OBSESSIONS: That Darn ‘R’ in the Circle

See that tiny ‘r’ after the logo?  Me neither, really. Apparently, it says ‘rrrr’ for rabbit. Just ask 2 1/2 year old Jack.

Kids on the autism spectrum can form an obsession over the most unusual things. When Jack was 2 1/2, he frequently pointed to the little registered symbol ® on all kinds of packaging. I was excited to teach him letters, so I told him that it was an “R”, it says “rrrrr”, as in ‘rabbit’.

Therefore, every time he came across a package, he would scan it for that ® and say “R says rrrr for rabbit!” Genius! My toddler was a genius! Jack was noticing letters and remembering their sounds! On his own! You wouldn’t believe how many ®’s there are in the world, even multiple ®’s on one package. We could not be near a box or container of something and not check for the ® and say its sound and the one and the only acceptable word example of what that letter sounded like. This was such a cute game, this “R says rrrr for rabbit!”, all the time, without fail, cannot pass anything up without checking for the ® and explaining that it says “rrrr” and that “rrrr” is for rabbit. So cute, so amazing….

Jack during the ‘rrrr’ obsession, age 2 1/2

…until I realized that we weren’t learning letters. What about other letters, their sounds, their examples? Why weren’t we even curious about them when I pointed them out with the same excitement as when I taught that darn ®?

An Autism Obsession

Of course, looking back, I now realize what this was. This was a fixation, a routine, a comfortable pattern, an OBSESSION. I believe it would formally be called delayed echolalia. It obviously dominated his thoughts and he let it stunt further learning and conversation. This was a behavior that, after a while, made me sit back and watch and wonder about him.

I did not see any one blaring sign of autism from younger Jack. It was just little quirky things, such as this obsession, that all added up. Finally topped off with the startling arm flapping sign, these little indicators led us to seek professional opinions, giving us an official autism spectrum diagnosis. In the end, I am surprisingly grateful for over-the-top autism obsessions such as that tiny ®—to alert me to the much bigger issues with my child. And, phew, I am relieved that fascinations change and we no longer have to keep track of all the registered corporate items of the world.

>> Is your child overly obsessed with tiny details in their world? Are you able to change their focus? Is this something you should check on? If a behavior starts nagging at you, don’t wait to talk to a professional! <<