A prevalence of people on the autistic spectrum

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  • softsquishyballoon
    Senior Member
    • Feb 2020
    • 204

    #16
    Re: A prevalence of people on the autistic spectrum

    I think what all of us here have in common is that we all have a thing for balloons, beyond what is generally considered "socially acceptable". There are balloon decorators that enjoy the visual aesthetic of balloons - and, for some, it may even be part of their job. Once you say you like to touch or smell balloons, though - then that might go beyond what society considers to be acceptable. Maybe we, as a society, need to get over this idea that it's "wrong" for adults to like "kid things".

    At any rate, I'm not here to judge anyone. I may not quite understand the appeal of popping balloons, but to each their own. That's how I see it.

    Comment

    • Yonkers Looner
      Member
      • Oct 2019
      • 31

      #17
      Re: A prevalence of people on the autistic spectrum

      Originally posted by LoonLover1999
      Speaking as a person on the spectrum I can say for me at least it’s a matter of comfort. I like to be close to and interact with things.

      Balloons to me are a way to relieve stress. Some people have what is known as a comfort zone that they fall back on, an area to feel safe. Balloons to me are part of my safe zone. Know that shoulda weird but it’s true.
      As someone with Asperger’s, I can confirm this. I absolutely loved balloons as a kid, and it wasn’t easy to hide that fact. I loved to just bop them around, hug and squeeze them, and sometimes I’d cuddle them. It was very much a comfort thing for me. Still kind of is I guess, cause I’m very platonically a non-popper. There was more than one occasion in my childhood where other kids would steal them from me and pop them at parties, cause they knew I hated it. My parents would pop them whenever I became disobedient.

      I think that experience might’ve helped make me a sexual popper, cause while I still hate popping, it turns me on. Don’t think I’ll ever really outgrow that childish part of me that loved the comfort of a room full of balloons, and I don’t care to either. If I wanna act like a boy for 30 minutes in the privacy of my home because it’s comforting to me, who’s to say I should stop?
      Sometimes I feel like Freud would have a bloody field day with me...

      Writer, future teacher, gamer, nerd, lover, looner, stoner, unapologetic nutcase

      Comment

      • BalloonFun
        Senior Member
        • Apr 2022
        • 222

        #18
        Re: A prevalence of people on the autistic spectrum

        Originally posted by Yonkers Looner
        As someone with Asperger’s, I can confirm this. I absolutely loved balloons as a kid, and it wasn’t easy to hide that fact. I loved to just bop them around, hug and squeeze them, and sometimes I’d cuddle them. It was very much a comfort thing for me. Still kind of is I guess, cause I’m very platonically a non-popper. There was more than one occasion in my childhood where other kids would steal them from me and pop them at parties, cause they knew I hated it. My parents would pop them whenever I became disobedient.

        I think that experience might’ve helped make me a sexual popper, cause while I still hate popping, it turns me on. Don’t think I’ll ever really outgrow that childish part of me that loved the comfort of a room full of balloons, and I don’t care to either. If I wanna act like a boy for 30 minutes in the privacy of my home because it’s comforting to me, who’s to say I should stop?
        I was dx'ed with Asperger's back in '99 at the age of 34 -- I am now 57. I do believe that throughout "spectrum childhoods" that there are a series of events that develop and explain, whatever we wish to call it, the "fetish", or more of "just a harmless thing for balloons". More precisely, I think there is a combination of 1) sensory and 2) cognitive ways to look at it.

        Very young children with autism, Asperger's, and/or PDD-NOS have very different/unique sensory processing issues in which balloons seem to be even more comforting/"clingy" things to them (explains some of the cuddling, how it may feel good against the skin as a means of calming or providing unique sensory regulation). Cognitively, it all becomes associating - such brains definitely become even more "hard-wired" for such balloon-related association. Balloons, therefore, become the "comfort/stress-regulating thing" for those on the spectrum, but so do other different kinds of sensory/cognitive associations for others on the spectrum that are far more concerning.

