Please help - my 'gut feeling' is that something is 'not quite right' with DS - but what?

[abitworried]

Am hoping you kind folk here might be able to help?

DS is 7. Aug-born boy, so youngest in class, and he seems to suffer from many of the issues associated with being youngest i.e. low confidence/self-esteem, 'late' developer/babyish behaviour relative to his peers etc.

However having just spent the Easter hols with him every day, I'm begining to observe traits and behaviours which are worrying me more and more. I don't know whether this is 'normal' development stuff, or whether this is indicative of some more 'deep-seated' issue?

So, for example -

• he does lots of 'sniffing' of fabrics and soft toys.He'll come and bury his face in the hem of my top, even though we've told him this is OK for bedtime/at home, but not really in public/at school.

• he seems obsessed with his 'collections' of stuff - cars, models, cards. He lays stuff out in 'exact' orders and gets extremely distraught if someone alters the order, or tries to suggest alternative forms (e.g. for Lego models)

His attitude to 'stuff' has left me in tears over the last couple of weeks, as we have been trying to tidy his bedroom (lego models COVERING the floor....) and every time I have tried to suggest tidying/breaking up/ storing stuff he has ended up SCREAMING at me and becoming hysterical...

• he seems very, very pessimistic about everything. Won't try anything new, for fear of being teased/ laughed at. He imagines all sorts of 'worst case' scenarios about everything. (There isn't any suggestion from his school that any of his fears are based on any previous happenings, such as bullying etc)

• Has seemed very tearful and emotive every day this holiday.

• He defaults lots to very 'babyish' behaviour - squealing, babytalk etc

• Academically he is OK at Maths and some other subjects, but behind on literacy. He can read, but refuses to. He often muddles up words such as 'was' and 'saw' or 'that' and 'what'. He often seems to get 'lost' on a page when reading, saying 'where am I?'.

His written work is very slow.

I know none of this sounds particularly serious in isolation, but overall it makes me feel that something is 'going on' with him that I just don't understand, but I have no idea what?

Does any of this sounds familiar to you, or am I just worrying unnecessarily?

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/special_needs

Hello. I came to find you after seeing your post on the main board. Click on the link above and start a thread there. We're a friendly lot with lots of expertise but all hang about there rather than here.

Sorry to usher you, but your post may well get missed here and you sound like you could do with some support.

Thanks - will post there - I didn't realise there was another part fo the board!

Yep. It is a kind of hidden secret part though.

See you there. And sorry again. I know how emotional it is to put down your story again.

Hi - just found your post while browsing - it's been a while since you posted but thought I'd add my bit anyway and hope you're still out there.
My feeling would be that if your gut is telling you there is something that needs attention, then there is. Whether it's normal developmental difficulties, behaviour triggered by a particular event, or something that you could put a label or diagnosis on, there is behaviour that you are having to deal with and that you could do with help for in order to help your ds. Has the school noticed anything? I would guess they and the GP would be your first step.
It can be very difficult to define a problem but you see your ds more than anyone and your instinct counts.
Good luck.

I would speak to his teachers to see if the behaviour is also being exhibited at school and if there are any issues.

Once you have that issue, I would go to your GP and consider asking for referral to either a community paediatrician or an ed psych, depending a little on how new this behaviour is.

I hope that helps. Good luck.

Hi after reading your post there are telltale signs of possible autistic/adhd tendencies such as reverting to baby behaviour,sniffing fabrics and the obsession with collections. To be sure you should make an appointment with your paediatrician and ask for an adhd and autism assessment. It only involves paperwork and although its quite long winded it will helpto put your mind at rest one way or the other. hope this helps

Sounds like a possible Aspergers to be. My son was obviously aspergers to all the professional for 3 years before anyone told me (!) so go and read up on it and see if he fits the triad. Even if he doesn't he may just have some traits in which case the parenting strategies would be the same