14 Apr 2012, 12:34 am
14 Apr 2012, 12:36 am
14 Apr 2012, 7:26 am
Mummy_of_Peanut
Veteran
Joined: 20 Feb 2011
Age: 52
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,564
Location: Bonnie Scotland
14 Apr 2012, 1:05 pm
FishStickNick wrote:
Mummy_of_Peanut wrote:
From what I've read, I think it is fairly common for people on the spectrum, with milder traits, to start to feel different from the teenage years, or thereabouts, onwards. I don't have any diagnosis (my daughter is awaiting assessment) and that's how it was for me too. When I was at primary school, I played, there's was no more to it than that. I played fair, shared, took turns, was polite and never violent or disrespectful. There was no reason for other kids to find fault with me and, to my parents, I was just perfect. I did feel a little out of the ordinary, being academically very bright and with a feeling of being too sensible for my own good. The kids who stayed nearby would tease me a bit and leave me on my own, if there was someone 'better' to play with. I did become very shy at around 7, which I think is due to becoming aware of my shortcomings. Other than that, I think I was pretty average. I certainly caused my parents no concern.
But, when I went to secondary school, at 11, the social skills issues really hit me. I do think I've always had the traits, but they weren't a big deal until the politics of the teenage years loomed. I also have sensory, co-ordination and concentration issues, but never saw the connection between them until just over a year ago. The concentration problem has never been apparent to anyone in my whole life and I only realised it was an issue for me when I was about 10, but I assume it was always there.
But, when I went to secondary school, at 11, the social skills issues really hit me. I do think I've always had the traits, but they weren't a big deal until the politics of the teenage years loomed. I also have sensory, co-ordination and concentration issues, but never saw the connection between them until just over a year ago. The concentration problem has never been apparent to anyone in my whole life and I only realised it was an issue for me when I was about 10, but I assume it was always there.
My experience was kind of similar to this.
Looking back, I had a strong fixation on some really specific areas when I was a kid. I didn't like to talk to other people (I was even selectively mute for a time). Although I got along with others, I still had a hard time saying please or thank you, or even hello, even after I got over the selective mutism; at the time, my mom attributed it to mere shyness. I'd eventually warm up to people, but even then, I wasn't particularly social with others most of the time.
I was often in my own world; I'd wander around the back yard and talk to myself, for example. Sometimes I'd do character voices (still do), or recite lines to movies. I was able to play imaginatively to some extent, but even then, it was largely grounded in reality and/or my special interests. My older sister described to me how I'd go on and on about my special interest as a kid, and be able to recite memorized bits of information. I was able to read early, and I had a large vocabulary for a small child.
I was very resistant to change as a kid (and I still am to an extent): I would have meltdowns if you so much as rearranged the furniture in a room. I've always been the fidgety sort (chewing on stuff, leg-bobbing, spinning, etc...), and I was not particularly well coordinated. I've always had a great memory. I was always a decent student, but I got by mostly on natural ability--I mastered the fine art of putting no more effort into school than necessary. It left me with more time to build stuff with Lego.
It kind of eased some for me when I was in my pre-teen years, as I adopted some special interests that were a little more typical/acceptable, and made a small group of friends, but right around sixth or seventh grade, I started to feel more out of place. I started to feel a little more uncomfortable around peers--even friends that I've known for years.
Until the last few weeks, I thought I was just a weird kid and a quirky adult. AS explains a lot.
14 Apr 2012, 1:42 pm
14 Apr 2012, 2:53 pm
