Do Aspie children demand less attention than NT children?

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Skilpadde
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16 Oct 2016, 6:35 am

While I had no lack of interests and easily played by myself, I did love the attention of my loved ones, particularly my mother and my grandfather. I loved being played with, read to, and talk to them and be with them.

Oh, and when I wanted to talk or otherwise have their attention, I sure wanted them to actually pay attention. My mother recalls me talking to her while she was in other thoughts and she answered something automatically, and I had said sharply: "What did you reply to now?" very aware and dissatisfied that she wasn't paying attention. She doesn't remember how old I was other than before we moved the last time, which means younger than 7 1/2. She was surprised I could tell at that age. I don't recall that incident but I remember being 6 and understanding the difference between someone looking at me and looking at something behind me in terms of what they paid attention to.
My NT mother liked playing with her father when she was little, but when he dosed off, she would be quiet and play calmly without him, while I would be more likely to say something like "hey, you're asleep!" when he dosed off from playing with me (unless he specifically said he needed a nap).

So no, I didn't have less need for attention from my family than anyone else.


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YippySkippy
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16 Oct 2016, 1:20 pm

It depends on the kid. A stereotypical withdrawn aspie enjoys solitude and demands little attention. An outgoing, sensory-seeking kid who loves social interaction even though he sucks at it demands a LOT of attention.



MagicMeerkat
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31 Oct 2016, 8:35 am

In my case, no. My mom says I was more work attention wise than all three of my older brothers put together. I also suspect I had fetal alcohol spectrum disorder but the stupid social worker never told my mother that my biological mother drank. She hung out in bars all the time when pregnant with me. Doesn't take much to put two and two together. Anyhow, I demanded so much attention, that my mother had to quit her job and stop taking in other foster kids.


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