Is my 3yr old autistic??

Question

My 3yr old has been displaying some characteristics that make me wonder. it has gotten worse this past 6 months. I don't remember a time when I could make him look me in the eye. He has 2 older brothers but prefers to play alone, he repeats anything you say back to you, he lines his hot wheels up in a row and can do that for hours. The only tv show he will watch is diego and he has a few dvds of Diego. If he wants to watch one he will line them up count them, name each one and eventually pick one. He only needs to watch the dvd once to know all the words and cues in the show. He gets very emotional easily and throws tantrums that make you want to pull your hair out, but there is no calming him down and no reasoning with him. He will only eat one meal (corned beef hash), I recently bought him a nice new pair of runners, I put them on him and had to spend most of the afternoon calming him down, he was very distressed about not being able to wear his old shoes.

At the same time he is a polite boy who attracts lots of attention from strangers, he is loving, he is anxious if one of his family is not around and worries about them (example I'm at work or a brother at school), he seems normal in his intelligence, he talks in sentences and is potty trained. Am I a paranoid mother, I love my son and obviously don't want anything to be wrong with him, it just seems out of the ordinary when I compare hime to his brothers at the same age.

Advice is all I need, I will be taking him to the dr's but I would appreciate others inputs..thank you

Answer 1

Well he definitely exhibits some behaviors of autism...when you say he is very loving-does he cuddle or anything like that? Perhaps he has a highly functioning level of autism or maybe some OCD. Definitely get a docs opinion, cause i'm sure not an expert! But good luck to you and your son.

Answer 2

It's possible he could be autistic.

Answer 3

My son showed some signs of autism also and his doctor told me not to worry unless. They saw some signs also. She said that in the time she has been seeing him she has not shown any signs. I think your doctor will know if anything is wrong. He does sound like he has some signs but not anything severe. I would just try and calm down until you get him checked out. I know it is scary but you can't make yourself crazy from worry. Now there is so much being done to help these kids so just love him and help him through whatever is going on.

Answer 4

To be honest, I think he's just being three.

The thing that would cause me concern is the lining up his cars- that is definitely an autistic aspect, but you need to remember that autism is a very wide spectrum and cannot be generalised easily.

Most children go through a stage of being unhappy with change- such as the new shoes. This is most likely just an age thing.

If I were you, I'd keep an eye on it, and possibly go and see a paediatrician. Or you could get some books out of the library. I'd recommend this over researching on the 'net, as most stuff you read online is just a person's point of view, with no credible evidence to back it up.

And yes, he may prefer to play on his own, but all children are different. There's nothing wrong with that at 3.

Answer 5

that sounds a lot more like a sauvant. my twin brother is mentally challenged and growing up back then they were all grouped together in a class room and called retarded. i think you should get your son a proper assessment, since science medicine and treatment have came a long way.getting the properly structured treatment etc, can go a very longwaysin your childs development. my brother by the way is the family member i am the most proud of. in his 30's he survived cancer, moved out on his own and holds a full and a part time job. he still finds the same to decorate his walls with gold medals from the special olympics, as well as numerous bowling trophies from the so called "normal" league. my other brother and i are drunks, onesister is a bible thumper another is self absorbed millionare and the last is a total work a holic. your son can go far he sounds very intelligent for his age.

Answer 6

I am sad to see that you like many others have a very limited and stereotypical idea of what autism is and how "mild" or "severe" it might be... There is no such thing as mild or severe there are autistics who are introverts and extroverts! The introverts seem to the non-autistics as more severe, and the extroverts as more mild.

This is how ignorant is science about autism. Once someone went the wrong direction about labeling autism the whole scientific world just followed him like blind idiots on the same wrong path so no one veers from the herd!

Better get your self into some forums of autistic adults to get the truth about autism and stop being paranoid.

Your kid is a normal autistic. That is all. For an autistic he is PERFECTLY NORMAL!

Answer 7

I work with children with autism and he definitely displays some signs of it.  Repeating words/sentences is called "echolalia" and is often seen in children with autism.  Repetitive behaviors and playing with toys in unusual ways, such as lining them up are also indicators.  Eye contact... all the things you have mentioned.

