Tantrums

[hill1972]

My son was diagnosed with Speech Delay when he was three.  Autism was suggested, not ruled out, and not confirmed. According to the doctors that we've seen he is where he should be developmentally.  However, he doesn't usually perform as well as other children and does not deal with disappointment well.  Most people tell me it's because he's a boy or because it's typical of children. He just turned 5 and had a total melt down in a karate class.  He was upset because he did not get a yellow belt like one of the other kids and began screaming, kicking, and hitting my mother-in-law.  These tantrums aren't typical, but do happen.  He gets very upset when he cannot perform as well as others and will walk away from games with other kids.  He is very sensitive and seems to have poor self-esteem.  He will make statements like,"this to hard and I am not good at this".  Teaching him new concepts is very difficult.  They are teaching name writing in preschool, which we work on every night.  This is a huge because he is not good at it, and therefore does not want to do it. He currently attends preschool and is learning T-ball and Karate.  We thought that having him involved in team sports would be good for him socially.  We enrolled him in Karate once a week because we were hoping this would help him with concentration.  These are both new activities. Every since he was diagnosed with speech delay we have done our best to get him extra help.  He received special ed. services at the preschool and has recently been exited from speech. I have looked at Autistic behaviors through different venues and I don't see a lot of similarities, but I still feel like something is wrong.  He loves to be around other kids, he is very affectionate, and loves to be read to. There are some people who tell me I worry to much, but I do understand that if someone is diagnosed early, treatment is more successful.

[Athena_M]

It sounds like childhood depression.  Look that up also and see if that is what he has.

[specialmom]

My suggestion is for you to google sensory processing/integration disorder and motor planning.  What you describe sounds directly related to this and my boy has the same issues at times.   Google it and see what you think and I would be happy to offer suggestions.  My boy was diagnosed at 4 and is now 6 doing really well.  good luck