Hello,
I have a son diagnosed with AS. I have to say that there is nothing that sounds particularly concerning right now, but I agree that you should wait until older to really start worrying about AS. A couple of really obvious things you should look out for:
- Likes predictable schedules to the point that if something changes, even if warned before hand, you get tantrums. Bigger shifts in schedules will really show this (moving him to a new school, new afterschool program), even when the child him/herself anticipates and is excited by the idea of the change.
- Like you noted, disengaging. I agree that at this age, it's hard to tell if it is a Gifted child just doing his own thing, or not.
Another thing is that my older son is really cuddly and has lots of eye contact with me, but he doesn't really show tight affection to other people. Even my mother, who he adores, has noted this. I was told by several professionals that this is very common with AS, so it's hard, sometimes, for a parent to see the social disengagement.
Hope this helps.
The above are the exact things that ruled out the Asperger's diagnosis for my DS6. We were especially concerned about his need to be scheduled (even as a newborn). While DS6 still has issues with his schedule being thrown off, it's moreso regarding his stomach, he adapts well to schedule changes (moreso now as an older child), especially since being in K/1st grade.
