nephew shows signs of autism

I have a 5 year old nephew who does not seem to ever warm up to new adults.My sister and him live with my parents, and the only adults he seems to have any interest in is them,although at times that does not seem to be a huge interest,any physical interactions(hugging)has to be initiated by them,it is never initiated by him.He also seems to have a problem with things such as the tags in his clothes bothering hin,and if his socks do not fit exactly the way he wants them to he gets very upset.My grandparents live 200 miles away and he sees them 5 to 10 times a year,but he still wants nothing to do with them.I do not know how to approach my sister and parents about the fact that something does not seem to be right,my dad is very intelligent and i just do not see how he cannot see it.Does anyone have any information on what might be wrong(I hope nothing is wrong but he just does not seem to act like other kids)?Also if anyone has any information ,would you possibly know of a way that I can approach my parents and sister.I love my nephew very much and if something is wrong I would like for him to get any help that he might need.  Thanks alot  folks any info would be extermely helpful!

[Eileen Roscoe, PhD]

Some of the behaviors you describe in your follow-up response (lack of eye contact, repetitive play behavior, lack of social interaction, and a resistance to changes in routine) are consistent with Asperger’s disorder, which is characterized by restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and activities with no significant delays in language acquisition.

I recommend you tell your sister your concerns, noting that some of her son’s behavior may be consistent with a diagnosis of Asperger’s disorder. If she expresses concern also, you could recommend that she seek the assistance of a qualified professional who specializes in the diagnosis of Pervasive Developmental Disorders. This will provide her with an accurate diagnosis for your nephew and lead your sister to identify appropriate services for her son. You could also recommend to your sister that she could contact a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, who could assist her in developing a curriculum for increasing appropriate social interaction and play behavior. Please visit the website of the Behavior Analysis Certification Board (http://www.bacb.com/) where you will find a directory of service providers.

[tejodouro]

You need to provide more information about your nephew to the experts on this forum.  Does he talk? Does he go to pre-school and how does he do there? does he have good eye contact? does he play with his toys in a normal way? how does he do with other children? does he know his ABCs?  depending on your details, the Expert might be able to guide you.  Just because he is not affectionate, does not mean that anything is wrong with him.  Regarding his dislike for tags and wrong socks, he might have some sort of sensory integration disability that needs to be evaluated and treated by an Occupational Therapy Specialist.

[jverley]

He seems to interact with other children pretty well,as for ey contact he does seem to have a problem making eye contact,as far as toys he seems to stare at them and twirl them for long periods of time.He is going to preschool and has had problems as far as standing up when he is not supposed to,and talking out of turn.

[jverley]

Thank you Dr. Roscoe,I appreciate the info,I am just so apprehensive about approaching my sister about this issue,but I will definately take your advice and will give her the web address