Hi, my little boy is six and we’ve suspected that he has selective mutism for the last two years now ( only currently being referred to speech and language due to him doing so well when starting primary and throwing us off scent for a while). There have always been other behaviours that strike me as odd but I have always seen them as a result of his sm or put it down to his age. More recently, however, I have stated to wonder if he could have asd as he seems to tick a few boxes for this but then there are other traits that I would say he definitely doesn’t display. I’ve been Googling, searching through previous posts on here and I am still non the wiser and just as concerned. I thought I’d describe his behaviour here and see if anyone has any advice or could be point me in the direction of any reading on high functioning autism?
- he doesn’t respond or initiate conversation with adults other than family. He will respond to his class teacher but answers the register for example through gritted teeth and quietly.
- he doesn’t respond to us at home when we say his name (like he’s being really rude or cannot hear us). We have to shout his name several times to get a response, if any response at all!
- he has always enjoyed dressing up but this has become like a ritual. He puts his costume on (currently a ghostbuster) the second he wakes before he comes in my room, it can be a battle to get him dressed and then the second he gets home he gets back into his outfit (this has caused so many problems)
- he has always been really in to one thing - eg police or ghostbusters and all that he plays with will be those toys. Nothing else. He’s great at independent and imaginative play though and loves playing with his friends.
- he is prone to hyperactive silly outbursts. I know that all 6 year old boys are but when I compare them to his four year old brother’s these are extreme.
- he’ll make up words and say them over and over- this happens a lot when he is being silly and he’ll shout them when in an awkward social situation (such as greeting a friend)
These to me are all red flags but then he does make eye contact, he has never struck me as autistic and I have always put these down to his sm. In school he’s doing really well and he does talk to His class teacher and can concentrate on his work. They have only referred him Because of the issues at home that I have raised.
As a baby he met all of his milestones on time and was always smiling and waving to strangers. The only other red flag that I can think of is that at play groups once all the other kids arrived and it got Busy he’d want to go home and start to play up. he does get on with his peers and initiates conversation with them and he seems comfortable with all the children in his class. If they shout hello to him on the way into school however he will just shout a silly word back or not respond.
Seeing as the referral has already been made I don’t think that there’s anything else I can do? Is there anyone that I should speak to in the meantime?
Any thoughts or advice are greatly appreciated x
