What to do about obsessive/special interests is a question pretty much everyone faces and there's no one correct answer. I myself try to use special interests to teach my son other things.
When my son was in first grade, he'd always want to talk about an imaginary character after school. It was his way of relieving stress. As he gets older, he gets other "tools" for self-regulating in his toolbox, and we don't see this type of thing as much.
He has always gotten a lot better about answering questions appropriately compared to when he was 4. He has learned to care more about showing off his knowledge.
Good luck with everything.
What both of you said makes alot of sense!
Norway mom: When he was little i thought it was pretend fluency so he could talk like us but figured it would go away but i guess not. It could be a stim too. Probably since dinosaurs are always on his mind hell say that whenevr i ask him a question and repeatedly say that and not answer my question!
Loki: My son is very much in imaginary world (even tho supposedly thats not supposed to be) aaall the time and it seems sad that that would be a reason but it makes alot of sense. And its like a tape played in his head too cuz he can imagine the same dinosaur scene over and over again ud think hed seriuosly be sick of them but nope! sometimes hel be sitting on the chair and make faces and seem occupied and i ask hell jump up and start stomping around. Hell do both around people (dinos and zzzing) but the zzzzing only when extremely excited. Thanks ill look that book up.
If hes using the pretend thing obsessively to deal with his world which i think may really be true what do u do? And will he grow out of these things or dissapate when he starts therapy or are all these just a normal thing to do with autism sometimes? Thanku guys so much.
Well, the Zuzzing might be a stim, and maybe something that he finds particularly pleasureful when combined with eating yummy Cheetos. My son used to do a "yummy yummy dance", wiggling in his chair.
The zuzzing might be "pretend fluency." My son would invent pretend words so he wouldn't have to struggle to find the right word, but could keep the flow going at the same speed as his imagination.
Answering that he was talking about dinosaurs reminded me of when my son would always answer "blue" when we asked him about colors. It's like he'd answer the first thing that came to mind, because he didn't really want to think about the question.
Yes my son does this, he is 12 and is an aspie. For a long time my son lived in his imaginary world a lot , now it's not so much, but he still loves to do it. It is very enjoyable to him. It's like a tape playing in his head. My son is a fantasy boy,he replays, recreates, or in some way engages in the obsession in his head. His fantasy's remove him from unpleasures of the real world and demands are reduced. This is how my son copes with stress and reality. If your son does this when he is around other people he could be using this as a destresser with the situation. I recommend the book (Parenting Your Asperger Child) by Alan Sohn and Cathy Grayson, it talkes about this in detail even though your child is PDD-NOS I think it would be a benefit to you.
Today my son came in the room and sat down on the floor and was busy eating some cheetos and said "zzzz zzzz zzzz zzzzin" like hes talking to 'someone' or maybe himself not sure. I asked him what he said and he looked up at me and said "dinosaurs" then went on to talk endlessly about his favorite topic "dinosaurs" I dont think he meant what he said was dinosaurs cuz when u ask him what he said at other times and obviously wasnt about dinosaurs he starts off with 'dinosaurs' and the first word that comes out of his mouth most morning as soon as he opens his eyes is dinosaurs, so dont think but maybe. He does this from time to time not as much as before. WHen he was little hed do this alot and bob and cock his head and sometimes get in our faces like he was trying to tell us something really interesting. We put if off at first to him not talking that well since he was really little. But now he talks well and people comment on his talking well. The only problems he has with talking is talking obsessively aobut a subject, difficulty with conversaton often(adds his dinosaurs to mix), and if ur talking to him he seems to go into "iimaginary world" all of a sudden then just go off and do his own thing pretending (he has a good imagination). He mixes words up sometimes but i figure its probably normal since hes 4. Thats all i can think of right now. ANywayz he still does that and i was wondering what it is?? If anyones kids who talk pretty well and know words do stuff like that? It seems not to phase him when u ask him about it or maybe like he dosnt realize it or remember. And o ya he seems to do this more when hes really excited around a bunch of kids or something and he actually gets in thier faces doing that sound/word he does like he believes hes talking to them, but it doesnt go into a long thing tho and he reverts to talking again.
I just realized, my DH had a vocal stim ... he said, "Azzeeeeeee!" a lot, as a kid, to the point where his brothers teased him ...
My son also makes a weird noise when he is engrossed in something. It's sounds rather like a naying horse but softer and I really hate it. It drives me crazy when he does it. I really thought he'd grow out of it but hasn't so far. At 6 1/2 I also thought he'd be able to understand that Cartoon characters are not real. He is obsessed with one particular female cartoon - Starfire. He says she is his sister and that she loves him. He kisses any pictures of her and stares at the TV adoringly. He cries and tells me to take her out of the TV or computer and I don't know how to explain that she is not real. I have a hard time with these issues and I fear ridicule from his peers when he talks like this.
Thanks Norway mom, I hope he does get better hopefully before school age.
Sharon, my son seems like he really believes in the things hes imagining but thats cuz hes so engrossed in it. Maybe hes so attached to her and wishes that she were real so is pretending like she is? Or maybe hes hallucinating? I havnt known any kids who really thought something was real like that at his age but im sure it might be common if the doctor says everythings alright.