what was you like as a small child?

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I was reading by the age of three - children's books, of course. By age eight, I was reading at the twelfth-grade level. My maths skills lagged a bit, but once I got the hang of algebra, everything else fell into place.

The nicest thing they called me was "Walking Encyclopedia". Literature and knowledge were my refuge from an abusive father and the bullies at school who didn't like anyone making them look stupid by being smart.

My father was an abusive, bigoted drunk who blamed me for everything, including his belief that I was the reason why he and my mother "had to" get married. He would beat me for any reason he could think of, especially when he would find out that I had been beaten up at school.

Mine was not a happy childhood.

When I lived in Tasmania I had a fairly good childhood, I still had meltdowns but at that stage I was getting help even though they didn't know what was wrong with me, My Mum said it was hard to get diagnosed for Autism because the Doctor said you had to be severely Autistic to be diagnosed(In the 60's no none knew about Aspergers)
I was in my own world most of the time.


When we moved to Melbourne things went downhill I was bullied at school, The child Psychiatrist said there was nothing he could do, he didn't want to be bothered he was the only one at that time so there was no one else to go to.

Things improved when I went to the Special School I had friends there.

With my family and friends, I was hyperlexic and neologistic. Apart from them, I never volunteered ideas or initiated conversation with anyone. When required, I would usually stare at the floor and mumble a whispered one-word answer to questions (selective mutism?). I preferred questions that needed only a “yes” or “no” answer as I could shake or nod my head to answer. I learned to turn any question for details into a one-word answer (I still do when I choose to do so). This behavior stayed with me until I attended college.

My anxiety at school was always at high-alert. I got quite good at avoiding being chosen for answers or explanations. I never raised my hand or showed interest in class topics, preferring the lecture method of learning. I could remember every word that the teacher said during class and had no use for taking notes. I learned most topics quickly and was left to boredom until a new topic was introduced. During recesses, I would usually stand right outside the classroom door waiting for the interminable recess to end (like dogs in the rain do). I always thought recesses were pointless punishments, and just made the other kids sweaty and noisier when they returned to class. With a friend (just one in elementary school), we would walk at the fringes of the recess crowd and talk.

I was bullied (though I prefer to be accurate and describe it as intimidation and abuse; similar to the 2010 documentary film Bullied) because of my silence and resistence to socialize. I remember several meltdowns and probably experienced several more.

I hated sports because I couldn’t understand the rules and had zero interest in changing that fact. My physical-education classmates hated my mistakes and misunderstanding of sports, and often blamed me for losing their victories. That hostility ended when, through sheer force of will, I joined an after-school Taekwondo class and found out that I did quite good with it. My abuse subsided noticeably after that was shared by and with other students.

All my teachers claimed that I didn’t “apply myself” to the classwork despite my high test scores. Some resented me. Others protected me. Clearly, I knew the subject matter but resented proving it. Throughout my childhood, I tried desperately to make myself as invisible as possible. A day where I said nothing to anyone was a good day, indeed.

Talked early and was sort of hyperlexic from what I can tell, was a gifted kindergartener to the point of being offered to skip it. Too bad it wasn't a sign of things to come.

I have memories of thinking and behaving like a typical kid.

But I also remember being very sulky. That was my biggest flaw in childhood. If I didn't get what I want or things weren't going my way, I would sulk. I sometimes went off to hide, just so people would look for me, find me, and make a fuss of me. Yes, from about the age of 6 to about 13, I was the biggest attention-seeker.

I don't have much memories about my early childhood but as far I know I had no sense of danger and I was an escaper. I was also speaking early, I could manage long mature conversations with adults like an equal and I was often coming up to random strangers and starting talk. But for some reason I couldn't find my place in peer group. In nursery I was apparently thinking other kids are dolls or decorations (they sent me to kids psychiatrist because of it but apparently I was "a smart kid with normal motor development that has yet to learn how to socialize"). In preschool I preferred discussing with our caregiver for hours instead of playing with other kids.

In late preschool/early elementary school I finally got interested in other kids but they rejected me for some reason. I mastered the "Hi, I'm Kate. What's your name? Wanna play with me?" but I was unable to make friends(come to think of it it was dialog an adult would start to a kid, kids were talking differently between each other).
Some kids were avoiding me, some played a bit. But noone invited me to their own plays and many were making fun of me. Probably my meltdowns got something to do with it. My groupmates seen me going wild too often to befriend me.

Eventually I become loner. I spent my free time walking around neighborhood gathering four leave clovers, stones or snails while watching other kids play from far away. Sometimes I was visiting other kids "bases" when they were not there, imagining I play with them.

I gained some friends eventually but they were were 2-3 years younger than me. I couldn't get "friends" my age till middle school (but that were superficial relationships that ended fast) and I got my first real friend in high school.

I started talking the same age neurotypical babies did. Didnt recognize my father age one year old when he was absent for a few days and didnt shave. didnt reconigze my own mother age seven when she tried on a wig. selectively mute until age ten or eleven, shook my head and gestured instead of speaking to a non family member. didnt show interest in other kids or making friends. Paced back and forth flapping my fingers with the speed of light. walked over a pipe that served as a bridge over a hole in the ground in the backyard of the school, over and over again.

