On the spectrum?

I have come to realize that kids are weird. They have all these idiosyncratic behaviors that belie a human of such a young age. Perhaps it is because they have no filters? No on has told them yet that their actions are strange or inappropriate or unsavory.

Quirky ain't just for the old and eccentric. It's also for the 2 year old who likes to sit in boxes of all shapes and sizes, even boxes in boxes. Aero also likes have his face stroked. Not by gentle fingers but by fabric or fuzz or his collection of mardi gras beads. He has no real interest in motorized things; cars, truck, buses. His passion is for bouncing. He is your very best friend if you can bouncy, bouncy him. He is obsessed with shutting doors and putting on lids. He is a dumper. He can locate a container of dumpable objects and dump them into his lap at lightening speed. Yet, his next step is to pick up the strewn objects and place them back in their respective container, put the container back where he found it and then, dump it all again.
He lines up objects as he sits on the floor playing with balls or blocks.

While I giggle at all these seemingly strange behaviors, they also cause me concern. There is a growing trend amongst kids with Down syndrome to also have autism or behaviors 'on the autism spectrum'.

They are behaviors that could be classified as 'spectrum processing/integration disorder'as they are very repetitive. He also exhibits some developmental lags that may be 'on the spectrum' like lack of eye contact, not following simple direction and non existent communicative dialogue. I discussed my concern with a pediatrician almost a year ago and she referred us to the Children's Hospital Autism Clinic. We just had our 'intake' appointment this past Monday. Yes, it took almost a year for them to fit us in.

We will be returning to the clinic in the next month or so for further evaluation. I would love to think that Aero's behaviors are just weird and quirky but I fear they are a symptom of a more complicated condition.