younger NT siblings mimic As behaviour???

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mom2bax
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30 Mar 2008, 9:36 pm

i ahve noticed that my daughter (almost 3 NT) seems to have picked up on some of the quirky behavio rs of her AS brother (4 2/3)? is this normal ?
She is not really too much like him in other ways, very social not so smart, just average, maybe a bit abive in vocab & stuff. but sometimes she does stuff that he does? i guess she just wants to be like her big bro, right?
anyone else have this?



GreatCeleryStalk
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30 Mar 2008, 10:46 pm

Mimicking behaviors is normal at that age.



Lainie
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30 Mar 2008, 11:40 pm

Well now wait a min....

My son who was older had alot of red flags. He was eventually dx'd of Autistic Disorder. My younger guy, well he seemed to copy things that his older brother did, but ya know...

They don't copy lining up.
They don't copy obsessions
They don't copy the odd trantrums they have
They don't copy echolalia
They don't copy language difficulties

Those are somethings that you need to perk up about.

I used to think that my younger guy copied these things but he ended up with a ASD and Tourette syndrome dx's.

Keep your eyes open, but don't freak out. Take everything in perspective, but at the same time, if he/she does some of these things ongoing, then check it out.

Lainie



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31 Mar 2008, 12:09 am

It's possible that it's mimicry, but it's also possible she's on the spectrum as well. If one child is, there's a much higher chance that the other is as well.

We were told much the same about our 5 y/o- that he was just mimicking big sister. They're not biologically related, but we knew things weren't quite "right" with him either. He's social and very talkative, but is obsessive in his interests and has a lot of sensory integration issues. He was dxed with mild mental retardation and sensory integration disorder- they insist he's not on the spectrum because he is social, but his father and I and even his Kindergarden teacher still think that he is.

I'd keep an eye on her behaviors.



Smelena
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31 Mar 2008, 12:42 am

I have 3 sons - 2 diagnosed with Asperger's. The doctor always thought my second son was mimicking his big brother .... nope .... Asperger's!

My husband thinks my 3rd son is mimicking his big brothers .... nope .... I'm pretty sure he's Aspie too .... will get him diagnosed before he starts school.

All I can tell you is that like anyone, people with Asperger's have different personalities and different interests.

It is possible you have an NT coping AS traits. It is also possible that you have another Aspie.

I'd stay open minded.

Helen



dad2rose
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31 Mar 2008, 9:45 am

My older daughter has recently been diagnosed with asperger's. My younger daughter by all accounts is well within normal range in terms of her behaviours at least from all the feedback we are getting from her teachers and is clearly significantly more socially aware than her sister. (the elder daughter is 8, the younger 5 and started in kindergarten this year) We have noticed frequently that the younger does seem to mimic some of the AS behaviours of the elder, which only makes sense since they are very close and spend a great deal of time together. Basically she assumes her sister's mode of social interaction is the norm and tends to base hers off of that, which is not a good model for her. Being in school finally where she has other peers to model from and interact with seems to have shot her ahead in social skills though, which is what one would expect if she is not on the spectrum. Of course we also keep an eye on her but right now we are not concerned that she is AS. If she starts being symptomatic than we would have her evaluated but that does not seem to be how things are progressing for her. So, from my experience mimicry happens and is not a bad thing.



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31 Mar 2008, 10:40 am

I can't believe that there's still doctors out there that will withhold an AS diagnosis because someone is "social". I was "social" as a child (a bit awkward, yes, but I still was able to talk to people), and I was diagnosed AS. Of course, my mother had to shop for doctors (back in the late 1980s, very few physicians had even heard of the autistic spectrum...) I was one of the first people in the country diagnosed with AS, for that matter...



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31 Mar 2008, 1:20 pm

My NT daughter definitely mimics some of her brother's behaviors. She looks up to him, she has always admired him, so I think it's natural. And, well, she is aware enough to know that my son gets certain accomodations from us and from school, and she would like those, too. Shoot, what child would NOT enjoy being told they don't have to do the homework as assigned to them? So, my talented artist daughter keeps complaining about how difficult it is to write ... um, well, we've explained to her that we'll work with her on ergonomics, on hand exercises, and so on, but that we really do not believe she has the actual physical issues her brother does, and she will have to accept that she cannot get the accomodations that he does. Once she realized no amount of acting could change that answer, things improved instantly.

I'm trying to think of some of the other things ... she has gone through a phase of chewing on her clothes like her brother does, fortunately it didn't last long. She tries to minic his lack of table manners ... but gives herself away by having perfect upright posture, lol.

As someone else pointed out above, some things just don't get minic'd. While my daughter may sometimes try to join my son in his pacing, because she wants to be with him, she has overall learned it's a private experience for him, and not uncovered any secret need to pace herself.

I was pretty sure by the time she was 3 that she was NT. Not positive; my son wasn't diagnosed until 7, after all, but fairly sure. While there were things she tried to do like him, there was just so much else that was completely different.


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DW_a_mom
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31 Mar 2008, 1:25 pm

ToadOfSteel wrote:
I can't believe that there's still doctors out there that will withhold an AS diagnosis because someone is "social". I was "social" as a child (a bit awkward, yes, but I still was able to talk to people), and I was diagnosed AS. Of course, my mother had to shop for doctors (back in the late 1980s, very few physicians had even heard of the autistic spectrum...) I was one of the first people in the country diagnosed with AS, for that matter...


I think the biggest hang up with getting my son's AS recognized was that he APPEARED social. He loves people, always has. But as the specialists dug down deeper, they realized that he was imposing himself on others much more often than effectively interacting with them. He only got away with it because ... shoot, lol, I'm still not sure why he's often gotten away with it, I'm just grateful for his sake that he mostly has!


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aurea
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01 Apr 2008, 1:27 am

DW_a_mum your son sounds like mine, I think this is what has confussed a lot of people he appears extremely social. However he is in their faces, trying to get them to play like him or tagging along talking at them.

My 4 year old nephew copies alot of J's traits, he makes up weird words, will pace whilst he says certain things, will play in a certain way, but he can't keep it up. He usually does these things after having spent some time with my son, it can take a couple of days to wear off.



ster
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01 Apr 2008, 5:37 am

still can't get a dx for daughter because she's "too social"



GreatCeleryStalk
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01 Apr 2008, 9:13 am

ster wrote:
still can't get a dx for daughter because she's "too social"


Does your daughter display indicators of NLD?

Many children with NLD are quite social and may make eye contact.

I was diagnosed with NLD as a child and I've had psychologists confuse it for AS.



mom2bax
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01 Apr 2008, 9:41 pm

What is NLD?
and what are the indicators?
i have heard that AS is often harder to see/dx in girls but does anyone know why?
i'm keeping an eye on it, but not really seeing the warning signs, except she is super picky but is also an almost 3 year old little girl so...