Hi,
Ds 2.4 is my first born and I'm a nurse so am my own worst enemy with imagining symptoms and thinking the worst. I've worried that he's had all sorts of things since he's been born and through my pregnancy and none came to fruition but this is still nagging at me.
He's a very loving active little boy. Always on the go. He has no issue with eye contact, pointed, clapped, babbled, hit milestones on the average time scale and is now talking in 3 and 4 word sentences. He's always loved to be held and I've never seen any typical autism behaviour such as arm flapping, spinning or repetitive behaviours. He does have the odd terrible tantrum but I can always identify what caused it and usually distract him out of it. He does get little fixations with things (cars at the moment) but they pass and he's on to something else. All pretty normal for a toddler I would hope. He will also do lots of imaginative play, cars in garages and zooming them
around and will feed the teddy, put it to bed etc.
The things that worry me is his eating. Always been fussy with textures and will point blank refuse new foods. He used to gag and all sorts when younger but that's now better. He is slowly beginning to try new foods and it's getting better but he def won't eat what other kids his age do. I have taken him to the hv and gp about this and both were unconcerned, felt he was probably just a sensitive gag and strong preferences! He is also totally non food orientated, he eats because he has to and stopping to sit down and eat is just boring for him. He's also not keen on having dirty hands but can be encouraged to finger paint, bake etc and usually enjoys it, and of course when he decides to play with mud in the garden or empty a whole bottle of shampoo over the bathroom floor, or dissect a Biro he's totally ok with dirty hands!!
The other thing that concerns me is that he doesn't seem keen on kids his own age. He's always been one on one with an adult so isn't used to a nursery environment and I've just started taking him to more playgroups to try to prepare him for preschool etc. When I say not keen, he is usually quite excited to be there and will Run off straight away to play. He has no issue playing alongside the other kids and there's no distress but he doesn't interact much and the couple of times we've been he won't sit down at snack time or sing song time, just wants to run around doing his own thing. He has a couple of little friends his own age and he will make more of an effort with them, hold their hands if I ask and cry when they go home but he doesn't have that same fascination with kids his own age that I've seen others have. On a plus point though he loves his older step brother and cousins. Ages range from 5-12. I've watched him with them and he interacts really well. Good eye contact and will participate in any game they are playing. Sometimes he is in the same environment as the older kids and the ones his age and he will always want to play with the bigger ones. But I'm hoping that's because he's a big boy and their games are far more interesting than dolls and pushchairs.
No one else has any concerns about him. Neither grandparents or sister who do the childcare, husband thinks he's totally normal too and is very much like how his step brother was as a baby / toddler.
I really hope that I'm just being pfb and that ok, he may have some food issues, (I've always had texture issues too. Can't eat bits etc) but the behaviour at playgroup is most likely because he's not used to that environment just yet? If I'm being daft please give me a slap as I'm driving myself mad mithering about it! Or alternatively, do you think I'm right to be concerned?
Thanks in advance. Sometimes it just helps to write it down. 