Hi, I don't know if I'm worrying over nothing.
Basically when my DS just turned 3, the HV raised concerns over his behaviour and possible autism. He had some problematic behaviour at the time, mainly pushing over kids constantly. She gave us some advice, and it actually worked, pushing stopped. He had been under quite a bit of stress, namely we moved country.
The next time she saw him she said his behaviour had improved dramatically but we went through the MChat together. It didn't score highly enough and she said we should wait and see when he went to preschool how he was. He is now almost 6, we flagged this to preschool and to school but neither have raised any concerns at all.
In the back of my mind though I am worried I missed an opportunity, that if he is autistic it's really gonna hit as he gets older and we missed a chance to help.
There are some things which still concern me.
He is VERY social, almost overly so. He says hello to absolutely everyone and will walk up to kids in the playground and ask to play. He'll also walk up to adults and start chatting.
He is though a good conversationalist too - he can be a wee tiny bit one sided sometimes but really it comes across that he's just trying to start a discussion. He likes asking people questions about themselves and he does listen and respond mostly appropriately.
Sometimes his in your face friendliness leads to rejection which is hard, but fairly normal I'd guess? But he can tend to not take the hint sometimes.
He is very bad at losing, but he is improving.
He does get into people's personal space too much. He often stands too close to his friends and can be in your face. He sometimes doesn't pick up that he is too close. He is very affectionate. Likes to hug, hold hands etc.
He can take things quite literally. Eg yesterday playing tag he tagged someone who tried to say he didn't tag them and said, "I don't trust you!" My Ds Misunderstood and took this as a personal slight and got quite upset! He can sometimes miss jokes, but he is getting better. He did use to have trouble understanding emotions but he is a lot better at this now.
He is a very fussy eater. Won't eat sandwiches etc.
Things I'm not concerned about
He doesn't have special interests persay but can be obsessive about the ones he has, but they tend to be short lived, and not to the exclusion of all others. I would say he has a quite a wide range of interests.
Although he's a fussy eater, he will try new things. Eg last night his dad was cooking and he was awake and said it smelled nice and asked to try some. So his dad bought him up a little plate. He ate the rice and tried the other thing but didn't like it - but he did try.
Very even tempered, very sunny really. Doesn't have meltdowns.
Doesn't like loud noises like hand dryers but nor do I! But otherwise doesn't seem to be overly distressed. Can do messy play, finger painting, happy to be in crowds.
No issue with routine changes, would say almost the opposite. He loves novelty and change. He used to have some issues with transitions eg in playground but we started using timers and that worked brilliantly. He is very "up for it" and will always give something a go.
He's a bit of a facilitator, always trying to include others, which is very sweet.
He has a great imagination and isn't overly controlling about his games.
Can use scissors, ride a bike.
Am I worrying over nothing? Was it just a young boy who'd gone through a big chance and was unsettled and acting out for a bit, and is maybe a tiny bit emotionally immature?