Kindergarten behaviour

My son is 6 years old and is in kindergarten. He is a bookworm- who likes to read whenever he gets time. Right now , his favourite thing right now is to read the encyclopedia. He has extensive knowledge of the world map, solar system including the names of the satelites of different planets, all 44 presidents to name a few.

For the past few months his teacher has been complaining me about the following:

Doesn't seem to have steady friends
Has this tendency to move names in the traffic board if the student's name is inbetween two traffic light meaning- not exactly in the blue area or green area but suppose on the border line.
Tries to manage others if they donot follow what the teacher said.
Doesn't like to follow the direction which doesn't seem logical to him.
Hates to color, paste and glue.
Academically: very bright

My observations at home are as follows:

He likes to make friends with older, non violent kids with good IQ.
Likes to talk to parents rather than the kids.
Hates to do any repetative work like tracing letters etc.
Has no problem doing 2nd grade math and reading. If he doesn't understand any word, he refers to the dictionary.
Doesn't respond if he is engrossed in reading/ activity
Is petrified with the imagination of monsters.
Good ear for music, tries to play a song if he liked to tune without the notes.
Doesn't play with toy cars/ trucks but loves to play Wii, video games, lego.
Extremely inquisitive when it comes to his sorrounding like how is a spider web made, why does a worm move the way it does etc
Hates bugs
Loves to hug and is very possessive of his parents.

I know my son doesn't fall in the category of normal 6 year old kids. What I am worried is does he fall under the wide umbrella of autism.

[Jessica L Thomason Sassi, Ph.D., BCBA-D]

Hi Nanuma,

Autism is characterized by severe impairment in social interaction skills, communication skills, and/or stereotyped (ritualistic) behaviors, interests, and activities.  Asperger’s Disorder has a similar profile (restricted interests, delayed or inhibited social interaction skills), but without the developmental and language delays seen in children with a diagnosis of autism.

A wide variety of behaviors might be considered “normal” for a 6-year old, and it’s difficult to tell from just an overview whether your son’s behavior falls significantly outside of the range of normal.  Only a trained professional who has conducted an in-person assessment of your child can diagnose Autism spectrum disorders – I would recommend that you share your concerns with your pediatrician, and get his/her feedback on whether to seek additional help.

Best of luck to you and your son.