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Autism/My 2 year 8 month old child is there a problem

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Expert: - 7/19/2010


Question
my son is two year olds eight months.  He self taught himself how to write read and type.  However he does not like to play with toys his only toys are letters and numbers.  He does not like to play with kids his age .  He does not like kids characters like Barney.  Should i have him checked

Answer
Hi Giselle,

Clearly, your son is very intelligent. It is hard to say if he has a problem or just that he is so different from other children his age.

He may not play with children his age because he finds nothing in common with them. He could find "Barney" to be silly and too "childish" for him.

Will he play with slightly older children? Can he take turns with you at a game? Does he have good eye contact and expressive speech? If you can answer all these with a "yes", he's probably just fine.

Help him develop a wide range if interests. Encourage physical activity. Play is important, but it does not have to be typical three year old stuff.

If problems develop later, do have him checked out.

Best wishes,
Catherine

Autism

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Catherine Ridenour

Expertise

I can answer your questions about parenting your High Functioning Autisic or Asperger`s Syndrome child. In particular, questions about family life, discipline, siblings, finding resources, and working with (sometimes opposing) the educational system are welcome.

Experience

I am the parent of an Asperger's Syndrome child who is now 22 years old. She went undiagnosed for 14 years of her life, so I have done extensive reading and Internet research into the possible cause of her difficulties. Even a short 8 years ago, A.S. was practically unheard of by the public educational system.

We fumbled our way through her childhood and early adolescence without any effective outside support. In some ways, that may have been a blessing as we were focused on her abilities rather than a label for her disability. However, I can think of many times when knowing WHY would have been comforting.

Had we known very early on, some social skills interventions might have made her life in school easier. At this point, I like her for who she is so I do not regret how things have turned out. More importantly, she likes herself.

Education/Credentials
I have a Bachelor of Science in Education.

I have worked to educate myself about Autism in general and HFA/AS in particular.

NOTE:

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