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Clues in childhood photos

Dee317

Where ever you go, there you are.
When my daughter was diagnosed a few months ago, I had cut her hair to include bangs so she wouldn't eat the front part of her hair, it made me think of myself in a photo with the same haircut as a child. Her and I then searched for the photo, I was just learning about sensory processing disorder and saw it constantly in all of my childhood photos. Most of them I am sucking my thumb, but these pictures are the other sensory issues that I thought were normal, blocking my ears,being overwhelmed by the sun, hating my hair to be brushed. This was the first time I had thought. "Oh my, I think I may have sensory processing problems" because sucking my thumb at 32 wasn't enough of a clue. Hahaha
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Also I have an animal obsession, as some of you read in other posts, I believed that I was part dog until 4th grade; barking, chasing, and growling at people I wanted to play with.
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It's fascinating what old pictures can tell us. I think your pictures are pretty telling honestly, thank you for sharing.

Looking back at old pictures, I can't say I see the same thing in mine lol. Most of the time I'm either smiling or looking serious or unhappy. Looks like even as a kid I faked smiles a lot.
 
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My old photos, what few there are and what I remember of them, show me looking serious, often striking a defiant pose, like the picture of you(?) with arms crossed. I'd have to ask my sister to dig out the old photos, I only have copies of two or three.

To this day, I dislike making a fuss over posing for photos, I prefer action shots, or candid, as-it-happens photos.
 
I have similar pictures (all in my parent's house) although there are a few of me hiding from my grandma's dog as I was scared of dogs to the point of getting hysterical if any came near me. I also have a look on my face in most that I am miles away, either that or I am looking at the floor.
 
My kindergarten school photo shows me stimming with one hand, even though I always tried to keep it low-key so no one would notice. Several photos show how awkwardly I dressed, and my awkward posture. And I always think my smile looks fake in pictures.
 
Oh my. Lots of family photos...and looking at many of them I'm seldom smiling at all.

Yeah...guilty as charged.
 
Those photos are telling indeed, especially the first crop.

There is one of me as a tot lifting my left leg and examining it because it wasn't aligned properly. I'm having trouble with that hip now.

There's another when I was about ten, shivering and miserable under a blanket while everyone else was enjoying their time around the fire, in their t shirts. No wonder I abhor camping.

School photos and pics well into my twenties-the epitome of gawky expressions and awkward posture, my neck sticking out like a turtle. I still do that; and I have to remind myself not to.

I used to love getting my hair brushed and put into stockings, though; even though my mother was rough. Maybe it was because she was rough. I dislike hairdressers who are too gentle.
 
For myself, my last school picture was first grade. No eye contact with camera before that. Now, l look away or stand in back. I did take a profile pic for Facebook. Never thought about that... maybe cause no one else was there. It took about a dozen takes. Too posed.
 
Now that I think about it, I always made it a point to be absent picture day at school. I'm not sure if I just didn't like the bright flash or if it was that the attention was on me to fake a smile.
 
I also hated my hair brushed when I was a kid I use to walk around with knotty hair and hated when my mum brushed my hair,I also use to hate the flash of the camera it scared me and in a old photo of me I'm crying after having the flash in my eyes.
 
I abhorred having my hair brushed as it hurt my scalp so much. I've had short hair most of my life, and I rarely comb it, haha.

I have issues with camera flash, too, and I usually blink at the same time as the flash, so there are lots of pics where my eyes are closed.
 
I cut my own hair. Always have, also cut my kids hair, I hate doing the boys because the buzzers vibrate and make my hand want to jump off.
 
Also I have an animal obsession, as some of you read in other posts, I believed that I was part dog until 4th grade; barking, chasing, and growling at people I wanted to play with.

Many of us do far better socially with animals than with our own species. ;)
 
Many of us do far better socially with animals than with our own species. ;)
I love my dog, but ironically, I am highly allergic and can't touch her, so we have this running joke that I hate her. "Oh Mya why can't you just leave me alone you ugly old *****." It brings some comedy to the household. We adopted 2 cats in September, at the shelter my energy connected to only 2 cats out of many. We only wanted 1 cat, she would be for our middle daughter. So we adopted her, she was named Mittens and is extremely loyal to that daughter. The other cat was 6 so we decided against her, logically. But after 3 weeks I could not get Babs out of my mind. We went back to adopt her, she is my best friend now. When I am melting down she will follow me until I lay down and then she will kneed my stomach until I calm down. She took on a mother role with me. I often say that she is an aspie, if she finds a rubber band she will place it exactly center in her food dish. Everyone in our house speaks regularly to the pets.
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this last picture may be on a cat shaming calendar for 2017.
 
I was blessed with all kinds of allergies that don't involve pet dander. Of course my family raised a number of Yorkies, one of the best pets when it comes to allergy concerns. Their coat being much closer to human hair.

But I don't see myself adopting a sagebrush in the house any time soon. I prefer to enjoy them from a distance. :p
 
There are many photos of me with fake smiles, and a few from early childhood where I was stimming, before I even knew what that was. We had some blankets with the satin edges, and when I'd curl up in them I'd instinctively hold it to my face to feel and smell the fibers, or I'd roll the edge in my fingers back and forth to feel that little big of friction on the inside. It was very calming. We called it "sniffs and picks". I still do it whenever I find myself wrapped up in a blanket. But in all the pictures I'm doing this my eyes are huge, totally zoned out lost in what I'm doing.
 
I cut my own hair. Always have, also cut my kids hair, I hate doing the boys because the buzzers vibrate and make my hand want to jump off.

Yeah, I've been cutting my own hair for over 20 years but it's mostly because I don't feel I can explain to people what I want, can get better results myself, and I'm too cheap to pay someone to do it to a substandard quality. :D That and I hate having to make conversation with a stranger and look in the mirror with them.m
 

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