Normal Toddler Behavior or Something else.

[Ashley Love]

I hate using the word normal--it sounds so vile. So, I'll use neutrotypical instead.Here goes...

My 23 month old son has some concerning behaviors. Does anyone have a child like mine? He has, what I think are repetitive behaviors but also some really strong pros. Can anyone with children on the spectrum advise?

See below.

Repetitive behavior

• Hand flapping (when excited, frustrated, upset or randomly throughout the day)
• Walking on his tip toes several times throughout the day but walks normally most of the day
• Bending over and looking through his legs several times a day
• sometimes putting his head on the floor and laying there just because
• Always plays with his cars correctly BUT turns them over when he's done, each time.
• Humming several times a day

Pros

• Extremely chatty, Speaks about 100-125 words in context
• Excellent eye contact
• Points
• Shows me things
• Scores 0-2 on MCHAT depending on how hard I am on the scoring.
• Parallel plays but it’s too early to see if he’s social right?
• Not put off by loud noises
• I can give commands and he will follow
• Has pretend play and joint attention.

 

[tree]

Normal is not actually a bad word.
People tend to use it in ways that exceed the meaning.
As an "ideal."
To be on the normal curve, statistically speaking,
takes in a lot of territory.
=====
Sounds like a bright kid.

 

[Ashley Love]

Normal is not actually a bad word.
People tend to use it in ways that exceed the meaning.
As an "ideal."
To be on the normal curve, statistically speaking,
takes in a lot of territory.
=====
Sounds like a bright kid.

Thanks for your sentiments

 

[Dadwith2Autisticsons]

I can tell you are a very observant parent, and likely have read up on Autism a bit to list those pros and repetitive behaviors, as most of signs and systems mentioned that your child does not have or has are what a doctor would find useful to know about. So, keep stockpiling information like that or new relevant such info, as the months go by.

But, from all you said, and as your child is still under two years old, from our extensive knowledge and experiences with 2 young ASD children and experiences with the medical community, no doctor likely could diagnose Autism in your child for instance now, as they would need to see both more signs and symptoms not mentioned, an ADOS or other test suggesting or rating such a condition, and even to compare your and their observations against the latest DSM.

There are only a few items you mentioned in your repetitive behaviors section that could be slightly suggestive of a condition, if your child was still performing those like six months later or closer to age three, as those items right now are not too atypical at that age of two. All the rest of the things you mentioned would not really throw up any or many red flags now. The pro section info hopefully eases some concerns, too.

Our two children at that age of two had numerous ASD issues besides a few repetitive behaviors. They had language and communication delays and cognitive issues, severe eating and sleep difficulties that were sensory related, many other sensory issues, a need for much structure and preciseness for several daily routines, atypical interests, behavioral meltdown issues, difficulties with listening and sharing, wandering issues, etc. I realize not all children show such at age two, but still what you mentioned would not concern me yet.

Any requests or concerns you have though, feel free to discuss that with a doctor, too. If any of those few signs or symptoms persist, or more occur, of course I would recommend a child behavioral specialist, specializing like in things such as ocd, adhd and Autism.

 

[Ashley Love]

Thank you. You seem like a beacon of information and I welcome this strong feedback. May I ask, which of the repetitive behaviors I mentioned could be slightly suggestive of a condition? I want to be sure I'm laser-focused, but not to the point of obsession. I hear repetitive behaviors in toddlers are normal to a certain degree but have never asked which ones. In the interim, I will keep monitoring and wait this out the next six months.

 

[tree]

By "plays with cars correctly" I guess you mean
the child moves them around, pushes them, so that
they roll on the wheels.

Turning each one over, when he's done...is he putting
them on their backs so they can sleep? Or making
sure they don't roll away? Or what?

That is the only somewhat unusual behavior that
I see in your list.

 

[Ashley Love]

By "plays with cars correctly" I guess you mean
the child moves them around, pushes them, so that
they roll on the wheels.

Turning each one over, when he's done...is he putting
them on their backs so they can sleep? Or making
sure they don't roll away? Or what?

That is the only somewhat unusual behavior that
I see in your list.

He plays with cars the way you would want him to, but then he turns them on their backs and usually plays with something else after. I wonder if this signals that he's done playing with the toy or if there's something to it.

 

[Dadwith2Autisticsons]

Thank you. You seem like a beacon of information and I welcome this strong feedback. May I ask, which of the repetitive behaviors I mentioned could be slightly suggestive of a condition? I want to be sure I'm laser-focused, but not to the point of obsession. I hear repetitive behaviors in toddlers are normal to a certain degree but have never asked which ones. In the interim, I will keep monitoring and wait this out the next six months.

Thanks. Well the tip toe walking up to age two is not necessarily too atypical, but after age two that may need to be looked at more by a professional from what I remember based on our youngest son (mostly nonverbal still) who did tip toe walking starting around age two, through age three. He though never liked walking as a child but running, because of his comorbid ADHD, from what we later learned.

Also, for the hand flapping this same son began doing this just before his second birthday, and still does that a few times a day when some strong sensory issue or feeling was/is present. If a young child handflaps mostly for excitement, that supposedly, from what I read, is quite common. Or if they just developed a habit, that could be ok, too. But, that trait may or may not be suggestive of something else, if it continues later.

