I'm mildly concerned about ds. He is 2.9.
He has the following characteristics that make me concerned
- plays the same game over and over for ages - maybe two hours a day, which involves lining boxes up and filling and emptying them (but see below - this is actually a role play game based on copying a common household task)
- his speech has been strange in its development. He said his first word at 10 or 11 months and had about 20 words at age 12 months but then only about 45 words by age 2.
- he now has a very good vocab but struggles a little with fluency. He does have mainly 4 or 5 word phrases and then the odd longer one.
- he used to be really quite scared of other kids. He is now fine with ones he knows and slightly interested but never ever talks to them or initiates contact without me suggesting and would rather they didn't get very close- and def gets a bit nervous if they touch him
- he does not like certain buzzy type noises like hairdryers, lawnmowers, although I've managed to talk him round a bit with this.
- he isn't very huggy or kissy (but neither is his dad) - he will occasionally hug me but says he doesn't like kisses although occasionally will give me one if asked and very very very rarely spontaneously does so.
- he has a freakily good memory - can remember routes to places, knows where stuff is in the supermarket we shop at for several months, knows if we take a wrong turn, remembers small incidents from 6 months or more ago
- learned to recognise letters at around 2, and although I wouldn't say he's obsessed he is really into them. Quite good with numbers - can count things out up to 6 or 7 and can rote count to 20 but again isn't obsessive about this.
- gets really clingy when we have friends with kids round quite often, quite clingy at their houses too - takes ages to warm up (but maybe that's just a personality trait iyswim) He is very cautious
-doesn't like dirt, would rather be cleaned up all the time. Not totally obsessively but he is quite pedantic.
On the side of things which don't make me think he is on the spectrum (but I don't know that much about it)
- he can be quite a show off,confident sociable chap to us when he wants to be and with others when he knows them well.
- he points lots of stuff out to us
- he does make eye contact with us - not sure with others but will check
- the game he is really really into is a role play game and he uses a lot of imagination in it, substituting stuff around him to 'make' it into the things he is thinking of
-nursery are fine about him and he is doing well apparently.
I don't know where the line between normal 2/3 year old behaviour stops and mild ASD starts. Am I just being a neurotic PFB mum or should I be worried. He does seem a little different to most kids but I might be over analysing!