Expert: James Michael Roan - 7/17/2008

Question
Hi, My name is Megan and I had a few questions to ask about my  2 year old son. My son seems to be a perfectionist. He has to line things up when he plays. When he's outside, he lines up rocks, bikes, toys, and whatever else is out there.He has a fascination with cars and trains. When he plays with his cars, He has to line them up. If they do not line up correctly, He starts screaming and throwing them around the room. I cannot play with him anymore. If I touch one of his cars, he gets upset and screams. He screams continuously through out the day. When he plays with blocks, he has to put them together by color (red blocks together, blue together, etc). He's been doing this since he was one.  He watches his hands. He moves them around and watches them very intently. He is not really talking yet. He might have a vocabulary of 10 words. He just babbles on and on. He is constantly babbling to himself. He knows his name but does not always respond to it. It's very stressful to take him places unless he is in a stroller. He is constantly running.He runs everywhere, even in the house. I likes to run around the kitchen table over and over. It's also stressful when he is around other children. He is always touching them. He likes feet and will grab other children's feet. Other children his age are afraid of him because he is so loud. He prefers to play by himself. The only time he points to things is if it's on my shirt, and only then if it is numbers. When he gets angry, he bangs his head on the floor or furniture. I have a few family members who have voiced concerns about my son perhaps having a mild form of autism. I asked his doctor but was told it was too early to test and that he probably just has a bad temper. Any advice or help you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Megan

Answer
Hi Megan;

I suggest you download the M-CHAT at: http://www.firstsigns.org/downloads/m-chat.PDF . Score it, and if your son fails it, then take it to your pediatrician and ask them for a referral to an autism unit a Children's Hospital or university near you. I do NOT diagnose over the internet, however, your behavioral descriptions fit many children I have see with high functioning autism or Asperger's syndrome.

Also, if you live in the U.S., contact your school district's special education department/director and say you want to rewfer your son for an evaluation by their Early Intervention program or the program they contract to. It's at no cost to you.

If it turns out that he has high functioning autism/Asperger's syndrome, his prognosis will be very good.

Kind regards,
James