Hi Newbie here. Venting hoping for advice/commiseration

[BusynMember]

Word repetition ad nauseum (my son never went THAT far) is also very common with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and can also be a stimulant as well as echolalia. Please do check out Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and make sure your evaluator is quite knowledgeable of the spectrum. Go somewhere else if he hasn't tested much and intensively in this area.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[Trix]

I have a question but most of what I hear about the spectrum is no eye contact and little or no physical contact. My daughter is the exact opposite I feel so touched out at the end of the day she literally climbs all over me and my husband she wants to be touching one of us all the time. Dragging us around the house by our hands, sneaking in the bed with us at night, trying to hug me around the waist or leg laying across my husbands legs on the couch. Nothing inappropriate but after hours and hours of my arms being rubbed, tripping over her and having her locked around my waist like a belt I am at a loss if you ask her to stop she reacts very badly melt downs , tears, really really distraught. The thing is she wants to do this with teachers, her grandparents, her doctor and her sister and it makes some people really uncomfortable (not that I blame them per-say) Also the eye contact she stares at you without blinking for ever. It makes other kids tend to avoid her and can be kind of odd until you get used to that and her unusual sort of toneless and often very fast and loud way of speaking.

 

[InsaneCdn]

I have a question but most of what I hear about the spectrum is no eye contact and little or no physical contact

Read more: http://www.conductdisorders.com/for...commiseration-52736/index3.html#ixzz2MDykjIal

THAT is "stereotypical" definitions.

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)/Aspie is a whole - very broad - spectrum.
One strong commonality is difficulty navigating social relationships. Another is very literal, black-or-white thinking.

Some do not bad with people they know very well, others have trouble with "all" people.
Some Aspie kids, for example, figure out that you are expected to look people in the eye... so they take that to the extreme.

 

[buddy]

To meet criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), people have to meet X number of symptoms (which can range in severity each) out of Y total number of symptoms. SO, there ends up being a lot of combinations of how things end up for each individual. Not everyone will have the eye contact issue and for some it is subtle.

As far as touch....kids on the spectrum often have sensory integration issues and social boundary issues. My son is like your difficult child. He is way too into people's space. Touches too much and does not know the degree of touch he applies so he is cued daily on gentle or staying an arms length away etc. He would hug everybody and has in past knocked people down with enthusiastic hugs. He has always squished flesh like arms and tummies when he hugs or touches people. Just likes that squish feel (so we use "figits" to replace that need with something appropriate to squish). My son has had eye contact issues on and off and now looks more like he is shy at times. He has really great eye contact most of the time now. Especially when comfortable. Even some doctors and psychologists still use that as a standard sign but anyone who has been around many people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) knows that is a highly variable symptom.

OH, and as far as touch....even kids who love to touch, sometimes really only like it ON THEIR TERMS....they initiate it and may pull away if someone else, especially a non parent, wants to touch or hug them. Again, that is variable, but it is something you will see/hear of a lot.

Touching a lot of things, can sometimes be viewed as adhd behavior and it can also be "sensory seeking" in that they do not register touch as much and need more and more input to feel "right". Occupational therapy can really help with this!