Conversation for 4 year old.

[SG1275]

Hi. My son is a little over 4 now, and I've had some concerns that I can't seem to overcome. Mainly his non-existent peer interaction. He plays well with his older brother (6) and a couple of kids in his daycare, but at a playground with lots of kids, it's a no-go. He even tells me sometimes that "there's too many kids here."

Here is a conversation we had in the car last Halloween.

How would you rate this conversation for a kid who may be on the spectrum?
49 Month Conversation

 

[Beguiling Orbit]

The longer you delay accepting him for who he is, the longer you will be heaping unreasonable expectations on him that will eventually overwhelm him. Instead of trying to make him be someone he isn't, let him be who he is.

 

[Mr Allen]

I was the exact same, I absolutely hated play time at school because I had to mix with other kids outside, would much rather even spend half an hour in the "Unit" playing games on the BBC Micro or reading programming magazines.

Well that was in senior years, in junior years I had quite a few little friends who I'd run about with, but I wasn't diagnosed till about 7 and half years almost to the day after I left school, I was 23 when I was diagnosed, and left school about 2 and half weeks after my 16th birthday.

 

[Eruva]

Does he know any of the kids at the playground? For me, as a kid (and also as an adult) I wasn’t comfortable approaching random people. If I know someone first though, it’s easier. A lot of the friends I had growing up were people I met because they were friends of someone I already knew.

 

[Eruva]

Another thing is that crowds can be a bit overwhelming when there are “too many kids there.”

 

[SG1275]

Does he know any of the kids at the playground? For me, as a kid (and also as an adult) I wasn’t comfortable approaching random people. If I know someone first though, it’s easier. A lot of the friends I had growing up were people I met because they were friends of someone I already knew.

Thanks for replying. No it's usually kids he's never met, at the playground.

 

[kay]

Maybe most NT kids do want to run into a crowd of strangers but avoidance is a much more normal (may I say normal?) reaction. Just because a majority of people do something doesn't mean it's such a great idea. Why would anybody would want to run around a crowded playground full of strangers?