Are you childish/child-like?
LokiofSassgard
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Joined: 3 Sep 2014
Age: 36
Gender: Female
Posts: 719
Location: My own autistic wonderland!
I was just curious because I've noticed how some autistic people are rather childish or child-like. That's why I was asking if any of you guys were like this? (I think this has been answered before, but I don't remember. It's probably time for a new topic anyway.)
Anyway, I am very childish. I watch cartoons (besides anime and other adult stuff) on a daily basis. I love My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Sofia the First, Doc McStuffins and Chuggington. I also sleep with stuffed animals and happen to be afraid of the dark. I carry around my plushies wherever I go, and it's not always one of my anime ones (Lately, I've been sleeping with and carrying around my Cheshire Cat from the original movie). My emotions and mental state are also very childish as well. I do have my share of tantrums, which I often regret later on. I don't even know how to be an adult, basically. I'm also somewhat like Chuckie Finster because I tend to be terrified of many different things, including hospitals and dentists too.
So, what about you?
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Currently diagnosed with Autistic Disorder, ADHD, severe anxiety, learning delays and developmental delays.
I can be pretty childlike. My obsessions right now skew towards the non-functional singular focuses associated with the autism stereotype. Namely, I am obsessed with my brother's cat (typically manifested by near constant exhortations that "Sookie's fat!" I also love, love, love gibbons.
Needless to say, I'm super annoying when I'm happy.
BirdInFlight
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Joined: 8 Jun 2013
Age: 62
Gender: Female
Posts: 4,501
Location: If not here, then where?
I'm very childlike and it doesn't seem to change the older I get. I like plushie toys; I play app games probably more aimed at younger people than myself; I talk to animals and give names to bird at the local pond; I think when I'm comfortable or alone I have childish reactions: "YAY! Downton recorded after all! Downton! Downton!" (victory dance)....
I have never felt like a grownup person, and I've noticed that feeling all my adult life. I've lived an adult life but so much about me is a little kid, it's small wonder things have never really gone well for me as an adult, I just don't "fit".
I've been called very mature for my age but I can be very childish at times.
I think they call me mature because I'm extremely quite, and I hate speaking unless its about something deep like science or the universe or something i'm interested in. I can conversate with my Mom and Nan's friends about the economy and world issues since its something I feel strongly about. I also talk in a very serious and monotone voice, and always have something smart to say (not trying to be cocky or seem smart i just love science and memorizing facts and can't stop myself from saying something if it's related) And they point out I don't go out smoking or drinking or having sex like most kids my age. And i think very matter-of-fact like, very logical about things and don't like joking around. I'm very anxious about 'passing' i try too hard and go to extremes to not get in peoples way.
I also hate 'kids shows' ( even as a young child I hated shows like barney and spongebob) I can't pay attention enough and I don't find the jokes funny and it seems like they don't have any plot, and if they do its a one episode plot and then you never hear about any of it again. I enjoy more serious shows that involve a lot of thinking and have interesting plots that go on throughout the entire series. I'm a huge Hannibal fan (movies and it's my favorite show) my favorite anime is Death note.
But on the other hand I can be really quick to be frustrated, angry or cry over stupid things. When i'm in my own world i rock back and forth and sometimes hum songs. I'm called 'innocent' or 'cute' and am told I often look confused/make weird faces when not paying attention. ( I am also the second shortest person in my school and look 10 yrs old) My body language is very childlike and i move around too much/very clumsy. I get really excited over silly things and sometimes script at odd times/say weird things and giggle to myself about it. My room is covered in anime drawings and i have stuffed animals on my bed (one which I cant sleep without). Find joy in odd things like raking up leaves and rolling in them. Have a very childish sense of style. I have short hair and don't do anything with it, no makeup, same jacket everyday with jeans. And lastly i can be very dependent/childish towards people, i worry and often cry over the few friends I have and worry they'll leave me or get hurt. I constantly say thank you and sorry. I go out of my way to make them proud, impress them, make them smile and get their approval.
Anyway, I am very childish. I watch cartoons (besides anime and other adult stuff) on a daily basis. I love My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Sofia the First, Doc McStuffins and Chuggington. I also sleep with stuffed animals and happen to be afraid of the dark. I carry around my plushies wherever I go, and it's not always one of my anime ones (Lately, I've been sleeping with and carrying around my Cheshire Cat from the original movie). My emotions and mental state are also very childish as well. I do have my share of tantrums, which I often regret later on. I don't even know how to be an adult, basically. I'm also somewhat like Chuckie Finster because I tend to be terrified of many different things, including hospitals and dentists too.
So, what about you?
