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Thank you for all your replies . My husband is being very supportive and he says that although he would be upset he will love our son just as much as he does. As my lad is so young, I dod not expect a definite diagnosis just yet. But by getting him on the referral list now, if he does turn out to have ASD then hopefully he can have early intervention. The only real thing I am bothered about is his communication. I have had PECS and signing suggested, both of which are excellent ideas, but I need to speak to the speech and language therapist for advice on how to go about them. He can play how he wants to, it makes him happy A couple more things about him, he flaps his hands a bit and loves spinning round. He loves rough and tumble games, but also enjoys peekaboo. He has an excellent memory and is very affectionate, but on his terms. He kisses with his forehead. If we go out he wanders around a lot and tends to go somewhere quiet and play on his own.

Hi Oreo I hope you like posting on this site.

I did the Empathy test and got 16.

I did the wired one myself a few days ago (although on a different website as the wired one let me get all the way through and then conked out My score was 41, which was a little worrying, but as I've got through life ok it's not the end of the world to me

Thank you . Can I clarify something on my last post? I do feel emotion, but a lot of the time feel very detached and as though I was empty. I get very angry over trivial things and feel great love for my husband and children, but in a lot of ways it's as though I'm thinking of myself as a separate person.

It must be worrying and frustrating for you. You should be getting some more explanations and help for your son.

Hi Hev . I hope that you get the support you need over this.

Thank you both for replying . My worries are probably heightened by the knowledge that I am almost certainly quite far along the ASD route myself. Never been diagnosed (I'm thirty so spent my childhood just thinking I was odd) but a brief list of things about myself include: Unable to show (and often feel) emotion or say when something is bothering me (sounds so trivial but I can't explain it very well. Need to have a set routine with things. I get panicky if we're going out as I need to plan everything. Not received pronunciation, but no definable accent. Also pauses in odd places when speaking. Very narrow interests. It's a big step if I read a different sort of book. I do have a very good imagination. I rapidly shake and flap my hands if I'm trying to get a point across or am upset about something. Oops, should say I live in Shropshire, not the Norfolk Broads!

Hello to everyone on this forum . I hope you don't mind me posting, as my son (who I am asking about) hasn't had a diagnosis, but he has been referred to a developmental centre as myself, my health visitors and our GP are all concerned about him. Basically, I would like to know whether it sounds as though he might be on the ASD spectrum to a significant degree. He is two and a half and I've had concerns about him for a while. He did have glue ear, which I think was used to explain a lot of his behaviour but he has had grommits put in last May and - as I'll explain later - I know he can hear perfectly well now. I also suspect that before his glue ear was not that bad. This is a list of what is voncerning me about him: He has an excellent vocabulary (albeit very poor pronunciation) but it is all repetition and parrot fashion. He will remember phrases he's heard and repeat them back to you hours or days later. There is also immediate repetition as well. However, there is no spontaneous, off his own bat language. Eg he can repeat back to you lines from a story, but he won't say "cat" if he sees our cat. He has said a couple of spontaneous things in his lifetime and only one of those he was looking at me. He has very poor eye contact and it's difficult to tell if he's listening or paying attention. I know he can understand me and does listen as sometimes I've said something and he's reacted in the right way. He does not point at things, unless it's the Tellytubbies on the computer. Even then, he does not look at me (or anyone) to get a reaction. It's more as though he's pointing it for his own benefit. If something unusual happens, he does not react, or look at others to see how they are reacting. Eg I have a nearly four month old baby as well and my older lad did not react at all at me holding the baby in the hospital. And on Christmas Day he completely ignored all the presents until we had opened them (did not wonder what all the boxes were) and had no comprehension it was a special day. However, with his everyday routines he is fairly rigid. Eg in the morning if I change his brother's nappy after his he gets upset because we are not going down straight away for breakfast. However, he is fine about me paying attention to his brother first. If he needs help with something, he will pull me over to what he wants and manipulate my hands. If I feign ignorance to try to get him to speak he will drop my hands, show me what he wants with his hands and then manipulate my hands again. He is very good with peg puzzles and building blocks, but with his other toys he tends to concentrate on small, repetitive movements. Eg he likes to line up his toys, press buttons on them, watch wheels spin, touch his soft toys faces, but shows no "progressive" play. Eg he won't push his cars along unless you show him first and then he'll only do it a couple of times. There's probably a load more, but I've probably exhausted you all