I have noticed some aspects of DS (very nearly 3)'s development which lead me to query ASD - possibly Asbergers. I have worked with (older) autistic children previously, but not in a professional capacity - so this is something which I am aware of but do not know much about. DH is very dismissive of any concerns, so it may be that I am just over-thinking this. My queries are:
- without looking for diagnosis by internet, any first thoughts as to whether the things I'll outline below are issues at this age; and
- whether there is any benefit (if there are issues) in raising concerns with a health professional at this stage, or whethre a "wait and see" approach would be better. I suspect that if he is on the spectrum he is very high functioning, so am not sure if any intervention would be indicated.
DS is clearly very bright - he knows a lot about a lot of things, and communicates very well. The more unusual aspects of his personality / development however are:
- "fascinations" with certain things - some "normal" (e.g. cars - he can name pretty much all makes of car from their badge), some more unusual (really keen on windmills / wind turbines / clocks just now!). These are fascinations rather than obsessions, i.e. he is easily diverted and does have a wide range of other interests. He likes to point out these things wherever he sees them, and incorporate them in his play, make (with a lot of help from me!) models of them, try to draw them etc. He is also very interested in numbers, and is very numerate (i.e. can actually count, not just rote-count, to about 50). He likes to know the "numbers" of things, e.g. friends' houses, tracks on CDs.
- established pronoun reversal in speech. His vocabulary is very very good for his age, but his speech does sound a bit odd due to pronoun reversal about 80% of the time (I/you - i.e. largely refers to himself as "you" and to me as "I", and your / my). I have started giving him a little nudge when he does this (e.g. "whose shoes?") and he will very quickly correct himself. He doesn't revers pronouns nearly as much at the start of sentences (will say, e.g. "I going outside" spontaneously. There is also a degree of echolalia in his speech, and he likes to repeat favourite phrases (although usually in context) - this is decreasing with age, however. It was very very pronounced at about 18 months.
- some very odd social reactions. He is absolutely fine with children, will actively seek out their company, parrallel play well (not really got as far as co-operative play yet), copy what other children do (e.g. if one child puts the sandcastle bucket on his head pretending it's a hat, DS is likely to find this funny and do the same). However adults are a different story. He has a select group of familiar adults who he is happy with, but unfamiliar adults (e.g. people coming to the door, mums he doesn't know that well, people in shops) are often met with shrieks of "I do not like that lady! Will mummy not talk to the lady!". Sometimes this makes it impossible for me to hold a conversation. On other days he is better. Once he has taken a dislike to something (this has happened with a couple of classes we've attended) he will be adamant that he is no longer going.
He also displays lots of what I would consider to be "non-autistic" traits, e.g.:
- no issues with eye contact or affection with people he knows (very very cuddly and loving towards me, and very interested in and caring towards his baby sister).
-no issues with sleeping or eating, and no particularly unusual sensory issues (a few minor ones, e.g. likes food to be fairly cool, but I think they fall well within the "normal" toddler range).
- no motor development issues, fairly well co-ordinated, will throw / catch a ball, dribble a football, rides a balance bike well.
- good communication (apart from pronoun reversal), can hold a meaningful conversation, answers 90% of questions appropriately, inititiates conversations.
-engages in some (possibly limited? But I'm not sure what's age-appropriate) pretend play. Hates dressing up, but will e.g. pretend to speak on the phone (lots of things become "phones"), pretend that the laundry basket is a boat (or recently put it on his head, and spun round crashing into people saying he was the brush from the car wash), pretend to be a "scary monster". Plays with other toys (cars, trains, duplo being favourites) appropriately (although still puts things in his mouth a bit). Will try to involve me / DH in his play. Will go round the room handing out toys to people ("this one's for mummy, this one's for daddy, this one's for baby" etc).
- has a definite sense of humour. Loves peekaboo / hide-and-seek games. E.g. found him in bed this morning hiding under his covers, giggling away at how funny he was being hiding from mummy. Finds "slapstick" comedy hilarious, e.g. things being spilt, dropped, people falling over. Will often take the role of the comic and try to make us laugh by doing these things.
- not attached to routine - he is pretty adaptable, e.g. staying away from home has never caused an issue.
Any thoughts would be very welcome. On writing this down I appreciate that much of his development does appear normal, but the social issues are getting very pronounced and affect what we do in a day, and the speech issues do make him stand out from other children. I have (in a roundabout sort of a way) raised these queries with his nursery (he goes 1 day a week) who appear unconcerned.