        I'm pretty sure it's the case for all of us "child-to-be-looners", esp. such young'uns on the spectrum, to also be exposed to other kinds of harmless stimuli such as watching other people pop/play with balloons like at parties, wedding receptions, etc. It gets better -- at age 57, I've seen my share of TV game shows (old and somewhat more recent) that have balloon popping games going on, further strengthening the above-mentioned sensory-cognitive associations and feelings that drive us to engage in balloon play.

        To all of you, both on and off of the spectrum, be happy for and embrace our wonderful and fun "thing" for balloons! Just thought I'd share, as I am a long-time student of psychology/psychiatry/neuroscience and sensory processing issues throughout the lifespan. Just keep loonin' -- and have fun!!

        Comment

        • 7balloon
          Senior Member
          • Dec 2018
          • 369

          #19
          Re: A prevalence of people on the autistic spectrum

          Love this post and all the responses. I can personally relate in one way or another to every one of them. Really like BalloonFun's response about the comforting thing.

          I have always wondered what made me a looner. I can give you to a week the exact date it happened and what happened. It is my earliest clear memory. I suppose it is because the earliest memory I most want to remember.

          I remember seeing the balloons at the event. They were white. There must have been around 50 in bunches tied to tables and tents outside the location. I specifically remember them being tied to the banisters that lined the entrance. No emotion or arousal associated with it. Only that I noticed them.

          Fast forward three hours and I've just had my first orgasm and I'm holding a way over inlfated balloon and I'm looking at two others.

          It also happens to be the first good day I'd had since moving to a new house after my parents divorce. I was messed up by it and the previous month had been me feeling like a cat at the dog pound. I was happy and relaxed and feeling good when I decided to blow up the balloons i had in my pocket. The balloon was soft and warm from my breath and took up my entire focus.

          As was said in the previous post, "how it may feel good against the skin as a means of calming or providing unique sensory regulation". So what was the wiring that instead of calming me, put all of my sensory input into my dick?

          Because I can tell you that rarely did a day go by for the next five years that I didn't wank it with a balloon. It was a place I could go and focus and feel really really good.

          I'm not social at all. I have been told for 40 years, "up to three days ago" that I lack social skills. I apparently don't get the point a lot. Never diagnosed, but I know I'm on the hypotenuse, i.e. not square.


          So shoot forward to where I turned 50 last month. I'm a happy and blessed dude. Financially set for life, son got into college, etc. And yet I have very few "friends". And almost no one that lives close enough to me to do something like have dinner.

          And Balloons and getting off with them are still my go to happy place. It's my hobby and passion. I'm single now and a great night for me is to edit some balloon porn while playing with balloons myself. I have slowed down and only jerk off four or five times some days, but I've arranged a great life where if I need a btp wank, I just do it. Helps me reset the day in a better mood.

          The best thing, though, is that I've found a lot of people to talk to about this hobby and passion and I don't have to feel weird. Here I can tell someone about the nights I drove around collecting helium balloons from stores and jerking off with them in the car. They get that or something like that.

          I'm starting to reach out and actually become friends with some of them.

          My thoughts as I consider this topic of the spectrum and balloons.

          Comment

          • DiverDown
            Member
            • Mar 2018
            • 32

            #20
            Re: A prevalence of people on the autistic spectrum

            Interesting to read this as I’ve wondered how many folks with the fetish have some level of OCD. To someone’s earlier point, I don’t think there is a link to being autistic, OCD, or otherwise if you have this or another fetish, but I’m sure there are plenty of us who have developed/expanded/maintained the fetish because of some psychological trait. With regards to so many folks being diagnosed with this and that these days, I had a therapist tell me years ago I had OCD, and I was like “dude I’m not like Mr. Monk”, but after discussing it I understood where he was coming from, and it’s definitely something that either facilitated the fetish, or developed with it over time...

            Comment

            • CJSweet
              Junior Member
              • Mar 2021
              • 20

              #21
              Re: A prevalence of people on the autistic spectrum

              I think we have to acknowledge that not all cases of autism are as severe or textbook as we think. Also, a lot of the comments here, in my opinion, resonate more with autistic males. As a mother of an autistic girl and (now that I have done plenty of reading on the topic) many, many autistic traits myself, I do believe that there could be a link. The disregard for social norms mentioned earlier in the thread, is not the case for most females with autism - they become masters of disguise and mask their feelings in social situations, with a desire to blend in. This is why so many girls with autism go undiagnosed - in school, for example, they can present as a totally neurotypical student, yet crumble when they get home.

