Beautiful 3Yo W/ Delays - Need Help!

You have some incorrect information. My now 13.5 yo son was diagnosed on the autism spectrum at 26mo, a large problem at that time was a speech delay. he is definitely autistic, but is not emotionally detached, in fact he's just the opposite with me, clingy. He does have some social-emotional issues. Ask the speech therapist and the Early Childhood Intervention team what you need to do to have him evaluated for his delays.
There are many different parts to autism, you can also do things to help situation, viatmins, probiotics, dietary changes.

Look into sensory processing disorder. Many kids who are autistic also have varying forms of spd but not all kids with spd are autistic. Mt Washington childrens hosp and Kennedy kreiger in Baltimore both have people with training in spd.

just because an almost three year old doesnt talk much,
doesnt mean that they have speech delays.some children
simply dont have much to say. has the childs hearing been
checked to make sure thats not a potential problem??
the important thing is, is the child making an effort to
communicate with other people ?? and not just verbally, but with sounds and gestures as well ?? an autistic child would typically refuse to communicate with ANYONE IN ANY WAY AT ALL and become surly and or withdrawn when coaxed or forced to communicate with someone. one easy way to check for autisium is to see how they respond to flouresent lights. an autistic child will scream, put their hands over their ears and try to run from the room
(because they typically have hearing that picks up and amplifys the humming that the flouresent lights make) while the typical child, will look up and ask why does the lights flicker but typically will ignore the humming that the lights make . does this help ??
K. h.

this sounds exactly like my son...

we started taking him to a place called CDR (Child Development Resources) in williamsburg/norge when he was born (he had an older brother that was going at the time - so we just got lucky with getting him in there so early). however, i think they only go from birth to 3 year olds - if so, they can at least point you in a good direction ###-###-####)...

my son is 11 now and his speech still sounds a little different than everyone else's - but he doesn't have any delays and he's an A/B honor roll student!! i've also heard somthing about the "string" under the tongue...i think i remember CDR saying something about that having an effect on speech!!

hope this helps

You can have him evaluated at your local school. Ask them alot of schools have a preschool program and that program will have him eveluated and if they don't they can advice you (as the socials services can) of where to bring him. More than likely just working with him he will learn to talk just fine. My daughter has a 2yr old who was behind. he's starting to talk now but was delayed. I wouldn't start worrying just because he's speech delayed and has coordination prob. good luck

GET THAT CHILD CHECKED FOR AUTISM ASAP!!!!!Not trying to scare you, but, they are all classic signs of autism and if thats what your son has and it is caught early enough then there are people who can work with him to help him by the time he goes to school. My three and a half year old son, Braxton was diagnosed with autism at the age of one and a half and has been working with a teacher ever since and he can now read at a first grade level and count to 40 on his own as well as he knows his abcs front and back. I am seriously not trying to alarm you Im just saying you should definatly consider having him checked as soon as possible.

Hi! I have a 2 year old with motor and speech delays as well. We are working with a PT and speech therapist and making slow improvements just like your son. I know its hard but keep on trucking! Sounds like your doing what you need to be doing. We saw a developmental pediatrician named Susan Anderson down at UVA. She basically told us that he was delayed and to do what we had been doing, so I didn't really feel that it was necessary to have seen her but at the same time we as mothers feel like we need to do something!!
Good Luck!
K.

Your thoughtful letter evokes the type of replies on this site that scare me. NO ONE on this site should be telling you what/how autistic children do/act versus your child. PLEASE talk to your current team about your concerns (thoughtful advice given by some of the responders). I am sure your team has some good advice for you. Certainly, in this area, we are lucky to have some phenomenal resources to help kids with all sorts of issues. Children's National Medication Center in DC and Kennedy Krieger in Baltimore are two such examples. Children's has satellite offices outside of DC (Rockville, MD for instance, where they have an autism practice). Also, there are wonderful developmental pediatricians in our area as well. Chuck Conlon in Bethesda, MD is an example (takes no insurance though). Best of luck and ALWAYS go with your instincts, and be VERY careful about some of the advice you get on this site.

Please don't beat yourself up.
I have two children - both now teenagers - neither were breastfed. My son had a speech delay that I think was caused by ear infections. Not breastfeeding has nothing to do with speech delay. It just is.
My son did speech therapy through kindergarten and has never looked back - we can't shut him up... He'll get there. Be patient.
If you want to have him evaluated by someone else, do it. You may have to go to Children's Hospital in whatever state you live. If you have to drive, do it.
YMMV
LBC

Trust La Leche. I have known other little ones who have been "tongue tied" whose language development improved greatly after the "snip" was done. The older the child, it's often harder to develop normal speech because of other social and self-concept issues. I'm glad he's working with a Speech Therapist. If you were in Wheaton, IL, you could call and arrange for an evaluation at Jefferson Preschool. Where ever you are, your main school district office should be able to direct you to an evaluation for him, since schools are supposed to cover and do this sort of thing by law, with "No Child Left Behind" - if that's still being upheld. By the way, I went to 8th grade in Fredericksburg, VA, where you are!

