What part of the spectrum do you think my brother is?

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My brother is almost 8 years old.

Here are a few examples of what he does

For a year and two months he would watch the same scene in the movie "Home Alone" over and over for hours everyday. The scene was the part in the movie where the family is rushing to get ready before the plane. Most people (if they even enjoy the movie in the first place) would be more likely to watch it for the humours rube golberg type traps he made againts the burgerlers for example. Anyways While the scene would play (he would rewind it and play it over and over) he would endlessly run up and down the stares making the same sounds "Eeee Ahhh ehh, ehh" Sometimes however it was just "Eeee Ahhh ehh". The last part "ehh" was sometimes repeated, sometimes it was not.

As far as I can tell that is a combination of a special interest (the movie), rituals (running up and down the stares), and verbal stimming (the sounds).

If I took the disc out of the DVD player he would have a meltdown.

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Ever since the age of 2 he has been obsessed over walmart.
For his second birthday, we went to safeway and let him pick a cake out, he insisted on only a walmart cake, so they actually made him one that says walmart on it.

For quite sometime I was unable to understand what about Walmart he like so much, then I figured out one of the things,
Here is a literal example of "not seeing the big picture" on the computer he likes to look at pictures of walmart.
One of the pictures was larger than the screen so you had to scroll around. For some reason this picture would make him freak out and have a meltdown, which at first did not make since to me, its walmart so why doesn't he like it? Then eventually I scrolled up and all of a sudden he was relieved and happy, I'd scroll back down and he'd freak out again. So I thought maybe its something in the picture he likes. Since I can't ask him what he likes, I had to zoom in on parts of the image, each part I zoomed in on he was not happy with until I got to the black domes on the sealing. I told him those are security cameras, and after that he seemed happy and would sort of move back and forth saying "Secewy Cama" Secewy Cama" Secewy Cama" Secewy Cama" ......

So that shows "He is not looking at the whole picture" and he is fixed over something that does not have any significant use, well atleast for a 5 year old.

Now that he is 8, he does talk, but his method of talking to you is rather peculiar

Here is an example, on a trip, he"ll say "Christmas, is that on the 25th? is it? ih ih ih hi is is is that on the 25th? ih ih is it, is that monday? or tuesday? Monday! hah ha how how How many? how how How many tank? How many tank do you have? ta Tank! TANK!! !! HOW MANY!! ! (insert censored meltdown here) (calm) Christmas, is that on the 25th? is it? ih ih ih is that on the the 25th? is it, How many?........

Thats his way of communicating. The above shows he knows its Christmas. He knows that today we are going on a trip. As for the tank part, he is reffering to a tank of gas. He only mentions "the tank" on long trips, but I don't think he is concerned with the cost of the gas in the tank,
but perhaps its his way of saying 'this is a long drive, because it takes a tank of gas'?

He only says things that are concrete. If he is interested about something and wants to talk to you about it, he asks a question that he knows the answer to, and he gives you two choices, one right one wrong.
So he'll make a statement that something is something, then he asks, is it this, or this? There is not much more depth to what he says beyond that. He says things at you. You can ask him something back, he will give you the answer, but if you ask him, why does he 'think' something did something, well... that does not compute I suppose.

Also when he plays, it does not seem he is actually playing,
but rather doing something that has already been done, and thats it and thats the only way it can be.
Pretty much the only thing he plays with Thomas the tank engine stuff, he to the best of my knowledge has nearly every train from the show.
While he is playing, he only says things that were said from the show, he says nothing that he makes up, and he only calls them by the correct names, he also closes one eye, and puts his eye down by the track exactly where the camera view was for that screen.

If I walk over and grab the train named "Percy" for example, and I Say "I am percy" he is ok. But if I hold percy and say "I am bill" he will freak out, and say "No thats percy!" Thats percy!" percy!"
I guess it can only be percy because thats what the show says it is (concrete) and it cannot be bill or something(abstract)

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He also makes maps of walmart with buttons, pennies, straws, etc. And he tells you where things are in the store.

