repetative drawings

[grace'smom]

My 4 year old daughter is in speech therapy and OT for sensory processing, auditory processing problems and problems with "perspective taking"/socially delayed. She's about to graduate out of OT because her self regulation is very much improved. She'll continue speech. She has some rigidity issues still, but they seem kind of permanent and they are not overwhelming. We are just so glad to see her smiling and talking to us- it's a very wonderful thing to have a happy child.

I have an odd question though. Do any of you have kids who make the same picture over and over? She did rainbows for months, then hummingbirds for a while, and now she is back to rainbows but she has added a pot of gold and a "gold man." She is drawing the same thing again and again. Sometimes she draws other things, but she'll get into a rut and go back to rainbows for days. It kind of bothers me to see it go on and on. Is this normal?

In so many ways she seems like she is making great progress. I don't think she is rigid enough for an Asperger's DX. And I am not sure what that DX would do to help anyway. She does have a desire for friendships, she is just clueless as to how to go about it. She can make friends one on one, but in preschool I see her just follow kids around while they seem to try to avoid her.

Anyway, I don't want to go to the OT and SP with every little question, so I thought maybe some of the mom's on the board would have some insight into the picture concern that I have...

I also have a ton of curriculum questions but I am scrolling through the old posts and finding a lot of answers. This is a great forum that seems to have a lot of knowledgeable members. I am so glad I found it.

[SheilaZ]

Your description of your daughter sounds a lot like how I would have described my sons at that age. They were never rigid. They never had tantrums.
I always balked at the thought of a spectrum diagnosis because my kids just didn’t act like those other kids.

I can tell you that my 8 year old at 4 year old was also in ST, OT, has Sensory problems, developmental delays and social delays. He also did repetitive drawings. If fact he filled up page after page with little humanoid figures. He drew them with no hesitation marks and no erasures. He barely even lifted the pencil from the paper.
They were his super heroes and he had stories that went along with them

His older brother did the exact same thing. He drew volcanoes. He just got fixated on volcanoes and never let it go. My fridge was covered with volcanoes. I was just happy because before the age of 6, he never drew anything.

Both of these sons have Asperger's. However, both are now out of OT and have only mild articulation issues. Both are very well integrated into peer groups and pretty much act like "normal" kids with a few minor issues. They have friends that come looking to play with them. They play sports. They are in Cub Scouts. They are just regular kids that happen to also have Asperger’s.

If it turns out that she is diagnosed with a spectrum disorder, it's not a horrible thing. It just gives the problem a name so you know how to deal with it. It doesn't do anything else.

For me it was a relief to know that I wasn't imagining things. That my concerns were not just some overblown mommy guilt. It didn’t change our therapy schedule, how we educated, or how we parented. It just gave us membership in the club.

So yes, bring it up to your speech therapist, Occupational therapist, and even your doctor. If nothing else, you’ll get some answers.

[LivingOutLove]

DS5 doesn't draw the same figures, he writes the same words over and over again. He writes titles of Disney movies and the names of Finding Nemo characters (he's obsessed with fish).

His VBS leader came over to DH a few nights ago and said, "J didn't really draw any of the pictures, but he's written 'Fun and Fancy Free' all over his paper!" That's an older Disney video. Hilarious!

We're taking DS5 in on Monday for an initial evaluation with a child psychologist. We suspect Asperger's.

:)

[Niffercoo]

Yep, my daughter did this for years. She did rainbows, a little girl under a rainbow, a pink princess, a flower in a pot, etc. She doesn't do it AS much as she used to, but every now and then when she's stressed she'll go back to drawing something over and over.

Her diagnosis is PDD-NOS because by the time she was evaluated (age 3.5) she was speaking, but the lack of speech when she was younger ruled out an Asperger's diagnosis. Had she been diagnosed a year sooner, she would have had a classic autism diagnosis, I have no doubt.

Most people who are just meeting her never imagine she has autism. There are certain situations that are more of a struggle for her, but even then you'd sort of think she was just a spoiled brat unless you knew what you were looking for.

I'd bring some samples of her pictures and show it to her OT/ST. It does sort of seem like a red flag, in combination with the other things.

[Misty]

Yes, one of my Asperger daughters did this when she was younger. It was ALWAYS horses or rainbows. She went through so much paper!

She was not terribly rigid back then, but she certainly is now at age 11! I never would have suspected Asperger's when she was four years old (I don't think I had even heard of it though). I just thought I had a gifted child with some sensory issues and fine motor issues. She is very high-functioning though and does well with friendships as a homeschooled child... Though she tends to only talk about her hyper-focus interests and nothing else. The other kids don't seem to notice much because they are usually playing active things like tag and such.

[MicheleB]

This is a very interesting thread. My 9 and 10yos, who I suspect may have some type of ASD, draw the same things over and over. Esp. my 9yo. I just thought he was 'practicing.' Hmmm.... another point to ponder.

[Hotdrink]

I have an odd question though. Do any of you have kids who make the same picture over and over? She did rainbows for months, then hummingbirds for a while, and now she is back to rainbows but she has added a pot of gold and a "gold man." She is drawing the same thing again and again. Sometimes she draws other things, but she'll get into a rut and go back to rainbows for days. It kind of bothers me to see it go on and on. Is this normal?

My son who has Aspergers does this. First he refused to draw at all, because he got too upset and frustrated that his drawings weren't photographically accurate (and he also took years to learn to hold a pen correctly, he is only just doing that now and he is 6). Then he did heaps of paintings of one apple tree in an orchard. Then he did spirals. Then he got obsessed with electricity and electrical circuits, so he does pictures of wiring, powerpoints, batteries and so on. He also draws labyrinths that are quite complex, however he can't draw a face even at the 3yo level. If I suggest he might like to do something different, he just replies that he doesn't know how to draw whatever.