              So there are a few reasons I feel this link could well exist:

              1. For some people with autism (particularly girls) they are well versed in putting up a front in public then allowing themselves to be themselves at home. This often involves some sort of activity at home to ‘reset’ as someone said earlier.

              2. Very often, people with autism are sensitive to loud noises. For many of us here, especially poppers like myself, this link has its beginnings in a childhood of being phobic of balloons.

              3. Some people with autism have a fascination with fear. Certainly the case for me.

              A very interesting discussion!

              Comment

              • BalloonFun
                Senior Member
                • Apr 2022
                • 222

                #22
                Re: A prevalence of people on the autistic spectrum

                Originally posted by CJSweet
                I think we have to acknowledge that not all cases of autism are as severe or textbook as we think. Also, a lot of the comments here, in my opinion, resonate more with autistic males. As a mother of an autistic girl and (now that I have done plenty of reading on the topic) many, many autistic traits myself, I do believe that there could be a link. The disregard for social norms mentioned earlier in the thread, is not the case for most females with autism - they become masters of disguise and mask their feelings in social situations, with a desire to blend in. This is why so many girls with autism go undiagnosed - in school, for example, they can present as a totally neurotypical student, yet crumble when they get home.

                So there are a few reasons I feel this link could well exist:

                1. For some people with autism (particularly girls) they are well versed in putting up a front in public then allowing themselves to be themselves at home. This often involves some sort of activity at home to ‘reset’ as someone said earlier.

                2. Very often, people with autism are sensitive to loud noises. For many of us here, especially poppers like myself, this link has its beginnings in a childhood of being phobic of balloons.

                3. Some people with autism have a fascination with fear. Certainly the case for me.

                A very interesting discussion!
                Hi CJSweet,

                First, it's very true that some of us looners/non-looners on the spectrum do not experience debilitating kinds of autism (aka "textbook" autism) -- some of us, like myself manage to do well in spite of our social skills issues. I know I have social challenges, but working on them. I'm glad you mentioned about "textbook" autism because, like I said, some of us do very well and have pretty enriching lives and careers.

                As a male, but also an expert on autism/sensory processing/neuroscience, I definitely agree with your take on females on the spectrum. Here in the States, not many females are officially dx'ed, either. And it's so true, some of us do "blend in" with NT's pretty well (aka, masters of disguise). I do like and agree with our ability to "reset" at home, and for some of us, balloon play allows for that "release and reset" -- regulating our sensory integration as a purely neurological process.

                The fear part -- with balloons, think of it as a "fun/exciting anxiety" that allows for our heightened fascination for balloons.

                So, just keep on looning, and have fun with it!

                Comment

                • Common Loon
                  Senior Member
                  • Aug 2020
                  • 232

                  #23
                  Re: A prevalence of people on the autistic spectrum

                  I really appreciate this thread as I've wondered this same thing pretty frequently as well... as someone who isn't dx'ed but has been told by more than one doctor that I show signs of neurodivergence (that I mask very well, most of the time).

                  As someone who came to my fetish through the childhood phobia route... I definitely identify with much of what's been said here about sensory dys/regulation and its overall role on the ND spectrum. Balloons are VERY high in sensory input of all kinds -- big, bright shiny colors, unique physical and motion properties (esp floaty/helium filled), they're a tactile dream to play with and feel against your skin, and oh yeah, of course, the sounds. The many sounds balloons make. The way you can hear the distinctive hiss of a helium tank from anywhere inside a crowded grocery store. The squeaks, creaks, and squeals. And not to mention the most salient sensory input of all for me, a sudden BANG that's louder by decibels than any other sound a kid is likely to experience in their everyday lives. What other single object can create such a broad swath of sensory inputs?

