Hi
I'm a newbie here looking for some words of advice.
I have a 6 year old who i suspect, and others support my feeling that he may have Aspergers. I'm trying not to gabble so at the risk of sounding robotic here's why.
- He has obbsessions, at the minute it's star wars. He has arranged his models in a certain way, if one is moved so much as a tad it's meltdown. And i mean, complete utter end of the world meltdown.
- Talking of meltdowns, we walk constantly on eggshells. When he's lovely he's lovely, but at the click of a finger he can loose control and these can last minutes, hours or all day.... and it's a nightmare. I can't call it a tantrum because sometimes it's like a panic attack, and he can't get himself back from it.
-He struggles in crowded spaces, namely shops especially with music.. it's meltdown time. Great fun last week when books started flying in the library and he walked through town on knees screaming blue murder while people were looking like they wanted to murder me. Although in other situations ie, school he can get anxious but he copes.
- He is extra sensitive to smells, tastes and looks of foods (especially if mixed up), and sometimes loud noise. Can't stand people laughing or being loud resulting in ear blocking and shrieking, but managed fine when we took him to the NIA to see Walking With Dinosaurs.
- He isn't a great sleeper, he needs toys arranged around him in a certain way, his bed tucked in in a certain way, curtains in a certain way and if it's not i can guarentee he'll be shouting me in the night.
- He likes routine, although i wouldn't say he was rigid.
- He finds it hard to form friendships and keep them purly because they find his intensity hardwork (will talk without taking a breath), and refuse to play star wars (every day for the past year and onwards). He does find it hard to relate to other people, he does lack empathy and interest in others and finds it hard to listen. The amount of time i have to ask him to do something is unbelievable, and he is extremly impulsive. He has 1 firm friend others don't stick around.
My quandry is whether I go for intervention now or wait and see how it goes. The teacher has said he does have his obsessions and he does get distracted alot but she has no concerns. The reason i'm dithering is because i do feel that it's boarderline and slightly confusing that he appears to cope at school. I don't know if it's because he loves school because he likes the routine (he gets distressed when it can't go), or because he's under the radar as there are kids with bigger needs? But I do know that it's a huge strain at home, i don't know how to cope with him sometimes and his behaviour affects the whole house, and at times my relationship with DH.
HELP WHAT DO I DO????!!!!!
. Last week Jack lost it in town and decided to crawl through town on his knees screaming, it's quite funny in hindsight but at the time you want the ground to open up.
. It all depends on what mood Jack's in if it's a bad day he's a shouter and constantly moaning, but like Harriet he's a taz full of relentless energy. When he's really anxious he has panic attacks and will start hitting himself in the face like he doesn't know what to do with himself. Like you have said theres no stopping him, he hates to be touched and he is incapable of listening at this point so we ride it out. Today he didn't go into full meltdown but we could see he was extremely anxious. He kept his eyes on the floor and was picking his clothes all over and wriggling, he couldn't really listen to what we were saying to him. Luckily we left before it built anymore.