As high functioning person which has good/ok social skills but can't or struggle/fears more to do basic things than some more severe people I often feel like childish and ridiculous, I like the Simpsons but then its the subtle humour you missed as a kid that really gets you, or even as an adult as their is so much stuff in the Simpsons any one, even NT's with degrees in english interpreation probably miss jokes and so its very rewatchable. I like fantasy films or superhero films or sci fi films, or occasionally ones with violence. I believe being drawn to scifi/disney or family films is a reaction to the overly crude references in most so called comedies these days, I am no prude tho, loved american pie 1 but I feel its gone beyond that right on the line humour to stuff that is too vulgar, too graphic, not funny, and creepy. I just wish Seth Rogan/Mcfarlane would come out the closet instead of making creepy swear filled things all about semen and his love of it.... I guess I also feel that humour is justified if its funny less so if its not, and the swearing and needless racism or sexist or creepy comments make it harder to be funnier. The other thing is when I see all the Hot chicks in those kind of movies it makes me kind of restless and inadequate feeling, the worse is I have the looks and probably just about social skills to pick up quite attractive women but not the other ingredients like my own place, a job or being able to drive, you could maybe get away with one of those or two missing but not all 3..... Not being able to cook bar stuff like microwave food, beans,toast, or stuff that just goes strait in the oven, nothing that needs prepared.Not being able to IRON, not really knowing which clothes go on which wash.
I do sometimes have a very dim light on at night though its more of a fear of someone breaking in, and wanting to be able to see whats going on if I wake up in night cause some one has broke in. Ironically when I was 14 I was very imature for my age, by 16 I was profound for my age but lacking a few skills. I really do believe my parents whilst protective havent exactly gave me the best advice, always trying to keep me from getting hurt makes for a somewhat emotionally weak individual. Cancer did not help either, and I tended to take advice of my parents as absolute instructions, mainly cause they sort of gave them in a "dont do this" fashion, never made it at all apparent that I could have my own actions on my life.
Sometimes I am extremely mature but other times I am extremely childish. I don't watch many cartoons or much tv at all or anything like that but I often times process and perceive and respond as a child. It's more how I think and feel sometimes. I can have very deep intellectual profound mature conversations but emotionally I can be extremely young. My speech will also sometimes be very much like a very young child as will my ability to process some situations. Sometimes when I talk to people they think on the phone they think they are talking to a little kid.
One sweet example of my child like processing is that I need to be tucked in at night. If I am not I don't sleep well. But the whole process is literally like tucking in a four year old. When I get to have that my brain shuts off and all the activity quiets down and I actually get pretty good sleep. If I don't get tucked in, my brain just keeps going and my thoughts race and I don't get restful sleep.
I also have very child like emotional responses. I deal with emotions at a very young level. I am extremely fragile emotionally like a small child even though I have a very powerful physicality. I am not a small person, I am also muscular and pretty solid so people can easily be fooled and not realize how fragile I can be. But people have to be careful with me because they can emotionally hurt or scare me just like you can hurt or scare a very little kid.
I also love simple things and spending time hiking and biking and skiing with me is like spending time with a child. I have a very wondrous and pure nature and I am curious about everything. I have been told that it's a lot of fun spending that kind of time with me.
I can also trust like a child and can be vulnerable like one as well. And some of my relationships are from the perspective of a small child.
I think this is one of the greatest gifts that the Spectrum has given me.
_________________
"I'm bad and that's good. I'll never be good and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me."
Wreck It Ralph
I have some life skill issues, so I guess that makes me a bit childlike. I try very hard not to be childlike, but my low energy level makes that very hard. I can't really clean my room or organize things and it's very hard for me to be on time for things. I can get ready in the morning by myself, but it takes forever and it's very draining for me. When I was in school I noticed that if I skipped steps getting ready I had more energy for school.
When I interact with people I often act shy because I'm scared of looking autistic or childlike. If I'm with family and I'm relaxed and tired I do act a bit childlike. I get pretty pissed off at myself, so I force myself not to talk for a while.
I've been obsessed with looking grown up since I was eleven. I started wearing a padded bra when I was eleven and I started wearing makeup when I was twelve. I would have worn makeup when I was eleven if I was allowed. I also avoided shopping in the kid's section as soon as I could fit into other stuff.
I was also obsessed with getting a boyfriend because I heard that it would make me popular and I thought it would make me more grown up.
_________________
Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 82 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 124 of 200
You are very likely neurotypical
I tend to think of myself as an enormous ten-year-old who just happens to be able to cook a meal, clean a house, balance a budget, and drive a car. I like stuffed animals, cartoons, and adolescent fiction. I like to skip. I like swings and slides and tunnels to crawl through.
Half the reason I had kids was so I wouldn't look weird using the PlayPlace at McDonald's. I'm kidding, of course, but...
...I built my kids an 8x8 foot sandbox and got more excited over it than they did.
...I relish bedtime stories.
...I like to play with train sets. And I don't mean the realistic electronic ones. I mean the ones with wooden tracks and Thomas the Tank Engine.
...I'm hoping my son gets into Hot Wheels, because I'd love to play with the customizable tracks with him.
...my great lament in visiting the local community-built park is that it is, in fact, child-sized, and I am, in fact, too big to fit into a lot of the crannies.
...I MISS my capacity to play-pretend, but I'm grateful that I can still build things and roughhouse.
