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spinning/corner eye looking/flapping/tiptoe walking - opinions on my DS please?

49 replies

GlitteryFluff · 28/03/2016 13:21

Do they all point to ASD? As in probably it is ASD or that actually it could be nothing?

Ds spins in circles a lot, walks on tiptoes several times a day. Looks out the corner of his eyes a lot, sometimes whilst spinning sometimes not. Flaps, usually one arm only, similar to how he waves bye.

Basically wanted to get opinions on what you think about him?

Other info..

He's 19 months.

No words in context except nah for no.
But chatters lots, babbles nana, dada, baba but not in context.
No animal noises.

Doesn't point.
Clapped late about 15 months.
Waved late about 16 months.

Brings things to me ie book to read, bubbles to blow etc.

Eye contact ok generally, will look at me throughout the day fine. Sometimes he'll look at me with a grin almost as if to show me how amazing something is. Ie turned a page of a book and looks at it, then immediately looks at me with a smile and then goes back to book. But as I say this isn't constantly through day, just sometimes.

He understands me a lot, I feel. If I say turn the telly off, put this in the bin, put that back, give it to mummy he'll do it all. If I say where's your blanket/dummy he'll go get it. If i say we're going out he'll go to the front door.

But he can't communicate that well TO me. Because he can't point, doesn't do grabby hands if something is out of reach. So he'll just moan, whine or cry / throw a paddy. Sometimes he's like a baby again, crying and just going through the options, (Tired? Hungry? Nappy? Bored? Thirst? Etc).

Sometimes if he's hungry he'll go to his highchair and whinge around there. Sometimes if he's hungry he'll smack his lips together a few times (we used to do this whilst saying yum when he was younger), but again not often.

He initiates cuddles and kisses a lot.

He likes to play on his own but also if I start playing with something he comes over to see what I'm doing/play with it with me/pinch it.

What are your feelings on the above?

We went to a SALT drop in session in November (at this point no waving or clapping) where they said they didn't think autism as his eye contact was good and gave me a homework sheet to do with him re anticipation ie round and round the garden etc. They wanted to see him back in Feb if I felt necessary but they weren't concerned. They didn't see the spinning/flapping/eye corner/tiptoe walking though. I haven't been back yet, not because I'm not concerned but I just haven't had a chance as we've just moved and trying to get the place in order. I plan to go ASAP though.

HV had already referred us to a paed (before we went to drop in clinic) who we saw in December and he wanted us to go for 1 to 1 SALT sessions and sent us for blood tests and wanted to see is in 6 months to discuss any progress and blood results. (This should be June time- he said was important he saw us again before his 2nd birthday which is August. We got a letter with blood results that all appear normal). However he was a locum paed (?) who didn't know that in our area it's not until 5(!) that they can have 1 to 1 sessions so we're not able to go. (I phoned when the notes came back not mentioning it and the paed called and told me this).

So, I know I need to go back to the drop in clinic and then wait until we see the paed again but I just wondered what your feelings were on this?

Thank you

OP posts:
GlitteryFluff · 28/03/2016 13:24

Ps sorry it's so long.

Tried to not miss anything out.

Though I have. I should say he's usually quite happy and content, smiles and laughs a lot.

Though for about 10 days now he's been a lot grumpier ie falling to floor in a strop etc but he was unwell as this started so don't know if he still feels unwell or if this is normal for this age?

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SmoresCheesecake · 28/03/2016 13:32

I'm not going to say that it does sound like ASD as I'm sure lots of children do all of these things.
I just wanted to say that my DS has always had fantastic eye contact and been really affectionate.
When he was about 1yo I used to say that if he didn't have such great eye contact I would swear he had ASD.
He was diagnosed with ASD at 3yo, so being affectionate/having great eye contact and being on the autistic spectrum aren't mutually exclusive.

GlitteryFluff · 28/03/2016 13:37

Thank you for your reply smores
Can i ask what things made you sure he had ASD?

