The Things That Made Me a “Weird Kid” (Now Explained by Autism)

💭 Asten Reflects

Fear of my own name? ✔️

Crush on a puppet fox? ✔️✔️

Existential dread every time a Disney VHS tape ended? Triple check.

For years I thought I was just a weird kid. The one who got spooked by the static at the end of The Little Mermaid, who hid when someone said my name too loudly, and who maybe — just maybe — had a little too much affection for a certain talking fox puppet.

But now? I get it.

The VHS fear wasn’t random — it was sensory overload. The sound shift from magic to silence, the eerie “Coming Soon” voice, the sudden loss of colour and music… my brain didn’t like the abrupt change.

The name thing? Hearing it said out loud was like being jolted out of a dream — suddenly I wasn’t invisible anymore, and that felt intense.

And the puppet crush? That was empathy and imagination teaming up. I connected with the warmth, the humour, the predictability. I saw safety in a character who made me laugh when everything else felt confusing.

I used to wish I’d been a “normal” kid.

Now I know I was just me — experiencing the world deeply, vividly, and sometimes a little sideways.

Autism didn’t make me broken; it made me tuned in.

And honestly? I kind of love that for me. 💖

💅✨ Daisy Says: “Weird? Babe, You Were Just Advanced.”

Fear of your own name? Iconic.

Crush on a puppet fox? Ground-breaking.

Existential meltdown at the end of a Disney VHS? Honestly, relatable.

Listen babes, you weren’t a “weird kid.” You were just emotionally gifted with surround-sound sensitivity. While everyone else was rewinding The Little Mermaid, your brain was like, “excuse me, who authorised this eerie silence and unsettling blue screen???”

Your name freaked you out because hearing it out loud made you visible — and visibility is a big feeling for a small human, okay? And that fox crush? Don’t act like you didn’t just recognise charisma, comedy, and chaos when you saw it. The tail did things for your dopamine, babes.

Now that we’ve unlocked the Autism DLC, it all makes perfect sense. You weren’t broken — you were in 4K. Too tuned-in for a world still buffering.

So here’s the truth: you weren’t the weird kid.

You were the main character with sensory depth and a puppet-based love story.

Own it. Boom boom. 🦊💖✨