Wondering if anyone can advise or has had similar experiences - think I’m going to speak to my HV but don’t want to time waste and be worrying over nothing, as I’m generally quite anxious at the moment - although a lot of this is connected to how much I’m struggling with my son.
He’s 2 in a few weeks and my general sense is that he’s not showing signs of ASD but some of his behaviours are challenging and concerning me a bit - it’s just telling how much of it is normal 2 year old behaviour or what might be red flags. I have a 4 year old DD and never experienced anything like this so it’s a real shock. He has almighty meltdowns which can be impossible to distract him from, really upsetting to witness and can last up to half an hour. He wasn’t saying much until recently, in the last month he has started to increase his vocabulary but mostly single words, animals etc, but can say ‘more please’ and ‘see it’ - think quite normal and still lots of babbling so I’m less concerned about that now but I could be wrong!
the thing I’m concerned about is his behaviour around other children. He is ok with his sister although doesn’t play with her much yet but has been known to bite and pinch her which is really upsetting. He doesn’t show interest in other children at all really and in the last few weeks I’ve noticed he actively avoids them and seems to be scared of them, running to me for comfort if one approaches him - even a crawling baby! When we have play dates he hides out of the way and doesn’t want to be involved. We have also tried various group activities from swimming to a singing group or messy play and we had to leave everything early as he was just hating it.
his eye contact is fairly good and I think he points sometimes but he often gets frustrated and can’t communicate what he wants, just standing at our legs and screaming and then getting us to pick him up and sort of thrashing around to try and get to what he’s after - I sort of remember my daughter doing this at 1ish but not 2?
he does some pretend play, like feeding and dressing his toy giraffe so that’s positive. But at the moment he mostly spends his day playing with water and pouring it quite obsessively into different containers - although I know that can be a normal development stage too. He does like cuddles and stories and being with his family - just not so good around less familiar people. I suspect this may run in my OH’s family!
I know he’s still quite young and it’s still too early to tell but should I raise this or will I be told I’m being over anxious? Whatever is going on, some of his behaviours have led me to feel quite stressed and unwell, especially the meltdowns, which are making me want to stay home with him and not socialise when I know I should be getting out and about. I just want to make sure he’s getting the care and attention needed - he also has a medical condition which could make his school years quite challenging so I am extra worried mum about it all when it comes to his future. Any advice would be much appreciated!