Hi All, first time posting here. Been reading for a while and it's been wonderful to read about folks with similar issues makes me feel like I am not the only one out there! Living in a small town is tough when you have a toddler that is different!

I have a 3 year old son who has been keep us on our toes since he is 6 months old. Just read Ruf's book and she sure answered a lot of questions for me! My husband and I have been dealing with a new issue lately that really has me worried and I wondered if anyone else has dealt with this type of thing with their toddler or young one.. We have not had our son in school up until now just because I have had the opportunity to stay home with him and he has been a voracious learner. At three, he is drawing full scale people, skip counting by 2, 4, 3, 5 and 10's. writing his alphabet in two languages, and has so many obsessions I couldn't even begin to write about them. :-)

About 3 weeks ago, we enrolled him in a Spanish immersion program (preschool) 2 days a week to provide him with a new challenge. As most three year olds he also has been challenging us lately with independence type behavior and so we've been arguing with him more than usual lately. Anyway, he started a new behavior that has me quite concerned and when I brought it to the attention of our pediatrician he thought nothing of it & said to just leave it alone. Wondered if you had come across this type of thing with your children and had some advice. He has started shoulder shrugging and deep belly breathing when he is uncomfortable or nervous and it has gotten progressively worse over the last few weeks. To the point where it disrupts everything he does. I don't know if it's in response to a new school, our recent arguments over his behavior issues lately or something completely unrelated but it worries me that a 3 year old could have such a pronounced "nervous tic" - he is a very sensitive child to begin with and it worries me that this is something that will become habit for him and will be hard to lose... Is this a common trait for a sensitive kid - has anyone else seen this type of behavior. Any advice?

thanks for your time!!
Traci