Apologies in advance for the for the length of my post, I’m looking for some advice on our DS.
We recently had a meeting with our son's school, and they've brought to our attention that our 7-year-old might be exhibiting signs of neurodivergence, possibly ASD. Our son has always been gentle and on the quieter side, and until now, we hadn't suspected anything unusual. However, as the children are getting older, our son seems to be standing out more in class.
The school and we have noticed several behaviours that have raised some concerns:
- He still walks on tiptoes.
- He can freeze in class when asked a question, almost going mute when uncomfortable, even though he knows the answer.
- He doesn't seem interested in making other friendships outside of his one best friend, who also has additional needs.
- He struggles with reciprocal conversations and often needs prompting i.e. “Nanny just said hello, what do you say” (could be misinterpreted as rudeness) but it’s like he is in his own world) also won’t generally respond to a waiter or cashier if they ask him a question, he will just look at me to respond.
- in depth conversations can be challenging, and it's really difficult to get him to recount his day at school or tell you something that has happened.
- He repeats certain phrases or parts of songs over and over, especially when playing alone or drawing at home. i.e. silly song lyrics or odd words he likes the sounds of.
- He's quite fussy with food and doesn't like different textures or smells, resulting in a limited diet.
- He never runs up to cuddle people and only half-hugs grandparents, despite being very close to them. However, he enjoys sitting on me or falling asleep on me while watching TV.
- He can get very emotional, often crying if he doesn't get something he wants, but he self-regulates quickly and can be comforted easily.
On the other hand, there were no signs when he was younger. He had good interactions at nursery, laughed at peek-a-boo, enjoyed playing with other children, made a best friend at nursery, and hit all his milestones. He generally adapts well to routine changes, has no noise sensitivity, understands sarcasm, laughs at jokes, has good eye contact, and is academically excelling in all areas except socially.
I'm really confused and torn about whether to pursue an ASD diagnosis at this stage. Part of me sees a happy, quirky 7-year-old boy developing at his own pace. However, I also want to ensure we're doing the best for him.
If any of you have experience with a child being diagnosed around this age or have noticed similar signs becoming more apparent as they got older, I would greatly appreciate your advice.
Thank you so much for reading.