Does this baby sound potentially aspie to you?
Both parents are aspie.
He is happy, sociable, 18 months old. He doesn't talk very much, mama, dada, uh-oh, but occasionally he says other words. His first real word was 'diaper', and some time after that, he said 'happy birthday'.
There are certain textures that he really dislikes, fabrics. We gave him a teddy bear made of such fabric. He smiled brightly when he saw it (he *loves* stuffed animals), but as soon as he felt the texture, he dropped it and would have nothing at all to do with it again.
He spins. He walks in circles, especially on top of tables. Soemtimes he falls over from walking tilted to one side.
He makes direct eye contact, but not prolonged. He is very smart and keeps himself happy most of the time, fairly independent. He is extremely persistent and once he gets focused on something, he is really hard to divert or distract, as you can other small children.
He also makes funny little sounds, strange repetitive sounds, laugh-y type noises. There are different sounds for different feelings or situations.
But the thing that really makes me wonder is his vacuum cleaner obsession. He loves the vacuum cleaner. He plays with it a lot, whether it's on or off, but he especially enjoys when it's on. He'll sit in front of it and gaze at it intently, put his face right next to it for a minute, and then suddenly draw back and shake his head really hard, and then puts his face next to the vacuum again. If I move it around, (instead of using the hose attachments) he'll follow me around the house watching it intently. After I'm done, he tends to remain by it, playing with it, walking around it, etc.
So tell me, parents of aspies, does any of this soudn typical or familiar, or are we readign too much into these things? We are both aspie, so we're not going to be at all upset if he is, too.
I can relate to liking the vaccuum cleaner. My mom had a kirby and I absolutely adored that thing. No harshness to it at all when it ran. The big heavy all metal design drowned out any harshness. Despite my needing things near absolute quiet in order to sleep, I found mom could vaccuum anyways and I could still fall asleep.
_________________
I live my life to prove wrong those who said I couldn't make it in life...
At 18 months, I find the following to be true of everyone:
(1) Socially inappropriate behavior
(2) Difficulties in communication
(3) Responds to frustration or overload by having a meltdown...
etc. You get the idea.
I don't try to diagnose toddlers, because there's usually very little to go on. Genetically, the odds of your having an aspie kid are quite high, but it's not as if there were anything you should be doing differently if they were aspie, or if they were NT. Just be good parents and don't worry about it. If your kid is an aspie, it will become much clearer by the time you should be doing anything differently.
Can't tell from what you describe, those can all be normal. On the other hand, I knew my 3rd son was an aspie by 18 mos, bt only b/c my middle son was normal, so I could see he similarities and differences between the 3 boys, 2 on the spectrum. So I think only someone w/ experience w/ both NT and aspie kids would be able to tell, and only in person, not from descriptions over the internet. Oh, a big clue is does he respond to his name when he is stimming or playing w/ the vaccuum?
My now 2 1/2 year old was dx'd at 18 months with autistic spectrum disorder and severe sensory integration dysfunction. Reading your post brings back a flood of memories. When my son was born he suffered from severe plagiocephaly (abnormal headshape) no brain injury or craniosynostosis, basically his head was shaped funny from being squished inside me. He had to wear three cranial orthotics ( Doc Bands) from 5 months till he was a year old. We had to get him physical therapy at 5 months old because his gross motor skills were affected and this was when we began our journey into this world of autistic spectrum. Because the issue of plagiocephaly not being told to parents by doctors and therapists and never being told there was a way to fix most without surgery I started a web page documenting his treatment. This web page tells everything we were dealing with and documents the issues we were having with the sensory and ASD. You might want to read it as it is pretty detailed about what we saw and what we did, you can even skip over alot of the plagiocephaly stuff as I titled each section pretty good. It talks about the feeding problems(oral sensory), behaviors, and stimming he did and does. Here is a link to the page My Banded Baby
My little guy also has a vacuum obsession, he has his own dustbuster and loves any vacuum that he can get his hands on. The vibration it gives off feels good. A specialist in autism and asperger's can diagnose a baby as early as 18 months. It may not be a definite autism or asperger's, but they can say autistic spectrum or not. It is hard to find a doctor that will work with very young kids and some are still using the myth that it cannot be dx'd until 3-7, but the earlier you get started the better the outcome and most ASD kids who recieve early intervention by age two to three will enter a mainstream kindergarten or first grade classroom.
Oh, I forgot. Yes, he is very picky about certain foods or textures. I love veggies and so do all the other kids, but this one...I have given up trying, and I did try repeatedly for months.
He has 5 siblings, one of whom is definitely (diagnoised) on the spectrum, and another who is currently being evaluated, dx pending.
His head was at the 95% percentile for size, the rest of him is a lot smaller than usual, 5th or 10th percentile or something like that.
He also has a penchant for just the types of sound I cannot stand- high pitched noises. He loves sounds. He has stuffed animals that make piercing high pitched noises, and he will put them right up to his ear and have this entranced, delighted expression on his face while doing so, which frankly baffles me, because when I hear it, I just want it to *stop*, now, LOL. He is obsessed with the telephone, sets it (cordless type) so that it beeps loudly to identify its location and then walks around with it pressed right up against his ear. If you take it away, he will pursue it, over and over again.
He also really loves animals...I guess that all kids do though...but he seems to like them a lot, even more than the others.
How would you define socially inappropriate behavior in a kid this young, when half the household is on the spectrum? Not meaning to be sarcastic or critical, I am seriously curious.
That thing about the disagreeable texture of vegetables is something I can relate to. The taste of most of them are "so-so" on my "taste scale", but the texture is yuck! My parents "overruled" this, and if whatever was served came with veggies, it ment they were mandatory. I naturally tried all sorts of tricks to get around them, like only having five peas on the plate, or hiding some of them underneath the utensils after finishing the "rest" of the meal. I didn't like them then, and I still avoid them today. Thanks, but I prefer the vitamin pills...!
