Does anyone else get called a child?

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People always call me a child.

I do…by my mother.

I’m 61 years old.

Yes. Infantilization of disabled people is common. These people can't comprehend the difderence between a child's brain or a mentally/developmentally disabled person's brain.

I don't think moms count though if done in an affectionate way. They always think of you as their baby no matter how old you get. Mine certainly did.

My mother laments that I still “act like a baby.”

Yeah, that's not quite so affectionate then.

I used to when I was a teenager. My parents would often compare me to a small child and even say I was like a baby.

Sometimes I used to blurt out stupid questions for no particular reason, a question a child might ask. Like when I was about 14 I once asked my mum, "where's teddy?" My mum looked at me disapprovingly and said "that's what a baby would ask!" I don't even know why I asked that, as I wasn't exactly needing a teddy. It just came out.

Sometimes I'm sure I had some form of Tourette's syndrome. But that's a different topic.

Sometimes yes, not so much anymore, but even as a grown adult if I am not handling a situation like a normal adult would then yes I've had this leveled at me at times. Not very nice when you feel you are doing your best to cope. Sometimes I wish that person could climb in my body and see what it is like, they probably wouldn't like it!

No, not even by my mother.

I'm apparently mature or something. It's kinda interesting, actually. I'm treated very much like an adult by everyone, often senior or equal to anyone around. My sister who is older than me, thinks of me as her bigger brother. Responsibility tends to fall on me in many ways when it comes to important things, as I still have my mental faculties intact and my decisions tend to be rational (begrudgingly, often correct).

Which I guess has made me feel a little better about myself because I've never thought of this one before. Whilst I tend to be mostly passive and supportive in social and emotional things, I tend to take lead when it comes to things outside of such.

Not since before my mother passed away.

I don't get called a child any more really. I usually act mature.

I get offended when people on internet forums call me immature or childish for having emotions. Yes, I've been called that on this forum before. One time someone posted "grow the f**k up!" when I was talking about social anxiety.

my dad calls me a child as a insult.

I don't think anyone has used the word child, but I do get a lot of weird looks from strangers because of my mannerisms and general vibe. Many people have been condescending to me over the years without actually saying "child".

My family and other people who know me are used to the fact I'm decades behind in terms of social-emotional development. I feel like I'm no older or more capable than when I was 13. When I go into shutdown I'm about 5 with my self-soothing stims, and all I want to do is watch Flintstones or play with my baby blanket.

Of course I'm referring to my emotional age and my sensory processing needs, not my IQ or persona.

I carry a lot of responsibility having moved out at 18, owning a house by myself, being a single mother, having four pets, and taking care of my elderly mum. Maybe that's why I always feel so stressed. I have all the burdens of an adult but on the inside I'm a nervous and self-conscious adolescent.

Close, my aunt used to tell me "You're still just a little kid."

However, I have also been guilty of calling other disabled people a "Child" whenever they act really immature. Especially if they do things like throw tantrums in public.

I saw this to a frightening extent with my step gramma who lived to over 100.

when her memory started failing badly she always recognized me and was happy to see me, while she often did not recognize closer family members.

It was obvious enough that the other members encouraged me to work in an old folks home.

I suspect she was happy to see me cuz I didnt talk to her as if she was an infant [or really dumb].

Took me a couple of years to really figure that out, though I partly saw it right from the start.

From time to time I see really disturbing stuff regarding how our culture treats its elderly.

I dont get infatialized, but I have been called "like a little kid" and similar - I think it is my adhd that makes them say this.

My two bigoted uncles not only call me a child, but
also my NT sister often gets called the same whenever they visit.

They both believe the spectrum isn't real, that the only one for a man to truly "man up" (spectrum and NT alike) is to enlist in the US Armed Forces (which is something I am glad I never did),
and that the only way for a woman to truly be happy is to settle down before doing anything else in her life.