how did your autism show itself in childhood

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-cried over just about EVERYTHING (poor emotional regulation)
-would watch the same episode of a show over and over to the point where i either barely ever watched other episodes or just straight up couldn't name any others
-would "latch" onto one friend, had other "friends" but in my mind they were more like "acquaintances" who I just happened to play with and talk to sometimes because that one other friend was my "special person"
-couldn't different phrases with neutral connotations with phrases with negative connotations (got SUPER upset in kindergarten because there was this kid who said "stop right there!" when we were playing and I thought he was being mean to me, there are probably other examples but this is the only one that sticks out in my mind)
-had a few incidents where I said something to an adult and then got in trouble for it because I allegedly said it in a "rude" way even though that was not my intention and I wasn't being rude to my knowledge (to which the second time this happened I had a full on breakdown complete with me talking about how I wish I had never been born)
-was on a very high reading level (12th grade in like 3rd grade I believe?) and I preferred to read than play with the other kids
-I often tripped over my own feet while walking (I guess this could count bc poor coordination?)
-had imaginary friends until a pretty late age (10 or 11-ish I think)
-6th grade: one day in history class, my teacher accidentally slipped up and said something that sounded silly, not meaning to. the whole class, me especially, thought this was hilarious. I kept repeating that phrase over and over in class for several months straight, until one day it made another kid (iirc he had autism as well?) get so mad the stormed out of the room. then the other teacher pulled me aside and started questioning if I had any friends or not. I wish I was kidding. I really liked that teacher but looking back on it that should have been a red flag of "hey maybe this kid is autistic and we should tell someone so she can get tested" but no. again, I think that was absolutely one of the biggest red flags but I just got passed off as being "annoying" and "disruptive"
-4-6th grade: wore cat ears every day as a comfort item (I would get sad and uncomfortable if I forgot them at home) until the teachers told me I had to stop. it was actually difficult for me at first though I'm kind of glad they did because that did not help my status as the "weird kid" at all (I still want to wear animal ears sometimes because they make me happy but I'm genuinely scared to)

there's other stuff but if I listed everything we'd be here all day. I feel like I should have been diagnosed several years ago but I was only diagnosed about a month ago and I feel like the system (mainly the school system) failed me, because the older I got, the more obvious it became. but I was just the "weird girl" I guess.

Difficulty understanding artistic poetry.
Aversion to metaphors.
Lousy at team sports and throwing balls.
Difficulty stopping tasks once started.
Possibly mild meltdowns till mother beat the "tantrums" out of me.
Slow, in-depth learning style.
Somewhat obsessive interests.
Was a little professor about planets and their moons.
Bit of data dumping.
Slightly asocial.
Somewhat socially inept.
Trouble making friends, starting at around the age of 9.
More logical than most kids.
Arguably a slightly fussy eater, hated savoury food for a few years.
Some difficulty smiling realistically on demand.
Possibly more scared of certain loud noises than most kids.
Nail biting.

I've excluded teenage years from my list.
I'm surprised how much I've thought of now I've thought about it. Probably couldn't have done it without reading the traits others have reported here.

When I was a child, only a very low-functioning person would be identified as autistic. My parents and teachers would not have known what to look for, and of course I had no idea I was autistic or even what it was. I knew I wasn't like my classmates and kids in my neighborhood. I accepted I was just weird.

That said,

As an infant, I would be fine on my own but would start screaming/crying if anyone touched me or picked me up.

I was more interested in talking with adults than with kids.

I was definitely the stereotypical "Little Professor", and wanted to know how everything worked. Found connections/analogs in everything. Major bookworm, reading well above my years - mostly science. Thought in-depth about things I was told. Didn't just accept an answer to a question - I had to actually understand the how/why. If things didn't add up, pointed out the inconsistencies.

Physically uncoordinated. Horrible at catching, throwing, pretty much lousy with team sports. Always picked last on a team. Awful handwriting despite lots of remedial hours.

One of my lifelong special interests started at age 6 when I repaired an antique tube-model AM radio. (Electronics/radio is still my primary special interest)

I HATED having clothes on my skin. I tried to be naked whenever I could get away with it (parents did not approve)

High frequency or loud sound was very unpleasant to me.

Got sensory overload in Grocery stores, or anywhere with lots of people and noise. Spent a lot of time feeling like I wasn't real in those situations.

My emotions were way over the top. If I wasn't in my normal calm state, I was too happy (silly, embarrassing to family), too angry (my grandmother told me I would give myself a stroke if I didn't calm down), or too sad (crying uncontrollably).

In my early childhood (version one) I was a more typical autistic kid. Very quiet, sensitive and sickly. Didn't play with other children or had any friend. Very emotional, cried easily and had meltdowns. I drew pictures all day, of the same subject. Very picky eater, hardly ate much. I was very loved and very alone.

After age 7 (version two) I had a drastic personality change. I became quite the opposite of the above description. I was outgoing, fun-loving, active and had many friends. I was so busy with all my interests and activities I never had the time for feelings. It's like ... someone picked up a homeless person, and dressed her up and pushed her onto a stage in front of hundreds of people. I had to be a star right there and then. Then something changed from the inside and I've been a different person since then.

I'm still not sure which one counts as the "real me". My boys are my version one and version two and have completely opposite personalities. Yet we're all still autistic.

Well short and sweet as all these long winded explanations are quite frankly, draining

So my parents used to invite all the neighbour’s kids around to play in our garden to get me used to other children. I still prefer to be on my own …

Anyways one day everyone was outside pretending to have a picnic .. eating invisible sandwiches and drinking invisible lemonade..
I thought that was crazy and I simply couldn’t pretend play … anyways I went in and asked for some jam sandwiches and a drink of milk !

All sorted

I still felt uneasy though sat with all these strange kids eating invisible food

Among other things, stimming (hand rubbing), arm flapping, nonverbalness, lack of eye contact, severe social anxiety, meltdowns, hypersensitivity to sound and touch, pretending I'm a dinosaur and trying to eat people, special interests in reptiles and Star Wars.

I'm still not sure what it is, but I know that in my childhood, I used to hide when guests came over, I didn't have any friends, I was very picky about food. And I still avoid making eye contact. In school, there was this guy who got really close during conversations, and it still creeps me out. I always wanted to step back at least one pace.

1. I was hyperlexic and "gifted" but I wasn't able to fit in with other kids and "behave."
   
2. I was overly pedantic and corrected everyone's grammar.
   
3. I spent a lot of time by myself inventing languages and inventions using cardboard and tape.
   
4. I wasn't able to control info dumps (can't really do it now, either!)
   
5. I smiled at inappropriate times because I couldn't read the correct face to wear

When I looked at my early childhood speech therapist's reports, I noticed a lot of autistic traits :
- Langage delay ;
- Echolalia ;
- Fewer facial expressions ;
- No pointing ;
- No eye contact ;
- Intolerance of changes, had meltdowns everytime I had to switch activities ;
- Hypersensivity to sounds, which was described as a "phobia of sounds" ;
- Always doing the same few activities over and over ;
- Didn't interact with my peers spontaneously, this is something I had to learn to do during group activities.
I also have had a stim which was never labelled as so : people just considered I was making weird faces and children made fun of me.

To this day, I'm still baffled I didn't get diagnosed in my early childhood, especially considering that even my mom thought I was probably autistic.