Hi, I think this will be the right forum section of autism! I have a child in my class who has not been diagnosed with anything however he has an IEP (individual education plan). His writing is barely readable and consequently he is having extra lessons in Theodorescu to help him form his letters more clearly. For a lot of the time in class his attention wanders but then he will ask a question or make a statement about something that happened several minutes ago. He is obsessed with cars and can tell you literally anything about them; make, engine type, fastest speed, etc. His mum tells me that when he is told off for something, he doesn't like it and goes to hide. I know a child with asperger's from outside of school and in some ways, the boy in my class reminds me of him - are any of these things other signs of a type of autism? Many thanks.

Hi Carlie,

From your description it is hard to tell if he is on the autistic spectrum, although he might well be. He could have attention difficulties and/or a global delay in his learning, and his obsession with cars may not necessarily relate to autism. However, learning dealy, obsessive behaviour and poor attention can be the symptoms of a child on the autistic spectrum. To get a proper diagnosis he would need to visit a paediatrician.

Look out for other symptoms such as :
What is his understanding like?
Does he have difficulty following instructions?
Is he social, or does he tend to prefer to play alone?
Does he have imaginative play or is it very repetitive?
Does he appear to be effected by adversly noise, touch or bright light?

None of the above would necessarily mean he was on the autistic spectrum, but they may be warning signs. If he diagnosed with a form of autism it will be important to involve a speech and language therapist to work with him on comprehension, language, and social skills. He will probably also benefit from some 1:1 input from a teacher aid during literacy times.

By the end of February 09 there should be a number of free handouts around classroom strategies for children with autism and more information on Autism generally, but feel free to ask more questions using the Forum.

I hope that was some help. Thanks for using the Forum.

Regards Johan