Can anyone shed some light over here too??

[JeffFaFa]

I took ds almost 7 for his eye check today, it was intense to say the least. (Ds only known issues so far is sensory seeking) He started telling the assistant about his birthday and about people at school as if she was supposed to know who they actually were (or even care) i had to keep telling him to sit quietly and the lady dosnt know who these people are. I took him into the optician and he wouldnt let him touch his face to look in his eyes, was really panicky with the glasses on all the lenses ended up falling out , didnt like the light in his eyes so was struggling to cooperate, was asking LOTS of questions incassantly and again going on about it being his birthday soon despite the optician obviously trying to ignore him, also trying to tell me random bits of school info like 'guess what 'steven' at school did...' while i was talking to the optician. He looked like he was strugging with it all in that he kept rolling his eyes, coughing, stretching his mouth, hand flapping when he was standing all signs hes anxious or over stimulated BUT he kept saying 'this is fun' every few minutes, how could it be fun!? again when we left he said 'that was fun mum' confused i said i thought you didnt like getting your eyes checked, he said 'i didnt' so i said how is it fun, he said 'it just is' erm how? hes 7 (almost) he knows what fun is

I wish I could shed light on it, but it sounds just as puzzling as some of the things Bee has done.

If anything can be taken from it, perhaps he might not be so anxious next time, because it was such "fun" this time around.

My Ds was very similar the first time he went to the opticians but he was 6 at the time, he got scared when the optician switched of the light so he could read the letters on the board, complained about the light in his eyes, constantly fidgeting, trying to mess with just about everything, kept talking over the optician (but in all honesty the optician is a little confusing at times, he tends to speak out loud as though he is talking to us but he is actually talking to himself ), flapped and bounced on his chair, talked like crazy about just about anything.

Looking back on it now I would say he was overwhelmed, not knowing what to expect, maybe a little bit excited too, all those things he hadn't seen before and wanted to know all about. Now when we go I talk him through what will happen (even though he has now been several times), what I expect, what will happen if it goes to plan (bribery ). He now twitches a little bit, is very compliant with the test. Could the 'fun' bit of been something that he has heard someone else say? My Ds tends to say that's a nice surprise which he really does not like which I am pretty sure he has picked up from his nan .

Hi, i probably should of mentioned its the 3rd time ds has been now but seen different opticians each time, so he knew what was coming, i think he just seemed 'odder' as hes getting older, the optician didnt seem to have much patience for him and looked slightly annoyed, its times like this i almost wish ds had a dx so i could explain why he's acting differently to what you would expect a 7 year old. Was just very confused that he seemed distressed and then a second later thought it was fun, strange.

Jeff, are you thinking ASD? You really need a proper assessment by a developmental Paed or multidisciplinary team. I can't remember all the backstory, sorry, but 'quirks' can become more noticeable with age if the difference between your DS and his peers widens.

Oh right JeffFaFa sorry that's me making assumptions . My Ds has AS (obviously I don't know the ins and outs about your Ds) but sometimes he can get anxious if someone isn't smiling, he always thinks he has done something wrong unless it is pointed out eg He will ask me if I'm ok if I don't have a smile on my face, and start to act 'silly' (can't think of any other way to describe it sorry) but as soon as I say maybe that I'm just thinking about what to cook for tea he will start to calm down again. So maybe it was because he was picking up on the opticians annoyance and wasn't sure what to do about it, also if this was the third optician he has seen maybe he just didn't feel comfortable with her. My Ds has had several TA's at school and there have been two which he just did not gel with wouldn't do any work or read with them and for both of them it was because he didn't see them smile.

Not really sure what im thinking tbh still waiting for a referral seems to be taking forever to hear anything, Briefly - i did used to think ASD as he had the classic toddler/pre school symptoms, lining toys up, need for routine, spinning, flapping, poor eye contact.... i also suspected ADHD as he was like the duracell bunny on red bull, these days im baffled tbh he loves people and attention, needs all the attention on him at all times, i cant control him when hes like this he dosnt listen to a word i say, wants lots of friends, talks to anyone, had good eye contact now, unless being questioned, dosnt line things up anymore, or really need routine, likes to be in control though needs to know how, what, when things are happening likes to be first, win, be in charge. Flaps his arms alot, walks on his toes, very difficult to hold a converstaion with, frequently dosnt know the answers and hits himself in the head, puts on a baby voice all the time doesnt understand personal space, has little habits that look like tics, narrow interests but pretends to be interested in whatever other children are yet shows no interest at home only plays and watches doctor who. He just an episode of watched dr who i said so what was the story about he said 'daleks' i said but what happened with the daleks, he said, 'it blew up' (answering in his baby voice) i said how what happened, he clearly didnt know anything and shouted 'I dont know if you want to know watch it yourself!' hes watched this episode probably hundreds if not more of times, its like info dosent go in. I feel like no matter how much i read i just dont understand him.

Everyone is different and just as you can have people who seem aloof and prefer their own company with ASD you can have people who really are overfriendly and don't know the barriers or when to stop. The wanting to be first, toe, walking, flapping and lack of 2 way conversation - unless it is something that interests him - are all I would say as aparent with 3 children on the spectrum pointers for ASD. One of my 3 children also has ADHD and ASD and your son sounds very simialr to mine. The not wanting to tell you about Dr Who is similar to my children saying no more questions, conversation on their terms!!!

Conversation on his terms sounds right, he talks constantly literally he never stops but when you try and ask him about anything its 'i dont know' or 'i cant remember' or 'i dont want to talk about that' sometimes he will just start crying because he says 'dosnt know the answers' he is really over friendly all it takes it the slightest cue from a checkout operator or a passing aquaintance and he starts talking AT them. For instance a neighbour just passed us in the supermarket earlier and said hello, ds immediatly started telling them it was his birthday soon, how old hes going to be, what he will be eating, what presents he wants he says it all in a baby voice and with his hands drawn up like a bunny, its not in conversational form though more just comes out with a barrage of info at once. He is slightly better with wanting to be first these days but its still there, he used to have proper screaming tantrums if someone got to a door first or up/down the stairs first now he just goes 'oiii not fair....' ive noticed in the line at school he often just wanders straight to the front rather than to the back

Is there any assessments happening or are you just thinking hmmm maybe atm before going ahead?

Gp has made referral to i think CAHMS we are 5 months into the wait so far, he's previously seen an OT but was discharged ive been trying to get help since he was 3.

In some areas you can self refer to speech and language and OT peeps - save some waitin time if you can?