Can Asperger behaviour just suddenly appear (at age 3)?

[newmummy100]

Our eldest daughter just turned 3 and has really changed in behaviour - almost like an overnight change. We keep wondering whether it could be Aspergers (in the family) and whether it can suddenly show itself like this?

By way of background, she has always been relatively average child but with a speech delay (verbal dyspraxia we were told). However in September it was as if something in her brain fused and she suddenly started talking literally almost overnight. She can now talk and express herself - vocab a delayed for a 3 year old but really getting there.

In November we noticed a change in her behaviour and thought it was a phase but it has been getting worse and worse. It is like she is really 'on edge' all the time. When we are in the car and I'm parking she says 'time to get out now'. The first time is calm statement but unless I've parked the car in 10 seconds and rushed round to get her out of her car seat the statement gets repeated in a wobbly voice and then she erupts into tears and sobbing. If I rush round and unbuckle her car seat she'll happily climb to the front seat while I then gather my things together etc... just can't stand waiting. Same goes if we are going out the house and we don't go NOW i.e. I need to find my shoes/lost keys. Or if we are driving and her book falls on the floor and I can't instantly stop the car and get it.. another eruption of tears and screaming. Also if her little sister cries she starts crying now too. She will sometimes ask why she is crying and other times just start crying. She also runs away and hides from the television if a character on Tv gets hurt, injured, is ill (she says 'don't like it' and hides).

We keep wondering if she may have Aspergers. She likes other children, often talks about wanting friends but is still at the playing alongside rather then interacting and playing together stage at Nursery. She'll do pass the parcel and sit with a group of kids.. but I don't know... maybe she just does not look as natural as the other kids and I wonder if she really 'gets it'. But maybe they don't always at age 3?

Any advice would be super.

Thank you.

hi there newmummy,
its really hard to say if that is aspergers?not that i know a hugh amount about it!
but my ds around the age of 3 "changed" it was like a switch! we had this lovely quite little baby,who didnt speak much,who suddenly chatted non stop!!
he also developed lots of tempers,hitting everyone who stood in his path....if he wanted something he would go for it!
nursery at the time also noticed the change,he was hitting in there to,he started lining things up, cars/pencils/cups/teddies etc,and again,god help anyone who moved them....there was other things going on with him aswell at the time,hyper etc.
he was very angry indeed,we put it down to terrible 2s kicking in abit late,but the day he started school the teacher at the end of the day called us in and said we have problems,
ds has since been dx with adhd and is getting reassessed for aspergers in feb,

its really hard to know if yours has it,but all i can say is keep an eye,
has nursery said anything?x

Newmummy - we are dealing with some similar issues with DS who is also three - nearly four - and up till the last few months, the only real issue we saw was a delay in socialisation - which actually seemed to be getting better - but now we have all sorts of things including - a bedtime routine that has to be right to the exact words - screaming at loud hand driers in toilets - we also have the running away if a character on TV is hurt, injured, scared, cross or naughty. Something else that I didn't realise could be related, till I saw a thread on here - was his intense game playing around the programs he watches. I could go on.

I have started a thread on here - "should I worry about DS" - where people have been really kind and helpful - might be worth taking a look. But I guess what I am really trying to say is that most of our issues have appeared at this age and we are being told that DS is definitely displaying ASD behaviors - so it can happen like that.

hi, yes our DS's problem really upped a gear when he turned 3. He is just 4 now and doesn't have a diagnosis but HFA or AS is suspected. From what you describe I just don't know - maybe worth talking to GP if you have a nice GP? Or someone you are already in contact with for her speech delay? I think it's really hard to know at this age which can be so frustrating because you are told to wait but meanwhile you are given no support for helping her with stuff she finds really hard. NAS website is really useful as a starting point

With Asperger's, one of the criteria is that there is no speech delay but autistic traits, so she could be on the spectrum but maybe not aspergers. With DS2, we didn't really notice his Asperger's until he was nearly 3 when it became clear that he wasn't socialising. He never did any "classic" ASD stuff like lining up toys or anything. Here's the link to NAS website, I agree with skidd it's a good place to start www.autism.org.uk/

my sons aspergers behaviours when he was young (anger) were blamed on his medical condition. He also suddenly started speaking a month before his 3 rd birthday, we were on holiday and it was like someone had waved a magic wand and he hasnt stopped talking since, too much talking!!! Hes now 7 and id say every year he appears to show more autistic behaviours

IME, before 3 children's quirtks are often not so noticable.

Meltdowns are just thought to be toddler tantrums etc.

Dd3 always had some ASD behaviours going on such as being very sensitive to light, noise smells and textures but these would have been just put down to being imature if she had grown out of them.

As brandy says the behaviour shows more and more as other children around them mature out of the behaviours but our children seem to develop more issues as they get older.

If you are concerned I would recommend keeping a diary of any difficult/quirky behaviour what caused it and how you dealt with it. Then if you do decide to seek proffesional help for your Dd you will have evidence to back up what you are saying.

Good luck.