General Question

[joshk801]

Good day all,

We have a 19 month old boy and my wife is concerned that he may be on the spectrum. She is a mental health therapist and doesn't work with autistic children but is familiar with some of the symptoms. We are in the process of getting in for an evaluation to see if he is indeed on the spectrum, but I found this forum and it has been very helpful, just wanted to mention a few things on here and gather some additional thoughts.

- not talking much, does babble quite a bit and says "dada", fills in the blank with some books which comes out "baa, daa, aaa", also calls a ball "baa"and can make dog, cat, cow and sheep sounds.

- loves to dance, normally it is to music but he will also do it at random

- limited pretend play, does feed his bears play food and plays with small cars correctly

- stacks rings successfully and blocks

- loves spinning toys like spinning tops, rings, or the suction cup spinners for the tub

- loves looking at the ceiling fan when going to sleep, actually wont go to sleep without it on

- a lot of the time when he runs around, he will tap/flap his right ear (only right ear)

- sometimes will just look at his hands and wiggle his fingers but for never more than 3-5 seconds at a time

- loves to climb furniture and jump around and throw pillows

- also loves to throw pretty much every toy

Do any of these pop out and cause any concern? Like I said we are getting in for an assessment. Our pediatrician says no worry and early intervention says he doesnt qualify as of right now because he really only has the small speech delay.

 

[Aspychata]

Do you or your wife have any autism in your family or yourselves possibly? My daughter was very wrapped up in her pacifier which may have been a stimming action. She as a toddler watched the Wizard of Oz movie about 20 times in one day. It didn't bother me at all. She was outside playing alot up to her tweens. Repetitive actions seem to play out, micro focus for a long time. Sorting her toys sometimes was more important then actual play. She love to sort all of Halloween candy into piles. It filled her with happiness. I use to giggle about it and l would take a picture of her laying in the middle! I actually thought she was perfectly normal. She then turned into a avid gamer , that phase lasted about 2 years, then she decided to sew and attend anime conventions with costumes she made, very elaborate. She played musical instruments, and martial arts, gymnastics, ice skating, home schooling for a timeframe. I guess l hope this inspires you. Let your child find their passions and interests. And yesterday she finished the university and is now on to her masters. I have mentioned to her that she may read up on autism however it was just more as a passing remark because l don't want her to use that to define herself.

 

[joshk801]

Do you or your wife have any autism in your family or yourselves possibly? My daughter was very wrapped up in her pacifier which may have been a stimming action. She as a toddler watched the Wizard of Oz movie about 20 times in one day. It didn't bother me at all. She was outside playing alot up to her tweens. Repetitive actions seem to play out, micro focus for a long time. Sorting her toys sometimes was more important then actual play. She love to sort all of Halloween candy into piles. It filled her with happiness. I use to giggle about it and l would take a picture of her laying in the middle! I actually thought she was perfectly normal. She then turned into a avid gamer , that phase lasted about 2 years, then she decided to sew and attend anime conventions with costumes she made, very elaborate. She played musical instruments, and martial arts, gymnastics, ice skating, home schooling for a timeframe. I guess l hope this inspires you.

Thank you for the inspiration I believe on my wife’s side one of her distant cousins has autism but it’s only on the social queue side. I personally don’t think our son has autism, I believe he just does his own thing as an only child and because he is the only toddler in all of our families, he isn’t around any other kids. When we meet other people with kids in public, he isn’t shy or anything, he will go up and randomly hug kids lol I think a lot of it comes from my wife having a little bit of medical anxiety and a lot of the time is almost wanting something to be wrong so her hunch is justified. I don’t shoot her feelings down, I try to be supportive as possible and that’s why we’re going to do some additional testing just to rule things out.

 

[Rodafina]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

I hope that we can be supportive to you. I think you realize this, but please remember all of our experiences with autism will be quite different, and it is always useful to get a doctor‘s opinion if you or your wife have concerns.

Initial thoughts on the list that you provided of your son’s behavior are that they all fall within the realm of typical development for a child that age. I think the important thing would to be guage if he seems to be having great difficulty with important things like eating, sleeping, and forming attachments to people.

 

[Nervous Rex]

I wouldn't know enough about a childhood diagnosis to help you with whether your child is autistic.

However... do remember that all children develop at different rates. The milestones that everyone looks for are just averages - the average child starts walking at X months, talking at Y months, etc. Every single child will be ahead of the curve in some areas and behind in others.

Playing alone - there is an age at which children only play by themselves. They generally don't play with others until they're at least 2 years old. Again...averages.

Speech delays can be common even for children who are not on the spectrum. I have several NT nieces and nephews who needed speech therapy.

 

[Laura K]

Most, if not all of what you described about your toddler son is pretty typical for his age.

As has been pointed out, signs and symptoms can vary greatly from child to child. One thing you didn’t mention is eye contact - does he avoid making eye contact with you and others? This can be a hallmark, however it also can simply be shyness in a young child.

An evaluation is a good idea to see what interventions, if any, would be helpful.

 

[marchello]

Hi, dear parents,

Our son has autism (highly functioning). During vacations, we do a lot of outdoor activities, and they work great: biking, swimming, etc. But when it's raining, despite having a lot of books and games, a piano and other musical instruments, etc., the kid wants his laptop with games the most. When the screen time is over, he literally runs from corner to corner when he's boring.

Anyone with the same issue, and how do you deal with it?