pointing in asd kids

[shiny1]

does anyones asd dc point and have some imaginery play,i know the spectrum is vast but id be grateful for any input,thnksXX

[pinkcandyfloss]

Yes my ds1 (4) points at things and has developed some imaginery play for example putting figures on the toilet/to bed/cooking in a dolls house and kissing each other goodbye.
He never used to though!

[deeeja]

No, my asd ds does not point, and he has no imaginary play.
I keep hoping that he will start pointing, because he does now share attention sometimes, but only if I initiate it by showing interest in what he is doing or staring at,iyswim.
But he is not yet 3, maybe he will develop it by the time he is 4.
How old is you dc Shiny?

[shiny1]

thanks for your comments my ds is 2.4.

[pinkcandyfloss]

I will add that my ds has only started doing this within the last year and he is 4.5yrs

[neasels]

My ds (asd?) points and enjoys tea parties with his teddies, but imaginary play with other children other than his sister doesn't happen, and I don't think he is interested in developing it either.
My son started pointing after he started pre-school at 2.6 (not sure how soon after though)and uses it as his speech hasn't developed very well.

xx

[coppertop]

Ds1 (7) doesn't point much. He is much better now though at generally following a point.

Ds2 (4) had to be taught how to point but is better at it than he used to be. He doesn't use his index finger though. It's nearly always his middle finger or his little finger.

They've never really been interested in the kind of imaginary play that they are expected to do in assessments, eg feeding teddy bears, playing with toy houses etc. When they were a little younger they would copy what the person showing them was doing but would never develop it further themselves. They are now both very good at imaginary play with things like Star Wars figures or Spiderman figures.

[yurt1]

ds1 points (things of interest too, actually especially things of interest) and has some imaginary play. He's 8, non verbal and severely autistic. Aged 2.4 he pointed with my finger or would point to something in a book with a flat hand and had some limited imaginary play (playing with Little People, feeding baby a bottle etc- which he hadn't been taught- although the SALT said I was making it up and had a right hump when he did it unprompted in front of her).

[mymatemax]

ds2 (5) points, but it is a recent development & uses his entire hand, but he also has motor planning problems, CP, so not sure if thats why he hasn't figures out how to use just one finger.

He has limited imaginary play if initiated by someone else but he doesn't have a clue how to play without someone else directing him. Although recently he has remembered things he has played with his brother & tried to play alone although its not his imagination iykwim.

[shiny1]

Thanks everyone xxxx

[PeachyHasAFiggyPudInTheOven]

DS3 doesn't point, ds1 doesn't much either and I have noticed lately how much he ahs trouble following a point despite being 8 and HFA. I ask him to look along ,y arm and then he can do it.

Imaginary play isn't just about putting doll on toilet etc- that's often copying and ds3 can copy well. It's also the inventive side- playing tubes as trombones etc, that sort of thing. Taht's what ds3 misses entirely- actually ds1 doesn't do any imaginative play, he doesn't think anyone else is worth copying (arrogance is a big part of his personality and always would have been I think).

The imaginary play ds3 does have is repetitive- so he'll build a rather strnage structure from blocks, but then keep building the same thing on repeat (and often at quite complex angles to each other)

[yurt1]

Hmm been thinking about the play thing. Ds1 can absent mindedly use play people appropriately - but he doesn't really turn them into games. If he sees a set he might pu a person down the slide once then wander off. It isn't creative at all and doesn't seem to get any pleasure from it.

[aquariusmum]

we had to teach ASD DS to point, but he now does so fairly well, and likewise we had to teach him imaginative play, though he has always put his teddies and dollies "to bed" quite imaginatively, with the sheets tucked under their chins! But nothing like the long, sustained imaginative play of other kids I see

[bullet123]

Ds1 started pointing at house numbers when he turned four. Now he points at house numbers and taffic lights and that's about it. He arranges his tellytubbies and repeats back phrases from nursery, so I will say he is getting imaginative now, though he won't do anything original. He's four and a half

[bullet123]

traffic lights, even.

[sphil]

DS2 (5) has just started pointing but only when asked to do so. I don't think he has ever pointed spontaneously. He tends to use his whole hand unless reminded. Funnily enough he can say 'pointing' better than he can do it - but that's true of all sorts of physical actions.

He has no spontaneous imaginative play - he'll only feed teddies etc if asked to do so.

DS1(6) who is NT in theory but has dyspraxic/AS traits has only just started 'proper' imaginative play - dressing up, pretending to be other people, using objects as other things etc. Still the bulk of his play revolves around action figures, like CT's DSes.

[ladyGrinchingsoul]

My HFA son (4.3) used to point to things he wanted us to get down for him, before he learnt to ask for things by name (this was well before age 2). He had no imaginary play until about 3.5 and since then has developed lots although it is all fairly basic IYKWIM.

[Graciefer]

My DS1 is 5 in February and still doesn't point and won't follow a point (if you try to show him something through pointing).

However his imaginary play seems to be improving, in that he will play with cars etc a lot more appropriately than he ever did and is now very fond in dressing up, something that he learnt in school.

If he puts on his builders hat, DH will ask him 'whats up Bob?' and he seems to make the link between him wearing the hard hat and Bob the builder.

Of course he is still miles away from his cousin who is almost the same age and who will imaginary play all day (being shopkeeper, postman, binman, etc) but we see progress each day and this Xmas he opened all his own presents, it took 3 days but he did it nevertheless