My rage attacks were few and far in between, and then after provocation. I was a quiet child. found out I'm an aspie by a fellow aspie in one of my various jobs, age 45, but I always knew I was different.

Unless a cat was nearby, my head was hardly out of a book when I was at home. Once I got a bicycle I took off - though I would have read books while I went on my bicycle journeys if it had been possible. I could read well before going to school and spent a total of one hour in the first class because the teacher realised that there was no point in me being there learning to read.

Oblivious, obnoxious, annoying, insensitive ignorant bigot. That's who I was when I was very young.

In terms of symptoms, I do have sensory sensitivities yet I was sensory-seeking that time until I'm at high school.
Sure, I play a lot of physical games like tag, hopscotch, jump rope, but no sports. I also climb trees and bars where all girls in daycare cry how to get up there while I enjoy the view. I don't play dolls or cuddle stuff toys, I end up destroying it. I rather build, draw, and run than play-pretend, and read.
A sore loser, and I hurt a LOT of living things. I'm very guilty at this.
Oddly enough, I was really afraid of cats. Unlike at this present, I would chase and cuddle them.
Hates certain words so strongly, I scream whenever it's mentioned.
I was so oblivious, I don't even know how to become 'shy'. They thought I'm confident not to have a stage fright, but reality I'm just really, really clueless. Enough to enter a pageant and a parade show without much of awareness of consequences.
And still moody.

I hate my younger self's persona.

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I was shy and curious, though hyper at times. I did not speak much until I was 6, and have read books since I was 2. I also had an active imagination; I was more interested in reading, watching cartoons, drawing, and playing video games than I was in my homework. When I was at school, I would draw something random in class because I would rather do that than learn long division. I sometimes have the tendency to daydream as well.

I also had my share of meltdowns. If I had one at school, I would be isolated to a different room. I would also be restrained if I hit anyone. There were times, though, that I did regret having at least one meltdown. For example, in 2nd grade, a girl got this pencil-length eraser from Disney World. I guess I got jealous and broke it. Even after apologizing to her, I still feel bad. I also admit that 4th grade was my hardest year, because I had so many meltdowns, I was transferred from teacher to teacher. I had three teachers that year.

My biggest obsession in my childhood was animals. I would dream of working as a zookeeper or a veterinarian. I always enjoyed going to my aunt's farm growing up because of the animals there, and I loved going to the zoo. During one trip to my aunt's farm, I met my cousin's white kitten. He was friendly and outgoing, and I almost wanted to take him home. That was where my love of cats started.

Oh and also I started off like a typically developing baby and toddler, and did not show any peculiar signs until I was at least 4.

I was like a cat.
My parents called me a cat from an early age.

I was really quiet and introverted as a child but liked to spend a lot of time playing with my toys and building stuff.

Because of this, I chose EggHead Junior from the Looney Tunes cartons as my avatar as he's a lot like I was as a kid. Egghead Jr never actually says anything but he's always up to something.

My mom said that I started talking a bit later than expected, but I'm pretty sure it was within the normal range. Otherwise, I believe I reached most developmental milestones at a normal age (with a few exceptions regarding specific tasks, such as tying shoes). At school, I was ahead of my classmates in terms of reading abilities, both in French and in English. I didn't have any problems academically, but I wasn't very good with math, and my handwriting was initially quite poor (my school put a great emphasis on practising our penmanship): this lead me to become easily frustrated with these subjects, although I don't recall having any full-fledged meltdowns or tantrums. However, I really enjoyed history and geography classes as they were related to one of my special interests.

Socially, I interacted somewhat awkwardly with other children, sometimes trying to avoid them, and had trouble making friends when I started school. Even though my behaviour was sometimes socially inappropriate, I usually considered others' feelings, trying to please them as much as I could, and my teachers said that I was very well behaved and calm. I managed to make a few friends by the time I reached first grade, but I was never with the kids who were considered popular or cool in my class. I was also quite naïve, which allowed others to manipulate me quite easily at times. I don't recall having problems interacting with strangers until approximately the age of 4, when it seems that I became very shy: I recall an instance when my dad became frustrated by my shyness, which had also been noticed by some of my teachers. I often preferred interacting with adults, sometimes having long one-sided conversations (or, in this case, speeches) about my subjects of interest with people once I had overcome my shyness. I was rather clumsy in sports and didn't really enjoy these activities, further limiting my opportunities to interact with my classmates. My interests were also quite narrow and different from what my peers liked to talk about, which lead me to enjoy spending time alone.

It seems that I also had a certain sensitivity to loud noises and to emotions. I was very good at spotting very small details in objects. Despite feeling slightly different from my peers and finding it difficult to adapt myself socially in certain situations, I had a great, typical childhood, and never faced any major problems (such as meltdowns). My parents were also very supportive and patient, so I never had any trouble at home.

I spoke, read, and walked very early. I loved to garden with my granddad. I also had 3 cats

I babbled mostly until age 2. I have memories as early as 1.5 yrs. I was very quiet and played mostly with the animals. I disliked most people except for my parents. I spent allot of time digging in the dirt and sand looking for things. I liked taking things apart and sometimes putting them back together. I strongly disliked babysitters, I would scream and cry almost the entire time may parents were away. I had one friend at age 5, we made our own language that others did not understand. At the age of eight we were separated due to the teachers at the school. They felt we would learn better if we were not together all the time.