The keep turning the cars over, could be habit, ritual, or a need to inspect, but playing with the cars in typical ways is not what either of our children did. They liked just lining cars up, and stacking objects, or arranging them precise ways, after inspecting them. Those with ASD though do not need to follow like others with same condition. There obviously can be some differences, and varying in severities.

 

[Lady Lucifer]

Sounds like a NT two year old if you ask me.

 

[Gracey]

Have you asked him why the cars are on their roof?

If he doesn’t answer in single words such as “asleep” or “tired” ask closed questions, familiar to him.
“Is this car asleep/ napping/ taking a nap?” - he might nod or shake his head.

Have you turned a random car the correct way up again to check if it’s significant?
(Random- no pattern or sequence. Not orderly or usual, e.g the first or the last car in a line up.)

Other than that, I’d be looking at other clues connected with the cars.

Randomly scattered on a specific surface or lined up with a pattern on the flooring? Parallel with objects in the room?
Has he seen cars on their roof on the t.v? In a scrap yard? In a book?
Do the four exposed wheels form a pattern? and so on.

This is of course if he insists that his cars must be on their roof and it’s affecting daily routine.
(Late for appointments, playgroups, tantrums, not eating, hitting out, becoming really upset if they’re not)

If it isn’t a problem for you both, don’t worry about it
It reads like he’s doing great.

 

[LadyBird84]

I don't have children but I do work with them and I've often found it strange that walking on tiptoes is seen as a sign of autism. I've seen many many NT children doing this (and also a few children with autism, but not all of them). Your kid sounds awesome and you sound very involved in his development.

 

[Mary Terry]

I don't have children but I do work with them and I've often found it strange that walking on tiptoes is seen as a sign of autism. I've seen many many NT children doing this (and also a few children with autism, but not all of them). Your kid sounds awesome and you sound very involved in his development.

I don't think walking on toes is a sign of autism, either. I've known many NT kids who did it.

 

[Mary Terry]

My LFA nephew never made eye contact as a toddler but had an age appropriate vocabulary up to about age 2 when he stopped talking and appeared to have lost memory of words and interest in speaking. When I pushed him around in his stroller, he always leaned over the side of the stroller and stared at the wheels going round and round. He exhibited no interest in anything other than the wheels, even if we were at the zoo or somewhere most kids would be looking at other things.

When we walked down the road in front of his house, he was fascinated by a stop sign. He would run to one side of the sign to look at the word "STOP" and then run to the other side of the sign which was blank, then run back to the side with the word on it. He did this compulsively and repetitively, and I'd usually have to almost drag him away from the sign to continue our walk. He became extremely rigid about where his stuffed animals and toys could be placed after age 2, and started hand flapping about that same time. He never engaged in any kind of reciprocal playing like rolling a ball or toy car back to me after I rolled it to him.

Wait and see how your child acts for the next 6 months. I get the impression from stuff I've read about ASD that loss of words and speaking and other traits indicative of ASD usually start about age 2. But everyone is different so talk to his pediatrician about your concerns. Early intervention is best.

He sounds like a wonderful, sweet baby and lucky to have a good mama like you.

 

[Ashley Love]

Have you asked him why the cars are on their roof?

If he doesn’t answer in single words such as “asleep” or “tired” ask closed questions, familiar to him.
“Is this car asleep/ napping/ taking a nap?” - he might nod or shake his head.

Have you turned a random car the correct way up again to check if it’s significant?
(Random- no pattern or sequence. Not orderly or usual, e.g the first or the last car in a line up.)

Other than that, I’d be looking at other clues connected with the cars.

Randomly scattered on a specific surface or lined up with a pattern on the flooring? Parallel with objects in the room?
Has he seen cars on their roof on the t.v? In a scrap yard? In a book?
Do the four exposed wheels form a pattern? and so on.

This is of course if he insists that his cars must be on their roof and it’s affecting daily routine.
(Late for appointments, playgroups, tantrums, not eating, hitting out, becoming really upset if they’re not)

If it isn’t a problem for you both, don’t worry about it
It reads like he’s doing great.

Thank you, you asked lots of probing questions for me to think about. I’ve asked him why he turns them over but I don’t think he has all the words to convey as to why he does it. He doesn’t line up his cars on his back, or any order for that matter, they’re usually scattered across the room. He doesn’t really care if I turn them the correct way, he’s like, ok cool. So, certainly not disruptive to our daily activities.

 

[Dadwith2Autisticsons]

Thank you, you asked lots of probing questions for me to think about. I’ve asked him why he turns them over but I don’t think he has all the words to convey as to why he does it. He doesn’t line up his cars on his back, or any order for that matter, they’re usually scattered across the room. He doesn’t really care if I turn them the correct way, he’s like, ok cool. So, certainly not disruptive to our daily activities.

If he is not showing meltdowns when you change up any of his usual actions or routines, or if he does not try to feverishly correct you or to do that thing, when you try something else that he was used to doing, that is a good sign. But, still, keep an eye on things in the future, if new signs and symptoms occur, or anything seems to get more extreme. Right now, as things are presented, there seems to be far more signs showing not ASD, at this moment.