Yes I realize he is young and it will probably take years to figure out what exactly we are dealing with....It's tough, being our first born he seems older to me than just 4 because of the types of conversations we have. I feel he should be capable of more than he is, which I know I shouldn't have those expectations...it's hard with an intelligent kid who also does things you feel they should be able to control. It's also tough because we have been having these struggles and I have been wondering what is going on since before he turned 2...so it already seems like forever. I was just hoping at age 4 we could finally get a better grasp of what we are dealing with. The doctor seems to think now is the time to begin figuring it all out so that we can better help him (and us).
Glad to hear that some quirks have decreased over time...he just differs from his peers and trying to figure out why exactly that is...He never did really do the hand flapping. He has had some facial tics that he still does occasionally like opening his mouth wide, talking out of the side of his mouth...and likes to yell at the top of his lungs/blurt out loud phrases at deafening levels out of the blue just for fun. I worry of tourettes but not sure because he can control it at times so it seems... His eye contact is good and always has been. He can be very rigid/obsessive about things. He is a total perfectionist and can be OCD about things. If something doesn't go as anticipated or he can't do something the moment that it enters his mind, a full blown meltdown ensues. He does seem to have trouble with empathy...I constantly have to remind him that other people have feelings, that we can't just hit/shove etc. but I feel it falls on deaf ears. We have to repeat these concepts constantly all day long but he still does the behaviors. He will repeat what you say to appease you, but then do it again. Mostly he is just playing rough but he doesn't seem to be able to dial it down a few notches so that nobody gets hurt. It's just incredibly tough especially when he plays so rough with his younger sister and really doesn't seem to realize that he is hurting her. Stuff like that has me scratching my head...socially he likes to be around older kids but has difficulty with children his age or younger than him. Older kids keep his behavior in check better and I feel intellectually he has more in common with them so he gravitates towards them...He does like to be around other kids though and likes to have someone to play with...sometimes he can play appropriately with others and he seems like a normal kid. He has an imagination and likes to pretend things with others....Other times he does things that annoy other children and they don't want to play with him and his feelings get hurt...if his feelings get hurt or someone does something that doesn't go his way, he can get aggressive or angry. He isn't a joiner as far as some social activities, he can be shy...but I feel he has come out of his shell more recently and does enjoy active play like jump castles and playgrounds playing in groups of other children. Occasionally he can get rough with other kids in these situations but most of the time he does ok.
I know we won't really have any answers until the evaluation but just curious...yes I realize it has to be a really thorough evaluation and I trust this doctor and who he is sending us to. He said she does an extremely comprehensive detailed evaluation and he trusts her for all of the kids he sees. He is the best in our area as far as kids that are not neurotypical so I am thinking we are going to the best psych here. Although I may see if he can send us to someone else who specializes in testing for giftedness as well so we can also make sure we are picking up on anything else that may be going on if he is indeed gifted. It's just so hard to piece this all together and so tough at these younger ages. As a mom I know something is different with him and always has been.
