Chaz,my thanks for this thread. Reposted on GT as well to get feedback from parents there on your other thread
Very similar position to you and awaiting possible Dx of 2.3 yo DS who doesn't quite fit PDD or ASD or AS but is under investigation for them. 2.5 hour filmed session with educ. Psych. on Monday, we have filled in loads of questionnaires, seen developmental paed and now waiting for results and recommended interventions.
Thing is, DS just doesnt fit the triad of impairments for PDD/ ASD. He can cope with routine changes. But loves routine. Toddlers do though, right?
He does do facial expressions and recognize them in others. He jokes, laughs, is silly for fun. But also does weird fake laugh thing.
Wide, not narrow range of interests, no stimming, good fine and gross motor skills, no sensory issues, eating issues, no health problems...but play is VERY self contained and can be highly focused for long stretches on whatever he is into, and he is socially absolutely not interested in other children and very shy with strangers. If he doesn't want to play a game or look at a toy, he wont.
He is an only child. On play dates he ignores the other DC and parent.
It's all social concerns. No natural smiling up at friendly faces, sharing and showing, no automatic collaborative reciprocal gaze, had to be shown how to point, wave, often chooses not to respond to name, ignores well-meant adlt or child social overtures etc.
But can be happily social with parents and trusted adults on his own terms. Treats play like fascinating work and gets annoyed if interrupted from concentrating. Cannot get enough of books. Wants to learn, learn, learn. Was terrible as a baby, wouldn't sleep, reflux, woke every two hours round the clock,screamed with frustration. Once he could communicate and run about he became so much happier. But he is not like his peers, won't play with his peers or even look at them or play near them, he stands out as the odd one out at playgroup, rhyme time, the park...he is off on one, not interested in anything other than what he is into. Runs off, doesn't look back.
Very very fast to learn anything he is interested in, blanks anything he cant see the point of, astonishingly good memory for routes, stories - will fill in missing words of a story if i pause - without looking at book, after hearing it read only 2-3 times, and can still do so a week later. He can recognize words in a book and read them, can say numbers up to 50 if shown them, rote-counts to ten and back again, counts up to six objects on a plate and can recognize if one or more removed and give new total, knows colours, shapes, various dinosaurs and all the trucks, started to talk in 2 word sentences at 2, now at 2.3 uses tenses, pronouns, plurals, dozens of verbs and adjectives. Yet language is BOTH functional and echolalic - sometimes he seems very ASD, running scripts, other times he is chattering on like a normal very verbal toddler, giving me a commentary on what he is doing, making conversation.
So I dunno. I just do not know. I mean, he's only 2. But all indications are early ASD intervention can have huge benefits. He is meant to start pre school in September and at the moment I think he will HATE it. I need to help him cope. We manage fine with me devoting my waking hours to looking after him but how will he cope with the real world?
Sorry epic post. Thread is fascinating,concerning and uplifting all at once.