Asperger's And Maturity: How slow did you grow up?

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Mmuffinn
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23 Aug 2012, 12:21 pm

I have always behaved more maturely than my peers in most ways, but I seem to be several years behind them in emotional development. At 28 I feel that my ability to handle responsibility could be compared to that of a typical 20-23 year old. I have just moved out of my parents house, but I'm still "too young" to get married and have children. I don't enjoy partying, though, or other things typical of people in that age group. I think I am just now prepared to go back to college and be able to handle the stress and workload. I get along best with people my age or older at this point, but only got along with adults when I was younger.
Sometimes I feel I would prefer to be a child again, maybe 5 or 6, with no responsibility or awareness of all the world's problems. I could just be me and let my parents take care of me with no concern of their eventual deaths. But I can't go back, so I suppose I am eager to age a few more years to a point where I can feel more secure in my ability to care for myself. At 28 I have reached "young adult", perhaps I'll be a full-fledged adult by the time I'm 35 or so. I think that's the age I would most like to be.


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Joe90
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23 Aug 2012, 12:32 pm

I actually wish I was in my 40s. I feel older people treat me like a little kid because I'm young, like random strangers would speak to my mum even if she isn't looking at them or smiling or anything, and they completely ignore me because I'm young, and if I try to connect with other young people in the street by greeting them, I just get the WTF look.

Also I am more attracted to older men than younger men. Men in their 20s don't do a lot for me, I tend to look at older men in their 40s and 50s, even grey-ish-black hair turns me on, and I like a face that is more coarse, like men in their 20s seem to still have a baby face, especially blonde men. That's not the only reason why I like older men, I just do and that's that, but they just look upon me as a silly little girl who should find somebody my own age.

If I was in my 40s right now, I would probably be dating the bus-driver who I fancy by now. He likes me back, but I have the feeling he doesn't want to ask me out because of the age gap awareness, and it doesn't help looking younger than my age either.


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Danimal
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23 Aug 2012, 10:30 pm

Oh my, yes. I'm 47, and my wife tells me I have the maturity of a 20 year old. That's sometimes not a comforting thought.



bruinsy33
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24 Aug 2012, 12:08 am

I am definitely behind my peers as far as dating/relationships go.It has been a hard go to develop the social and emotional skill set one needs to make a relationship work.I feel confident about other areas of my life and I do very well at work but from a maturity point of view I am certainly eons behind others when it comes to relationships but I guess that's why I am an Aspie. :lol: It seems to be the norm for many Aspies to have particular difficulties establishing an intimite relationship.



mrspotatohead
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24 Aug 2012, 12:11 am

I wasn't really conscious until I was about 10 years old.



Bubbles137
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24 Aug 2012, 12:13 am

bruinsy33 wrote:
I am definitely behind my peers as far as dating/relationships go.It has been a hard go to develop the social and emotional skill set one needs to make a relationship work.I feel confident about other areas of my life and I do very well at work but from a maturity point of view I am certainly eons behind others when it comes to relationships but I guess that's why I am an Aspie. :lol: It seems to be the norm for many Aspies to have particular difficulties establishing an intimite relationship.


Can definitely relate to that- I'm 25 and have never had a relationship or even been on a date (al least, one I realised I was on- once I accidentally went out with someone for 3 months without realising he thought we were going out!).

I work in a primary school, mainly with 9-10 year olds which I love, but a lot of the time the teachers talk to me as though I were one of the kids which annoys me a bit. I find it hard to relate to the teachers though.



abyssquick
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24 Aug 2012, 11:07 am

Didn't talk until I was 2, didn't develop critical thinking and usable social skills until I was 20 or so - I have only recently come to think of myself as an "adult"



Noxie
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10 Sep 2019, 3:02 pm

I'm 26 years old and I feel like I have a 5-6 year old difference in maturity and development from the other people of my age. Not necessarily in the mental state but mostly in the emotional-social aspect of life. Like people around my age seem to already have their life figured out and stuff and I feel like I'm taking baby steps in every direction. Things I do now for example are things that most people of my age have already done from 4 to 6 years ago. It's like I only just now learn how to slowly and gradually be an adult. In most cases I feel like a teen who has been forcefully 'thrown' into the adult life and just has to function like one whether they're ready or not. I work because I know I have to and because I have no other choice. And I'm only now gradually learning how to make adult decisions. It sounds odd to even think of it but as I see I'm not alone. I totally see what you mean. I'd love to still be in my 'studying' period but not with the huge amount of mistakes that existed back then in my life. That would be great. :oops:



GammaV
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10 Sep 2019, 10:17 pm

I remember being told at age 15 or 16 that I had "the mentality of a 5-year-old." Maybe that's why I had so many meltdowns in school regarding the typical high school workload. I also watched shows like Beast Wars when other kids my age were watching Dawson's Creek and the like. This slow maturity, and a lack of proper support for people with vision impairments, kept me from going to college. I ended up applying for, and receiving, Social Security Disability almost as soon as I turned 18. I never left home, and, as a result, moved wherever my mother moved. I still matured slowly. Now, I'm probably at the level of a 14 or 15-year-old. I'm still not mature enough to even consider motherhood, and my biological clock is ticking for that. Another reason to not want to have children is to not want to pass on my disabilities.



dragonsanddemons
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10 Sep 2019, 11:15 pm

I feel like I'm still not mature, at age 26. I'm not able to work or live on my own, things people my age have typically been doing for several years. I'm really only just starting to even get my daily routine, like showering and eating lunch, back on track after a bout of severe depression. Probably I'd say I'm about 14, maturity-wise. Can I be 10 but still allowed to watch whatever horror movies I want? That sounds good to me. I want to be a kid again, but I don't want to give up my obsession with Cenobites from Hellraiser.


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renaeden
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11 Sep 2019, 1:25 am

I would like to be 27 again. I was at my physical peak, very healthy.

I still have the mentality of a 17 year-old though. Kind of lazy and like to sleep late a lot.



shortfatbalduglyman
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11 Sep 2019, 12:28 pm

There is something wrong with ever age

Equal employment opportunity commission 2012 gender

In 2012, twenty nine years old

Age 21 diagnosed Gender Identity Disorder, asperger, clinical depression

But had symptoms for a long time :evil: a priori :roll:


13, bullying, breast growth

My precious lil "parents" made me take the SAT in 7th grade and. Memorize 10 to 20 words a day between third and seventh grades. "Your sister is so smart. Why are you not like that?". :roll: :skull:


High school, while no good, was uneventful.


UCSD was homophobic and superficial but I could have gone to a different college


Structural engineering was a nightmare but whatever


This far 33 was, by far, the best year of my "life"

Not sick the whole year, no period, no school, no work, almost no homophobia

36 right now and rapidly declining


Graceful degradation

Aging process



Canary
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11 Sep 2019, 2:06 pm

I've always felt 5 years behind.



psychogirl
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11 Sep 2019, 2:09 pm

I was very slow to mature. At every stage my mother was constantly telling me 'you can't have that it's for babies!' or 'you're acting like a 5 year old!' or 'you sound like a little baby!'

I think she still vents about my immaturity to my sister, but she is a little more understanding since my diagnosis. I would like to be 2 or 3 years old again. I want to be small and cute.



IstominFan
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11 Sep 2019, 4:05 pm

I am still growing. I really started to mature and live life around six years ago.



JimSpark
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11 Sep 2019, 5:57 pm

I think I was born with the emotional maturity of a 12-year old, and have remained that way ever since. I'm 50, and I still often walk or run upstairs 2 stairs at a time.


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