Hi IM's... I was hoping to get some advice about Aspergers in young children from anyone who may be in the same situation.
My son is 3.5 years old. When he was 2 I picked up on a few signs that I felt needed to be addressed with our Dr. Because of his age, She advised us to wait a few years before addressing the situation again.
The one MAJOR thing he has always done.. Eye contact. He can't hold eye contact with anyone but myself and hubby. If he is in trouble however, this changes and he has a hard time looking at me in the face when I try to explain that his behaviour was not on etc. He has recently been sick with a cold, and at our Dr appt, the whole time whilst the Dr was checking him over, he sat there with his eyes closed so he wouldnt have to see the Dr. To me that rings alarm bells. He also lacks socially. I will say however, we are a family who do not live close to family and friends, and I dont have transport to get to Playdates which makes things tricky to push him forward a little. But when we are out and about, or at a park, anywhere where there are other kids, even adults. He doesnt want to play. He will just play by himself, and if another child initiates they want to play.. I dont feel he picks up on that, and he just keeps on going by himself. He also gets quite obsessed with a few things.. Trains is a big one. He likes to line them all up, and if they arent perfect, or they fall over.. Tantrum. He also Mimics things from his favourite show, Thomas and Friends.. He may not even be playing with an actual Train, but whatever he is holding, hes pretending thats a train, and the wall is a track.. and he will copy word for word things from the show.. He also has a clumsy walk (almost bow-legged or feet pointing in a tad) I dont know if thats linked or not? He has two younger brothers aswel - and in terms of play and affection with them, I wouldnt say its very good either. He seems okay when he wants to be with the new bub.. His other brother, never wants to hug him or share with him. But he does get cranky if I for instance give him an apple but not his younger brother, he seems to get worked up saying 'ohh *** needs apple' ...
I really don't know what children with Aspergers generally do, and I assume for each case, its probably still quite different. He is a pretty smart kid (atleast I think he is) He can count to 10 (working on 20) He knows colours and can identify them. Same with shapes (even ones like hexagon) Knows his animals and sounds to match. Already beginning to draw trees, and stick figures. Overall, I think hes avergage-advanced in terms of smarts.
Can anyone tell me if this sounds like I should go back to our Dr. Or even point out other signs that I should be looking out for - It's so hard to tell if things he does or say is just normal toddler/child behaviour, or whether alarm bells need a ring.
5 Replies
You should go back to your dr and get a referral for assessments for autism spectrum disorder (aspergers fits in there). He is more than old enough to be assessed for this. If your GP won't give a referral then go to a different GP. My son was diagnosed at 2 years old. Kids with ASD can (but not always as each child is different) can be ahead in some areas such as academic. ASD doesn't preclude other issues like your sons leg issue (which may benefit from physio/OT). Many kids with autism toe walk. I would make one of my goals getting your transport issues sorted because if it is ASD things like social skills groups, OT appointments are probably going to be in your future. School can be very stressful for our kiddies with the social expectations, noises and lots of kids so the more prep work you do in the lead up the better especially as the kids that are doing fine academically get very little support. Good luck
I would take him back! He needs referrals to OT services and you can also then apply for funding to help with the costs of therapies! He sounds exactly like my son! He is now 7 and the sights just get more obvious over time! He was diagnosed at 2.5. My son still has a lot of troubles running, and with eye contact as well! He can now talk to other adults with only a little trouble with eye contact. You have to encourage eye contact with every interaction this will help him in the long run! Try to play WITH him and ask him what he is doing all the time. It will help his social play skills. Hope that helps! It's a long road but stay strong and know there is a lot of help out there!
I would take him back! He needs referrals to OT services and you can also then apply for funding to help with the costs of therapies! He sounds exactly like my son! He is now 7 and the sights just get more obvious over time! He was diagnosed at 2.5. My son still has a lot of troubles running, and with eye contact as well! He can now talk to other adults with only a little trouble with eye contact. You have to encourage eye contact with every interaction this will help him in the long run! Try to play WITH him and ask him what he is doing all the time. It will help his social play skills. Hope that helps! It's a long road but stay strong and know there is a lot of help out there!
I have booked an Appt to see our Dr later in the week. May I ask, Does your son have problems keeping eye contact with yourself, or Husband etc? I find my son has no problems talking with us, or making eye contact to us during conversation. To us, he seems like a very normal, happy, energetic little boy. But when he is faced with a stranger, or even a relative he doesnt quite know as well as Mum and Dad, He either avoids all social interaction including eye contact, or he may eventually open up and speak to them, but again, its very much on his terms and when he is ready to. You cannot force him into a situation where hes confronted to be social? I hope that makes sense. Ah! It's so hard to figure out if I am worrying over nothing and maybe he is just a shy kid, or if there is something else going on inside his little mind.
Hi lovely, I could've written this about my son, who is now 7 down to the trains obsessions. it does sound like aspergers, ( now referred to as autism spectrum disorder ) a behavioural pead would help wonders, but they will often ask for some other evaluations before they diagnose anything, try and acess and occupational therapist for an assessment, speech, even child psych , please don't feel this is the end of the world, once you acess help there are many possibilities for your young man