Is liking trains a red flag for autism?

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I would get him checked because he is non verbal---not because of the trains.

My son is not and has never been very interested in trains. He use to read the Thomas books, but never got into the TV program. He had Thomas trains and track purchased by him by us and others. He would make the tracks into letters (He is hyperlexic) When he was really little he would take the face off of the Lego version because the face creeped him out. I guess he knew trains don't have faces.

My nephew who has Aspergers was always obsessed with thomas the train and then as he got older he became very interested in model train sets, miniature sets, etc...he still is fond of trains as an adult!

My DS who has Aspergers, he liked the thomas trains but never got obsessed about them. He was more obsessed with electronics, and still is to this day! My NT DD likes to play trains, but nothing I would lable obsessive. If there are out she will play with them.

I would worry more about the lack of speech and agree to have him assessed!

good luck!

I would also suggest getting him checked because he's nonverbal, not because of his interest in trains. Also, there are plenty of NT children who get potty trained after their 3rd birthday, so that's not that unusual. The fact that he hasn't started talking by now is more of a major concern than anything else. My 4 year old NT niece was one of those who wasn't ready for potty training before her 3rd birthday, but she has always talked once she started right on schedule.

I had those typical aspie traits as a small child. I was absolutely obsessed with trains, tracks, stations, anything related to trains...I had huge toy train set ups (that were life-like) and I would stare them for hours. I was also into Thomas the Tank Engine for quite some time.

More of a boy thing I would think than specifically autism.

Enjoyed only at distance; my son is TERRIFIED of trains up close. One toot and time to go. He startles at motorcycles though he likes them. He also did not care for Thomas universe programs or tie ins. though he did like a model train set that used to be mine.

OCD behaviors, stim triggering, unusual refusal of foods, potty training woes, late speaking or sudden cessation of speech. Those things I'd have checked with an eye to dx for a delay condition

There is no interest or hobby that signals autism. It's the intensity of the interest and other factors that matter. If primarily the person enjoys lining things up, categorizing them, sorting them - that can suggest autism. If the person enjoys memorizing facts others consider mundane (train schedules, for example) and recites this information despite the disinterest of their audience - that can suggest autism. If it's difficult to get the person to concentrate on or enjoy activities other than their preferred interest - autism. Etc.

It's not that trains are a "red flag" for autism per se, it just that they lend themselves as a topic of interest to autistic persons. Rail cars are naturally in a straight line (lining up objects), tracks only go where they were laid (one-track mind), and they operate on a specific schedule (obsession with routines). Not to mention there's a lot of classification and memorization involved: manufacturer, operating company, function, geographic location, etc. Which is something autistic persons are good at.

I did love Thomas the Tank Engine as a small child, but my older brother loved it so I think I mimicked the fascination. My brother is NT but when he was 2 he watched Thomas the Tank on VHS over and over, every day, until the tapes worn out! The only tape that did still work was the one I began watching when I was about 4. I didn't watch Thomas the Tank as much as my brother had (he didn't watch it any more by then), but I wanted a trainset. So my parents got me a Thomas the Tank play set.

But I wasn't really obsessed. It was just something that I got into. I didn't watch it after I got to about 7.

As a toddler I loved trains, cars etc. Espcially trains. And I still like trains. I never remember not liking them. I make my own model trains now though so I don't need to buy them. Much cheaper and more personal. But I have never not liked trains. Is rare to have a day or two when I don't think at least something about trains. It has been known... But usually, my mind things trains! Haha. But I am only 47 and a half.

I never understood the big deal with trains, plains, ships, cars or vehicles in general. They are nowhere near as fascinating as animals, insects or even plants, which I read and learned a lot about as a kid.

Even so, special interests should be encouraged instead of labeled as obsessions because if the kid is NT that's what adults would be doing. I hate to think that my interests as a kid, which were usually praised and encouraged until I was a teenager, would have been seen as "wrong" instead if they knew back then I have Asperger's.

My Dad had a word with me one day when I was in my teens. He said I was a bit old for the teddies and the toy cars etc.. (And a few things). He was trying to help me. I did then give up quite a few things. But I remember. He was going to say about the trains. I would have been heartbroken... But somehow he knew. He knew how important thwy were to both me and my future. He said "No. There's something about the trains. Keep the trains!" I was soo relieved. Trains were and are more then a special i terest or a hobby to me. They are part of me because they are part of my life.

I think a lot of non-autistic kids can get obsessed with trains too, particularly Thomas the Tank Engine. In fact, Thomas the Tank Engine got very popular among small children in the late 80s and the 90s. I was into Thomas the Tank Engine up until I was about 7, but I wasn't too obsessed. I just liked watching it and my parents bought me a toy trainset with Thomas the Tank Engine trains to play on it. But I wasn't really obsessed as in always talking about it, always playing with the trainset and nothing else, and always trying to find out more facts about it. I was just a kid that was into Thomas the Tank Engine, but was also into Barbies, PollyPockets, Disney movies, cartoons, jungles, the list goes on and on.

Do you remember the little books from the 1970's to early 1980's? Remember the inside cover of those Thomas books? That scene I used to stare at for ages. It is amazing!

I’ve still got all those Thomas books, as my son loved them, and I know just what you mean ! We’ve still got all the Brio Thomas trains and all that goes with the brio set, all the assorted character trains, bridge, shed, crane etc etc.

I once met the Rev.W. Awdry who wrote the books. I smiled and him and he smiled back.

Sweet !