Question for parents

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Before you found out that your child had AS, did you ever notice AS behaviours in your child but think that they were just quirks in your childs personality?
I was talking to (read: delivering a lecture on research and thinking that I'd been doing) my mother and I pointed out that the games I played as a child were very Aspie-ish:
1. The same each time.
2. With adults (usually my mother or uncle Peter) rather than children.
3. Usually based on enacting scenes (with all the dialogue quoted word-for-word) from my favourite books.
4. Completely controlled by me.

She said that she thought that was just me, because she didn't have any other children to compare me to. This is understandable. She would not really have known about AS, since I was born in 1983, when AS wasn't well known.

absolutely! we didn't see anything different or unusual in our oldest until he began having trouble in middle school~ every behavior that i thought was somewhat odd, would be countered by my husband who would say: " he's just like i was when i was little..."
needless to say, hubby and son were dx'd within a month of each other.

Exactly! My son was born in 84 and we did not find out till just a few months ago. I just thought he was different, a real individual. I had no idea they had a name for it. All the same since we did not know till recently he was treated just like all the other kids and the same was expected of him as others, I think it helped him develop better socially, it sort of forced him to have to handle situations he was uncomfortable with and figure out how to deal with it. He says now he's glad he did not know when he was younger, says it would have only made him feel more of an outsider. All water under the bridge now.

Before my son was dx'd I thought I was just dealing with an extreme version of my own personality. The interesting thing about it is that I'm an NT and definitely not diagnosable with AS. I am, however, introverted and not all that social seeking. He has some OCD and other AS related issues that I didn't have, but there are some definite social parallels. I have the skills to interact but not the desire; he seems to have the desire, but not the skills.

My son is "classic" autistic and I had no idea until I was in front of a pediatric neurologist. I was indignant that my family doctor thought something was "wrong" with my son. he was just like "us".
This was 4 1/2 years ago and he said, "what do you know about autism?"
I answered, "Rainman?"
My husband was developmentally delayed (quite a bit) and I was withdrawn. I could talk but later was unable to understand a lot of jokes or perform socially. I have some coordination problems, my husband thinks I might have very mild CP. My son mirrors my movements a lot, though he is very coordinated.

Actually I thought he was the most normal child I had ever met, and that other children were bizarre. (I’m an aspie, so is his dad) I got my DX as did his dad after he was born, however we still didn’t notice he was “odd” until my mom pointed out that he acted just like us. (I guess “odd” is a perspective thing, I still think he is normal and other kids are bizarre)

This is very interesting topic.

Yes, with our 10 year old who has a formal PDD-NOS diagnosis, we did not have him tested until he was almost five, but I did think there was something not quite right. He wanted to be social, but didn't do it as other children did. He had language, but right about 2 1/2 years old his language acquisition slowed. It didn't stop, necessarily, but it slowed way down. He went from being a very outgoing, happy baby, to being somewhat withdrawn. I noticed that he flapped his hands when he watched Teletubbies. I think I knew it was autism, but I wasn't sure. Then, when he had major trouble with changes in routine at preschool, the teachers there advised that I get him tested. It was then that I said "You think he's autistic, don't you?" Those poor teachers -- they must hate having to tell parents to get their children tested. But I'm glad they told me.

Funny thing is, his brother, now 20, seemed very normal, and always did well in school, but did have minor social problems. The more I read about autism and aspergers, the more I realized that the older son probably would have been diagnosed with aspergers.

Both are doing well now.

Pooftis, that is hysterical, "Other kids are bizarre". That reminds me when I was planning on having a baby and then pregnant, we talked about "what we wanted". We said we didn't want someone who was too different, like the captain of the football team or a cheerleader. "What do we do with a kid who is popular and conservative?"

It's an odd request but we definitely got what we ordered. A kid so much like us, it's diagnosable.

Autistic people ARE normal, and everyone else IS weird.

how funny, your mother's 4 points describe my 6yr old AS son exactly. We just always thought he was a difficult child who had some definite sensory issues! It wasn't until I read the book "The Out of Sync Child" (GREAT book BTW) and they had one small paragraph about Aspergers which led me to look it up on the web and it was like pieces of a puzzle falling into place for us. I never in a million years would have ever thought my child was autistic in any way. If only I knew them what I know now.........But still, we have caught it pretty early and he is getting some help with things.