3 yo with repetitive behavior patterns

[Anonymous]

I am trying to determine if my 3.5 yr old's behavior is unusual and warrants futher follow up. He was a late talker, but now has an extensive vocabulary, although he is selective about when he uses it.
For the past few months, he repeats requests over and over. For example, if he wants a book, he'll say "Mommy, truck book" and if I don't immediately give it to him, he'll repeat the request over and over until he gets what he wants. He knows how to say "I want the truck book, please", but he tends to shorten the demand to "truck book" and repeats it over and over. He does this with any number of requests (books, juice, puzzles, etc.)

He has an amazing memory and often walks around reciting scenes from his favorite tv show. When I ask him questions about the show like: What are the children's names or where are they going today? He will tell me and them resume reciting the scenes in the same inflection as the characters in the show. Sometimes it's like he's in his own little world with the tv characters. He sings songs along with them and answers the questions the characters pose on tv.

I've read a number of posts about autism, PDD and other issues and my son's behavior doesn't seem to fit squarely within any of the diagnosis. He is very social but because of his speech delay, he doesn't initiate a ton of conversation. He'll answer the questions you ask him and will tell you things he wants you to know, but he doesn't strike up conversations the way I've seen other 3 year olds talk (I know you shouldn't compare your kids and all kids are different). Sometimes, I'll ask him questions and he just ignores me and keeps doing whatever he's doing.

Finally, I'm not sure how significant this is, but he doesn't instinctively refer to himself as "me". Rather, he refers to himself in third person unless we direct him otherwise. He may correct it, but it is clearly a learned correction and not instinctive. He confuses other pronouns, such as saying "Grandma's coming to see you" when he really means "Grandmas coming to see me". I think he's simply repeating what we are saying "Grandma's coming to see you" but he's not making the pronoun transition when refering to himself.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Anonymous]

This sounds normal to me. Why not post in the main board and see if you get opinions there.

[Anonymous]

It wouldn't hurt to run these concerns by your ped. As I read thru your post, a lot of what you mention seems typical behavior, but some of your son's actions seem more repetitive than what I have seen -- enough that I'd want to double check.

[bai]

sounds very normal to me too!

[Anonymous]

it sounds to me like he may just be speech delayed and have a mild speech processing disorder. Children with processing disorders (whether auditory or speech) tend to not be able to process speech the same way other kids do. So he understands you but is not able to appropriately form a response.

he may benefit from speech therapy.

[Anonymous]

My son didn't master pronouns until his third birthday. It didn't seem to happen organically, as it does with most children. I had to constantly read books and focus on the pronouns ("Brown Bear What Do You See" was a good one) and I also made up songs and used puppets. It took some months but once he got it he never went back. He also didn't really answer yes or no questions until he was 2.5 and would echo things back to me. I was very concerned too because every internet search turned up Autism and I was watching him very closely for other signs, which never developed. I even had him evaluated by Infants and Toddlers and they felt he was a typically developing kid. Now he has totally caught up with his peers in terms of conversational speech.

Your son sounds pretty typical, especially since you describe him as very social. His repeated requests also sound like typical three year old stuff... they want what they want when they want it! I agree with PP that since he had a speech delay early on it's very possible that he has processing issues which continue to affect his conversational skills. Woth touching base with a therapist, even if just for peace of mind. There's such a broad range of "normal" in kids this young. It also seems that he Autism spectrum has become broad so it's easy to worry.

[Anonymous]

OP here--thank you so much for your insights and suggestions!

[Anonymous]

The behaviors you describe in your post seem like they could easily be in the range of normal behavior, like other posters said. At age 3.5 you probably have some sense about where he is in making friends and playing with other kids, and that's where autism spectrum things tend to show up. You might think about whether he is equally social with his peers and with adults, or if he prefers adults.

