aspergers in young children

[star]

could anyone tell me what traits you might notice in a 2 year old (2 3/4) or what you may notice in retrespect from birth?

 

my son looks like he is going to have a general assessment as there are concerns about his eye contact.

 

I just wondered if anyone could offer me any feedback concerning your own children. Things to look out for etc if aspergers could be a factor?

 

thanks so much for any help.

[phasmid]

It'll be on here somewhere I know, I just don't know where. So, in the meantime go to NAS website and look up the 'triad of imapirments'. This will tell you what to look out for.

 

Hope that helps.

[moncs]

You could try the lip stick test to see if they have an awareness of themselves. Sit in front of the mirror and play for a few minutes . then without them seeing dap their nose with some lipstick. If they have an awareness that it is themselves in the mirror they will rub it off their nose if not they will try to rub the mirrror.

 

Do they point to show joint attraction ?

 

Do they play imaginatively ?

Have you tried the sally ann test?

Just some ideas

[LizK]

My son is nearly four, yet to have a formal diagnosis but maybe have a mild ASD or AS. It's slightly complicated by him having a speech delay too and uncertaintly as to how much of how he is is realted to his speech delay in itself or to ASD as a separate entity.

 

I was concerned that somethign wasn't right from when he was 3 mths as his general development slowed down and he became increasingly irritable. He didn't speka until 22mths, delayed pointing and poor eye contact and I became increasingly concerned that he might have some form of ASD. Unfortunately several HCPs weren't willing to listen to my concerns then. Speech delay aside he has had some difficulty with social interaction. He can be very shy and withdrawn in large groups or unfamiliar situations and resort to steroetypical movements. He can be the opposite and in situations where he is comfortable he can be over familiar and in your face. He used to have difficulty playing with other children but tha thas improved over recent months and can now engage in imaginary play as long as he is guided by another child. He developed some obsessions particularly doors which has remained a consistent obsession for the last 3 yrs!. He has some routines and initially gets upset if they are altered but actually adapts to the new routine quickly so that's not been a major issue.

 

I think for us the speech and communication problems and the difficulty in social interaction have been his main areas of difficulty. He has some of the other features of ASD but they are particularly pervasive and fairly mild comparatively.

 

Lx

[Lynden]

My son is 2 past august and has just been diagnosed with autism with possible learning difficulties. We started noticing he had problems around 10 months (although in hindsight if we'd been looking we could have seen it earlier). Main things that struck us was that he didn't play with toys, still doesn't, unless they spin or flash. He doesn't talk at all and rarely babbles. He doesn't gesture at all (point, wave etc etc). He headbangs and flaps, and constantly rocks when he's sitting. He doesn't walk yet either though can cruise. He's not really interested in other people either, he'll look at them and smile, but thats it, no real interest or attemps to interact. He is very affectionate with immediate family though and has good eye contact etc with us.

 

Lynne x

[Zemanski]

AS is difficult to spot early and it is much easier to look back with hindsight on your child's very early development and spot the signs.

 

Com was exceptionally good at somethings - language: speech at 9 months, sentences by 18months, maths: fractions by 2 which was unusual but not exactly worrying at the time - and hopeless at others like kicking a ball, couldn't at 3 and still can't at 13, using utensils, etc.

I suppose although we knew his development was unbalanced we just assumed it would even out over time - you can't do so much with your brain and still have time to concentraate on the physical

 

the earliest signs looking back were too much, over-intense eye contact from birth, a reluctance to be held/cuddled but demands to be held up to see the world - he wanted to face forwards away from me from birth (could hold his head up to do it too - amazing for a baby with dyspraxia, such determination) and he was never, ever naughty - no tantrums, no crying unless hungry, no mischief. He was extremely cautious and still lives by the rule: if at first you don't succeed, never, ever even think of trying again!!!!

 

I did also realise by a year, 18 months at the latest, that he had no interest whatsoever in other children and only interacted with adults.

 

trouble is that every child presents entirely differently and what is an indication of a problem in one child might be just an idiosyncracy in another.

 

2 is just a bit early to be certain with AS, most don't get diagnosis till 7+.

 

Zemanski