Hello,
My 3 year old has been to speech therepy for a year now. He has shown some improvement. He speeks in sylables, and he is able to say some words(especially b words).. His doctor and speech therepist advised for me to take him to a pediatric neropshychologist. M is a very friendly and loving child, and he hugs people.
The Dr. had him take some blood tests (still waiting for the results).
He does like to play by himself, but he is getting more social.
He does line up toys more than he plays with them.. He carries toys, and other objects, he also sticks everything in his mouth. Once he found a row of staples and stuck them in his mouth, when my husband saw that he had something in his mouth, he told M to spit it out. What he spit out was a perfet ball of staples.. He also stuck 7 quarters into his mouthand spit them out into a perfect row..
He has not yet been diagnosed, just speculation as of yet..
My question is has anyone else had any of these things happen to their child. And the friendliness.. Everything I have read shaid that autistic children tend to be distant..
Any info would be helpful.. Look forward to hearing from you..
It is a myth that kids on the spectrum cannot be friendly or social. My ds has always been very social with adults. Not necessarily kids though.
The question is: Is he appropriate when he is being social - for his age and for the situation? My ds used to be very friendly but only wanted to talk to the person about tornadoes. Yes, he's interacting - but not appropriately. Also, if your ds is hugging everyone (even those who don't want to be hugged) - that probably isn't appropriate. For his age, it might be okay - but we have taught my three year old to always ask first if you can hug. Not all three year olds can be taught that - but if that is an issue, it might be a red flag.
There is a LOT of information for you here and a lot of advice and support. I would recommend going to the "For Newbies" thread and reading through some of that - there's a ton of info there.
Also, you could go to www.childbrain.com and take the online PDD questionnaire to get a better sense.
Please keep us posted and welcome to the board!
HiIt is myth that all children with autism are not affectionate. My son (dx autism at 2 yrs 10 mo) was very affectionate. He was loving to everyone and everything. He gave more kisses than than any child I had ever known. It was his inappropriate social skills more than his lack of social skills that caused concern. That combined with his ritualistic behavior and rigidity, lack of speech, etc.
It sounds like you are doing the right things as far as speech and a neuro psych. Good luck to you.
Big misconception by many that autism means unaffectionate. It's one of the reasons I was in denial for awhile.
You are taking the right steps.
I can't make a diagnosis on your son but as for your question; many kidsSince your child is showing signs of sensory issues, such as mouthing foreign objects, you might want to do this sensory checklist to help you identify any under- and over-sensitivities.
http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/sensory-processin g-disorder-checklist.html
Two of the objects you mentioned were made of metal (staples and quarters). That makes me wonder if a nutritional deficiency might be behind it. Some of our members have found that zinc supplements help eliminate mouthing behaviors, but I'd run it past your child's pediatrician first.
Good luck with everything!
Last weekend the boys (M has a 4 year old brother) and I went to visit their grandparents. Friday nite I went to the store to pick up some toothbrushes, for I forgot to pack them. My mother watched the boys. When I got back, I saw that the blocks that were numbered 2-8 were lined up in the correct order. I asked my mother who did that, and she said that my oldest was playing on the other side of the room, so it had to be M. I pulled the 4 away from the lineup, and M started to put 5 then 6 then 7 then 8 in order after it. He continued to do that for the rest of the weekend... It still amazes me...Wow! Smart little guy there!
My son got ASD ruled out at 3.5y because he had good eye contact and "wanted" to make friends. He FINALLY was approperiately dx'd at 6y with HFA. He is pretty friendly--but doesn't go up to strangers. He has friends and has been to 3 b-day partys already this year!!
If you ever question a dx rule-out or a different dx, get a second opinion---or 3rd or 4th. Go with what YOU feel!!
You got some great advice...just wanted to add that developmental pediatrician can do a full evaluation for over 2-3 hours whereas our pediatriatric neurologist did only 15 minutes with her...I felt the diagnoses was more accurate from the developmental pediatrician:) Best of luck and keep us posted!Wow, that sounds like Andy at 3. He is a very lovable child and gives wonderful hugs and is very much diagnosed with autism. Once you get to know him he makes great eye contact ---