Actually, you absolutely do judge them by what the list says. You cant just diagnose Arthur with your hunch and ignore the latest edition of the diagnostic and statistical manual. What are you on about.

Ah right that makes sense.

Had a school meeting today with the health visitor as she reckons my son may be autistic. Hes only 2...she was asking questions then twisting the answers to write on her sheet and has now decided he needs a ****ing hearing test too. I hate health visitors so much. I knew as soon as she asked about hand flapping what she was 'testing' for...they didn't tell us the actual reason for the meeting. She says because he likes to do things alone and concentrates very hard on what he is doing to the point where he ignores everything around him is a big sign of autism :S In that case me and gavin, and Skye are all autistic too. I honestly think she just needs to get her numbers up for referals (they have targets apparently of how many kids are referred for different things) as I don't see what good it does to anyone otherwise twisting answers that people who actually know the kid give and sometimes ignoring both us and the teachers to put her own answers down...shes only met him 3 times

Sorry for rant D:

I don't think he has high functioning autism either but I do think he is somewhat on the spectrum.

I did say that Arthur does go under the list but I think I may have worded this wrong. I'm not saying you cant diagnose somebody from the list as I'm pretty sure you can obviously but you cant just take it like gospel as all people are different. I am not a specialist in any way but I think from the way he acts he could be on the spectrum obviously I don't know that for sure as I don't know him personally but I just wanted to see what everyone else thought. cheers :)

I personally know a little boy who was guessed to be on the autistic spectrum at age two and it was definitely right. He's three and a half now and it's quite obvious, the only problem is that he hasn't made any improvement since his mother treats him like a baby because the word "austism" was mentioned, he doesn't get to do anything like the other kids his age, she just keeps him in the house watching TV all day and only feeds him junk food because she knows he likes it and he doesn't even have a daily routine and bed time which is so important for all kids, not just those on the spectrum and that's only the start of it.

I'd say to just go with what the health visitor is doing and even if your little boy isn't on the spectrum it's still good to check it out. In the unlikely case that they do catch it early, it would be really beneficial for him so he can get everything he may need sorted early.

Every single person with a diagnosis of autism meet the criteria that the dsm and/or icd lay out. You do actually take the list as gospel. I dont think he meets even one, let alone several criteria. So nah I disagree with you.

Oh yeah we will go to the referral. Just very annoying how she was steamrollering her 'points' when both us and his teacher told her that the points were wrong D:

More him being an ignorant twit who played the game wrong.

No..he is just a clueless bufoon a mixture between showbizz and shabazz(the zzzz bits)..only less entertaining.

As someone who has a daughter who is autistic and In turn you come into contact with other adults and young adults on the spectrum, I found the continued face pulling at the end of a conversation, a trait of someone one on the spectrum.

it does in the uk, i think it's just the usa which stopped

My mother was talking to me and thought he was Autistic. I suppose we will never know.

Nah, there were a few moments where he said stuff to be an ass and then started to crack a smile. He was just playing game and did it horribly.

For many years I have worked with young people on the autistic spectrum and, although it would be wrong to try to diagnose someone without knowing them, from my experience, Arthur displays many traits of high-functioning autism or Aspergers and I had wondered if he was on the spectrum myself.

Every single person on the spectrum is different, and has varying degrees of each trait, so a simple checklist is a hard way to make a diagnosis. Major signs for me, however, were the way he became overwhelmed when everyone was shouting at him, the way he obsessed about the rule being they should keep all food in the store cupboard, his social difficulties and lack of understanding, his childlike behaviour, and the way he responded so positively to Raph's kind, gentle and compassionate approach to him.

Not everyone who is on the spectrum is diagnosed, however, especially if their traits are mild. Either way, to me, those on the spectrum are just the loveliest people in the world.

It doesn't in Ireland.

OMG screaming

Hello, an Aspie over here (diagnosed in '09/'10)!

You summed up pretty much everything I was attempting to say. It made me feel awful how the other housemates were treating him and big brother should have honestly known. raph was the only one who seemed to understand him in a way which honestly makes sense as he didn't seem to mind when he was angry and was the only one who could calm him down. he does seem like a guy who means well but he wasn't portrayed in the right way. if he is diagnosed with autism big brother should have informed the housemates beforehand so they wouldn't pick on him as much as they did.

The more I saw of Aurther I thought ihe could possibly be autistic or have Asperger.

Arthur might not have been diagnosed and in all honesty I think BB is more interested in the drama than the individual.

The truth is, even if he has a diagnosis and other housemates know, some people just don't understand it or don't have the sensitivity and compassion of Raph. However, I felt Lotan also responded with kindness and patience towards Arthur.

Such a shame he has gone.