Expert: James Michael Roan - 6/13/2006

Question
My 5 yr old son is devolpmentally delayed, has a submucous cleft palate, hearing loss, low muscletone and is undiagnosed with any condition so far.  I was just wondering if a child with a lot of social issues (ex. thinks people are following him, afraid to go shopping if store is crowded, doesn't like people sitting in same pew with us at church - thinks people are loooking at him etc.)is a sign of autism?  I am trying to get him to a child psycologist to have him diagnosed and it seems everytime I turn around I can't get any answers.  Please help if you can?

Answer
Hi Connie;

I'm sorry it is such a struggle for parents out there. These behaviors don't appear to be related to autism, although there is the social piece. I would not rule out the possibility of Asperger's Syndrome (high functioning autism). I think you may be looking more at social anxiety. People with social anxiety can appear to be paranoid when they are anxious for unknown reasons when they are around others.

I have been around children for a very long time and 99% of those with developmental delays do just fine by the time they are 7 to 9 years of age.

Kind Regards,
James