Things you didn't comprehend as a child because of autism?

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I just remember something from when I was little.

So totally shows how I was/am a concrete thinker.

When I was a kid and saw cars, I couldn't imagine that there were people driving them. I had the impression cars were real creatures. Beasts inhabiting the streets and sleeping at park lots.

I had sat in various cars many times before. I knew that all cars I had sat in were moved by a driver. But since I couldn't see the people in all the other cars, I couldn't imagine that they were in there. When I saw someone get out of a monster-car, I suddenly knew it was a car driven by a person. Obviously. But I didn't assume the same about the other cars.

I lacked the ability of abstraction needed for that seemingly simple conclusion.

At that time I had taught myself academics that were well above my age, but I certainly was living in a crazy world all the same.

Anyone else have such memories?

I remember as a young child using a reclining chair in my grandmother's living room as a rocket. As the astronaut going up, during my flight to space I would "break through" from the atmosphere to space. I understood that to mean there was, like, a relatively thin, physical solid globe around the world like a ceiling to the world. That the rocket would crash through entering space. It's pretty funny thinking back about that. I'm not sure exactly what the source of this was though I imagine (being an early reader) I heard or read something about "breaking out of earth's orbit" or something like that. *shrug*

P.S. I'm not autistic, I swear!

I was watching TV as a kid, when they showed 'the rockets of tomorrow' one day. So I got up the next day to see if they were there.

I'm still waiting for flying cars...

I remember 3 things that particularly confounded me as a child.

1. The colloquial phrase "You can't have your cake, and eat it too." bothered me to no end. I couldn't see the point in saying something like that. Of course you couldn't do that. I just didn't get it.

2. This was when my teacher was talking about geometry. He was saying to the class that the parallel line of my desk could conceivably continue on through infinity. And, all I could think was, "No it doesn't; my desk end right here."

3. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what a friend was. It took me until my mid-twenties to do so. And, even then, it was an intellectualization of what it means to be a friend. I remember having to write a paper about my friends for grade school. This paper got me into a lot of trouble, because I was so frustrated about the subject. I released all of my angst into the writing, as to how I didn't have any friends, and how crappy my life was. Boy, was my mom pissed about that conference call, until she thoroughly denied there was a problem at all.

I suppose you could call me a concrete thinker as well. Although, my grades were usually very good as well.

My parents used to tell me to fold the handkerchief after blowing my nose. I never understood what they meant and they'd get very angry at me each time. All throughout my childhood. Yes, I'm that old, there were no tissues back then. One day, in my thirties, I sat thinking about it and suddenly realized what they meant.

I remember as a child hearing adults talking about car problems and having them overhauled and then the car worked better. I knew what it mean to "haul" something, so my internal definition of "overhaul" had to do with forcing the car to carry or drag much more than it should.

I had trouble figuring out how forcing a car to haul something over its weight limit would make it work better.

For years, I thought there was some huge city in Ohio called Charter, because that's where all the Greyhound busses seemed to be going.

I also had the odd habit of calling my parents by their first names... I still have a very hard time simply calling them "mom" and "dad".

I couldn't comprehend people. what were they there for? so very unfathomable.

I don't know if this belongs here, but for years I wondered why when there's a scrap paper collection, you aren't allowed to put out the paper in a paper bag, but have to tie up bundles of paper with rope. Rope isn't made of paper, but paper bags are, so wouldn't it be much more logical the other way around?

Then, a couple of years ago, it hit me: since we have to pay the garbage collectors by the sackful for regular garbage but the scrap paper collection is free, people would probably hide regular garbage between old newspapers on scrap paper collection day, and this can only be avoided by making them tie up bundles of paper rather than letting them stuff it into a paper bag. I don't know for sure that this is the explanation, but it does seem likely. So in order to find the solution to the mystery, I had to factor in human psychology, which I usually don't.

On a related note, I also have difficulties "getting" naughty jokes, because they too rely heavily on an understanding of human motives.

My mother told me I had to touch everything as a child. I had to look what was behind the items. I don't think I knew there was a back to them.


I don't remember about cars.



Not sure if this is autism related or not or had to do with being a little kid. I was seven and I remember getting confused when Kevin would say "Oh just hung around." I couldn't understand why he was saying he hung himself if that wasn't true.
I also remember wondering why was Kate telling her son to say "good night Kevin" but then in my teens it dawned on me what she was really telling him.
I also remember getting confused in the second movie about why kevin was so worried about girls being on the floor when he said "Gee don't flash these babies around here, there could be girls on this floor." Then I figured out in 5th grade what he really meant.
I also remember when harry would say "I cross my heart and hope to die" I thought he wanted to get a knife and slash his heart.


I also remember when I was 14, my uncle, my brother and I and my mother were all playing Sequence and my uncle gave me the cards and said "Cut." I pick them up and I try to figure out the word "cut." Okay, you can't cut the cards, I don't have a knife and why would he want me to do such a thing? Then my mother said "She doesn't know what it means" so my uncle took them from me and took half of the cards from the stack and then back to one stack and then he asked my brother to do the same and my mother. I thought it was stupid because it didn't make any sense but hey at least I learned what "cut" means when it comes to cards.

When I was little, I didn't know other people thought and feel. Even though I see them yell, and cry but I still didn't figure out everyone cries, everyone yells and everyone can feel and think. I remember my mother had to tell me and I was about six. I remember trying to figure out how do they have feelings and how do they think and why is it I am in me and I am not in them. To me, other people were like objects that moved and talked.

I also remember I would argue with people about stuff and I remember thinking I was right so I kept arguing not even knowing it was an opinion. I expected everyone to agree with me back then and I thought their thoughts were wrong.

I also learned when I was little that school had different rules. When I was in pre school I noticed how we never used a cake when it be someone's birthday. Instead, they got a cupcake with one candle on it and then the rest of us get a cupcake. In my new school, we all had cupcakes but there were no candles. I noticed how the rules were different at school. We were not allowed to twist on the swings for one. We were not allowed to throw snowballs and I noticed how you could act up at school, scream, do weird behavior, etc. Then at home I be my old self again because it was now home rules now. So in school I would act different and at home I would be a different person.

What did they mean?


I assume they didn't mean literally fold the handkerchief.

Yes, that was how I experienced people also.

I didn't think of that they were the same being as me, with minds and thoughts like me. I talked to them sometimes, I watched them, but that other children and adults were people like me didn't hit me until my pre-teens.

They meant I had to fold the handkerchief in four again after blowing my nose. I used to make a ball of it.

well said!

I actually can not remember much of my childhood (or I choose not to, maybe ;p) but I dont remember taking things extreeeeemely literally.
There was one time driving around the beach with my dad that I read a sign saying "the reef" which turned out to be a restaurant, but I kept trying to convince my dad to take us snorkeling, becuz it was sooo stupid to name a retaurant "the reef" if there wasn't at least A reef somewhere nearby.

Also I once got mad (giggling AND crying at the same time!) at an uncle of mine who was calling cake, ca-kie (think kha-ki.... cac-ca...) I got so mad I started screaming it is NOT ca-ca! It is cake! & I threw it at him. My mother will never ever let me forget that
(my tantrums may be few and far between but they are STELLAR)

Wouldn't the snot run out of it if you fold it in four?