Reply to does this sound like regressive autism? is it time to seek another ASD evaluation?

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Reply to "does this sound like regressive autism? is it time to seek another ASD evaluation?"

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[quote=Anonymous]My 3.5 year old DS was evaluated for autism by KKI about 8 months ago and did not receive a diagnosis of any kind. He was noted for one or two "red flags" but nothing substantial that required follow up. He was found within the range of "normal" for the OT and SLP evaluations. The evaluation by the neurodevelopmental pediatrician was underwhelming, but overall, the final conclusion made sense to me.

Fast forward to today, and DS is starting to exhibit concerning behaviors that has me wondering if he should be evaluated again. He still has a very strong interest in cars (that was one of the initial noted red flags). He will play with other toys and games, but he always return to cars. When we're out driving, he almost always comments on cars, their colors, wheels, etc. and not much else. When given a choice at a toy store, it will always be a little matchbox car. He play and pretend skills seem limited and repetitive. He likes to pretend cooking, or create different patterns with his cars (he refers to as "traffic jams"). He will play out scenarios with his cars and give them characters, but he doesn't do this with his stuffed animals, for example. He likes to play with DH and me, but he dictates [i]how[/i] he wants us to play; he will say  "chase me", or demand we play "puppy" while he's the puppy owner or whatever.  He's been really struggling with transitioning from one activity to another recently. He's also been running in a particular pattern around the house, over and over for up to 30 minutes. Lately he will randomly let out a scream, or make raspberry sounds. He seems to be in his own world lately. We used to call his name and he will immediately respond. For the past month or so it takes 3 or 4 times of us calling him before he will respond. Outside of his love of cars, the other behaviors are fairly recent.

I'm very concerned, and sad. DH finds these behaviors concerning to a lesser degree and attributes much of it to DS' recent sleep issues (lack of sleep = irritability, tantrums, etc.). DH does not want to put DS through another evaluation nor does he want to spend the money. He also thinks these behaviors are not atypical of 3 year olds.

I agree that seeking another evaluation is time and money, and that the new behaviors and sleep issues coincide, but maybe it's all part of some kind of regression that we're seeing? Or maybe the older DS gets, the more apparent ASD-symptoms are becoming? We both want to do what's best for our son, yet we're stuck on what what direction to take. Does this sound possible that an ASD diagnosis was missed during the initial evaluation? I know that no one on DCUM can tell me whether or not my son has DS, but any kind of insight based on personal experience would be helpful.[/quote]

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