Could this be Autism or something else.

[MichB86]

Hi, hoping someone could offer a little advice on my 5yr son. Bit of background, he is a very bright, loves to have a cuddle, quick to make friends (although is quite intense with his friendships, gets upset when leaving a friend after a play date for example) shows a wide range of emotion, very in tuned to other people emotions, cries as sad films, does lots of imaginative play, great communication skills, loves to make you laugh ect.. but he stims a lot hand flapping and jumping. Mainly when he’s watching tv or excited about something. It use to be very subtle but over the past few months is getting worse, he can’t seem to watch tv without doing it. He doesn’t seem to show any of the main signs of autism but he does show signs of anxiety he struggles to make simple decisions such as which pudding to have, is somewhat sensitive to sunlight likes to wear his glasses on a sunny day and he can be pretty intense likes to control play, repeats himself a lot and worries gets wound up over minor details. I’m in two minds to speak to the gp about the stimming as it is getting worse but does his behaviour sound like anxiety and could that stim be caused by anxiety or does it sound like autism?

Any advice or experiences greatly appreciated.

Thank you 😊

I should add the stimming has got worse as his anxiety levels seem to have gone up. Since the first lockdown he has developed a new fear of dogs and flys and he has also become very very clingy. He also is occasionally sensitive to sound such as loud fireworks.

Anyone 🤷🏼‍♀️

It doesn't sound like he has enough symptoms of autism that I would immediately assume that, especially if he's very tuned in to people's emotions. It could be a variety of related conditions, or indeed could be autism but without the social and emotion communication disorder may be hard to conclude that.
Does he show any signs of OCD or other tics?
Most of these conditions are on a spectrum, and I am not a GP so can't really say but kids present in different ways.
My son flapped a lot as a child, then developed tics but the autism was always very clear to everybody. Hope you find out what's going on x

well, he is showing signs in the social area, and in sensory sensitivities.

sounds a lot like dd in some ways.

what was he like as a baby? did he put his arms up to be lifted up, did he wave goodbye, did he point at things?

could be autism, could be something else. it is difficult when they are young to distinguish things as easily. certainly enough to make me curious and keep notes.

how dies he play. does he do the classic lining things up, or set up scenarios rather than play.

No he’s never done the lining things up thing and he does play he just likes to dictate the play like who gets to be who and stuff.

The stimming is the only major in your face sign, he reached out as a baby and pointed and his communication has always been advanced and he was a very smiley happy baby but even then he was very sensitive to loud noises and he would get upset at sad songs or things like the music the ice cream van plays but he’s over that now.

I also find him chewing on his hands or toys quite regularly if this is a sign but I also feel like a lot of it could be anxiety which I think is more likely 🤷🏼‍♀️

Nursery and school have never raised any issues.