...I had TEN KIDS (13, 9, 7, 6, 6, 5, 5, 2, 2, and 1) in my house this weekend. They spread toys from one end to the other, sparing only my bedroom (basically because the door was locked). They trashed the place, ran wild through the yard, and generally acted like heathens. And when they were gone, I missed them. I considered the two hours (give or take) that it took to clean up the mess a small price to pay for the fun WE had.
It was FUN. There's no time to get sad or scared with that many kids running around yelling, and I didn't have to worry about being judged (the teenager was mine, and little kids all know that grownups are SUPPOSED to be weird).
_________________
"Alas, our dried voices when we whisper together are quiet and meaningless, as wind in dry grass, or rats' feet over broken glass in our dry cellar." --TS Eliot, "The Hollow Men"
When I interact with people I often act shy because I'm scared of looking autistic or childlike. If I'm with family and I'm relaxed and tired I do act a bit childlike. I get pretty pissed off at myself, so I force myself not to talk for a while.
I'm exactly like that.
LtlPinkCoupe
Veteran
Joined: 7 Dec 2011
Age: 32
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,044
Location: In my room, where it's safe
Anyway, I am very childish. I watch cartoons (besides anime and other adult stuff) on a daily basis. I love My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Sofia the First, Doc McStuffins and Chuggington. I also sleep with stuffed animals and happen to be afraid of the dark. I carry around my plushies wherever I go, and it's not always one of my anime ones (Lately, I've been sleeping with and carrying around my Cheshire Cat from the original movie). My emotions and mental state are also very childish as well. I do have my share of tantrums, which I often regret later on. I don't even know how to be an adult, basically. I'm also somewhat like Chuckie Finster because I tend to be terrified of many different things, including hospitals and dentists too.
So, what about you?
I like cartoons, as well, especially ones like MLP and Doc McStuffins. They just make me happy! I find most adult and reality shows like the Kardashians to be rather boring....I do like sitcoms like 30 Rock and Everybody Hates Chris, as well as British sitcoms such as Keeping Up Appearances, Waiting for God and Fawlty Towers. I also sleep with stuffed animals and always carry one or two around with me - they're my comfort items for anxiety. I have a plush of the Cheshire Cat, too - I got him several years ago, and I love him because he's so soft, he's pink, and he was voiced by Sterling Holloway in the original "Alice" movie.
So yeah, I guess I'm pretty childlike in lots of ways. It's such a relief to get back to my dorm after classes, sit on my bed with all my plushies, and watch some DragonTales or Doc McStuffins on Youtube. Pretending to be all grown up nearly all the time can be exhausting, especially if that's what practically everyone expects from you.
_________________
I wish Sterling Holloway narrated my life.
"IT'S NOT FAIR!" "Life isn't fair, Calvin." "I know, but why isn't it ever unfair in MY favor?" ~ from Calvin and Hobbes
lostonearth35
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Joined: 5 Jan 2010
Age: 50
Gender: Female
Posts: 12,631
Location: Lost on Earth, waddya think?
Well let's see... this Friday I went to a Halloween party dressed like a unicorn. I have about a zillion dolls and plushies. I wear T-shirts with Disney characters on them. I sometimes read comic books or Dr. Suess out loud. I have dolls or stuffed animals in my bed when I go to sleep. I play E or T-rated video games. I still get eggs and candy for Easter. When I went to Halifax with my mom last summer my highlights were shopping at Build-a-Bear and Toys R Us. I have bunch of songs from Sesame Street and The Muppet show on CD. I have posters of fairies in my bedroom. I have framed holographic pictures of Looney Tunes in my computer room. I like gummy worms.
Other than that, I'm not very childlike.
Thanks so much for posting this! Reading the replies, i don't feel so weird about myself! I am in my 30's but look young... so young, in fact, that when I was subbing in an elementary school the principal once mistook me for a student in the 5th grade class I was working in!) It probably doesn't help that I have curly hair that I usually don't do anything with except comb, and I tend to live in jeans, sweatshirts or overalls, and other comfy things. I've tried wearing makeup before, but I tend to rub it all off during the day because it itches. I also love bright colors and anything "cute"... think anime, animals, rainbows, butterflies, etc.) I love SOFT things, and I have a bunch of stuffed animals in my bed. I used to have more, but my mom packed a bunch of them away while I was out of town one time. I have a childish way of talking, and I tend to hop and jump around when I am excited about something. I am also emotionally like a young child... if I am sad, I can't help crying and having a "meltdown."
I like playful things, and I get excited about little things. I Trick-Or-Treated with my much younger stepsisters until I was 26. I would totally Trick-Or-Treat right now, except my stepsisters are in college now so I can't go with them anymore!
I don't mind it myself, but what I mind is how others treat me because of it. My mother, for instance, puts me down for being childish, saying, "You're not 2 years old." ("Uh, yes, I am aware that I am not 2 years old.") or rolling her eyes at me or refusing to speak to me. It is also hard because I am able to "act" like an adult all day long at work... but sometimes I slip up, and then I get some crazy looks!
I am glad to realize I am not the only one.
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