Special needs related or typical behavior?

st.augbride

Hi everyone, I have a question that I'm sure many of you can relate to. Basically, I overanalyze everything ds does or does not do, and sometimes it's hard for me to know if something is just a regular 2 year old boy behavior or something that is related to other yet uncovered issues. A few months back we switched ds from a home daycare to an early preschool/daycare. We were worried about the transition, but it seems to have gone fairly well. He definitely enjoys it when he is there. He doesn't eat much, but we knew that would happen (have a feeding eval set at Kennedy Krieger in 2 months). Anyhow, a few things have now popped up that the teacher has told us about. One is that he is getting aggressive with other kids when they want to use the same toys and is hitting his arms at them. The other is that he won't sit for circle time and runs off to do his own thing. For the life of me, I can never get this kid to sit through circle time whenever it's come up. He always seems to be the first to take off. He doesn't have a short attention span though. He can focus on many different activities for long periods of time and loves one-on-one attention, and enjoys playing near other kids too. But when it comes to things like this, for whatever reason it stands  out to me that he tolerates it and listens to instructions he isn't interested in less than his peers. So now I don't know if this is just typical 2 yr old boy stuff (or in the realm of typical) or if it is the start of something new to recognize and understand as he gets older and more behavioral/learning issues may come into play. He's been out of therapies for a while now (minus PT and feeding), so I have less professionals to rely on to help with behavioral stuff at the moment. Anyhow, I'm just wondering what others thin k about stuff like this.

mamantraining

Hi. I'm not sure of your LOs diagnosis, but these things sound typical to me. My son has a speech disorder so he doesn't speak much but understands everything. Kids this age have a hard time sharing, special needs or not. Someone should work with him on taking turns, things he can say/do, etc. even in this case, he will probably struggle with sharing until he's older. As far as the circle time, my kid is always the one running away from the group, not wanting to do music etc. he's not in school yet but I take him to activities and gently encourage him but don't push it. He's made some progress, but he's just high energy. I think it helps to look at the big picture. If he enjoys being around others kids I don't see it as a big deal...he just needs more work and time.

st.augbride

Thanks, that helps me feel better. He certainly is high energy and definitely has sensory issues where he is always seeking movement. He doesn't have a diagnosis, but has had some neurological differences since birth, many of which seem to have resolved, others that wont like lower muscle tone, birth defects corrected through surgery, and an amazing lack of hunger. We are therefore always on the lookout for things that would be harder to detect until he is older.

d.f

Not sitting really at all, unless in a lap, was really the first indication to me that something was up. However, looking back there are other things like not playing with toys, waving and clapping at the very end of the ranges etc) that would have been a flag if I had more information at the time.

KelleyBean

My DS has the same issues in circle time at his center. He will sit in the lap of his teachers but they cannot get him to sit on his own. He will often run off to do a preferred activity, usually puzzles or playing trains. We have a diagnosis of ASD. That said, the younger kiddos in the class often have some of the same issues. It may be a wait and see thing for you.

funchicken

I think this is a "he's so young it's hard to tell" situation.

My DD1 was like that at two.  She would stand at the edge of the circle and jump up and down.  She wasn't disruptive and would pay attention, she just couldn't sit still.  Her teachers didn't force it.  By the following year she was fine at circle time.  It was the same at library storytime.  As a two she had a really hard time staying seated, but by three she was like a model child at storytime.  She has SPD and ADHD. 

DD2 is NT, and she "got" circle time after a few weeks.  She has a very different personality than DD1, though, and she's been hanging out at DD1's preschool for the past 2 years watching older kids do preschooly stuff.  That said, DD2 is really not interested in storytime at the library.  She'd rather explore or play with toys.