Aspergers in my 4 yr old son?

[jhmum1986]

Hi there, just after some insight really, my nearly four year old son is displaying certain behaviour and his nursery would like him to be assessed, which we have booked and will happen in the next 2 weeks. After doing research myself (good old google) I think he seems to display some aspergers traits such as:

Social independence /isolation - doesn't show any real interest in his peers, apart from one friend that he has grown up with and who he is obsessed with. Doesn't really make friends easily, just seems to be in his own bubble.

Like's things done in his own way and gets very frustrated if not - his nursery teacher had to cellotape the banana skin back onto his banana today, as she peeled it the whole way down and he had a complete and utter meltdown!

Has funny little routines almost OCD like, for example when we put him to bed he has to say 'don't forget that one and that one and that one and that one and that one and that one and that one.....' and is referring to turning out the lights! He won't let you close the door until he has said it about ten times. Has lots of little repetitive behaviours.

Gets funny little obsessions like recently was really into drains for A few weeks. He has amazing concentration on things he likes, he loves puzzles and is brilliant at them. He loves music, in particular dance music and will litreally freeze and become almost in a trance when it plays. If he is doing something he likes it is so hard to break his concentration.

This is hard to explain but you almost have to qualify what he says, so if he says 'the truck is blue' you can't just smile and say yes, you have to repeat it back to him otherwise he gets so frustrated and will shout it until you repeat it back to him.

He isn't very good at listening or responding to others. During show and tell he will often talk over others and talk about himself. If somebody asks him a question he will often just ignore them, questions have to be repeated to him a few times to get his attention.

Anyway just wondering if anyone has any experience with aspergers or anything similar and if these traits sound familiar?

Thanks in advance, sorry for the long post!!

They certainly do sound like a child who may well be on the Autistic spectrum, and you are right to look at taking him to be assessed.

Aspergers Syndrome is part of the Autistic Spectrum, however, now (and for the last couple of years - I can't remember when it changed exactly), the guidelines say that everyone diagnosed is now diagnosed as 'Having Autism', rather than trying to split the diagnosis between different types of autism.

Is that what you are asking ? If Autism is different from Aspergers syndrome ?

Yes, it does sound like he has traits of autism. Asperger is generally now under the banner of Autism.

It would be worthwhile reading up on the triad of impairments and mapping your dc behaviour to it. It is the diagnostic criteria for ASD.

Also, try reading some posts in SN Chat, lots of b knowledge posters who may help you understand ASD more.

Thanks for the replies. Backforgood - yes, I just really want to know if the traits sound like they might be on the spectrum. If there is something there I really want it to be picked up so he can get the support he needs, so I'm just trying to get my own research done before we meet with the lady. Thanks again

Other things he does hums whilst he eats, scared of anything that might make him jump (won't play bucakaroo or pop up pirates with me) puts his hands over his ears if it gets too loud. He also Has a funny squint at times.

My four year old has just had a diagnosis of autism and sounds very similar. In reality you will probably not be given a diagnosis at this initial appointment if he has not been seen before. Instead a future appointment will probably be made with a diagnostic team. This will give the team time to see how he is developing at school and for professionals such as an SALT or an EP to see him. Also I suppose to make sure this is not a temporary snapshot of his behaviour. As Pps have said Aspergers is no longer diagnosed. Everything comes under the banner of autism spectrum disorder/condition. Even when Aspergers was given as a diagnosis it would not have been applicable to a child under 6/7 yrs.
In addition my DC hates hand dryers, clapping, happy birthday being sung. She finds transitioning from one activity to another very difficult so needs lots of preparation. She is very precise about how things should look and will close cupboard doors left slightly ajar or try to reject food if it is not perfectly shaped.
She can name most of the dinosaurs, all the planets of the solar system, all the complicated 3D shapes and uses the most medical terms you can imagine for her body parts ( mummy I bumped my patella).
She only sleeps about 8 hours at night and prefers dry food. She has made lots of friends at school and will talk about them but has no close friendships and will not greet them if she sees them on the street.
Every child is different so you might see some similarities but if you don't it doesn't really mean anything. Good luck with your journey!

Every person with ASD is different but your son does sound similar to mine.
They often have a sense that isnsuper sensitive eg touch or sound or smell. In both my FIL and my son it is sound. FIL often puts ear plugs in in loud situations (that aren’t too loud for the average person) and DS likes to wear a hood up to block sound out.
We have to be very careful with what we say to DS, so if I say we are going to a couple of shops o DS that means 2 and so if I want to go to 3 or 4 shops he has a meltdown, likewise if I say we are going to get milk, he goes mad when I then get other stuff. A

Sorry for the late reply, thanks for posting. We went to a party today (his first proper one) and things really stood out. We walked in and although it wasn't really that loud he instantly put his hands overs his ears. Wouldn't join in and instead spent most of the day next to me or lying on the floor. Didn't interact or even really notice the other children, ( it was like he was the only child in the room) not even his one best friend who's party it was. HATED the clapping and stopped me from clapping when I tried to. Wouldn't sit with the other children to take the group photo, wouldn't sing happy birthday and ran to other side of the room. Had a really tearful
Moment because his napkin was bent in the corner and another because I put a cheese sandwich on his plate. There were no smiles or giggling or running around like the other children..... but despite him being so much in his own little bubble, he noticed instantly that his 'best' friend was crying (even before I did) and ran over grabbed a crisp and gave it to him! When he got home he meticulously shared every sweet from his party bag with his little brother.... he said he loved the party and wanted to 'stay a long time' even though he looked like he really wasn't enjoying himself.... I sat there thinking I mustn't put him through this again but then apparently he loved it!

Anyway just thought I would post that as it was so similar to your experiences and I found it really interesting... .

The Senco lady is coming to observe him on the 9th Nov so ill know more then xx