Autism

[Chuck2007]

I have a 3 year old son. About 6 months ago it came to our attention that he seemed to be speech delayed.  At that time, someone at day care mentioned autism  He has a bunch of cars from the movie Cars, and when he plays with them, he lines them up. He did that almost exclusively up to about 5 or 6 months ago. He still lines them up, but will spend some time playing with them more appropriately as well. (driving them, etc). He really doesnt care for many toys other than cars.Apparently he has "antisocial" behaviors at school. Basically he had two friends that he likes, and other than that, doesnt want anything to do with the rest of them. .He likes his "alone time" alot. I have noticed that if he is playing with his cars and I come in there to see if he wants me to play, he will usually say "leave". He knows lots of words, probably hundreds. Cars, trucks, colors, stars, shapes,moon, etc, he can all identify and say.  Some of the words are clearer than others. He can count to twenty as well. At bed time he will sing with his mother and i his ABC's, twinkle twinkle little star,etc,  not clearly .He speaks mostly in one or two word sentences, usually when he wants something. Want milk, etc. He runs and plays normally, can climb, can catch and throw some.  He is learning to play baseball Wii with his brother.He seems empathetic to me. If his mom stubs her toe, he will be concerned and say, its ok mommie, its ok.He is a loving child, from my perspective. He likes hugs and kisses.He looks us in the eye and and smiles.  He answers yes no questions. Did you brush your teeth? ? He follows directions. (For the most part) Brush your teeth, pick up your cars. He likes his alone time, and will often go into his room and shut the door (plays with and lines up cars). He gets frustrated and throws tantrums when he doesnt get his way.The school is going to have someone come in to evaluate his speech, do i need to have him evaluated for Autism?

[William L. Holcomb, Ph.D., BCBA-D]

Certainly some of the behaviors you are describing could possibly indicate your son is on the autism spectrum, but from your description I believe your school is taking the correct approach by first having him assessed by (I assume) a speech and language pathologist.  What have been your son’s pediatrician thoughts about your son’s development?  Pediatricians are often the first point of contact when any developmental problem is raised.  If you, your son’s doctor or the school do feel that your son may have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), then I recommend that you take him to a clinic that specializes in children with ASDs for further assessment.  Alternatively, since your son is already over three years of age, the local educational authority (typically your local school district) is responsible for performing a CORE assessment if you request one.  Contact your local department of education for information on how to initiate this process.  (Note: any assessment reports, etc. by your doctor or other professionals indicating their concerns would be helpful.)

It may be that your some is just an individual with his own preferences that are bit different that those of other children, but it is worth having him assessed to rule out other more serious problems.

[Taxi1875]

Hello I am 18 and have grown up with the same problems, if you want to call them that, as your son, I had a speech impedament and terrets when I was younger and grew out of both so if he does have anything wrong with his speach he might grow out of it and i'm not an expert but it sounds more like he has aspergers rather than austism. I also have aspergers and it will kind of make it hard for him to make friends and as he gets older he might mature but he will usually have intrests that you will find different, I still watch cartoons and spend the majority of my time playing video games. But I can reassure you that aspergers, even though it is part of the austism spectrum, is very mild compared to austism but he will adapt and get better. The older you get the less obvious it is. If you have any questions or anything at all you can add me as a friend and message me, I would love to help cause I know how hard it is for him and I know how hard it has been for my dad.