Delayed puberty

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What do you make of the current studies showing that teens do not mature neurologically until well into their twenties? Do you think it's a product of their environment?

That's interesting. I've always been pretty underweight, but I think I started puberty on time. I didn't notice any physical changes until I was about 13.

Oops, sorry, I should have added 'in females'. I don't think it applies to guys, but with girls, being significantly underweight can delay your periods starting and your breasts growing, etc.

I think late puberty is probably better for you. You have a more adult-like mind and can deal better with all the crap that goes with adolescence.

No; I think it's been around for a while, but with brain development, there could be some effect from environment (the brain's physical structure does change when we learn things--very slightly, but it does change).

It's not just teenagers we've invented; it's also less social cohesiveness, fewer connections with family.

But the frontal lobes don't mature until the early twenties; and it doesn't make sense to think that's a new development. The general developmental process of humans doesn't really change all that quickly.

So I think it's a combination of both. We have more expectations of adults in the modern world; they're expected to be more independent from their families. On the other hand, we have fewer expectations of people in their teens, and people aren't taught independence as soon.

With less family support and fewer social obligations, teenagers are both unable and unmotivated to be independent. But even before that changed, younger people still had pretty much the same cognitive characteristics that they do today: More impulsivity, less planning, less organization. It was just that the closeness of society and the increased importance of family compensated for them more.

Same here. At the same as my grandmother (mother side) was when she hit it. I know some people people who were late bloomers but they are all NTs, no disorder of any kind.



I can't really agree with that because I think it depends on people. Every individual is different and handles things differently, by the way some late bloomers I've seen mature mentally later than others (and some matured earlier) so we could also see a link between the age at which you start acting like an adult (which is really just a concept), though I don't believe this is true either.
I think the way you handle it also depend on your cultural background, the way you were educated by your parents. Though, I agree that hitting puberty at 9 or 11 is probably harder than hitting it at 16-17 since you have to face other kids and you are probbaly more childish than the others, it would seem normal according to the "average" (yet, the average is made of many individuals). I think that hitting puberty at an average age is perhaps easier to deal with since your don't feel very different from anyone and mature approximately at the same rate as them, both mentally and physically.

I'm quite tired right now so I think my post doesn't make sense, I may edit it later, sorry for that.

I can remember mom telling me people who have late puberty have a harder time having kids. My aunt who also had it late was only able to have one child. She said she was very lucky.

I think going through early puberty is hard as well because you see all these kids you age still having girl bodies and small breasts while yours are big, it's embrassing to be naked in front of them because you have pubic hair and they barely have any. Also the fact they can still wear children clothes while you have to wear Juniors because of your height. I was teased about wearing undershirts because kids thought it was a bra and I was teased for my breasts in 6th grade finally because they got so big in less than a month. Also the fact I got my period and I got a bloody accident in Music and kids found out and one boy teased me about it in front of everyone. That year was so hard for me and also the fact people thought I was older and so get harassed a few times by people because they thought I was in middle school not elementary school and I was only 12. But I have seen kids who had it worse than me because they had women bodies and looked older and they were ten or eleven years old while at that age I still looked young but I was very tall. I knew someone who said she had a women's body since she was nine. People always thought I was older because I was always tall for my age. So when I was eight, people thought I was ten. When I was ten people thought I was 12 or 14 even though I had tiny boobs and a girl's body but some kids still have that at that age.

So even at age 12 I had everything, I had poor social skills and emotions of an eight year old. I wasn't at my own age emotionally or socially despite having a full development body.

I was pretty early at 11. Everybody is different I think even siblings.

It definately wasn't for me, but there are people I have known who it seemed true for. I think there's a possible connection, but it probably has another cause.

Ive never gotten a very low voice, but it changed on normal time as well as getting pubic and facial hair. But growth spurt wise i was rather late. I was 5'8" when i entered high school but shot up to 6'2" before i was even 17 and then stopped growing

I hit puberty fairly normal. Grew tall and got hair in funny places. But I didn't get any curves until I was 32. Then I grew another couple inches up and my hips finally turned out and spread and at 34 it's still going. I finally look 18 instead of 14, as I had until now.

Has anyone else started as normal and then just paused a decade or two? LOL.

I do know that I was extremely malnourished and didn't have any of the fats I needed. I started growing once I finally got on a better diet for me.

I remember when my voice changed and it was early. It was when I was 12 years and 9 months old while visiting my aunt in Canada. Everyone made such a big deal that, in the middle of a conversation, I became a baritone.

I was late. I could sing soprano through most of high school. It really sucked, because it just added to the perception of my freakishness.

One of my former co-workers has daughter who is 12 and is stunningly beautiful she hit puberty early around 9 years old. She looks older than what she actually is. She appears to be in her late teens. She has men in their 30's and 40's hitting on her all the time when they go to the mall. The girl is afraid to go to the mall by herself because of all the attention she gets from older men. His wife told me when she was with her in the mall a man in his 30's asked her daughter for her phone number she told him she was 12 but he kept insisting. She then said the man looked at her mother said "its not like I am going to do something to her that has not been done before." They had to ask mall security to keep the guy away from her. The girl will not do anything without an adult being with her.

Oh poor girl. At least I wasn't that bad unless I was totally unaware I had men hitting on me and older teens. Some people thought I was 15 when I was 12 and lot thought 13 or 14, I hated it. But however before I had a woman's body, some teens would look at me and stare at me. One time we were at Disneyland and I was only ten, and these two teens kept looking at me and walking by me and I didn't even notice because I was too absorbed in a book I was reading. Anyway it pissed one of my uncles off and told those kids off by telling them how old I am. They walked away.
Of course my mom didn't think it was a big deal they were checking me out. They weren't perverts or anything or pedophiles, they thought I was older because I was tall for my age. People have always thought I was older, even before I hit puberty.

And that guy at the mall sounded like a creep. Did he not believe she was that old?

Happens at different stages for everyone. No link to autism.

I can't really remember when it happened for me... I think it may have been slightly early. Was never too much of a big deal to me at the time anyway.