I think he’s ASD?

[Lactofreemeatballs]

I have had concerns about my DS for a while. He is 5 and in reception, but he has only been in school for a couple of months since he started. A few concerns were raised in nursery but it was a watch and wait situation - then covid happened.

His current teacher has only mentioned that she needed to give him ear defenders sometimes as he gets upset by noise in some activities. She has hardly seen him to be honest and she has had her hands full settling in a lively class.

I have a bit of experience with ASD children at work and I see a lot of traits. (He is phobic about water on his face and head. He can’t cope with loud noises. Has meltdowns if he gets mud on his hands. He is obsessional about dinosaurs. He really struggles with imaginative activities. He can be oblivious to the friendly interactions of other children - has to be prompted to say hello and good bye. He is very scared of the louder children in the room).

From the teachers point of view I expect they are not worried. (He is obsessional at following rules and doing the right thing. He is academically able and reading at a year 2 level. His maths is simmilar) I know she has her hands full with challenging behaviours and children who are very behind due to lockdown. Apart from an extreme reaction if he hurts himself ( not often- he is very cautious) He has had nothing like a melt down at school. He mostly just goes quiet and hides away.

I guess my question is, is it worth following my hunches and starting a process when he is managing fine. In your experience is there any benefit to pursuing a diagnosis? I can see various triggers that might cause issues as he gets older but at the moment is it silly to rock the boat?

Also any ideas how I might start this process in lockdown?

@Lactofreemeatballs

He may appear to be "managing fine" at school, but he could be "masking" which is what many high functioning children with ASD do.
This can cover a huge amount of anxiety that gets increasingly worse as they get older, and as teaching and learning become more complex and abstract, expectations become higher and social communication becomes more sophisticated.

I think there are enough red flags for autism in your post to warrant pursuing further investigation.

Sadly, it can take years to get a diagnosis, so the sooner you start the better. Our son was nearly 8 when he was finally diagnosed with ASD and we had been raising concerns since he was 3.

Start with the GP.

Thank you for the reply. Writing the issues down as a list has consolidated DS behaviours into something that I would be concerned about with my professional hat on. Rather than just a bit of a worry about some of DS 'quirks' which we know (and love!). I think I need to start putting together a proper list. (which when I think about it has far more red flags than my few examples above...)

He has thrived during lock down, but I your post has reinforced my feelings that it is best to start the ball rolling before it becomes an issue, especially given the time these things can take.