Thanks so much everyone for all of your responses. There seems to be such a thin line here between Disorder and Gifted and it seems to come down to social/rigidity issues. My husband is still fighting me on this, and I'm wondering if I should continue to push getting him evaluated, or just wait? I keep hearing, that the earlier the better. But, he is very borderline, and so it's tough. Can any of you tell me if your sons fit this description at age 3 (in April)
Here are the things that worry me about him and seem like Aspergers:
Repetition in play: If he plays someting for the first time, EVERY time after he plays the same way.
Repetition in speech: He will repeat the last thing we say sometimes as well as quesitons.
Incredible memory: He remembers things that have happened when he was probably 18 months old
Learning: Learned colors, Upper/lowercase letters, numbers to 20, and letter sounds by the time he was 20 months.
Teacher evaluation: Says he is highly distractable and won't sit and play when told. He will, for example, sit at a station and pour popcorn for one cup to the other a couple times and then just decide to pour it on the floor.
Teacher evaluation: Doesn't comment on other children's play and mimics a lot. Is extremely silly and mainly does parallel play. She wants him evaluated for moderate to severe behavior issues.
Social: Doesn't seem to talk about other children very much, but they talk about him. He does not say "hi" to children and acknowledge them unless I tell him to. Other kids do acknowledge him.
Things that don't seem to fit Aspergers:
Extremely good at gross motor. Jumps in the pool and does freestyle a few feet. Climbs up walls other children can't. Very good at throwing, kicking, and hitting balls.
Empathy: Always touchy, huggy. Will always kiss his baby brother when he sees him. Asks me what the matter if I cry and hugs me until I stop. Goes up to other kids who are crying and will put his arm around them and kiss them on the cheek. Always tries to make his little brother stop crying by singing to him, playing with him, or giving him a binkie.
Completely understand emotions: Will tell me that I'm mad if I'm yelling. Understands what different facial expressions means
Reading books: When I ask him what characters are doing in books, he's able to answer. I heard this was a problem with Asperger's children?
Re-directing: I'm able to redirect him if he's upset as long as I have an explanation. For example, he loves his brown shoes. They were dirty, and I had to put the blue shoes on him. He asked a few times for the brown shoes, but I told them they were too dirty and he stopped.
Tranistions and new experiences: Is VERY adventurous. Anything new does not phase him. He likes new people and experiences. Example: Had no problem in his swim test with a new lifeguard taking him in the water and trying new things.
Social: He will go up to new kids and adults and interact with them. It seems like he does more than parallel play to me. He has eye contact with them and laughs with them. Does not use a lot of words though. Mainly will be silly and get other kids to be silly with him and follow him around. Several other parents tell me their kids talk about Devin all the time so he is defintiely "fun" to them.
I know this is a lot, but I've been dealing with this for months. I have a friend who is convinced he has Aspergers due to his "ritualistic" behavior. And his teacher obviosuly thinks something is wrong. Please help...
Erin
