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Hello!

I'm Jon. I'm 59 formally diagnosed with ADHD, Dyspraxia and potentially other things. ADHD has pretty much wrecked my life having only become aware of it about six years ago and formally diagnosed 13 months ago. I'm not here for myself though. I'm here for my grandson who at almost four is still non verbal, walks around like a ballerina, has very vanilla food preferences, doesn't really acknowledge you (although i do think he recognises people) and overall lives very quietly in his own little world. His favourite toys are sticks. grass, leaves and USB cables. He hasn't had a formal assessment yet but from my limited knowledge it looks to me as though he is autistic. Seeing what ADHD, and the lack of support, has done to my life i want to make sure that i can help my grandson in every way possible. Jon.

Hi Jon,

Welcome! Good luck on helping your grandson.

Hi Jon, welcome. I’m also new here.

You might find this of interest if you haven’t seen it yet. Sharing in case it’s helpful:
“Leucovorin helped son with autism speak, parents say”

Welcome to wrong planet Jon ...Yes, you describe , what prolly best describes a level of Autism. One hopes the people that raises him up , teachers etc. are able to grasp this little guys circumstances .. And yes, being preoccupied does not preclude a Autistics level of awareness, I believe . My Little sister was non verbal and I did not talk till much later on.For a Aspie making decisions and taking in information. Is what we are about . And , he has never been this age before in his life , And everything is new, including understanding his world. When you are in beginning years of input all is new.Even processing info is a new experience . And The ballerina thing is referred to as toe walking . Please teach , patience to all whom become part of your childs input. The childs maturation very likely will direct reflect the way he grows ..and people whom raise him in varieties of ways . He may additionally manifest some aspects of adhd. If you have learned any methods to cope with that, alittle later , you may try some show and tell examples to impart to his learning at some point . Limiting violence as a input might be important, whether video or real life , Avoid Docs , whom want to use the word schizoid or schizophrenic. That is a out dated knowledge base. btw 2 out of my three brothers
started out as toe walkers. ( never hurt to have a little extra bounce in your step) . that might take some years , if that changes. Just my .02 cents worth. Please there is helpul research out there about this , often nutritional inbalances that may occur during the gestation period can have interactions on a developing fetus.

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Welcome; Jon

You might try enticing him to attempt things he prefers to avoid.

Welcome!

It's comforting to hear you approach the situation with such care. I would say do your best to introduce him to new things. Even if you go through a lot of them. He may find his special interest this way (autistics thrive on special interests/intense passions).

Not saying you do, but please don't shame him for any stimming behaviors he may have, if any. Instead help him channel that "excitedness" into his ideas and passions. If stims are suppressed or made fun of by family (like mine were) this can be very damaging to self esteem.

I'm sure he will grow up to be a fine young man!

You may be able to speed up his socialization skills by patiently interacting with him.

When he gets older you may be able to teach him basic skills.
If he is smart there is a lot of stuff he may not know because nobody bothered to teach him!