What was your asd child like as a preschooler compared to a teen/adult?

[Newsenmum]

This journey is so daunting and so lonely. Always had good eye contact and seemed ‘okay’ as a baby despite obsessive flapping and terrible sleep. Baby groups weren’t great at all but then covid stopped them so we wouldn’t know.

At four years old he has speech which was normal but sometimes babbles and does this more now, social skills have reduced dramatically and he’d rather play alone, high social anxiety and inappropriate actions and comments to others. Used to seem ‘typical’ in lots of situations so assumed it was mild.

How will this look when he’s older? He really won’t engage with developmentally appropriate toys now and prep for school. What can we expect?

Would also love to know , DS 5 , recently diagnosed.

It’s so different for each child. DS was diagnosed when he was 6, but his Head didn’t believe he had ASD as there were many things he did well. At the age of 13, it’s more obvious now. Very rigid thinking, says inappropriate stuff, socially isolate despite craving interaction, hard to motivate. Lots of positive qualities, but I’d say the traits are quite difficult to handle if your child isn’t the quiet, shy type. It’s been an incredibly lonely road.

My son was practically non verbal and o his own agenda.
Didn't like to sit down or interact with anyone.
He was quite happy to run around and ignore the world.
He's 19 now and although he still only talk's enough to get his needs met he's the most social chap ever.
He's well behaved,loves going new places and has a smile and an hello for everyone he meets.
He's an absolute delight

And then there are people like this:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jul/11/jason-arday-cambridge-university-youngest-black-professor

It is so hard to know how someone will turn out. I find this such a hard aspect of parenting an autistic child. I have no idea if he will be reliant on me or carers forever and never work or whether he will find a partner, get a professional job and have kids.