Is my cousin autistic?

Question

my cousin is 3.5 and i think he has autism.

he has many signs such as delayed speech and poor communication skills, talks in a weird robot-type voice (these are just simple words, not full sentences or anything), he is not potty trained yet, he flaps his hands, lines cars up and looks closely at them and move the cars slowly, at church he plays with a car on the table while there's a huge group of kids he plays alone, he doesn't answer questions, i'm not sure if he knows how.. he can't count, doesn't know colors, shapes, basic things a 3.5 year old should know, also he keeps insisting on drinking from a bottle, way too old for that now, i wonder if he's just slow or it's autism, what do you think?

Answer 1

Maybe you could start off by saying that you want to mention something to them only out of concern. You could maybe show them this question and all the answers you got - either on their computer, or print it out. If they see that after your question, others showed concern too, maybe that would help. I wouldn't say for sure he has autism - my son displayed some of these characteristics, but upon being evaluated he was just somewhat speech delayed. They told me that all kids can do 'autistic' things, but it doesn't mean they are - you have to kinda combine a lot of other factors in. However, he does seem to display a handful of them - a lot of what my friends son had, and he is mildly autistic. He was diagnosed at age 3, and with all the help he has gotten he is now 9 and much better, even in regular school. They still have issues, but they would of had a LOT more had they not gotten him the help they needed.  Overall - he should be evaluated, and then see what they say.  

Answer 2

yes, he probably is

Answer 3

I have a nephew with Autism, and some of what you described are autistic behaviors, but doesn't mean your cousin has Autism.

You have to be very careful on how you approach this with your aunt and uncle. I would bring up something your cousin is really good at doing start with a positive trait before going it to what you think is "wrong" with him. I put wrong in quotes because I don't believe anything is wrong with children who have Autism, they should operate in a different way.

Also depending on your age I think I would have your parents bring the concern up, as if you are young and don't have any children of your own, his parents may not pay you any attention.

Whether or not he is Autistic, you won't know until he sees a doctor, but it sounds like he would benefit from some sort of early intervention to help with his speech.

Good Luck

Answer 4

Do you ever watch movies with your cousin?

"House of cards" deals a bit with autism.  

It turns out the child in the show is not autistic, but the movie still can show a person what autism is like.

"Mercury Rising" involves an autistic child.

Watching such movies with them might put the ideas in thier head.  You might even manage to get a conversation going on the subject.

Good luck!

Answer 5

I would definitely be concerned.  You listed many of the common signs of autism...  I would talk to your Aunt/Uncle about possibly having his pediatrician look into it.  I would however, expect them to be either defensive or angry... But it's for the best, IMO.