After all of this, my parents are ashamed and refuse to acknowledge anything about the autism. I am also not allowed to talk about anything that I see, what I find interesting, help, etc if it has anything to do with the autism. My mother is the only one who as mentioned anything about the school, and someone may have diagnosed him, but I do not know where on the spectrum he is.

That actually sounds pretty normal to me for that age but if you're concerned call a doctor and have him looked at.

That's not at all "normal" for an 8 year old, it definitely sounds like something on the spectrum. The only thing that seems normal for an 8 year old would be insisting on calling Percy by his proper name, rather than making one up. Any kid would do that.

Does he go to a special school? Is he advancing normally there?

he sounds like an autie [classic autism] rather than aspie [as]-especially for his history of communication and interaction difficulties.

You guys didn't really read the thread did you?

Did YOU?

He is NOT AS! He is NOT HFA! He MIGHT be LFA, but I don't even really know if he is autistic.

8yo is a THIRD GRADER! They CAN communicate ok, and sometimes very well. They don't get SO caught up or excited in such minor things. And I wouldn't even call such a thing an "interest". The idea of an interest in AS is to learn all about them, etc....

Yeah, most definately not your average nearly 8 year old.

Possibly Classical Autism, doesn't sound Aspie.

And Percy is always, but always Percy. Don't mess with Percy!

He's eight years old. does that ring any bells on the criteria scale for petes sake. He's a fairly typical 8 year old kid. Being unusual doesn't mean you have to be autistic.

My son is 7 years old and is different from his peers. He has friends who are the same age as this boy, I have friends who have 8 year old sons. What the OP describes is not typical behaviour for an 8 year old boy, and the behaviours he describes are consistent with being on the Spectrum.

Haven't been around any 8-year-olds, but this sounds almost like LFA to me (but I'm not a psychologist, mileage may vary, not valid in New Jersey, etc)

I'd say he needs some help, at least in school


2100 angstroms...

Not sure about the typical 8-year old, but nothing seems to strike me as completely out of the ordinary. At this point, I would just keep such a notion in mind, but wait a bit longer to make any serious assumptions or attempts for a diagnosis (2 years maybe).

It's really a conundrum because people are overly quick to label and "fix" children.

I remember being 8 years old very vividly. I had a problem with proper pronunciation; I don't think I would be able to say 'security camera' properly either. I had difficulty pronouncing 'Leonie', it was either 'Lonny' or 'Linny'.
Pronunciation aside I think I could talk well for my age. I did ask a lot of questions, but not in the way your brother does.

I think your brother may be LFA or even MFA. Or he may have something else.
If I were you I'd tell my parents to get him checked out by a doctor for autism to rule it out.
He doesn't sound like the average 8 year old.

I happen to remember 3rd grade VERY well! I remember some people I knew, that I played carem, I had a teacher that wanted us all to act like we were hawaian(she had song books with hawaiin songs, etc...). She actually "APOLOGIZED" to my mother at the END of the school year for being a bad teacher. She was a new "teacher". I was in BodFish California. I remembar that jerk(an 8 year old), that chased me around in a VW bug.

YEP, I know a LOT about 8yos. I also cared for some kids about that age.

I REALLY have to wonder where YOU are from. 8yo are NOT that single minded, and can communicate better.

My 5 yold brother is a lot more advanced than he is. My 5 yold brother is also normal for his age, comparing him to his peers. There is definitly something off, but couldn't tell you exactly what it is. He is definitly not HFA, as he is less advanced than my friend's HFA daughter who is the same age.

What is described is not typical behavior. Obsessed about Walmart from age 2? How is that typical?

Watching one scene in a movie, repeatedly, for hours on end, constantly, for in excess of a year? Even without the meltdown if the routine is interrupted, even without the accompanying non-functional ritualized behaviors, none of this is typical age-appropriate behavior. The interest in one scene is however consistent with fixation on non-functional parts or details.

It is very apparent that the described communication skills are not age appropriate.

This is very obviously not typical behavior and age-appropriate development of skills.

Like I said if anybody reads in my original reply 'if in doubt take him to a doctor'. I meant don't ask us this type of stuff.