Who is Gilbert!?

[HurdyGurdy19]

My grandson is 11, autistic/GDD. He lives 200 miles away with his mum. His dad lives with us. Grandson comes to stay with us for a week at a time, four times a year.

You can't have a conversation with him, so trying to work out what or who he's talking about is very difficult. He will just parrot back - e.g. if you say "what do you want to eat", he will just say the same thing back to you. Very occasionally, he will answer, but if you then ask him something else, he'll just repeat that back to you, and will either forget, or just not want to respond to the first question again.

However, for the last few times he's been to stay, if he goes to leave the lounge and someone says, for example "where are you off to"? he will say "I'm going to play with Gilbert".

He watches CBeebies obsessively, and is addicted to his tablet, so it could be something from there that he's heard. His mum has no idea what it is he's talking about.

It's nothing in the grand scheme of things, but we'd love to know what/who he's talking about.

Probably his version of going to see a man about a dog

Imaginary friend? Can't find anything relevant from current TV. I had imaginary friends as a child, named them etc. I expected them to become real if I believed in them enough.

I assume that you have asked him to show you?

Could Gilbert be his version of saying 'tablet'? It's a similar sound.

He's still in pullups - won't use the toilet, unfortunately.

You're probably right. He's in his own little world, so may well be someone imaginary.

I watch enough Cbeebies with my little one and I cant think of a programme with a gilbert in if that crosses that off for you

Yes, but then he just repeats back what you've just said to him. He never does actually go anywhere. Just out of the lounge and into the hall, and then comes back again.

He never leaves his tablet alone. He HAS to have it plugged in all the time, so that it is 100% charged. So I don't think he's referring to it.

It's not unusual to name them so I would guess that.

Thank you. I suspect it's likely to be one of the things he watches on his tablet, but we've never heard or seen anything that sounds like Gilbert when we sit with him when he's watching it (trying to engage with him in some way)

We've also combed through all his books to see if Gilbert is a character, but so far, nothing.

I meant just as an excuse to avoid company @HurdyGurdy19

It sounds like scripting.
Could he have seen this?

The OP doesn't come across as judgemental at all. What are you on about?

The OP has been factual, not judgemental! What an aggressive response

Ouch! What did I say that was judgmental?

I mean, I could have written a whole essay on how we interact with him, and how we engage with him, but the essence of the post was just to see if anyone knew of a children's tv/book/cartoon character called Gilbert.

He sees us three times a week on Skype. Unfortunately can't do much about the distance to be able to see more of him.

Oh wow - thank you! We will have a look into this. We're just off out to a soft play centre with him now, but will definitely investigate later.

I didn't find anything like that when I googled, so really appreciate your help.

D'oh! Sorry, lol. I get what you mean now!

there’s nothing like an autism thread to bring out the judgemental numpties. The pot is very definitely calling the kettle black here.

Eh?
Where have you got that from? She’s asking who Gilbert is?

I know he’s non-verbal, but can he read at all? Some kids with ASD can read and comprehend more than they are given credit for. I would look into the games on his iPad and see if there are any chats happening.

Our daughter had an imaginary friend called Jack. One day the swing was moving in the wind and she said “ look Mummy Jack is on the swing “ scary. She just grew out of it.

Could Gilbert be someone at school? Child or member of staff? Often staff in specialist settings are known by first names ( easier to say for children)
It could even be something he’s heard someone say ( delayed echolalia)

You could try saying “ Gilbert is a…” pause for a response to see if he says boy, cat etc. Does he use a communication system at all?
If he has echolalia instead of asking general questions either scaffold or offer a choice
e.g. X wants…. ( maybe standing near the fridge or food cupboard) or offer 2 choices of things you know he eats fish fingers or sausages? Hold both out to see what he selects. Sorry if you already use these.

Little Princess (not sure if that's still on Milkshake?) Pretty sure the princesses Teddy bear is called Gilbert.

Is that what that expression means?? Going to the toilet? Heard it so many times and never knew....