Just getting a few things of my mind really. My son is 18 months old and daycare have asked whether I would be interested in getting him looked at by early intervention.
Things they pointed out - that I didnt realise werent normal
He talks in long sentances correctly, for example yesterday he picked up a branch and said "stick from the tree, put the stick back in the tree?" when I said its ok for the stick to be on the ground he asked me "why?" "is the stick broken?" he also tells me long stories about diggers and trackers.
He also loves to do the same action over and over. He spent 45 minutes this morning posting fallen leaves through a drain cover.
He tantrums easily - they are mostly whines and crying over apprehension, something has happened he dosnt like or is confused.
At day care he is obsessed with his backpack, taking it everywhere with him and getting very angry if another child touches it.
He dosnt like anything touching his feet, ive had to buy him long gumboots for day care or he wouldnt go outside. When walking over grass yesterday some water got in his boot and he stopped and refused to move.
he is very fussy with food - nothing hot, eats plain pasta only, if there is a sauce he will just sit and stare at it for as long as we let him (once for half an hour)
He also dosnt like strangers. At home I dont have many people he dosnt know come over. At daycare they mentioned if they have handy men come in or are showing a perspective parent around they will distract him in another part of the centre as he will quite often become distraught around them.
Are these normal? Do I get him tested? Im about to look into more about the early intervention tests, but isnt he very young for this?
Do these tests test for gifted children not just for asbergus?
I feel for you. We have been through Early Intervention with our son and from our experience they do not test for giftedness but our last encounter with them was three years ago.
My advice would be caution. You know your son best. It is good to listen to what his teachers and other professionals say though, especially if his behaviour is different there than it is at home but ultimately you know your child best. So if they suggest something you do not feel is right for him (or your family) feel free to question it. I know this sounds hard, especially when you are anxious and worried but you are the best (and sometimes the only) advocate for your child.
This is what happened to us (and I am sure everyone has a different story). My son was assessed as autistic at 2.5. He was with Early Intervention team until he was 4 when his diagnosis was changed to Asperger Syndrome. During this time, we have met wonderful people there who tried to help him focusing on his diagnosis - not looking at anything else though. This has caused lots of frustration for us as a family and more behaviour issues for our son. At 4.5 we assessed him with the Educational Psychologist who has told us that he is gifted. At that point we decided to pull him out from the programme. When he started school they told us that they do not think that he has Asperger Syndrome - that he is just a quirky gifted kid.
And here we are now. He still has issues at school and our journey is far from over but we have learned that behind each diagnosis there is person. And somehow each professional we encountered always seemed to concentrate on what their expertise is, rather than looking at the whole person.
You asked "Are these normal?" but I think you need to ask "Are any of these things really problems?" He sounds like a very bright (possibly gifted) 18 month old who has a few quirks which he may or may not grow out of. Does it matter if he likes his pasta plain? My daughter stills like her pasta plain and she is 13 years old. Over the years I have given up worrying about what is normal - the quirks are what makes them so special. Maybe I didn't read enough into your post and you have real concerns for his wellbeing but I got the sense you thought he was doing just fine until daycare mentioned his "problems".
He sounds a bit like my gifted lad was - long attention span (would out-last me on activities he enjoyed!), great talker, obsessions - he's now a happy, well adjusted 9 year old. all 3 of my kids have been fussy about food at some stage or another. Your lad sounds normal to me!
