autism and appearing "childish"

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Wow how strange for a person to feel free criticizing some of you like that. To your faces even.

I liked the response of "because they're comforting and I like them."

I get schooled by my own 10 year old son all the time in how to deal with others. He has ADHD and is being raised by me (an odd person NT) and his dad (an elite aspie type), so maybe he's not the most normal person himself. Sometimes the kids at school will say something unkind to him. He refuses to swear and his ADHD is too bad to think of something clever in the moment. He simply says something like, "Why would you say something like that?" Which puts a person in their place better than anything else.

Oh and one more thing- think deeply about this "ablism" idea. People on the autism spectrum may be at a disadvantage in certain situations, but they are at an advantage in others. So it just depends on how you see yourself and others.

You might like The Little Prince. The book describes my idea of "grown-up" pretty well.

To me, "grown-up" and "adult" are mutually associated, but neither such term implies anything about the other such term.
Also to me, being a grown-up, i.e., not being a kid, implies having little curiosity, sincerity, or playfulness. As an academic -- more specifically, an artist -- more specifically, a mathematician --, I believe that these qualities are virtuous.

I just wanted to offer my proverbial two cents.

"I'M A GOOFY GOOBER!"

I love Om Nom and Cut the Rope. I have a pea hat that I like to wear. It has a stem on it.

years ago somebody explained to me the difference between "child like" and "childish"
Child like is the eternal burning curiosity and enthusiasm we may have for doing the things we are interested in and the things we love. It is the openness and emotional honesty that people may mask in every day life.




Being childish is the trait of immature behavior and lack of insights that most others gain as we get older. It is the single minded selfishness, the petty jealousies, the lack of thought that is needed to interact with peers and others in every day life, refusing to accept responsibility for one's actions or behavior, being vindictive, jealous, deliberately disruptive or disrespectful or in other ways acting as a young child would.

We may appear to be childish when in reality, our creative sides and passions never left us. Tim Burton is on the spectrum and he didn't let go of those "Child-like" passions. Without them, there would be have been no Beetlejuice or Jack who I feel are characters who act like they are on the spectrum.

As a woman I appear child-like because I don’t wear makeup, or have fancy haircut or clothes.
I smile and giggle a lot when I’m nervous, sometimes when it’s inappropriate to do so.
I also seem to just look naturally young for my age.

I suppose the "childish" label is about the "you're old enough to know better" thing. Much better to point out specifically what the supposedly intolerable behaviour is. Glib, sweeping pejoratives are a lousy way of communicating.

If a guy complains that I'm appearing childish or not being a woman enough -- I'd straight up call them a creep for complaining and caring too much.

I mean, how else would they care?
Yeah, I'm socially competent enough to stop such people through that kind of insinuation.



And if they're a lady, they're projecting.
Really, why? I ain't a "threat", or am I?
It's also making them liable enough for me to use them because of their assumptions.

And no one's going to be jealous at me.
Because my child-like appearances is not limited to just appearances.
No one can just call me out since I don't even mask, let alone pretend it's cute. I'm not afraid of going creepy on anyone just for that.

.. People are more jealous of my body instead.


If they're teasing me about my mom and how she 'coddle' me, I'll call their relationship with their moms and their ignorance.


But really, the scenarios of mistaken age for me is funny.

Whenever someone finds out my real age, they're gonna ask -- You married? Got a kid? Etc.

Makes any highschooler trying to hit on me, thinking I'm their age, run away silly.
Or creeps and trolls revealing themselves.

But I'm not as socially naive as my appearance suggests.
Makes a good underestimate. Will be their mistake targeting me.



In cultural aspects...
Hmmm... Looking younger than one looked isn't an uncommon thing around me.

My boss is in her 40s. She looks like just turning 30. She has more woes over looking younger because no one thought she got like 20+ years of professional job experience.

Known some family friends and relatives' coworkers.

Sort of runs in my family;
My own mother doesn't look like someone turning 60.
My 45 year old maternal aunt can compete with 20s something year olds in pageants.
My paternal grandma doesn't look like she's in her 70s...

In general, some well off but are short statured people tend to look a bit younger.
Being short from where I came from is relatively common; and I'm taller by average.

Then there's the extroverted and happily emotional norms, and taking strides over child like antics for an entertaining gag...

And the inability to do so would make someone a killjoy.
I have the power to socially judge an uptight fool into devaluing themselves. I just need the right time and place and actual reasoning.



In any case, I don't have any child like passions at the moment. And finally no longer ever have child like fits except towards my own mother...

Closest thing I'd get is either out of nostalgia, or my tasting pallette.

I'm also someone who had overcome gaming addiction and maladaptive daydreaming without professional intervention...
I'm way confident that I'm emotionally ahead of my peers just for that.

Just not in a socially conventional way like taking interest in sex and romance -- if anything, that's easy for me to discuss rationally.
Or a lot of things that power, competency, fluency in monetary based systems, social standings that masks insecurity, trauma and all that human crap.

I can very much reduce my perception of anyone into of that of a child.

Instead of being pissed at them, I'll just be sorry for them and wonder what happened to them...

Which ain't some meditation exercise for me to practice empathy -- it's actually something just perceivable for me to look anyone as such lens that deep down everyone is a child.

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I used to be hypervigilant about appearing "regular". Nowadays, I will crouch down and search for bugs in the grass if I damn want to. Curiosity should not be an inherently childish thing, it is how we learn new things and discover new interests.

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Who's going to tell Grawp he's being childish?


Polly wants a cracker NOW !