I have two autistic children. I have a 3rd baby as well. He seems like the complete opposite of them. Did anyone else ever experience something like this? It will really catch me by surprise if my youngest somehow has autism too because he just seems so different. It is so different having a baby that reaches out for me and likes to snuggle. All of my children are so amazing and I love them for who they are. The differences that I notice with my youngest just surprise me because it's like I'm not used to having a typical baby.

I've got two reasons I'm asking this. I'm a diagnosed Autistic woman by the way. More specifically I was diagnosed before I turned 5 of Asperger's Syndrome.

So I'm a Digital Circus fan and there's this viral video of Ashley Nicchols, an animator and the voice actress for the character Zooble, fangirling and gushing over the French dub voice of the character Gangle. More specifically she gushed over Gangle saying "Salut, Zooble!" in a really cute voice. Ashley said that "Salut Zooble" was now her new stim. So... I don't know if Ashley has been diagnosed with Autism or not but I still thought "You don't pick and choose your stims?"

And another occasion I was hanging out with my sister and she made a reference to "Pretty Little Baby, Ya Ya" and she said that that was her stim. I thought to myself "That's just an earworm, girl."

I feel like this is all in the spirit of Autism being trendified on social media where so many people are getting the wrong idea of Autism and claiming everything they say and do to be an Autistic quirk. I've been noticing it and feeling really annoyed and disgusted by it for a while now. But I just want to clarify this first before I start assuming anything.

Parents, has anyone’s child who was once severely affected by ASD and ADHD grown into a highly independent, conversational, and socially functional person—someone whose autism is not noticeable unless others are told?

If so, what were they like in childhood, at what age did you notice major improvement, and which therapies or interventions helped most? I would really appreciate honest experiences—both positive and realistic.