Hi everyone
I hope it's okay to post. It's about my son but I don't have a diagnosis.
I was wondering if you could help me with traits/symptoms that would suggest he is on the autistic spectrum. I have finally decided to take him to the GP after a really strange conversation I had with him two nights ago.
The only thing is he doesn't really present in a typical way. He's very engaging, chatty, uses eye contact. He's not exactly socially awkward but will often choose to play alone, even to the point of being quite stand offish (e.g. sweet girl from his old school "DS1 do you want to play dragons" DS1 (nonchalantly) "Maybe later" sweet girl shrugs philosophically. He had a lot of these sweet little friends and it was like he deigned to join them at times then other times totally ignored them.
He is sensitive to sound and his environment and has Irlens. His behaviour suffers if he is tired, hungry, overstimulated (or bored!) if the routine is lacking (although this is not a serious issue). Transitions aren't great but not as bad as tantrums or anything, although he can kick off if the plan changes.
He can be very selfish and fixated on what he wants to do and he is very bad if he is disappointed.
I'm not sure if he's just a difficult character - certainly he struggles to process his emotions re. his Dad and I splitting up. He thinks in a very black and white way, seems empatheic and perceptive beyond his years, but you get sucked into answering endless questions and telling him too much about a subject then you can't make it alright. Other children would accept the first or second level of what you say, he won't accept it until you've explained it to the nth degree.
The other night he told me it would be fine if I wasn't here. He didn't need me except for practical purposes, and me hugging him didn't help him feel better....ever.
He is very unhappy. He wants me and his Dad back together (we seperated 4 1/2 years ago and his Dad is remarried) he holds onto things for a long time.
Do you think it's enough to take him to the GP? I don't know how to distill all this down into something meaningful to get a referral and who would I get a referral too anyway?
Thanks so much for reading
Love Gem
x
