my sons a puzzle

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It has been suggested by the school and speach and language that my 4 year old son may have aspergers, we know there is something not quite right but from what i have read i dont think it is aspergers, its not that im against him being diaganosed, just concerned about a wrong diagnosis.

So this is my son, when he was born we noticed straight away that his body posture was very stiff, we could not lift his legs up for a nappy change, you could see it was causing him physical pain, his gross motor movements were restrictive and he had to have physio for this. as he aged we noticed that he was neglecting the use of his left hand and when he moved about on the floor his left arm would oftern become trapped under him. as he got older his fine motor skills were also delayed and he could not make a choice as to which hand to use but he has since proven to be left handed. His fine motor skills are still delayed.

When he is just waking up and is still tired, he was and has always been what can only be described as a shakey thunder bird with poor control over his muscle movement, and appears very stiff and un coordinated.

He did not cry when he was a baby, the most he did was an odd squeek, his speach and language is delayed, he talks in a highish piched singing voice, and does not form words correctly.

He has an inability to follow more that 2 instructions, and appears lost, we took him to play football in a local sports hall, he quickly lost confidence and walked arround with his hands over his ears.

The school is concerned as he does not make eye contact with other children in the class, or interact with them, however at recent family partys he played well and had good eye contact with children he hardly knew.

What do people who read this think? its constantly on my mind and i coluld do with information, personal accounts of how AS adults were at the age of 4.

Autism is a pretty broad umbrella to fall under, but it seems like an accurate diagnosis from what I see in your description. He may be having more sensory issues at school which would make any symptoms more pronounced than in a family setting. Also, playing football or other team/contact sports may be completely overwhelming for him.
Four years old is quite along way back for me, but I've been notorious for following the first instruction on a list of them, and forgetting the rest (to this day ). My son didn't have the same motor delays, but did have delayed speech and walked on his tiptoes about that age.
Hope this helps.

thanks for your reply, you made me remember that my son also walked on his tip toes, he had stretching done on his ankles to aid in stopping this even though he had a good range of movement, he nearly had to wear boots to make him put his heels on the floor.

As the pp said, autism does encompass a wide range of characteristics. It would probably be helpful for you to have him formally evaluated. The results of an evaluation can help you make decisions about what to do next.

Autism often comes along with co-morbid conditions including large and small motor coordination problems. The lack of muscle control on waking that you describe is something I have never heard before. I mean, I'm not a medical professional or anything like that but that sounds a bit unusual. Have you spoken to your pediatrician about that?

I would also agree that his reaction at the football game may have been over-stimulation not loss of confidence. Sensory sensitivity is common among people on the autism spectrum.

I can't remember how I was at 4.

Of course, I didn't find out until I was 24.

I do know my parents said I was very mature for my age.

Hi

From what you have said I would say he is on the autistic spectrum. does he line up cars/toys?

Obviously, you need a full, professional evaluation to really know, but don't let the fact that he can make eye and interact with family members make you feel an ASD is not possible. My son never had an issue with eye contact, and he is highly social, but he is still ASD. As others have said, the spectrum is broad and made of many traits. It is, at it's core, about a difference in brain wiring, and the diagnostic criteria are just common outward manifestations of that. Talk to my son for a long time and you just know that he experiences the world very differently than the rest of us.

I do think the physical issues would be co-morbid, having their root in a different place, but that is out of my scope.

thanks for all who replied, no he does not really line up toys i've only ever notice him do that once, he placed all the cars in an exact circle and kept messing until they were all just so, he did not bother when i moved them. He has odd ear flicks, wiping the hand over the face and shoulder shrug that he does, but they seemed to have stopped at the moment. He is not fixated on anything he has no intrests at all just loves his music.

A professional evaluation will be very helpful.

Some things to think about:

How are conversation skills? Does he stay on topic? Does he make comments and ask a variety of questions? Does he answer WH questions correctly?

How are his social skills? Does he make friends easily? Does he prefer to be alone? Does he prefer to hang out with adults than to kids?

How does he handle the unknown or changes to regular routine?

How well does he read the emotions of others? Is he able to label his own emotions?