I have been wondering about my son for a long time...he is now 5 and very smart and talkative and outgoing, reading very well. But he has some behaviors that concern me. For example he does this thing where he runs back and forth either in the living room or his bedroom...he'll run from the couch to the chair, kind of jump up on it, then run back to the couch, and back and forth for awhile until I intervene or he gets distracted by something else. He also gets very fascinated with one topic to the exclusion of almost everything else...for awhile it was Pokemon and now he is back on Thomas - one odd thing is he'll read the catalogs, just go through and name off which trains we have and which ones we don't. When he was into Pokemon it was all he would draw - at home and at school. He had some speech problems - not in terms of vocabulary, his vocab has always been advanced, but it was just hard for people to understand him so we took him to speech therapy and he responded very well and is now done with it. (I talked to his speech therapist who was not concerned with his behaviors and didn't think it was autism). He also had a LOT of problems with potty training...he was still pooping in his pants occasionally up until a few months ago, he is 5!! His friend situation is OK but not great - last year his teachers said he needed more playdates to encourage more friends. Earlier this year his teacher said he had friends but sometimes would be off on his own, but she said recently that that has improved. His pediatrician is not concerned, but he says if it's "disruptive" and I'm concerned then I should take him to a child psyche person. Any input greatly appreciated! Thanks...

No one can predict the future. When the 5 & 6 year olds seem to be moving forward into activities for a 7, 8 or 9 year old and if your son seems to want to remain behind them socially, you can ask your pediatrician to see what you are seeing. As a parent, we live with our children on a daily basis so we are the best barometer of whether our kids are at the same social level as their peers. Sounds to me like your concerns are legitimate but it could be anything, not necessarily full blown autism or even asperger. Our first diagnosis was pddnos which is the most common you'll hear - pervasive developmental disorder non origin specific. That means that the child is lagging behind developmentally from his peers with an unknown cause.

Try cub scouts when school starts. It's an organized group with a structured purpose. If he melds into the group and makes friends and participates or doesn't, tell the doctor. Or karate. You'll know.

ckl, I have 2 boys, ages 2 and 4 1/2. My 4 1/2 sounds like your son. He has interests like going through home depot catalogs, or flyers, he has just started to like tv, and now knows what time every show is on throughout the day. We are not potty trained. We were 97 % trained, and then something changed. He now goes only in his pullup. I think someone called him a baby for going potty in his pull up and then we had a big problem. It took me a little while to figure out what was happening. He was running around the house to stop the urges to go potty (bowel movement). Then the next day he would go upstairs, and call down to me and say how much it hurt. I was hurt because I could not help him. He was going once or twice a week. He used to go once a day. He had held it, got constipated, and had a really hard time going. At 4 1/2 we are starting all over and now he is on Miralax. I took him to the pediatrician to check for bowel obstruction, and everything was ok, we just need to have a ton of positive re-enforcement. We actually now just want him to go in his pull up, and we are so excited when he does.

He is at home with me most of the time, but I did put him in a home based preschool, 2 days a week, 2 hours a day. He is doing really well. He has 1 real friend, and some relatives that he plays with every once in awhile. I would like him to have a playdate here at the house with some of his friends at preschool soon. He was born in June, and seems to be very artistic, smart, but maybe a little behind in somethings. I am not sure if it is because I have always stayed at home, and he has mostly been with me. I also have a 2 year old and he is opposite from his brother in many ways. So we will see. I have some of the same worries you do. I think we are going to keep my oldest back and put him in k4 in September. That way he only goes 1/2 day everyday, instead of full day k5. I think for him full day is too much.
I worry but, he is healthy, active, and a lovely child. We are great mothers. Good luck, and keep me posted, we have some things in common.

Kass we have SO much in common! My son is also on Miralax, and had horrible constipation problems as well - in addition to the potty training issues. There was one point where we were having to give him enemas which was the worst. Have you ever talked to a doctor about your concerns? My pediatrician and speech therapist were both not concerned. But just some of the characteristics sound somewhat similar to autism, although both are clearly high functioning and probably just have personality quirks. My son is already old for his grade because of where his birthday falls so will be starting kindergarten in the Fall at age 5, turning 6 that Dec. I'm not worried about academics - he's super smart and advanced in that way - more worried about the social aspect.

The most common signs of Autism are:

- Lack of eye contact
- flapping of arms/hands (self-stimulatory behaviour)
- lining up of toys rather then playing with them.

I have done lots of research on Autism, I also work with children who have Autism.

Not all chidlren line up cars/toys, or avoid eye contact, I feel your simple summing up of autism could be misleading to someone looking on this site for possible answers.
My boy is definatley autistic, but language and social issues,being out side of sorciety, not understanding people,not even knowing that he doesn't understand them -these are his major issues.

You can't cherry pick a few traits and say it is autism. that is goofy.

Stop and think about what you have just said.

yes, the true autistic child will display some of those traits.

but normal children do all three of those things. I can prove it.
My brother did all three and he is a physician living a normal life with a wife, 2 kids and four dogs.

Based on your experience he needed therapy...he was so talkative and active, it was my mother who needed the therapy...come on...Get a grip. Stop throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

The Autism Board is not a place to self-diagnose your child.

Go to professionals if you are concerned. Come back here when/if you have the austism diagnosis.

Do not use this board to speculate. Use the Children's Health Board.