About Michelle Fattig Expertise I can answer questions about educational testing, autism, Asperger's Syndrome, ADD/ADHD, Special Education, IEP, Learning Disabilities, Sensory Processing, Parent Advocacy, Response to Intervention, living and parenting with disabilities, parent rights in special education, school psychology, and more. I cannot provide a medical diagnosis.
Experience I am a school psychologist, medical technologist, author of the Annie Books series: Experience Aspeger's Syndrome and Attention Deficits Through the Eyes of a Child, RTI facilitator, ILCD facilitator, parent advocate, presenter, and researcher. My children and I have Asperger's, ADD/ADHD, and learning disabilities.
Organizations National Association of School Pyschologists, American Medical Technologists, Learning Disabilities Association of Nebraska
Education/Credentials Ed.S. in School Psychology, doctoral studies in SPED Law, SPED Systems Enhancement Leadership, and doctoral candidate Education Leadership. MT(AMT) and MLT(ASCP)
Question My son just turned 4 years old last month. I've never been too concerned about him up until now. He was on time or even early for a lot of his milestones. Walked early, smiles, eye contact, crawling and knowing words by 2. The only thing peculiar when I look back on it was he used to line up his cars in a HUGE line from one side of the room to the other side. He pretty much outgrew that and started to play with regular toys especially his trains, Thomas or any other train toys. Another thing was he was extremely sensitive to light in his eyes. From 2 on up he was a difficult toddler. He would have tantrums and no one seem to get through to him when he had these episodes. He would have them other the smallest issues like if we were going for a trip with my nephew (whom he adores and looks up to) and my nephew puts on his shoes first and he thinks he's leaving him he would go crazy even though we are telling him that we're leaving with him as well. He will not listen or doesn't comprehend us at all, I don't know which, personally I think he understands but he is extremely difficult and uncooperative when he's in a tantrum. It's like he has a trust issue. I always thought he was just a difficult child. Now that he's 4 and not potty trained, and also his speech is becoming extremely repetitive, and not very expressive I became really concerned. He repeats everything I say A LOT, almost everything I say when I'm talking to him. But he turns it into a question. His sentence are monotone and also he turns every statement into a question. He has a vast vocabulary and he also has such a vivid imagination, almost too vivid I sometimes think what in the world in going through this kid's head. But it's all imaginative play and makes perfect sense, for instance, he pretends his bed is the ocean because it's blue and he's sailing on a boat which is his pillow. Almost all of his sentences begins with "hey look" and then he will describe what he is doing. And almost ALL of his sentences also ends in a question with "right, mommy?" It's beginning to disturb me very much. He can't really carry a conversation and he can't tell me what he did at his cousins house. He just says yes or no answers. Sometimes it's hard to get his attention. He also doesn't really play with anyone except his sister, but he loves being around children and big crowds. Another disturbing thing is sometimes (maybe once a day or every other day) he will make weird sounds over and over for about half a minute. He also flaps his arms and wiggles his fingers. The issue is, I've just noticed some of these things now. It didn't seem as bad before, could he be getting worse? I'm pretty sure he has a high functioning autistic trait like pdd-nos but do these kids get worse? We are seeking his ped and have an appointment next week but I am concerned, does this condition get better as they get older or worse? I've heard of pdd-nos children then becoming classic autistic and this scares the death out of me. Please help.
Answer Everything you described sounds like high functioning autism or Asperger's Syndrome may be a possibility. I have a free clickbook on our website called Taming Tommy's Tantrum, which may help to understand his tantrums and meltdowns. You can request a comprehensive evaluation through you local school district to include a school psychologist, occupational therapist, and speech pathologist and should include a sensory profile. Understanding his triggers can help to reduce his frustration and anxiety. Sharing all of this information with his doctor is a great start. Some websites that may be of help:
www.anniebooks.com (free click book and information)
