Probable ASD

[minties]

Thomas had a check today that they do with 4 year olds. Some questionaires for me, and some work with the child by a specialized nurse.

The nurse said that he is showing clear signs of being on the autism spectrum. He scored very poorly in emotional and social areas.

He doesn't interact with the kids or teachers at preschool. He ignores them completely. Never says hello or goodbye to anyone. Hates any sort of change to the routine of the day and completely loses it if we have an unexpected visitor. Eye contact not consistent. Can't read or write anything but a letter T. Gets aggressive and lashes out (punched me in the face at preschool yesterday). Gets completely absorbed in tasks and ignores everything else. Lack of early speech. Strong aptitude in art, science and electronics. Lacks empathy (actually laughs sometimes rather than sympathises). Takes everything literally. He always makes repetitive loud weird noises all the time.

She said that how he was dealing with her was a pretty clear indication.

Obviously it's just one person's opinion but I always thought Thomas was a bit different to other kids. Sophie is emotionally and social more apt than he is a lot of the time.

Just feel a bit shocked so had to write it down. I'm taking in a questionaire for his preschool today and if they also show concern then we go down the diagnosis road.

 

[alibaba24]

alot of 4 year olds can't write yet. i just wanted to put that our there. It does seem like he has some challenges. my 5 year old never bothered with hi or bye until recently sctually. her social skills are still not too great as a result of a language disorder. questionaires assesments etc are all really time consuming some people need to wait around a year or more for a diagnosis and some get it very fast. think it depends on area

there is lots of people on this forum been through or going through similar

 

[pinkpolkadot]

I know how you feel, we are in a similar situation and just waiting for assessment on 27th. In our case it was the preschool who flagged it up though so I am surprised they haven't also picked up on it. Let us know how it goes!

I am having a hard time at the moment with DDs aggressive behaviour and not knowing if it is linked to ASD or not. Family are insisting she is just badly behaved which is not helping. I wonder if they will believe it even if she does turn out to have ASD

 

[minties]

Thanks so much for replying.

I've had a big chat with Thomas today trying to figure out some of his behaviors and he says he doesn't do a lot of things because they are either boring or he feels shy. He is like my OH in that he always needs a project, so makes a beeline for the craft or toy area at preschool rather than play with kids.

His preschool are flabbergasted and say he appears the same as all the other kids his own age. Shrug. They say he is a lot more interactive when I leave and he has great eye contact and communication.

I sort of feel like the nurse yesterday was putting ideas in my head and making me think he was worse than how I thought he was. My OH just says he seems angry rather than anything else which I have seen in other 4-5 year old boys.

I don't want to have my mummy goggles on so I'm making an appointment with his usual plunket nurse (HV) as she has known him for a few years now.

He was always a happy, social little baby and toddler. Only seems to be moody this year.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Really tricky situation. For me personally,I was telling the professionals so I cant imagine being told kinda thing. All my sons school said he had no autistic traits,but he did gt diagnosed xx

 

[Thurinius]

My son's asd got picked up at pre school, I had literally no idea so it came as a big shock.
Teachers are pretty clued into this stuff so I'll be surprised if your son is and they just haven't noticed. With my son around other children his age it is stunningly obvious. At home with us not so much

 

[sequeena]

Ah minties I'm sorry to see you here. I hope the nurse was mistaken.

 

[bananabump]

My son's asd got picked up at pre school, I had literally no idea so it came as a big shock.
Teachers are pretty clued into this stuff so I'll be surprised if your son is and they just haven't noticed. With my son around other children his age it is stunningly obvious. At home with us not so much

It's actually more common for preschool/school not to pick it up as children on the spectrum thrive on routine and predictability which is exactly what they have whilst there.

 

[bananabump]

Hi minties,

Just wanted to say we're in the same boat! It was a paeditrician who first mentioned ASD to us and was a bit of a shock at first but 9 months later and I now 99.9% believe he will receive the diagnosis after his assesments.
His preschool say they don't think he shows any signs yet in his EYFS report they mention about him obsessively washing his hands during messy play, his speech delay/disorder, biting his arm when he's anxious/overwhelmed and how he plays alongside other children rather than with them aswell as not taking part in any pretend play. Red flags for Autism!! I don't have much faith in his keyworker unfortunately.
One thing I have learned though is try not to overthink things too much at this stage or it can drive you crazy. Just note down any behaviour that is questionable and bring it all up with his HV. She will probably refer you even if she isn't concerned and then you have the chance to discuss everything in detail with a specialist.
We met our developmental paed a couple of weeks ago for our first appt in the diagnosis process and she was wonderful! Totally got Leo and understood my concerns so I've got every faith in her and her team!
Here if you need to talk as I understand how worrying and frustrating this all is xxx