If you are in the U.S., you can contact your local school district and they can do a comprehensive assessment for free. If he is found to be autistic, there are free services they can offer, such as speech therapy.  I worked on a team which would diagnose children.  We did standardized tests (when appropriate), but most importantly (along with input from the parent) did observations over a period of time and in different environments.  We've seen pediatricians refer children out to neurologists who then diagnose the child after an interview and short observation.  I mention this because I feel you need to have various specialists observe your child to give a true diagnosis and description of his behaviors, not just a 30 minute interview.

You wrote that you were afraid of having your fears confirmed.  No matter what anyone says, your child will be the same as he is today.  Whether he is labeled this or that or nothing at all, he is what he is today and a label cannot change that.  Children with high-functioning autism with some early guidance turn out just fine.  They may be a little quirky, but they would have been a little quirky anyway, label or not. Who cares.  They get married, have jobs, etc.  They just learn how to put out the effort to "fit in" so to say, when they need to.  For most of us, it is natural.  For them, it takes effort and thought, but it all turns out okay.  Good luck and everything will be fine!!

Answer 8

He sounds pretty picky to me! If it where up to my daughter she would only eat chicken and fries she is turning four. She lines all her ducks up all the time. She likes to seem them in a row all together. He sounds like he is just a very stubborn and picky boy! You never do know though. I am sure he is fine.  

Answer 9

He seems kind of normal to me. A little different, maybe, but in the realm of normal.

And like you said, he's obviously very, very high functioning, so you need to think about how useful a diagnosis of autism would be. Would it do him much good, or would you or other people treat him differently?

I guess I just would look at it like that, and how useful intervention (speech therapy, occupational therapy) would be. I'd maybe talk to his pediatrician privately.  

Answer 10

I have 2 sons on the autistic spectrum.  My 7 yr. old sounds alot like your son.  Mine was diagnosed at 25 months with PDD.NOS which is autistic features.  Currently my son is on the bubble with the diagnosis.  I would think that depending where you are, you may find a doctor that will tell you PDD.NOS and you may find one that won't.  The symptoms peak between 2-3, your son will look less whether he is or not over time.  If you do get a diagnosis now, my experience is that it probably won't stick, meaning at age 10 no one will believe he ever was considered to be on the spectrum.  My son also did echolalia-resolved, lined up cars-resolved, had difficulty with transitions-resolved, was a very picky eater, now less picky but is still, had meltdowns-resolved, , and had avoidant eyecontact-resolved, but avoids the camera, and his anxiety is less.

Have you heard of sensory integration disorder?  An OT can assess him to see if his sensory issues are impacting his functioning.  I have been to see top people and all say do not force the eyecontact.  I used to grab my sons face and make him look.  I was told that it is painful, and not to do it, not even to say look at me.  When organized (sensory) the eyecontact improves and my oldest now does not stand out.  My 3 yr. old who is PDD.NOS but most likely asperger's has intermittant eyecontact.  I was told that it is ok to hold something up to your face to have them look.  The meltdowns will stop completely with an OT.

Answer 11

Its possible it could be Asperger's Syndrome.

Answer 12

I had concerns about my son too at one point. He also did the lining up of his toys (still does sometimes), and would copy what I said after I said it rather than answering me. He however was very loving and would give me eye contact. Still, I worried, and when by age 3 he was still not talking very well at all - you couldn't have a conversation with him, I took him to be evaluated by the school district that tests your child in many areas. I was fearful of an autistic diagnosis too. My son passed everything but speech, which they said he was delayed on, but they said going to Preschool with other kids would help immensely and it has - and he has specific teachers there that work with him on speech and so forth. I asked about my other concerns of his autistic tendencies. They said that even though he did these things, it doesn't mean he is autistic. All autistic traits are things that any normal toddler can and will do. She said it's when it continues with other traits and so forth that there may be concerns.  I would have him tested for sure, and whatever is the problem - if there even is one, you will deal with it as any mother does.  My friend has a son who was diagnosed with Autisim at age 3, which thankfully was high functioning. He is now 9 1/2 and a pretty normal kid in mainstream school and has friends. They do still have issues as far as sensitivity with him, when it comes to his teeth, and bahtroom issues. But he is a normal great little guy. Even if your child does have it, you'll all survive, and you sound like a mom that would do all that she could for him, so you will then become the expert on it, and will be giving the advice to others who need it.  I still think he may just be a normal little boy that is just different from his brothers.  Good Luck.