Usually I just think there is no sense talking yourself out of nagging concerns -- just get it checked out. If you find something, then you get the chance to do very early intervention, which is an opportunity that doesn't come again. If you don't find anything, even better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The behaviors you describe in your post seem like they could easily be in the range of normal behavior, like other posters said. At age 3.5 you probably have some sense about where he is in making friends and playing with other kids, and that's where autism spectrum things tend to show up. You might think about whether he is equally social with his peers and with adults, or if he prefers adults.

Usually I just think there is no sense talking yourself out of nagging concerns -- just get it checked out. If you find something, then you get the chance to do very early intervention, which is an opportunity that doesn't come again. If you don't find anything, even better.

Former teacher here and I couldn't agree more with this poster. The behavior that jumps out at me is the constant repitition and imitation. I also have a 3 year old and if she was doing this and displaying the other behaviors that you mention I would seek a professional opinion.

Just my 2 cents.

[Anonymous]

I am a nanny and some of the things you describe sound perfectly normal and others remind me of a boy I cared for that was diagnosed with Asperger's when he was 3.
The one thing that really stood out to me about the boy that I cared for was his language and how far he was behind in some motor skills. He had a big vocabulary, but used snippets of conversations or phrases to convey what he wanted. It was very repetitive and noticeably not normal use of words. His gross motor skills were (and still are) very clumsy and his fine motor skills were way behind. Even though he understood mathematical concepts and could read at 3, it took his parents and I a full year to teach him how to eat with a fork (age 4-5). He would also go into "sensory overload" very easily when it came to tastes and sounds.

If he is behind in his motor skills, I would have him checked out. His parents and I thought for a while that he was just an eccentric kid with a touch of OCD.

[Anonymous]

This does not sound like normal behavior to me.

What stands out to me the most is your concern. I have great trust for a mother's "gut" intuition, and it sounds like you feel like something is off. ITA with previous posters that the obsessive and compulsive nature of the behaviors is concerning, but also the lack of interpersonal connection that they represent is concerning. Some children on the spectrum can tolerate being around others without actually having a normal quality of reciprocal social interaction.

What you describe would be enough for me to pursue a more in-depth evaluation. Best wishes to you and your dc (and the best of hope that I am off-base here).

[Anonymous]

OP here--Thanks so much for the insight. We are going to start with an OT evaluation which will hopefully shed some light on the issue. I agree that it's better to get a handle on things now than wait for him to "grow out of it" as my pediatrician has suggested. Thanks again!

[Anonymous]

some behaviors sound normal and maybe due to a speech delay (my three year old sometimes still talks about himself in third person and confuses pronouns...but it's definitely improving) and some don't sound that typical..the repetition and the extensive imitation. my three year old repeats his demands but he doesn't necessarily shorten the phrase and he'll vary the way he requests it (he'll insert a "mommy, did you hear me?" or add a "please" or a "now"). he also repeats phrases from tv shows or videos but often ends up sort of inventing his own version...like his own blues clues search with key phrases from the real show. if i ask him about a show, he'll summarize it for me sometimes throwing in quotes from the characters, but certainly not repeat all of what the characters say.

so, all may be normal developmental but might be worth checking out if only to alleviate your own concerns.

[Anonymous]

There is a great website called Autism Speaks that would be worthwhile to check out. It has video clips of children with a variety of behaviors that fall somewhere on the Autism spectrum compared to typical development. Many signs are subtle and not every kid avoids eye contact and social interactions. Instead, many children have some difficulty with pragmatic language skills (ex. proper pronoun use, conversation skills, reading social cues). There is another site called First Signs which offers checklists for your pediatrician. Early intervention is the key- therapy doesn't do any harm, but could prevent further difficulty with development down the road.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The behaviors you describe in your post seem like they could easily be in the range of normal behavior, like other posters said. At age 3.5 you probably have some sense about where he is in making friends and playing with other kids, and that's where autism spectrum things tend to show up. You might think about whether he is equally social with his peers and with adults, or if he prefers adults.

Would the poster mind elaborating on what preferring the company of adults at 3.5 indicates? Is this an indication for autism?