Joe90 wrote:
I went through this with my mum (because she can remember when I was a small child) but the answer came up with:-
No PDD 36
This is actually rather accurate because I didn't seem to have AS when I was under 4 years old, I was quite typical and there was no behavioural differences compared to other typically developing toddlers. It only all started at once when I started school.
I even remember little bits of my toddlerhood, like when I was at preschool, and I don't remember feeling bewildered or unsociable towards the other children, I remember joining in games and interacting at normal toddler level. I only remember feeling worried a few times when my mum left me there in the mornings, but that's normal for toddlers.
I was the same way as a kid. My mom even wrote in my baby book that I was "popular" as a little kid. I was hyperlexic, but other than that I just appeared gifted. You can almost tell when things started going down hill, with how accurately my mom kept records. In Kindergarten I had seven or eight "best friends," but then by the time I reach second grade I only have one. Middle school was where it really started showing socially for me. Before that, the only things that really suggest autism were the trouble we had when moving houses and how in day care I got "diagnosed" by a family doctor with a "nervous disorder with GI issues." But that seemed to be specific to one day care that I only went to for three months.
My siblings both have ADD/ADHD, and they had much more severe behavioral problems than I ever did. I was a golden child. I never threw tantrums. Both my siblings almost got kicked out of pre-k for behavioral issues.
I wonder if maybe this is just another case of "when the social expectations outstrip the social skills"? I mean, the lack of tantrums I can explain within the scope of the spectrum: I was more prone to shutdown than meltdowns. I got "headaches" (what I thought were headaches, even though my head didn't always hurt) frequently. People with headaches are allowed to rest in quiet places until they feel better. I was also very well dressed, very tiny and quiet, and very well coached on how to smile and mind my p's and q's. These can all go a long way to make a person better received.
Moderate PDD - 104 (from adult perspective)