Hi all,
My 4 1/2 year old son was recently diagnosed with ASD. The psychologist said he was high functioning, which, I assume, means he has good language skills (which he does.) In any case, my wife and I were a bit surprised by the diagnosis. We were really expecting anxiety or maybe depression given that our home life is pretty chaotic due to my wife's own mental health issues (depression, anxiety, emotional dysregulation, etc.)
What strikes me as strange is that at home, when he's in a good mood, he seems quite normal. Very good eye contact, very expressive (and appropriately so) via facial expressions, body posture, etc. He's also good at reading other people's moods (a necessary survival skill in my home.) He also has a good sense of humor, likes playing jokes, likes playing games were we pretend to deceive each others, etc. He understands and employs metaphors, and seems to have some facility at creating his own, some of which, in my view, are pretty sophisticated for a 4 1/2 year old. That said, when he's in a bad mood or being asked to do something he doesn't want to do (e.g. go to the autism evaluation center) he can be withdrawn, have a flat affect, be less communicative, not make much eye contact, keep to himself, etc. Now my understanding is that people with ASD have brains that are wired somewhat differently. If so, does this preclude the possibility that a person with Aspergers could show these symptoms (i.e. flat affect, little eye contact, social withdrawal, non-literal language problems, etc.) when in stressful situations, but act pretty normally in situations where they are comfortable?
My son does have some phobias that impact him socially. The sight of blood or even mention of it, for example, can make him physically sick. He's also extremely worried about babies and small children getting their saliva on him or his toys. Being hurt by others kids is another issue. A small child once stepped on his hand at the playground and for weeks afterwards he'd run down from the play structure as soon as any child younger than 3 came near. He told us that he thinks a lot about when he got hurt playing with other kids in the past. He also has an obsession with signs which seems to be related to concerns about danger.
I'm keeping an open mind about all this, and my wife and I are starting to look into ABA, etc. But at the same time, I want to make sure that we're not overlooking other possible causes for some of his behavior. In any case, I'd really appreciate people's thoughts.
My 4 1/2 year old son was recently diagnosed with ASD. The psychologist said he was high functioning, which, I assume, means he has good language skills (which he does.) In any case, my wife and I were a bit surprised by the diagnosis. We were really expecting anxiety or maybe depression given that our home life is pretty chaotic due to my wife's own mental health issues (depression, anxiety, emotional dysregulation, etc.)
What strikes me as strange is that at home, when he's in a good mood, he seems quite normal. Very good eye contact, very expressive (and appropriately so) via facial expressions, body posture, etc. He's also good at reading other people's moods (a necessary survival skill in my home.) He also has a good sense of humor, likes playing jokes, likes playing games were we pretend to deceive each others, etc. He understands and employs metaphors, and seems to have some facility at creating his own, some of which, in my view, are pretty sophisticated for a 4 1/2 year old. That said, when he's in a bad mood or being asked to do something he doesn't want to do (e.g. go to the autism evaluation center) he can be withdrawn, have a flat affect, be less communicative, not make much eye contact, keep to himself, etc. Now my understanding is that people with ASD have brains that are wired somewhat differently. If so, does this preclude the possibility that a person with Aspergers could show these symptoms (i.e. flat affect, little eye contact, social withdrawal, non-literal language problems, etc.) when in stressful situations, but act pretty normally in situations where they are comfortable?
My son does have some phobias that impact him socially. The sight of blood or even mention of it, for example, can make him physically sick. He's also extremely worried about babies and small children getting their saliva on him or his toys. Being hurt by others kids is another issue. A small child once stepped on his hand at the playground and for weeks afterwards he'd run down from the play structure as soon as any child younger than 3 came near. He told us that he thinks a lot about when he got hurt playing with other kids in the past. He also has an obsession with signs which seems to be related to concerns about danger.
I'm keeping an open mind about all this, and my wife and I are starting to look into ABA, etc. But at the same time, I want to make sure that we're not overlooking other possible causes for some of his behavior. In any case, I'd really appreciate people's thoughts.
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All of us with ASD share one common thing: When in an environment that better supports our challenges, we do better. So yes, many of us do okay at home (or quiet, calm places that are sensory-friendly) than we may in school, in a chaotic restaurant, hair salon, shopping center, or at work.
