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Asperger's and childish behavior

I find that nostalgia is one of my favorite emotions. I love to immerse myself in media and surround myself with mementos that reminds me of my early childhood. This includes watching kid's cartoons and listening to songs that were popular when I was a youngin'. Not to mention, visiting places I used to go out on outings to and just taking it all in. And finally, nostalgia has led me to rekindle relationships with old friends and teachers. You wouldn't believe how heartwarming it is to know that I brightened up my first-grade teacher's day by leaving her a message, and talking to her again.

Also, bear in mind this nifty little observation...

The creative adult is the child who has survived.
 
Stephanie S. said:
I am very new to this whole thing and we are just starting to understand, but I have wondered about this for a while, I have a 16 year old daughter with Asperger's and she does not throw temper tantrums, but she still watches children's cartoons like Little Bear, Caillou etc. and plays with some toys still. Is that normal? Of course, she can act adult too, like she will sometimes watch shows like Degrassi and is starting to take an interest in learning how to drive, but she only does the more childlike activities in private. In public, she mostly acts like just like her peers around her, so she just does small things like that behind closed doors. I believe she does it as a comfort thing. Does that sound about right?

Thank you.
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Thats not even an aspie thing but it might be a bit more prevelant. I've known NT's who watch spongebob back to back and download old 80's cartoons etc.
Either way there is no harm in it unless she gets teased for it from her peers.
Personally I still enjoy watching cartoons with my Kids, in fact I seem to remember a few standup comics talking about how they ended up watching and enjoying Thomas the tank engine etc when they first became fathers.
We are all just big kids and what better way to be :p
 
I'm almost 21 and I still sleep with my baby blanket and a blue bear that I gave my dad one year for his birthday.

When my dad died that bear became mine, because I gave it to him as a gift.

For me the blanket provides a bit of security and the bear provides something to cuddle with. It's more of a security/comfort thing for me.
 
When I was 16, I watched Pokemon and was obsessed with drawing them. I watched Nickelodeon cartoons, too.
I loved playing with Legos and coloring children's coloring books, as well.
While I can't offer insight into the psychology of this behavior as it pertains to Aspergers, I hope this information has contributed in some small way. It seems in reading others' posts, that it must be a characteristic of Aspergers, or at least an indication of a common co-morbid condition.
 
I'm very juvenile as I like to call it,I still like collecting barbie dolls and I rather watch cartoons than actual TV shows at times,my husband calls me baby brain and I'm also trying to make myself draw cartoons again since that was a huge hobby of mine.
 
My tastes are all over the map. I watch everything from Game of Thrones to My Little Pony, and enjoy them both immensely, but for very different reasons.

I think that if something is well executed it doesn't matter what the target age range is, you need never outgrow it. We have all been children and can therefore relate to stories about or aimed at them.

In working with people with developmental disabilities I have also noticed that some of them strongly prefer entertainment for young children. Whit I find interesting is that this has very little correlation with their development on other levels. You can have somebody who is very articulate and mature in most respects, but watches nothing but cartoons. On the other hand, you can have an individual who is quite low functioning and comes across as childish and prefers to watch action movies and reality shows. I think part of this is simply a matter of taste, but that it could also reflect that not all areas of development scale up at the same rate, especially with conditions like autism.
 
I'm 20 and that still sounds a lot like me. Around people I'm normalish. I can certainly pretend I am anyways. I still watch a few cartoons and kids shows but I've stopped most. If I could I would still play with dolls and kids toys. I still play online kids games and I play the sims as my alternate for dolls. I sorta switched one habit for another when I was maybe 14? I skipped the whole degrades age group and went from kids shows to adult ones but I do still sleep with stuffed toys one bed and to be honest plenty of NT people I know my age still act like kids.
 
Stephanie S. said:
I am very new to this whole thing and we are just starting to understand, but I have wondered about this for a while, I have a 16 year old daughter with Asperger's and she does not throw temper tantrums, but she still watches children's cartoons like Little Bear, Caillou etc. and plays with some toys still. Is that normal? Of course, she can act adult too, like she will sometimes watch shows like Degrassi and is starting to take an interest in learning how to drive, but she only does the more childlike activities in private. In public, she mostly acts like just like her peers around her, so she just does small things like that behind closed doors. I believe she does it as a comfort thing. Does that sound about right?

