Late development~attachment? | Autism PDD

Sarah has always dealt well with her dad leaving her or her older sister. She never cried or asked about them when they were not home..

... this morning her dad said goodbye to her as he was going to work and she got this HUGE pouty look with tears in her eyes..this has never happened in her whole 7 years of life...we asked her what was making her sad and then she really fell apart and stated she didnt want her daddy to leave her:)

This is a really huge breakthough for her... I felt so glad for her dad to see that she does love him even though she had a hard time expressing it:) I think all these years he has been kinda distant from her mainly because she never seemed to miss him or want him so much..

She has been telling me too lately that she is lonely and doesnt want to do things by herself anymore...all of this is new.

At the park yesterday she said she wanted the kids to play with her~they were strangers to her and she wanted them:)

I am so bewildered about this late emotional connection coming in.. but so happy about it:)

Has anyone else's child become attached to family members and peers later on after age 6??

I am now worried about school in 4 weeks..last year she was totally content to leave me. I may now need a plan :)

ShelleyR39296.2844560185HOW AWESOME good job sarahThat's great. It's also great that your husband got to experience that. Bravo!That's awesome Shelly. Isn't it amazing that our kids never cease to suprise us just when we think we have them figured out? What a blessing.She was so indifferent to people for so long..all interactions were prompted for years so this is a huge difference from a year ago:) She was always attached to me..let me nurse her and snuggle with her but she never cried for me if I left or reacted a great deal when I came back...her language has been booming this summer and I am totally convinced that her actions emotionally are related to her expressing herself more! It makes me hopeful that the more her language keeps coming in then the more she will engage others and peers more:) My son is 5 but almost 6. He does not use the word lonely. But within the
last three months, he does express that misses certain freinds and family
members and asks where they are. He also says he wants them back
because he needs them.

I think that it is wonderful that Sarah is expressing her emotions in that way.
It is truely amazing. I do agree that you probably need to start talking about
school again.

My daughter has become a total daddy's/grandpa's girl. It started at six or seven. She has dreams her dad gets hurt at work, or worries he won't come home. I think it's because I stay at home and he works. Maybe your daughter has the same fears? School and keeping busy helps a lot.

As for the friends thing, that's AWESOME! I know all girls love to be with their friends at that age. I know you have a great ABA program, so maybe you should teach her how to make friends!!!

It's not quite the same as what Sarah is going through, but Mason has become overly attached recently. He needs to always be touching me or sitting on my lap...he wants to hug and kiss me all the time. I gues this has been going on for quite a few months, and now it has more recently moved over to my DH and also my Mom.

In Sarah's case though, it's much better, because she is showing real emotion and showing an interest in friends...did she happen to start out the way Mason is acting now?? Maybe he is headed in that direction??

She is such a smart girl and probably so eager to get back to school and learn that hopefully the attachment won't cause any problems come the start of the school year.

We created a great social story re: this and its really seemed to help.

Its so great that Sarah is having those emotions and can verbalize them, but of course you want to make sure she knows that out of sight is not out of mind! A social story might be a good solution to your having to drop her off at school to validate her feelings and give her alternatives.

Her daddy called her once he got to work and she was totally over it:)

It was so heartbreaking to see her upset yet very exciting at the same:)

I think that's just amazing and wonderful, Shelley! It's a great reminder that
our kids are literally just DELAYED. They can surprise us at any time, by
catching up, or having developmental breakthroughs that we never
expected.

I know this is HUGE for Sarah, and I'm so happy for your whole family!

What an irony to be happy your kid is upset, eh?

I know exactly what you are saying!

YAY, Sarah!

My 6 yr old son is overly attached to me. Every day he tells me that he will miss me when I am gone to work. Sometimes he sits at the window looking for me. I am very emotionally attached to him too. He hates when his father picks him up on Tues/Thurs for therapy. He only wants me to take him and he cries and stresses about it the whole day. Last year at school was a nightmare and I too am dreading when school opens. He always tells me I smell nice and that I am beautiful and he's always either got his hand up the front of my top or his head inside my top at the back. He still also holds onto my nightgown for comfort especially when he's lying down and I'm not with him. My kids sleep with me (long story). I also cater to his every whim because I feel so bad for him, which I'm sure is going to come back and bite me and it is very draining.

I also wished he would be more emotionally attached to his father but for some reason does not relate to men! He just doesn't like them and I don't know why. No one has hurt him to my knowledge.

I hope this is the start to a beautiful bond between Sarah and her father.