With regards to what defines appropriate behavior: Even in a home with a majority of aspies, you have to contemplate the fact that everyone still have to "fit into NT-land" as soon as they walk out the front door. Someone in here hit the nail on the head by a statement about not trying to cure a kid from Asperger's, rather "arm" him/her with the tools necessary to "stay afloat" in NT-land.
I think it sounds like the child may be somewhere on the ASD scale, these are definate warning signs! It may be too early to say exactly where, I would seek a medical opinion and see if you can access any services. the earlier you get him identified if he is the better! I think with most children under 3 if there is any doubt as to where they fit on the ASD scale, they will lable the child with ASD, but not specify which one.
Otherwise I suggest pulling up a big comfy couch, cracking open a box of Thomas Trains and put on a Thomas DVD and enjoy!
This sounds a lot like my Aspie 4 yr old at that age. Was also obsessesd with vacuum cleaners. Once we lost him in a shop - we eventually found him in the janitor's room, entranced with the shop's big industrial vacuum! He used to head straight for the scullery or broom cupboard at friends' houses to say hello to their cleaners. The obsession lasted about six months.
We have also been through an obsession with overhead electric cables and telephone cables. He once talked about them the whole of a three-hour journey! Also hi-fi and computer speakers, lions, and at present, runnning water in any form - waves washing over rocks, toilets flushing, garden water features, hoses etc keep him rooted to the spot with fascination.
Also very sensitive to sound and texture. Found that foods must not be mixed. Peas in one bowl, sausage in another etc. The exception is mashed potato, into which we can mix anything as long as there is nice dark gravy. I mash the peas and squash a bit into the potato. Won't touch minced meat.
As all the other parents seem to say: You can't change them so just direct them away from the most unsociable habits and love them for the unique and very bright little people they are. They are butterflies in a moth larvae world.
Otherwise I suggest pulling up a big comfy couch, cracking open a box of Thomas Trains and put on a Thomas DVD and enjoy!
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
:groan: The aspie 6yo is obsessed with Thomas and has been for...I don't know, a coupel of years at least. I am getting really sick of Thomas, even though I try to be supportive of his interest. (help) Thomas trains, movies, shoes, shirts, arghhhhh!! !! LOL
We have asked about getting the baby dx'd, the place that did the 6yo won't diagnose or look at babies until they are 3.
Now this is like my dad (probable aspie) and 6 yo aspie son. Neither of them like foods mixed or touching on the plate, and I'll admit to being strange that way, too...although I can't recall breaking down into tears over it. At least hafl of what I sevre that kid goes untouched (as he points at it and says flatly, "Mommy, I don't want it.").
The baby isn't gaining weight like he should....and I wonder if this is due to the pickiness.
:groan: The aspie 6yo is obsessed with Thomas and has been for...I don't know, a coupel of years at least. I am getting really sick of Thomas, even though I try to be supportive of his interest. (help) Thomas trains, movies, shoes, shirts, arghhhhh!! !! LOL
![Twisted Evil :twisted:](./images/smilies/icon_twisted.gif)
My son was so wrapped up in Thomas, I know exactly where you are, about green at the thought of it! It is a great show even if it is nausiating though, my son learned all his good manners from it! I still remember being told that I was a very naughty engine!
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
Aspie children seem to have such a hard time learning theory of mind, how other people feel etc, the show is great for that, I have heard it said that the creator was actually an Aspie or HFA himself! I would not doubt it one bit! We spent a small fortune on my sons "collection" and I was really looking forward to reusing it with our younger two, I was disapointed in that they really don't seem to care that much about it! They like it well enough, but no where near the way my older son did! It was at that point that I realized just how odd my sons absolute live and breath love for the "special engines" really was!
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
I suppose there are worse things for a young boy to love!
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
Hmm... well, waiting it out can't hurt too much, especially since you are aware of the possibility and are experianced, being aspies raising an older aspie!
Do they DX autsim at all before 3? I can understand not being able to label "Aspergers" specifically, but surely they should be able to get some idea if a child is at risk of an ASD? I guess that would not help you much though, since you already know he is!
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
I think autism can be dxed before 3 but only in severe cases, seems to me it would be hard to catch AS that early though. However we KNOW our other son is somewhere on the spectrum, he has too many characteristics of it not to be, but since he is only 3 no one wants to see him yet because they think he may be copying his older brother.
_________________
NT mom of two ASD boys
"Be kinder than necessary,
for everyone you meet is
fighting some kind of battle".
The one veggie I was able to get all mine to eat even the ones with the worst of food texture issues was sweet potatoes. My little guy lived on them for about a year,lol.
If you start with the oral desensitizing at this age it can help alot and you can do it all yourself.
There is a book called The Out Of Synch Child which is wonderful and helpful with alot of things. Raising The Sensory Smart Child is also really good, it has alot of practical things you can do to help with the sensory issues, things you do on a daily basis. They call the routine a sensory diet and it made a huge difference in my little guy. The activities for the sensory diet can all be done in home and by you with ease. My little guy was dx'd at 18 months with ASD and severe sensory integration dysfunction, he couldn't even get back up if he fell down outside because he couldn't touch the ground. After working with him and using the sensory diet he plays happily outside now, still doesn't like it but can deal with it. The good thing about the diet is that it gives you way to feed their need for input and at the same time help desensitize them to some of the things they avoid.
A developmental pediatrician who has an up to date education in autism can dx as early as 18 months. You may only get a dx of ASD or PDD-NOS, but at least you can get started with therapies. The earlier you start the better.
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