                  So to the extent that sensory integration issues are more prevalent on the spectrum, I would guess it's more common for kids on the spectrum to develop sensory-avoidant phobias. I wasn't sensory-avoidant in many of the other common ways (rough textures, bright lights, etc) but I have always been very highly avoidant and defensive of and upset by sudden loud sounds. Balloons just happened to be special because you encounter them so frequently as a kid and a sudden loud sound is only ever an uncertain heartbeat away every time.

                  There's another dimension I don't think has been brought up here yet, and that's focus and attention. To one extent or another I've always had some difficulty regulating and controlling my attention -- not to the point where it interfered with work or school, at least not until later into my adult years, but I definitely have always had a tendency to hyperfocus so intensely on tasks of interest that I lose track of time and awareness of my surroundings. Like I'm doing right now while writing all these paragraphs when I should be sleeping.

                  That intersects with balloons in two ways for me. One is that, because of their central role in my childhood phobia that developed into an adolescent fascination and an adult fetish, balloons are maybe the most powerful of my "special interests" that draw me into that hyperfocused state. (Performing music is another, just as powerful but more socially consonant one for me.) For example when I decorate for a big event, or when I have time to indulge myself in an evening of balloon bacchanalia, I get so fully absorbed in what I'm doing that it becomes almost impossible to deviate from it. Inflation, especially, is my catnip... once I get started inflating balloons the only thing that can stop me is either running out of balloons to inflate, which is very hard to do if I'm at home with my enormous stash, lol, or running out of time due to commitments imposed on me from the outside (like, the event's gonna start in ten minutes, you gotta wrap up now ).

                  That part isn't too unusual, folks on the spectrum often have these kinds of "special interests" that they devote orders of magnitude more time, thought, and energy into compared with others. And the drive to talk about their "special interests" with others -- particularly when the special interest is niche enough that it's unlikely anyone in their daily life shares it or indeed would even be accepting of it -- is likely what draws disproportionate numbers of such people into online communities of interest.

                  But there's another way for me that balloons and focus/attention come together. When I'm focused on something and that focus gets suddenly broken -- say I'm reading an interesting book and someone shouts to get my attention -- the effect is really jarring for me. It includes having an exaggerated startle reflex, but it's somehow broader than that because it happens even if the interruption isn't a particularly loud or intense sound... it's the interruption itself and the fact that someone/something else feels more entitled to regulate my focus than I am.

                  So of course balloon pops can be classic focus-interruptors in this way, but generally only if I'm not aware that a balloon is around. Because if I know there's an inflated balloon around and it's in someone else's immediate control, my focus will always and only be on that balloon. I become hypervigilant in anticipation of a pop, and of course that anticipation tends to have the effect not of diminishing my startle when it happens but in fact amplifying it. But in that moment I'm not able to control my focus or devote it to anything else (like, try to have a normal conversation at lunch when the kid three booths over is bopping an overinflated 9" on a stick on the ground? foorrrrgggeetttt about it).

                  And that also wraps into some trust issues I have with my attention and focus. There are times when people actually intend to startle you by luring you into an intent focus, then shattering that focus with a sudden blast of sensory input. Some obvious examples are haunted houses, horror movies, and thrill rides - especially the ones with fancy multimedia and pyrotechnic effects. But increasingly I've been wary of even mundane theater productions, music concerts, and sporting events because these are places where I will be focused entirely on what's going on on the stage/on the field and every so often they use sudden explosions to... I don't know, engage the audience? And the spike of adrenalin that other people experience as a "thrill" in those moments is, to me, quite upsetting and a betrayal of the trust I gave when I handed over my attention to the event.

                  So anyway, I wonder if the attentional features I've noticed are something anyone else identifies with or has thought about. And whether in addition to autism, there might be a possible link in phobias of sensory origin to other neurodivergent conditions like ADHD and anxiety?

                  Comment

                  • yet_another_aussie
                    Senior Member
                    • Dec 2019
                    • 104

                    #24
                    Re: A prevalence of people on the autistic spectrum

                    I just wanted to say thanks for your post TCL as you've touched on some concepts that I had known about myself but never saw expressed, so I did not know how to express them myself.