Thank you.
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Hi Stephanie S. , Sigh! :rolleyes: apparently your question has been thoroughly answered by default, yes it is normal in aspie land to love cartoons, toys, childrens books, childrens movies, anything imaginative children would like, much longer and more than adults. But I think what you were really asking is do aspies grow older biologically and mentally slower than Nts, with some variation the answer is yes. There seem to be studies indicating this, or you can just look at my picture, living proof. It isn't all bad tho, we reap allot of benefits on the back end, we can have a much higher quality of life in the later years than NTs, there is some karma in being a auti. or aspie. . I'm not sure I would give up me if offered a magic pill, some of me is pretty great, I would like to think I'm more interesting than the average NT.:D

So look for that hidden greatness lurking somewhere inside of your girl, there is no telling how high she will fly later in life. And watching cartoons just shows good taste in my opinion. :rolleyes:
 
Definitely benefits and, benefits I refuse to give up. I can have a blast chasing butterflies or watching Bugs Bunny reruns, coloring, doing connect the dots pictures even water painting books still entertain me.

I don't look my age - most women especially, in my circles have at least had Botox if not a lift by the time they are my age - I don't even need anti wrinkle cream or age defying powder. And I want to say "Neener- neener" to the the women in my circles that have to do that stuff to keep their careers going. LOL
 
I am 50. I watch cartoons. I game. I pay my bills ontime. I have my absolutely horrid once plush teddy sent for my gift 2 months before I was born (though the one time I put him away in prep for a move, he may have been stolen in a recent locker break in ;_;). My 10 year old son on spectrum watches fewer cartoons.
I played with toys like my Bryer and Best of West and Kenner Star Wars in an active way until I was well into my teens. And never got tired of my matchbox and hot wheels that now are in my youngest's collection.
Heck, when I was convinced finally by peers that not having final prom date was phail? I joined track team to get popular and get a letter. Got "required" cpt of basketball team date. It was a total bust experiment. I went back to cartoons for another 3 years. Then got into D&D and joined Army. I enjoy that most cartoons don't really have a lot of subtle cues or innuendo I have to translate. I do watch anime too. But I really enjoy simple tales that Tailspin, or old Spiderman /Superman cartoons have. I was never a fan of wise cracker characters, so watched little of Bugs preferring Speed Racer. Quick Draw.
With Nerd culture now so strong those pursuits won't draw the same amount of hazing as 30 years ago. I don't think it is only a NT thing. May be more prevalent among those of us without a real care of social status

add**Also the aging slower thing. Hmm. My profile picture is just last year. My hair is longer. I use creams to moisturize because my grandma drilled that in. But I don't color my hair as yet. Or do anything heroic
 
No job, I spend time goofing off on the internet that should go towards doing my homework, and any attempt I make to organize my room is a joke. Of course, my sense of humor seems to be in full swing right now, since this last is exactly what I am attempting to do this year (yes, year).
 
I have meltdowns and outbursts which might seem childish to some. I also still like things intended for preteens and even younger.
 
I have always gotten a thrill from risk taking. There is nothing like scaring yourself for the adrenaline rush that you get. Unfortunately I have had to grow up a little in the last 10 or 15 years because I just can not do most of the things that I used to do at my age. If you ask me how many kids I have, I will tell you five. If you ask my wife how many kids she has, she will say six. She includes me as a kid.
 
i love cartoons, i recently have been colouring in colouring books as well, we mature more slowly as aspies but its a good thing.
 
I'm beginning to wonder if we ever mature completely. I know I haven't, don't intend to. What fun would life be if I couldn't enjoy coloring or bubbles or, whatever?
 
I'm almost 54 and I employ articulated Barbies & redressible, 12" GI Joes in my amateur drawing studio, Studio 126. And I still enjoy cartoons with my kids. We like Law & Order, too.
 
Stephanie S. said:
I am very new to this whole thing and we are just starting to understand, but I have wondered about this for a while, I have a 16 year old daughter with Asperger's and she does not throw temper tantrums, but she still watches children's cartoons like Little Bear, Caillou etc. and plays with some toys still. Is that normal? Of course, she can act adult too, like she will sometimes watch shows like Degrassi and is starting to take an interest in learning how to drive, but she only does the more childlike activities in private. In public, she mostly acts like just like her peers around her, so she just does small things like that behind closed doors. I believe she does it as a comfort thing. Does that sound about right?

Thank you.
Click to expand...

That sounds pretty normal to me. I enjoy cartoons at the tender age of 36, and still collect toys of the things I like. Sometimes I think all the things I like that are supposed to be 'childish', are actually the result of having retained the ability to find joy and appreciate it.
 
As long as your interests don't affect others' lives, then it doesn't matter. The fact that she can keep it privately or only with those she knows shares her interests is a good sign that she can survive and be very mature, but still be herself completely. Her interests are not necessarily related to a (potential) diagnosis itself.
 
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