3 1/2 years old - Mild Autism? Does this sound familiar?

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We have a 3 1/2 year old. Almost non-existant speaking ability. We cannot even get him to say 'milk, please', although I've tried a million times. Appears not interested in speaking. Seldom hears his name. Occassionally yes, but often ignores his name.

Other than the huge speaking delay, he seems quite intelligent, and very physical. Loves to run, eat, climb things, and just about anything of that nature. Very strong, and very well-coordinated.

Basically, I see many 'mild' signs. He's not interested in socialization with other children. Doesn't seem able to play with other at all. He lines things up, especially cars or trains. As with other things I've read, he's fascinated by Thomas the Train. Loves to get down close and see the wheels going around.

But, he has none of the extreme natures of autism. He doesn't have any strange behaviors. He does jump up and down and cheer often, especially when playing with the trains.

I guess I'm certainly seeing the signs, but not all the signs. Anyways, does this sound like something that is quite typical with Autism? I was just reading another thread, and it was about 3-year-old running. Our son is exactly like that, every chance he gets, he runs. He absolutely loves running. If we take him to a store, he tries to run out of our sight. It's difficult to go places with him, because he always wants to run as fast as he can. When I run and chase him, he gets mad that I stopped him, especially when I tell him to turn around and go the other way. He seems to have linear patterns of wanting to run in the same direction, rather than back and forth.

Anyways, is this all pretty normal behavior for people who are quite familiar with autism? Again, he doesn't seem to have the 'negative' or 'severe' or anything. He's quite a pleasant and very loving boy. I can also see he has a sense of humor, he laughs when he plays, and watches tv, or when I'm attempting to chase him or just 'rough him up' a little.

So, I'm confused, but it seems like 'Mild Autism' perhaps? I'm at a loss at how to get him to speak though. It seems a lot of things could improve for the better, if I could just get him to speak and attempt to communicate with words. He does use the gestures of leading me places, but he just refuses to try to mimic or copy any words. He does babble often the same syllables over and over though.

Looking foward to the responses....

Welcome to WP. I'm not too sure what you mean by negative or severe symptoms. Some people would consider not talking at 3.5 to be a pretty severe symptom of something though not necessarily autism. What does your pediatrician say? The behviors you describe sound similar to other kids with autism however you should get a professional opinion. Especially in regards to the speech delay. You likely need a speech therapist to get him talking.

One reason you may not see what you consider negative behaviors is because there are no expectations that he can't meet. For many kids the daily expectations of school are what cause their differences to become apparent. I sorta suspected something was different about DS when he was your sons age but when he went to preschool was when we really saw his differences.

I see a few flags with suggest you might want an evaluation. Pulling people by the hand for things is very common in young children with Autism, so are speech delays, lack of response to their name, no attempts to mimic sounds made by others, the lack of interest in children would usually start around now. Also the lining things up is a repetitive behaviours often seen in Autism. Bolting is seen in many children but is seen with more frequency with those with Autism. High inteligence is not uncommon with Autism, as with the general population you can see the full range of intelligence on the spectrum, and most have normal or high intelligence. I wouldn't jump the gun and assume Autism, but I see quite a few red flags and I think it warrants an evaluation.

Pretty much what Bombaloo said. My son didn't have a big speech delay, but as you said with your son--although we saw a few mild flags with him, we weren't greatly concerned until about 4 years old. He was a sweet, bright, adorable boy (is). But somewhere around 4 yrs old, we noticed things were actually getting worse behaviorally. I now know it's because more expectations were being placed on him socially, and he was in a 'real' school situation. So, there doesn't necessarily have to be 'excessive' or highly 'intense' issues. However, I'd definitely start with a speech evaluation and go from there.
I have to say both speech therapy and occupational therapy have been amazing. My son was a great talker, but had processing issues and wouldn't answer or talk to people much at all outside of family. Only wish we'd started this sooner.

My sons symptoms were very mild at that age. Only a very perceptive teacher with 20 years experience noticed his lack of interest in other children. He was also very active and well coordinated, more interested in jumping off walls than playing with toys. His repetitive behaviors were very mild, like insisting on having the toilet lid off so he could watch the tank refill.

I agree you should seek an evaluation, from both a speech therapist and from a develmental pediatrician or psychologist who is trained in administering a test called the ADOS (autistic developmental observation scale). Ask your pediatrician and local autism support group where to find a good one.

If you are in the US, you should also contact your local elementary school and request an evaluation (make the request in writing). He will qualify for speech therapy through the school system. The private evaluation will help you get more help from the school, and also qualify him for whatever help your health insurance covers.

This video does an excellent job of showing video of the symptoms. Remember that most children do not display every behavior shown, nor do there have to be "severe" behaviors to qualify as autistic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbXjW-cX9kQ&feature=g-like

My son is 3 1/2 and has some of the traits you mentioned above. So far he doesn't seem too delayed but we are treating him like he is in terms of getting him all the help we can NOW. My advice to you would be to get him evaluated and start all the support therapies as soon as you can.

Thank you, all.

Just had a long session with him before I went to work this morning. Spent an hour trying to get him to repeat basic words like 'chair', 'table', with the photos in the book. Also tried to get him to point to the objects after we say it. We've done this many times, and he simply does not like this activity whatsoever. Never has. He cries, looks for his milk bottle, tries to run away, cries some more. It's just a painful experience with him, everytime I try to teach basic, basic pronounciation. 'Ba' 'Ba' 'Ba', and 'Mi', 'Mi', 'Mi', (for milk), and he simply refuses to even try to repeat the sound at all.

Additionally, we're not in the U.S., I teach English in an Asian country. So, as you can see, things are just compounded. We finally did find a speech professionalist here, but have been on a waiting list. We will be attending later this week (after waiting about 2 months). We're also bringing him to a neurologist where they will do a MRI. We've been worried about this all the while, but been told by previous specialists that they can't really tell if there is a problem (besides hearing tests where he did fine), until he was of a certain age. Now that age is definitely here, and I'm wishing I was in the States, where I could have got him to see professionals a long time, back when I was also equally worried.

Additionally, I'm visiting family back in the States later this Summer. So, I'll definitely do everything I can while there as well. Including trying to see other speech professionals, etc.

This is a constantly worrying experience on so many levels.

I know you want to help him but if the sessions are causing him distress they might do more harm than good. It needs to be fun for him, not upsetting. Forcing him to do things that are unpleasant probably won't work at improving the situation. If he is really struggling he might be getting frustrated being asked to do something he is unable to do. This is what I have found from my experience anyways. Maybe you can try to shorten it or turn it into a game.

Get a copy of It Takes Two to Talk and see if there is a Hanen center in your country. See www.hanen.org/. These will give you more activities for encouraging his speech development.

More than Words is a book from the same program, I'd recommend that one too. It's what we use with my son and has worked very well.