For those of you with more than one child with ASD.

[Lavenderfleurs]

Can you help me out please. Ds is 6 and has been diagnosed with HFA, posted about him before.

Have a dd who is 3. Am beginning to wonder about her now.

Was slow to speak, same as brother and seems to have some echolalia. Fairly rigid speech, repeats the same phrases to get a response from adults.
Lines Cars up, not other toys though
Plays with dolls pretending to feed them but does not really talk to them, however she will talk to her teddy and tell him what she is doing eg I am going swimming now Teddy.

on the other hand

Great eye contact
Points things out to me
Notices things of interest that ds never did
Does not seem to have obsessions in the same way as ds
Likes other children and trys to play with them and makes eye contact.

Would be grateful for any thoughts or opinions please.

My boys are 3.5 and 5.10 and, while both do have ASD, they are very different.

There are some things there that could potentially be red flags and a sibling with ASD makes them less likely to be totally insignificant. I have heard that younger, NT siblings do sometimes copy some aspects of their ASD sibling's behaviour, but I doubt if she would be copying a speech delay or echolalia. It's more likely that she would copy things like lining up cars if that was the explanation.

It's worth talking to your GP or HV or even to your son's paediatrician.

Also, if she is at nursery, ask if they've noticed anything out of the ordinary there. They can't diagnose, but they may have some information you can use if you do ask for a referral.

She is not in nursery yet, goes to play group with me and they haven't said anything. Saying that it is a very busy group and we haven't been lately because of Swine Flu in the area.

Thanks for replying. Will go to GP. We were referred through school last time and are luckily in an area where things move quite quickly but we did have the school back up which helped.

One thing about the echolalia is that she doesn't generally repeat back to me what I say and ds did that ALL the time, she answers me but she hasn't got great speech for her age. She tends to repeat things from tv programmes.

Hmm, its a tough one.

I have 2 dd's on the spectrum, Dd1 has AS and has always been very verbal but had a lot of phobias and loved routine. She has good eye contact and a good imagination.

Dd2 has ASD was non-verbal until 3.3, loves routine but not to the extent of dd1, lines up toys, has no fear of anything and has very poor communication skills.

Is it possible that she has picked up on some of your sons traits (lining up toys ect)?

Its worth talking to you GP, we got dd2 referred early due to her sister being on the spectrum.

I have 4 out of 5 on the spectrum. All very different people, with varying traits.

DS1 (ADHD) never 'lined things up', but excessively 'set things up' (ie they werent in lines, but needed things to be 'just so'), needed minute by minute agenda. Speech was late, then jargon, then just plain wierd! Tactile defensive and no sense of danger, Doesnt understand social cues or appropriate conversations or behaviour.

DS2 (very mild ASD) Late talker, 'sensitive nature', needed extreme routine (and still does), not good with people, gets flustered and easily stressed. Lacks eye-contact.

DS4 (Aspergers) needs everything 'just so', doesnt particularly line up stuff, late speech (now an 'old' or pedantic speech). Extreme tactile defensiveness. Not keen on people, wont go near unfamiliar situations. Eye contact very good (practically piercing on most occasions! so i suppose not good at all!!!)

DS5 (autismic!) non-verbal as yet (3.5y) no sense of danger, always lines stuff up, doesnt need routine, eye-contact not good. Loves hugs and cuddles (on his terms). Sensory seeking. Can take or leave people.

So, all very different, but some similarities. Even if that similarity is a polar opposite!

I would say that if you are worried, that there is more than likely something going on. Good luck with GP.