Asperger’s 3 year old

[pingusmummy]

I have a few worries about my DS almost 3 and would like to know how anyones child with Asperger?s behaved at around this age.

Any comments would be really helpful. Thank-you.

At that age DS was non verbal, nowhere near ready to think about potty training, highly anxious, shying away from socialisation with other children, hand flapping, lining things up, obsessed with TTTE.

We thought AS at this age but DDs lack of understanding language lead to a dx of asd...so far. No flapping but very obsessive, repetative language and behaviour, no imaginative play...just replays film/tv, toilet difficulties, irrational fears, stress at routine changes, noise sensitive, plays alongside other dcs and very anxious.

Hope this helps but look on Nas website for more info. xxx

J hasn't got Aspergers but was very similar to woolytree's ds.

Why don't you tell us the main things that you are worried about and we might be able to help a bit more .

At that age ds had a lot of sensory issues: didn't like noise, hated wearing clothes, and had to be moving all the time (running, jumping, climbing).

Spoken language was much better than his understanding of language, so could talk about his latest obsessions but not understand basic questions or instructions.

No sense of danger whatsoever.

At 3 I had no idea that DS had Aspergers. I didn't have any concerns at all about him till he was 8.

Looking back now I realise that he was displaying some things back then. But as I'd never even heard of ASD back then none of it was at all obvious to me.

Ok here are my concerns:

Very anxious in large groups of children - toddler groups for example. Gets clingy then highly defensive of the toys he starts playing with.

Often tells strangers to go away if they speak to him.

His speech is a little behind IMO. "I'm sad mummy"
Why darling??
"I'm sad mummy"
He never really answers a question either repeats back or talks around the subject.

He is obsessed with air blowers on bouncy castles, he talks about them all the time and often spots them out and about.

His diet is terrible, he likes to eat nothing! Or very limited list of foods.

He loves his friends and talks about them all the time, he really enjoys role play and making up his own games. His physical development is very good. He has good eye contact.

What do you think?

We didn't really have any concerns about ds2 at three years old.. Another one here who knew nothing about it and it was in school that issues started showing.

Now I know a lot more than I did I can look back and see all sorts of red flag things.
watching the same DVD over and over.. total fasination with spinning CDs.. Not liking to be held as most children do.. crowded places, playing issues.. The list is actually quite long!

in all honesty.. I'd say first port of call is the HV or GP if you have any concerns at that age.. Write your concerns down and video any unusual repetative behaviours.
:)

I agree with TACC you should write things down, keep a diary or something similar, that way even if you don't seek advice straight away you will have usful information about him.
You must be worried to come on here and post so why not go and talk to your HV or Gp which ever you get along with and see what they say.

Pingusmummy,I have answered your previous thread in Behaviour/Development.I felt something wasn't "right" with DS1 when he was tiny.He was diagnosed within 5 minutes of seeing a Consultant Peadiatrician about his poor diet! I had never even really heard of ASD/Aspergers...Once I got over the shock it really helped us and him,as we knew/learned how to deal with him differently,and he is a completely different person! He is 6 now,and this Summer every single person from Grandparents to friends has commented on how much he has improved.I have to go to bed now but will log on again tomorrow to chat some more,especially about the eating,I have been there,LOL! I would describe his eating the way his teacher does,they have school dinners.She says eating for him is a function that must be performed to survive,there is no pleasure in food-except chocolate and jelly,LOL! He eats about 5 things! Check out my other post as mentioned above.

Hi pingusmummy. I can't really remember at this moment in time what my concerns were, but I do know that there were many, and I just had a strong gut feeling that things weren't as they were with my other children. Dh was convinced that he was fine, and it was only when he reached 4/5 that we knew something had to be done, so we went to the gp and got a referral. From there, we've had a verbal dx of AS/HFA/ASD.

So what I'm saying really is that if you have concerns then go with your gut feeling and take him to the gp for a referral.

Sorry for the waffly post.

Oh, one thing I do remember, is that I had no idea at all that he might be on the autistic spectrum. I put his behaviours down to a whole number of other reasons.

I was not concerned at 3. His toilet training was late but that was about it. He was the smiliest most social towards adults child.

It only started to emerge when he went into nursery and they told us they suspected it in the end. His behaviour was very challenging in nursery. We now have an AS DX.

I did ask a GP about DS and he poohpoohed it saying that he was very bright which he is - but he also has AS. Many GPs dont have great knowledge of what Aspergers is just to warn you.

I remember my Aspie boy at 3. He was articulate but never chatty. Would read a book in a corner. Would never join in with the other kids at nursery. Would be hysterically upset if his cracker broke in pieces. Had one friend (a non-verbal girl with learning difficulties) - that's one more than he has now! He'd 'ignore' the nursery staff if deep in thought. Had 'genius' ability in reading early but no social awareness.

Not even an expert could give a diagnosis on a web forum, and behaviours vary HUGELY within the spectrum. But I would say trust your instincts and if you have concerns, certainly investigate. If there is an underlying issue, then the sooner it's identified the better. You'll get expert advice in how to soothe your child's anxieties. And getting a diagnosis is very slo-o--o-w anyway.

And having an AS kid is no disaster - they are a delight!

Hi Pingusmummy,

I always new something wasn't quite right but everyone else seemed to think I was seeing problems that weren't there. She was hitting or exceeding all developmental milestones although a little uncoordinated and eye contact was poor.
Academically was off the scale and seen as 'gifted'. Reading age assessed by nursery as being 7.9 years when she was 3.1 years but I knew something was wrong and she wasn't 'gifted' in normal sense iyswim as she was so focussed on reading anything and everywhere. Wide knowledge of world and facts - solar system, countries, history, dinosaurs names etc. Got on well with and impressed adults with her 'brightness' Socially has always struggled with children; she loves being with other kids but can only cope 1:1 and tends to be bossy and impulsive. Was always the crying child at toddler groups. Had food intolerances - lactose, fructose and other carbohydrates (apparently v common with ASD's) Diagnosed with AS just before 6th birthday because of social/behavioural difficulties in class and hiding under tables when she can't cope with noise levels etc.

But all her quirks and eccentricities just add to who she is - as Swiddle put it so well...'having an AS kid is no disaster - they are a delight!' The problem isn't the child per se, its just that they are a little square peg and the world is geared towards round holes. The square peg honesty is very refreshing - you'll always know where you stand although can be a bit embarrassing at times!

Sorry for the rambly bits but hopefully you get the picture. Hth, Take care X

I know this is a zombie thread and I shouldn't be commenting but can I just say a big, fat thank you to @pingusmummy fir starting this thread? I have the excat same concerns for my LB and started a similar thread recently. Was your child assessed? What was the outcome?

10 years later he is a lovely teenage boy! Stroppy teenager though! Socially has a nice group of friends but probably fair to say he likes his own company more. Wants to be an engineer.

That's so lovely and gives me a lot of reassurance! I'm glad things worked out for you both. Was the assessment process easy or difficult? My DS has a spiky profile with decent verbal skills but very poor social interaction, motor skills and a ridiculous attitude around food. How that child is still standing with such a restricted diet is beyond me.