Missed signs of Autism & ADHD in childhood

What do you think about the suggestion of offering alternatives to unstructured social activities? Do you think it would be helpful? Why or why not? Also, comment 🥚 if you made it to the Easter egg at the end ☺️

Lol at staring at toy catalogues. My favorite thing to do was to spend hours looking at toy catalogues. I didn't even want the toys. I just loved the 'excitement' of it. I would do the same thing with any brochure, even one's that sold vacations. Christmas cataloguescwere a big deal too. 😂

I didn't actually learn to read analog clocks until 8th grade. My teachers all accused me of lying because I had a high IQ but an English teacher taught me. I have dyscalculia and I also take things literally so when people say 6:30 I look for "30" but didn't find it and I remember thinking "where is everyone getting the numbers higher than 12 from?".

I’m sure the reason I was “missed” at school are all the reasons you said – masking in particular. But at home, I know exactly why my behaviour was never identified as “different” – because my mum is Autistic, as well! She didn’t know it at the time, but I was learning all my life knowledge from her growing up, and being “taught” that the Autistic way was perfectly normal because it was natural to her. And she didn’t see anything different about me for the same reason! 😂

Social deficits in action: When you told me to grab tissues, I was horrified because I thought something happened to the cockatiel 😧

I absolutely adore that you started this video by talking about not resonating with every aspect of Autism or ADHD that you hear about. I recently saw your video with Orion Kelly and thought here is someone I need to listen to! "Adult-led structured activities" yeahhhh I mean, that's still my preference now. Don't be telling me I'm an adult just cos I'm 35 😂

I also have huge memory gaps going from childhood into teenage years. I’ve been attributing it to the fact that those years were so traumatic with just trying to survive, fit in and being a natural target for most neurotypicals (children and adults). But it certainly wouldn’t surprise me if there was a general link to childhood memory and autism.

When I was in school, I spent the whole day looking forward to being by myself and playing with m toys, video games, or whatever else I had decided to do after I got home. Being there was a chore.

This video left me in tears as it resonated with me so much.I am 43 and newly self-diagnosed AuDHD. I was deemed shy, I set up scenes for my Barbies and Sindy's, I relied on my confident and loud younger sister for friendships in the neighbourhood growing up, but as I was reading way above my age I preferred reading quietly in my room. I was made to feel stupid because I couldn't learn and still don't know my times tables or do mental arithmetic. As a teen I went from running away from boys terrified and lost friendship groups from being that way to getting myself into trouble with boys. I played truant from school despite being a great student in all but maths classes and those related like physics because I couldn't cope as my exams yr loomed and took to drugs and alcohol. At 18 I met my husband who was also unknowingly Autistic. My two teens have gone through life being allowed to be just themselves at home but as parents we missed the signs in our own kids as we thought their behaviours were pretty typical! All four of us our now on a journey together learning about our ND brains.

I didn't learn my times tables till I was in 6th grade, and then only because the teacher was so disgusted with me that she sat me out in the hallway and told me not to come back in till I learned those times tables. It actually took me only around 3 hours or so to remember them enough to get through 6th grade math. I'm still shaky in math and use a calculator most of the time.

I recently found a picture of me wearing an Arielle tracksuite in the very early 90s, my Mom told me I was practically living in it at the time. Arielle was one of my special interests, i felt so much like her, so misunderstood and different, from another world. And I also did a lot of building up for my toys, with pencils I layed room layouts for hours, changed my Barbies clothes and accessoires, until everything fit. When I was ready to start play properly it was usually evening and time for dinner.

Honestly, this whole video brings back so many similar experiences and memories.

I was diagnosed "ADD" as a child and rediagnosed "ADHD" a few years ago. You literally just told my life story-including learning to play violin by ear and hiding the fact I couldn't read music by turning the page when others did. I also did that with Clarinet and Choir and was even able to "fake" my way into honors choir. Haha...oh man. Also, funny enough, I know you mentioned dislike of perfume, but I've have an INTENSE interest in perfumery since childhood. I can spend HOURS a day researching perfumes including the history, the composition, meaning of a bottle and/or name of the fragrance etc. For me I think I love it so much because I have a terrible memory and scent can sometimes help me sorta remember things. (The link between scent and memory is huge as we know!) I really enjoy your videos and feel less...odd. Thanks for what you do!

I was born with the severe Kanner type autism in 1951 parents first thought i was deaf later when my hearing tested they thought i was retarded .When I began talking echolia .i did learn to talk but it was hard to communicate . I had tactile problems as a child and a low tolerance for pain .I cried a lot .I have always personified objects .I still do I didnt fit in at school and was kicked out of second grade .I spent years in a mental hospital .Menninger Children’s hospital Later I went to a regular high school and graduated . At Menningers they has a school so I got my basic education .After getting out I lived with a family and I got a full time job I had 22 years .I have severe noise sensitivity which developed when I was 9 and got worse with time . YOUR LIFE SOUNDS REALLY ROUGH. YOU WERE SHAMED SO MUCH AND YOU TRIED SO HARD I WISH WE COULD SPEND A DAY TOGETHER ID LOVE TO KNOW YOU BETTER . I was diagnosed with autism when i was 40 it was like being forgiven Industrial strength absolution I want to tell you more

I turned my G.I Joes into professional wrestlers and baseball players. I wrote out stats, lineups and planned it all out but I rarely actually played all the way through it. I spent most of my time planning.

Omg, im obsessed with the original Little Mermaid. I adore that part where Erik said that love will hit him like lightning. It did, it really did. I was involved with boys at 13 and that was a huge mistake. When i meet my husband. I knew and he knew, within 3 months, we said it to get married. 14 years later, and 2 kids ( both neurodivergent), we are still happy. We both found out we have ADHD but me and my daughter have autism and adhd. Your videos are spot on. So spot on and i find myself saying ' yes, thats me' out loud. And saying yes with my head.

This is the most I’ve EVER related to a late diagnosed autism video. I’m unsure of the ADHD part for me. Sometimes I think maybe but the jury’s still out. Thank you SO much for sharing your stories, Jenn. I’m trying to find my way and seeing I’m not a broken nt really helps.

22:00 omg this so much I truly believed with all my heart that: - I could fly if I could just find some pixie dust - I could find Narnia if I looked in enough closets (this one was embarrassing at other people's houses so I preemptively came up with reasons why I'd be trying to get to the back wall in their most personal space lol) (but they didn't understand, it had to be done because what if that one had Narnia and I didn't check) - I was a horse - santa was real I appeared to grow out of it by the time I was 12 but that's only because I got better at checking closets 😂 it's so good to know I'm not the only one who did that kind of stuf

I have many stories as well, aside from getting in trouble in school for being a clown and talked too much, I did a lot of mischievous thing. One day my dad took me to church, knowing how I am, he sat me Dien and explained how I shouldn't talk in church, to be quiet abs to listen. He said I was a big girl now. My mother dressed me so pretty, with a barrett matching my cute outfit. Well, in the middle of the sermon, out of the blue I stayed to scream, as LOUD as I could. I didn't say any words, i screened notes, just because I could. Oh myyy, my father took me home. The church which was about a small block away from home, we walked, abd I really felt that he walked so fast, that I was flying in the air, because I can't remember my feet touching the ground!!!😂😂😂

Watching this helped me let go of about 40 percent of my lifelong guilt. I always felt guilty for wanting to go home and be alone.