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View Full Version : Ongoing fear - terrified that my son has aspergers.



cattia
26-02-13, 21:40
My biggest worry basically since my children were born is that they would turn out to have autism. My ongoing worry about my son is that he has Aspergers. He is 21 months old now and these are my main concerns:

He has advanced language skills. He speaks in complete sentences and has done for ages. His speech is very clear and deliberate.

He has some hyperactive behaviour, he likes running up and down our hallway when he is getting tired, he does this most days. He also climbs on furniture and jumps off things. Sometimes he hurts himself as he is such a risk taker. He shouts and gets really over excited at times, especially when he is tired.

He has never pointed at things (other than in books) which I read is a sign. He does tell us verbally if he wants us to get him something or look at something.

He likes to carry two things around with him that are the same, like two cars for example, altough he does this less now than when he was younger.

He seems to like other children. He plays well with toys and joins in games. He's affectionate and funny. He immitates us all the time. He plays well with his older sister.

I know Aspergers really isn't the end of the world. I just don't want him to suffer. I am a teacher so I have worked with aspergers kids. I know they find friendships hard and often struggle at school. I don't want that for him, I want him to have friends, get on with people and be happy at school. The more I read about it online the more I freak out. I can go through a few weeks of not thinking too much about it,then BAM something triggers the worries and I am off again, stressing, not sleeping, not thinking about anything else, not enjoying my son the way I should be doing.

I know I won't love him any less whatever. I just feel sad and scared about this. I took him to the Dr and he was chatting to the Dr and very social so the Dr wasn't concerned at all. I can't reassure myself over this, I am just freaking out over it.

sunshine1
26-02-13, 23:31
I think it sounds like he is doing just fine. i am a speech and language therapist and it sounds like his development is completely normal. i think he probably doesnt point at things because he can ask! i would try to give him opportunities to play with other children (toddler group etc).Encourage some imaginative play with dolls teddies, tea cups etc.

---------- Post added at 23:31 ---------- Previous post was at 23:29 ----------

how is his diet and sleeping patterns?

If you are still concerned, you could refer him to your local speech and language therapy department for assessment.

Feel free to PM me if you have other questions.

cattia
27-02-13, 07:33
Thank you sunshine. His imaginative play is quite good I think, he pretends to feed toys, put them to bed, talk to them etc. I encourage this a lot though as it's something my three year old daughter was quite late with although she is great at imaginative play now! I guess I just have to stay calm and tty to enjoy the time I spend with him instead of freaking out all the time. I honestly think this is one of the hardest anxieties I have had to deal with as its not about me, I love my kids so much that the thought of anything going wrong for either of them is heartbreaking.

Also his diet is pretty good he eats everything, he isn't a picky eater at all. His sleeping is also good. It's just those few behavioural things that worry me.