Hi, I'm beginning to think I need to set the ball rolling for my nearly 8 year old. He's always been a trickier than average child and I worried a lot about ASD in the preschool years but since starting school, it fell away. He does well academically and has lovely friendships so I put it down to his personality and just quirks.
However his teacher brought it up independently last year and since then it's planted a seed. Main things that maybe are concerns are:
Sensory issues - doesn't like any messy textures in stuff like baking or planting seeds, refuses dressing up or face paint. His (different than the one who brought it up) teacher did write this in her report at end of year 1. He doesn't like physical touch very much, no kisses allowed and sort of turns away if you try to hug him.
Some stimming. - He excessively chews things as a calming behaviour and his teacher brought up that he does flap hands sometimes although I can't say I've noticed this myself.
Extreme anxiety and phobias - this is one of my main worries. He is an extremely anxious child. He has a phobia of dogs, this became extreme during lockdown when the only thing you could do was go for walks, and everywhere we went there was a dog. He started not wanting to leave the house. He's run into the road to avoid them, next door has a dog and even the sound of it barking sets him off.
Routine - he loves it, loves school because it has a rough timetable and is predictable. Won't break a rule.
In some social situations, he just doesn't seem aware of other's reactions etc. He will have a meltdown about something minor and doesn't seem to clock that others are a bit taken aback, peer pressure does not feature with him.
When he was was a baby, he screamed and screamed for about two years. It was more extreme than any other baby /toddler I've experienced (including his siblings). He was a late talker, and didn't enjoy joining in with activities which I know is common with toddlers.
These are the main ones, I'm not massively worried about him and don't feel he would need much support at the moment other than understanding. He functions well and seems happy other than his anxiety, but I just don't want to let him down if he needs support when he's older or be burying my head in the sand. Do these seem like flags or just quirky behaviour?