Concerned mom of a briliant 3yrs old

[Veronica]

Hey guys im new here, im in the process of getting my son screened. I have so many questions. Hes a very bright boy but struggles with certain things and i just want to be able to help him the best way i can. If anyone else has been in my shoes and can give me any pointers or good reading material id love that.

My sons language is amazing. He does make some eye contact. He is silly and he loves to laugh and make me laugh. Hell be turning 3 and he knows his full alphabet he can count to 30. Knows all his shapes and colors and is obsessive about colors and seperating toys by color. He often lines up his toys. We struggle with getting dressed and undressed at times. Lights being shut off bother him. He repeats and repeats and repeats. Once hes hung up on something he has a hard time letting it go. Recently hes been terrified of the heaters in the house and he wakes up everynight and has a hard time falling back asleep because of the heater. He has a thing for dinosaurs and can name and tell them apart and then pairs them off. Ive been aware of my son being a little different since before his first birthday and brought it up with our doctor and now were finally on a waiting list

Am i on the right path here?

 

[Southern Discomfort]

So far so good. If you suspect it then it's better talked about now rather than later. There's a range of things that can be used to help your son with any problem he has or experiences later on in life. If he is autistic then chances are making friends later on is going to be hard for him so if people are aware of this and understanding it might be helped without it first taking a toll on his mental health. So you're doing the right thing.

 

[Veronica]

So far so good. If you suspect it then it's better talked about now rather than later. There's a range of things that can be used to help your son with any problem he has or experiences later on in life. If he is autistic then chances are making friends later on is going to be hard for him so if people are aware of this and understanding it might be helped without it first taking a toll on his mental health. So you're doing the right thing.

Thank you! Hes amazing and beautiful i just wanna help him thrive and gain tools that will help both of us navigate through life. The sooner the better and if its nothing and if hes just being a toddler that thats fine too but i really feel like theres more going on in his world.

 

[Bolletje]

I would love to help you out, but since I don't have any children I can't give you firsthand advice. I'll leave that to the parents around here
I think it's good that you're keeping a close eye on your child's development though. And I can't blame him for liking dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are the bomb.

 

[Rocco]

Welcome aboard
Being aware of his unique self and understanding the possible situation, you are ahead of the "game." It's great that you are supportive and seek answers to best cope/handle things.

Many of us, age 30+ crowd, have experienced life unaware of autism only to learn decades in, with late diagnosis. We work, have families, and get by in life. What I am trying to convey is that it will be ok, with some fine tuning. You sound intelligent and strong, I think he has a good Mom.
Welcome to the community, come inside and enjoy.
Best wishes,
Rocco

 

[Veronica]

Welcome aboard
Being aware of his unique self and understanding the possible situation, you are ahead of the "game." It's great that you are supportive and seek answers to best cope/handle things.

Many of us, age 30+ crowd, have experienced life unaware of autism only to learn decades in, with late diagnosis. We work, have families, and get by in life. What I am trying to convey is that it will be ok, with some fine tuning. You sound intelligent and strong, I think he has a good Mom.
Welcome to the community, come inside and enjoy.
Best wishes,
Rocco
View attachment 31329
View attachment 31328

Thank you so much for the warm welcome and kind words. I see my son as gifted although he may struggle with certain aspects of day to day life i have a really good feeling.
I dont worry about him in the typical way a mom awaiting a diagnosis would. I just want answers and coping stratagies to help me, help him get through, to help him help himself.
Reading that many of you have lead productive lives not even knowing makes me happy and it makes me even happier to know that now with the ressources available the quality of your lives are improving

The pictures are beautiful thank again

 

[Allicat]

Hi Veronica:

As a mom of a child on the spectrum, as well as being an occupational therapist, I'd like to make some suggestions!

Structure, schedules and visuals. Predictability and organization helps reduce anxiety. Clear expectations; ambiguity is hard to deal with. And some folk on the spectrum have difficulty with language processing; a visual representation can be a lot easier to process. For example, if my son and I are going somewhere I usually let him know beforehand; where we are going, what to expect, when we are leaving, etc. When we went to Coney Island this summer, he and I went online and checked out the website. He checked out the map so he had a feel for the layout, and checked out the rides so he could figure out which ones he might like to ride when we got there. It made things a lot easier when we got there, because trying to decide where to go and what to do, with all the noise and movement, would have sent him right into meltdown. Mind you, he did meltdown, but right before we left and that's because I tried to stay an extra half hour (my fault!).

And you may want to look into an occupational therapy evaluation, especially if he has sensory issues. There are some techniques and types of therapy we use that can help kids process all that confusing sensory input a little better.

HTH!

 

[Veronica]

Thanks a bunch! I always try to warm him up before we do anything or go anywhere by letting him know where were going and what we will be doing.

I think adding abit more structure to our days would help. Im a stay at home mom and i also have a almost 2 yrs old so they keep pretty busy most of the day. But setting out specific times to do special activities might help. Our days are pretty well regimented around meal times and my youngests nap time which is when i usually clean up for the next round and try to find a quiet activity for my oldest to do that is special for when his brother is sleeping. But it might be a good idea to also find something i can do with both because my oldest has a very hard time with sharing and it sometimes causes violent outburst towards his little brother which is one of my biggest concerns.

Thanks again

 

[WittyAspie]

Welcome to AC! Yes, it sounds like you are on the right path. My son is a lot like yours. He was diagnosed with ASD when he was 3. Even if your son is not struggling now, he could hit a roadblock at any time in the future. Knowing his condition will allow you to have the right support in place if/when he needs it.

 

[Crossbreed]

If you are in the USA, various chapters of the Autism Society of America can be helpful as well. Giftedness, OTOH, can be hit-or-miss from one state to another, but Mensa may be able to help if his IQ is high enough.