ASD related questions about play and development

[CrunchyFrog]

DS1 has lots of appointments coming up, and I wondered if you guys could share your knowledge/ experience, as I am wondering about his DX - I just want the professionals to be a little more detailed I think. Current DX is ASD, definitely not AS.

I really think DS1 is demonstrating imaginative play.

He picked up a kitchen roll tube and pretended to be a Dalek, he is using any stick shaped object as a gun.

Play with figures is all combative still, but surely the above demonstrates imaginative play?

Also, what age would you expect parallel play to end and playing together to start? He plays long involved games with his sister, but if you listen, she directs them entirely - tells him what his people are to say etc. And his figures have to be what they are, IYKWIM - The Doctor has to be Doctor. When he is in a group, he is usually dipping in and out of games, generally peripheral, but he's not avoiding social contact, he just doesn't initiate it. He struggles a lot with greetings and goodbyes.

Solitary play is either puzzles, the Wii, the trampoline or running into things full pelt. Sensory seeking for sure.

Background: tested non-verbal IQ of 130+, verbal IQ of 90, speech disordered and pretty hard to understand out of context, a very loving, funny small person. With an explosive temper.

You would think that 4 months after DX I would just accept it, but it is just not sitting right with me.

He's a pretty passive child when it comes to things like that - she literally tells him what to say, and he repeats it. It's also a pretty rare activity - maybe once in 3 weeks or so - and at her instigation. I he might be humouring her!

How old is he? We're starting to do floortime with ds who is 4.5 and his imaginative play is coming on a bit but like your ds he plays best with his little sis who is nearly two and adores him and follows his (very simple) ideas still.

ds has a dx of global delay but definitely has autistic features

Ahhh, that's better!

He's 5, just about to start school! His sister is 21 months older, and VERY bossy, lol.

Well when it comes to the 'crunch', you have to follow and investigate your instincts. One of the biggest regrets I see on this board is when parents have a feeling that something isn't quite right but go with the flow for two long.

It's good to be crunchy!

Agree with Crunchystarlight - if you think it is not fitting then challenge it. however it is possible that the same educational strategies for a kid with asd will benefit your ds too as they will work on social communication.

V impressed your ds can play on wii do puzzles and know who doctor who is. Ds is starting school too in september and is still very much into cars, dinosaurs and obsessed by peppa pig dvds! Actually peppa pig is excellent for teaching social skills!

LOL at the crunchiness on this thread!

At the diagnosis thingy, the paediatrician asked me what I thought it was if not ASD.

I don't know.

But I do know that it isn't like other children I know with ASD (yy, I know, they are all very different, but still)

So many people (not just gits, but ordinary friends) think he's "fine" - obviously not NT, but equally not obviously ASD. And yet the paed felt that he had an ASD on first meeting.

Argh. I do have to investigate further - the specialist SALT we are seeing next week is the one that did the ADOS test with him, so she's pretty well placed to address issues I expect. I hope.

To be honest, I agree with TheCrunchySide in that the strategies for a child with asd will most likely be very helpful. I would also like to add that asd is a good diagnosis to have for getting support (limited support mostly, but better than none), so I wouldn't be keen to get it removed until you can 'replace it' if you see what I mean. You need the dx ticket.

It could be the catchily termed pervasive developmental delay no otherwise specified (PDD-NOS)

or it could be dypraxia (unlikely given he does puzzles).

Or it could be that he is mildly autistic but your excellent parenting is lessening the effects!!

LOL, I choose option 3!

X-posted before, I am grateful for small mercies - DS1 has always hated Peppa Pig!

The thing with the Wii and the puzzles is that, given a choice, that is all he will do. And watch his DVDs. DW or Singing Kettle, everything else is a battle. That is the bit where I "get" the DX - he has strong interests, but then, so do I - where does geek end and ASD begin?

ASD strategies like pictorial time tables are working well, as long as he is allowed to do them himself - he'll ask what's happening next, and set out his first/ then board. Then refers to it a lot, it has helped the anxiety.

Won't be getting the DX removed, no way, hard enough to get him support anyway - no statement. Yet.

why no statement? surprised given you have dx.

We've got draft statment for ds - 19 hours 1to1, ok SLAT but no specified OT so we have a bit of a battle on our hands.

tbh MS might not be right for ds anyway but would want to give it a good chance.

It's going to be an epic battle. He's been on Stage 3 (roughly the same as SA+) since before he set foot in Nursery, but because he is pretty quiet and passive, I think I am going to have to prove that he isn't achieving to get a statement. The Ed Psych has already told me that OT and SALT are "Health Needs" and therefore not part of a school's remit bollocks , and due to his high IQ and lack of challenging behaviours in school (he has only kicked the teacher once) she does not believe a statement is indicated.

We are lucky - in NI we have the Enriched Curriculm, which means P1 and P2 (Reception and Y1 in England) are learning through play, there is already a visual timetable etc - because those strategies work pretty well for all children. In Nursery, I asked the staff to slightly restrict the choices (ie, not puzzles all day please) and will have it put in his IEP that one of his targets is to broaden out what he will choose.

But he won't have to sit down/ still much.

OTOH, he knows all his letters and numbers already (no thanks to me, I fail as a pushy parent! He just thinks Jolly Phonics is wonderful.) But his speech is indistinct, so I worry that they won't understand how much he knows. If he is bored, he will kick off.

Yeah, this is all silly, he will be fine or he won't, and if he isn't, then I'll deal.

sorry I meant MS might not work for my ds (just seen how unclear my post is!) From your posts sounds like your ds will do fine -tho i totally agree he needs the right support.

Ds's OT says OT is a educational need and many many parents get it for their kids after challenging the LEA. Never heard of SALT being only a health need

I think you are right to try MS, if it can cater for your boy then it damn well should!

The Board (same as LEA) here is in serious debt - the best anyone gets on a statement is 10 hours of 1-1, and they have now decreed that there will be only one TA in a room regardless of how many statemented kids there are. I am looking forward to the legal challenges. Fools.

It shouldn't matter whether the Board is in dept. That is no reason to not meet your child's needs. Prevention is cheaper in the long run after all.

He sounds like dd2 (ASD), when she was diagnosed at the age of 3, she was non-verbal, non responsive and had no imagination. She's now 4.5, verbal, responds to smost comands and has imaginitive play. She will play a board game (taking in turns) with her sister but would not approach another child and ask them to play. Dd2 starts MS next week. We got a statement easily.

Dd2 was refussed a place at MS because she is too bright , she's reading, writting and doing simple maths but she has no sence of danger and has started having meltdowns over everything.