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NumptyMum · 28/03/2016 13:47

I'd say it's worth noting your concerns (ie writing down things you notice as a record for you to refer back to and for HV/health professionals) but it may be too soon to say if it is or isn't anything at this stage, given children develop at different rates. Are other things OK, like hearing? (in case he's getting more sensory input from movement because of sensory deprivation in other areas?). Walking on tiptoes and spinning are part of exploring movement/balance, I don't know if they would be a concern as such. My DS has mild aspergers, his language was not great at age 2 but he communicated with us OK. His problem was when playing with children his own age or rather playing alongside them - if he stopped playing with a toy and returned to it, he didn't have the concept that the toy was now being used by someone else and didn't have the language to communicate that he wanted it back, so ended up biting them out of frustration. It was our excellent nursery that helped us figure out what was going on, so he got an early diagnosis age 5.5yrs for what is perhaps a milder form of aspergers. So my thoughts would be to keep an eye on it, try and analyse his behaviour in terms of what might be prompting it, and if you continue to have concerns, chase up the HV etc. Having a diagnosis certainly helped us know that it wasn't just DS being difficult, and helps us try and support his behaviour, but equally not everyone gets a diagnosis so being aware of his behaviour might help you come up with your own strategies to support him where needed. Hope that helps...

NumptyMum · 28/03/2016 13:59

One of the things we noticed with DS was that he tended not to play 'imagination' play other than copying things from TV; he tended to organise things, eg cars into a line, plus his fine motor skills weren't great. So there was more that was 'social' that was a concern for him (autism being a 'triad' of impairments in the following areas: difficulty with social communication, difficulty with social interaction, and difficulty with social imagination). I found the National Autistic Society pages useful, eg about the other conditions that involve sensory differences:
Related conditions

GlitteryFluff · 28/03/2016 14:01

Thank you numptymum

I knew I'd forget more! He had a hearing test late last year which was fine so it's not that.

He is young so hard to know what's just because he's young and what's because something isn't quite right.

He seems ok around other children. Sometimes looks at what they're playing with and might try to play too. If they take the toy away he uses just moves onto something else, if he was older I'd expect an 'oh well' and a shrug, he's not really that fussed. However I know in a few months he could be snatching the toys back or hitting and that could be classed as normal or could be hmm that's not quite right.

It really isn't black and what is it?

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GlitteryFluff · 28/03/2016 14:05

Sorry cross posted with you numptymum
I'll have a look at that link, thanks.

What sort of imaginative play should he have at this age? He'll hold a toy phone to his ear and sometimes will chatter at the same time, other times he won't. He'll push cars along the floor - is that imaginative? He'll cuddle his doll if I ask him to, but not sure if I've seen him interact with it without my promoting. What other things should he be doing?

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GlitteryFluff · 28/03/2016 14:08

Also if we laugh at something he'll laugh too, (though it's an obvious fake laugh rather than a genuine one but that's because he's a child and doesn't know what we're laughing at or doesn't get it) so that's a good thing isn't it? Receptive communication is it called? If we smile he'll smile back.

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NumptyMum · 28/03/2016 14:25

I'm finding it hard to remember back to that stage now! DS will be 9 this year, and DD 5 - so I've had a quick dig about on the internet. At this stage my DD had an awareness of other children at nursery, and was starting to gravitate towards a certain other girl at nursery when activities were out. However girls may be quicker to develop these social bonds than boys, and (at an older age) DS did have friends at nursery too, friendship matters to him, but he's always been less able to let other children take control of the game and make suggestions for how it will develop. I think DS lining up cars was a bit of a red flag, as that seems to be more common in children with ASD. Not exclusively a sign of ASD though...
Four stages of play
brain changes and play
play and ASD

TisIthecat · 28/03/2016 14:49

He sounds a lot like DS who a number of people have made comment about AS when he was younger. He also didn't really speak before 2.
He's 4 now and funny, engaged, empathetic imaginative and immensely loving and tactile. He like spinning, swinging and has always loved different textures. He's just a sensory seeker.

Dd on the other hand was a toe walker. She copied me. I walk on my toes - particularly in the kitchen - for 2 reasons . I'm short so can reach the top cupboards better and the kitchen floor is fricking cold and I'm usually bare foot so reducing the area of my body in contact with a cold thing keeps me warmer!

19 months is still very young. Trust your gut reaction but his behavior may not be anything to be concerned about.

aaigogu · 13/09/2019 14:30

GlitteryFluff : How is your son now? was he diagnosed with ASD? Please respond, I am really worried about my son.