                    Comment

                    • UKPOPPER
                      Senior Member
                      • Feb 2023
                      • 222

                      #25
                      Re: A prevalence of people on the autistic spectrum

                      I know this thread is a bit old now but I have just read it all because I find it fascinating. It is something I have also previously wondered about - although I also agree that in many ways it doesn't particularly matter. Both my kids are autistic and whilst I am not diagnosed nor bothered about being diagnosed I have always struggled socially and definitely discovered looning via the phobia route. For me, balloons are comforting and exciting because of the amazing sensory variety - skin-like feel, soft to tight, inflation, sound, smell, fear and adrenaline. I love hugging them, the way they respond when squeezed, the colours, transparencies. I don't think there is another object in the world that offers up so much for the senses. I kind of like that it is my secret too - that keeps it very personal to me and only people who I really trust are allowed to know about it. Obviously that protects me from asshats too! It doesn't define me but it is something I have learned to enjoy as one aspect of my life that feels quite special. Keep on loonin'! 🎈
                      Just one more puff...🎈

                      Comment

                      • TizianosBoy
                        Member
                        • Apr 2019
                        • 82

                        #26
                        Re: A prevalence of people on the autistic spectrum

                        I'm Autistic and I love balloons so much, they're definitely a fetish for me.

                        Comment

                        • Alan
                          Senior Member
                          • Dec 2014
                          • 130

                          #27
                          Re: A prevalence of people on the autistic spectrum

                          I have noticed this too: it could be that people who have spectrum personalities pay greater attention to detail. This fetish is quite sophisticated in a sense that the popping or inflation of a balloon can be a metaphor: either interpreting sex (orgasm=the pop or necking and swelling of the balloon=the blood rushing to the reproductive organs). Or a sub/dom approach. Or perhaps totally just love for the balloon.
                          I am very open minded and non-judgmental. Being a very social and popular person myself I love having friends from all walks of life. This has taught me SO much empathy. I have some gamer friends who display spectrum tendencies (as nothing is concrete or black/white. The moment you conceptualize something you will never understand it’s entire personal meaning.. and don’t get me wrong, their obsessive patterns can make me irritable when I’m tired.
                          My ex-wife was a cosplayer/ k-pop lover. Part of the reason for our divorce is my distance sometimes because she could go on about her hobby, and I would snap at her when tired. The poor thing loved me to the moon and back. And I still love her: it’s a sad story because her spectrum behavior was well hidden as she had amazing social skills.. better than most non spectrum people. She was socially intelligent, but could nag me over how I’m slicing up salad for example which would make me flip!! I’d say: “for fucks sake can’t we have a nice conversation instead of you watching me and commenting on my salad cutting skills? It’s just fucking dinner, and I’m not fucking Ramsay!!” I’d often slam the door and go out for a drink as I couldn’t cope, leaving the poor thing wandering why I flipped?
                          Very draining when you live with it! Sorry this was long btw 😂

                          Comment

                          • Mutaloon
                            Senior Member
                            • Nov 2018
                            • 148

                            #28
                            Re: A prevalence of people on the autistic spectrum

                            I was diagnosed when I was 12 or 13 years old, but was put in speech therapy for as long as I can remember. My mother thought I had High-functioning Autism (Asperger's at the time) when I was 2-3 years old. I don't remember much during that time, but they said that I wouldn't respond to my name and would only do something if a reward was involved. Apparently doing things that stimulate such as waving arms or messing with my ears was also a sign. I was and still am very independent minded. However, despite all that, I was able to make good friends growing up and have a "mostly" positive experience.

                            I am somewhat skeptical of ASD when it comes to it's diagnosis in people. The rules for mental health being diagnosed in people seem to be all over the place. So at some point I decided to ignore my knowledge of the diagnosis and just fit in.

