Autism Acceptance Month: My Undiagnosed Childhood Experience

Honestly, I can’t remember a time I didn’t feel different in some way. Siblings are frequently different from each other, but I always felt extra different, without every knowing exactly why. I was an overly passionate child: quick to anger, quick to cry, and quick to laugh harder than anyone around. Once I started school, the differences between me and the other children became more obvious. I remember standing on the playground in kindergarten, feeling overwhelmed and confused. The other students picked up on my differences quickly, and that’s never a good thing. Above all else, I simply couldn’t understand why I was different and what it was that other people did that was so different.

Deep pressure therapy is used to help calm the nervous system. I believe that’s what I was trying to achieve here, as a toddler.
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