Hi,
I had a phone call today from our nursery about our 2.4 year old son. The manager explained that they are really struggling with his behaviour, that it’s too might for the nursery workers and that he’s getting to the point where he needs one-to-one care. Apparently he hits and pushes other children for no reason and doesn’t listen when he’s told to stop. I was so shocked as this is the first we’ve been told of any behaviour like this! they’ve never mentioned it to us before.
She went on to say that she would like to do some proper observations of his behaviour, as there doesn’t seem to be a trigger and they think it might be ASD. This all seems to have come out of nowhere.
The only thing they’re concerned about is this hitting and pushing of other children. Apparently he will run across the playground and push other children randomly - just form this they’re saying he isn’t developing socially.
Ofcourse I believe what she’s saying and it is a problem that needs solving and not nice for other kids, but he honestly doesn’t do this at home with his 1 year old brother or when we are out socialising with other children his age. He can push a little bit when he wants a toy but it’s no different from any of the other children his age we see socially/at playgroups.
I’ve been researching autism and I can’t see that he has any other signs! He’s very advanced with his speech, walked at 10 months old, makes eye contact, laughs and smiles, plays alongside other children happily when not at nursery. He’s not a picky eater, likes to get dirty in the sand pit etc, doesn’t tantrum any more than other kids and can be reasoned with.
The only things that set him apart from other children his age are his advanced speech and he is quite an emotional child (he feels things deeply and will tell us when he is feeling happy or sad and asks for a cuddle etc.) He is also very busy and loves to learn.
What do you think I should do here? What were your children like at this age? It’s difficult because he doesn’t display this behaviour at all in front of us, so we know he is capable of usual social interactions etc. Should we let nursery make these observations and allow a referral? He seems very young for this.
On the other hand if I’m just being oblivious and he does need extra support, I don’t want to block this from happening. It’s obviously not a problem at all if he has ASD, we just want the best for him. But don’t want a label so young if he’s just being a rough toddler.
Sorry for such a long post, my mind is whirring as it’s such fresh information!