                            Comment

                            • frankfrank
                              Empathetic Harmonizer
                              • Feb 2018
                              • 262

                              #29
                              Re: A prevalence of people on the autistic spectrum

                              Originally posted by UKPOPPER
                              I am not diagnosed nor bothered about being diagnosed

                              For me, balloons are comforting and exciting because of the amazing sensory variety - skin-like feel, soft to tight, inflation, sound, smell, fear and adrenaline. I love hugging them, the way they respond when squeezed, the colours, transparencies. I don't think there is another object in the world that offers up so much for the senses.
                              Similarly, I am not diagnosed. I was in a mental hospital for 54 weeks during which my puberty arrived, and I was extremely fortunate to have "landed" in a place that was quite HELPFUL and which got me started on an evolving, and good, path. This was in 1960-61 which was still a very dark era for "Snakepit" institutions which often did little more than warehouse those with mental issues, and many of them were rife with abuse, but not where I was (a teaching hospital). I saw my paperwork from there in recent years, and not one mention of "autism" (or its derivatives) which was only beginning to be understood then.

                              The "worst" was the "Q. R." = Quiet Room which was sort of like solitary confinement, but I was sent there only once, and for about half an hour, just long enough to chill and/or think about what I did wrong. (I no longer remember what I had done.) May have been an hour, but I'd seen somebody else sent there a couple times for a similar amount of time, and I already knew it would be OK if I just accept it and "think" - fairly benign, really, and I don't believe I was ever struck by staff as punishment, etc.

                              The QR would have been a rather scary punishment for a claustrophobic person.

                              It will never cease to amaze me how one of the simplest manufactured items on the planet is so supportive of so many sensations, mindsets, and uses. The sensations aren't all that different than human skin. You can get balloons for well under $1 apiece, and yet they're superior to some ultra-sophisticated sex toys which can cost thousands of dollars at the extreme.

                              Originally posted by Alan
                              This fetish is quite sophisticated

                              I am very open minded and non-judgmental. Being a very social and popular person myself I love having friends from all walks of life. This has taught me SO much empathy.
                              IT SURE IS! Who would'a thought that a simple balloon can elicit so many different sensations and behaviors?

                              Alan, me too! The last time I took the Meyers-Briggs test, I came out as an INFJ which is the rarest of the sixteen types. Yes, an introvert...who has a robust social life and who embraces it fully. I do extremely well by myself, too. I likewise do have friends from all walks of life, and I've treated my once-homeless friend in Miami (who I knew through most of his homeless years; he literally DID live under a highway bridge), in essence, the same way that I have treated multi-millionaire friends I've had/have. I have gained so much empathy from all of this, and I feel that I've found the self-replicating kind which means that I don't get "drained" from interactions that need outpourings of empathy, altruism, or love (or sometimes all three). I had a LOT of that going on from the 11th to the 16th this month.

                              I can name many people who cherish my friendship, and it's real. I've been told many times that I've given somebody hope. My NJ friends (mentioned below) have given me the title of Harmonizer. I take that seriously.

                              I attribute this to the variety of gay men's events that I attend. They range from entire-platonic clothed cuddling, to a nude and sexually-charged group, and two other nude groups which focus on non-sexual matters. I also belong to a board-game group, and another group that goes to outings (usually cinema or food). A couple in New Jersey (who otherwise are ABSOLUTELY monogamous) invite me to be part of their most-intimate times together, and they have long since learned that I surely won't ejaculate, as I'll instead BASK in their love, and cuddle and cuddle, and be part of an energy circle. I am not at all sexual in any of these events or get-togethers. Instead, I'm way-elevated and I float far above that rather basic instinct, and it's a reboot and a sense of renewal.

                              I can do fine with balloons BY MYSELF. It's not really a two (or a few) person activity for me, because full concentration on the balloon is great, maybe with a video of arm-wrestling with bodybuilders or two hunks exploring each other's bodies, or wrestling, or such.
                              Last edited by frankfrank; 27-02-2023, 02:37.
                              People who don't know the difference between BURRO and BURROW, can't tell their ass from a hole in the ground.


                              There's been a lot of thefts of helium-filled balloons recently. More so than in the past, so they're going up. I think inflation is to blame.

                              "Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking." - The Scarecrow, WIZARD OF OZ, 1939

                              Comment

                              • Mutaloon
                                Senior Member
                                • Nov 2018
                                • 148

                                #30
                                Re: A prevalence of people on the autistic spectrum

                                To add on to my post on this topic, I don't think there is any connection towards balloon fetishism. I think it can influence our obsession of the fetish in some way, but I don't think it's what can cause someone to suddenly be into balloons.

                                Comment

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