, 4 foot 9 at 13. Grew to 5 foot 4 3/4.

Always looked younger than my age.

I was a fast growing mother f****r.

I am not officially diagnosed, but rather convinced. And I was always big for my age but in a well built kind of way. Still am, just lucky that way. I did always play sports as well. I imagine it depends on the indivual, I don't think ASD would be a factor. I'm now 6'3 and about 220 lbs..

I know that we appear to look younger for are age. I'm 43 and people still think am 26. As far as psychical growth goes. I had longer limbs then normal but other then that. everything else was normal.

I was tall for my age too until about age 14--then I stopped getting taller. I am still the same height at 35.

I also developed early, which didn't help with the teasing--another girl actually snapped my brastrap in the 5th grade and loudly announced to everyone that I was wearing one; my mother spoke with her father and she caught hell for it, I found out later.

Regarding looking younger: I looked about my age through high school, then continued to look that age and, therefore, younger than I actually was, after that. People still mistake me for my early 20s.

I was average height all the way up to age 10 or 11, then I just stopped growing. And stayed there. For the rest of my life. Who stops growing at that age???!

I was always the tallest in my class. I was a year younger than the other kids in the class, but much taller. I had several puberty-like growth spurts very early and was over 6 feet tall when I was 12. My parents used to explain away my poor motor skills and dorky gait by saying it was because I was growing so fast.

Yes, I experienced 'failure to thrive' /stunted growth since before birth.

When I was little I was usually taller than my peers. In middle school, I think, is when the rest of them caught up. Now I am average height but leaning more towards tall.

I was always the shortest or one of the shortest in my class.

From Kindergarten up until high school, I was the tallest in my class. In 5th grade I was 5'7". And in 6th grade I was 5'9". I hit 6'1" by the end of 7th grade. And that was the end of my growth.