AladdinMum · 16/09/2019 10:38

@GlitteryFluff if you search GlitteryFluff posts you will see that her son was eventually diagnosed with ASD. There were quite a few signs in her description, not pointing to share interests by 19M is a really big red flag.

GlitteryFluff · 16/09/2019 11:40

Thanks for the tag Aladdin.
For some reason this isn't on the threads I'm on anymore so didn't see the post from you aaigogu.

Yes he was diagnosed with Asd just before he turned 4. (He turned 5 in August.)
It's OK. His speech is fine, eye contact is ok. School has been good for him, despite being the youngest, they do extra things to help him with social skills but he does have friends at school. He's clever and funny. People don't notice really. He just plays unusually with toys, organises stuff, loves numbers.
Obviously there are things he struggles with - like really busy/noisy places (like whole class parties) but life isn't too hard for us at the moment. I know that can change and I also know that isn't always the case for every family with a child diagnosed with asd. But so far we're doing ok.

It will be ok, whatever happens.
Did you want to talk about your son?

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aaigogu · 20/09/2019 04:15

My 22 old months son mainly looks from corner of his eyes while walking or running. Mainly countertops, dining table or any straight line. Sometimes even goes back and forth looking at it from corner of the eyes. Everything else seems OK - picking up words, understands few instructions, social etc except for few tantrums but nothing that we can’t control. Paediatrician, neurologist, OT - all said everything seems fine and have asked us to come see them back in few months. But I am still worried. I don’t know what to do to make him stop.

aaigogu · 20/09/2019 04:21

@GlitteryFluff when did your son stop looking from corner of his eyes.

aaigogu · 20/09/2019 04:29

@GlitteryFluff did you do anything specific to make him stop looking from corner of his eyes?

GlitteryFluff · 22/09/2019 09:01

It could be reassuring that they are sending you away to come back in a few months. That means they aren't overly concerned, and with no other signs it may not be ASD. However we got sent away and told to come back in 6 months, quite a few times, and he did end up getting a diagnosis. But he had lots of their signs as well.
He did stop doing the eye thing but I don't know when, maybe around 3. It's been a long time since we saw him do it.
Our dd will be two in January and she does the eye thing a little bit, not as much as ds did though, but I have absolutely no concern because everything else with her is completely and utterly different, I'm 100% sure she doesn't have asd. Whereas with DS we had been seeing professionals for 6 months already.

Professionals don't want to diagnose too early and it be wrong so they are cautious. I would just keep taking him back until either you are no longer concerned because he's stopped doing it and everything else is fine, or until they give a diagnosis.

Ds went to a school nursery just after he turned 3 and they helped me, gave reports to the pead, allowed specialists to come and observe him in class. So if your ds ends up going to a school nursery they may be able to help.

It will be ok, whatever happens.

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aaigogu · 30/09/2019 20:06

@GlitteryFluff did you make any changes in his diet?

aaigogu · 30/09/2019 20:07

Also thanks a lot for your response!

GlitteryFluff · 01/10/2019 22:46

No, haven't made any changes to his diet.

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LoveFlowers3 · 02/05/2020 22:11

@aaigogu my son does the same.
Runs and looks out of corner of his eyes. Did your som stop doing it? Thank you

Kina2018 · 07/09/2020 08:09

How ur son now did he stop doing the eye thing?

Kina2018 · 07/09/2020 08:10

@aaigogu did your sin stop doing the eye thing?

Unluckyinlove2 · 07/09/2020 09:11

I know this is an old thread but since someone has asked a question I’d like to offer my experience. My son did all those things particularly the ‘eye thing’. He naturally stopped over time. We never discouraged it.. it’s like he outgrew it. He may occasionally do it whilst spinning but I’m not concerned about it. He has had his assessment and it’s been deemed he does not have ASD.

Kina2018 · 07/09/2020 16:31

@Unluckyinlove2 thank you so much for answering the thing that hs me really woryy about mu son is that besides that eye thing he startes at light ceilings like hes walking with his head either back or to the side to stare or he walks around furniture or countertop edges stareting at it like really close he used to do it ocassionally now is all the time we in the living room or kitchen he do it if i call his name he will stop and look at me or smile but then continue to doit