There are probably several steps to what you need to do, but as far as the tongue part of it, he needs to see an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist. Your Pediatrician can recommend one. Or, there's one called Blue Ridge Speech and Hearing that has several offices in the area. His tongue definitely could be at least partially the cause of his speech delay. Don't delay! And good luck!

I have a four year old daughter who has PDD-NOS (autism). She is the most loving and sweet litle girl you would ever meet. She loves hugs and kisses. She always loved sitting in my lap as a toddler. She is in an early intervention program. She goes to James Ryder Randall (PG County School) and I love the team that is working with her. She does go to speech therapy twice a week and we can hear the difference the therapy makes. I would talk his early intervention team and ask forr their opinion. Ask if they could evaluate him for Autism. Also you need to get a referal to a developmental pediatrician as well. Get him evaluated. It was very difficult to diagnose my daughter since she is all over the spectrum.

As for the breastfeeding, there is no way to prove that is the reason he's delayed. I breastfed my daughter for six weeks and then my milk supply could not keep up with her. So I had to stop because she was losing weight. She was 9 pounds 7 ounces. If you need to talk or have any questions, please feel free to message me.

I had a speech delay problem w/ my 3y/o daughter. I had her hearing checked through Childrens Hospital. And she did also the early intervention through MC, which made a huge difference.
If things could be done all over again I would have told you to get that it snipped so that you could breastfeed. The benefits far outweigh the inconveniences. I wasn't able to nurse mine baby girl because I was on heart meds.
The past is that, the past.
You might want to get him tested for allergies. Certain foods could be affecting his development.

A close friend had a son with the same issue. Had lots of drooling, very hard to understand, but still evidently a bright child. He just sounded like he was 1 1/2 when he was well over 3. They waited for his surgery because it was not a life threatening condition and he has recovered all his language skills. You will want to get it taken care of soon so that he has the chance to learn better speaking habits prior to kindergarten. Talk to your ped or family doctor first as you will probably need a confirmed diagnosis/referral for your insurance. Good luck and don't worry. I'm sure he'll be fine and catch up with everybody once the tongue issue is fixed.

As far as picky eating. It may be that certain foods are hard for him to chew. Let him be picky for now, you don't want him to choke. If he's under weight, try some of the Carnation breakfast drink powder in w/ his milk or such.

For hand weakness. I'm sure you can find a bunch of exercises to help build brain to hand development and hand strength. Some simple ones are - Punch a bunch of holes in a piece of cardboard and let him thread a piece of clothes line through it (or similar easy to grab string). Play games of tossing small toys from one hand to the other and back and forth with you. One important activity though is to let him work at an easel.(or tape paper to the wall and let him draw/ paint it) Those hand and arm movements are important for developing the brain connections he need for writing.

I hope this helps and again, don't worry.

my 3 yo also has speech delays. He had has a strong frenulum (the muscle that attaches his top lip and palate. I had the dentist and speech therapist evaluate him to see if this could be a cause, and they both said no, although the dentist did say if it was his bottom palate it possibly might in rare cases, but to talk to the speech therapist about it. speak with your pediatrician and he can recommend someone.

Hi A. -

That sounds like the issues my son had, he was finally diagnosed with something called NLD or Nonverabal Learning disorder. He might be young yet to diagnose him with that, but if he's having hand strength problems you want him with an OT. Which school is he in the special ed preschool? Are you in the military if so talk to your primary care dr about going to Pediatric Neurodevelopment at Portsmouth or if not talk to your regular dr about who you would go to for an evaluation.

The tongue sounds like what is called "tongue tied" and you may want to look into it. When a Child cannot lift the tongue to the pallet then the speech is effected.
My son had a regression at the age of 18 months so I am familiar with the signs of Autism and there are many varying degrees of signs and symptoms. That is why it is called a "spectrum disorder".
Do not get scared by anyone here regarding this. Some children are late talkers and can also be considered "visual spatial learners". They are very intelligent as well.
As far as the picky eater on your hands. My son is very picky due to the textures of food and has slowly moved to new foods as he feels comfortable. It your child truely has issues with food textures and sensations then you would want to get him evaluated for sensory issues. My son showed signs of having sensory issues not just with food but with having certain sensations on his hands. For example, he would get yogurt on his hands and have to wipe his hands in his hair to get it off because he didn't like the "feel" (of course this was when he was around 1 and 2 yrs of age). He has also grown out of that as well.
Cover all the bases with this issue. Look into the type of diet he is on (a lot of processed foods? dairy? wheat?), Has he been vaccinated? (he may have high levels of some toxins that can effect the brain chemistry),the tongue issue needs to be considered a factor in his speech. If he cannot touch his tongue to the roof of his mouth he will have difficulties speaking properly and will also cause his to have frustrations which may result in behavior issues because he cannot express himself with words.
Above all look at his environment. Give that child all the love in the world and you can't go wrong.
Good luck with this. Do your best not to worry. I found that there is so much misinformation out there it can cause fear and anxiety. Find a DAN doctor in your area. Look on the internet and see what you can find. I don't know where you are located but I have a DAN doctor located in VA BEach and he is awesome.
Good luck

I know you already have several replies and you have scheduled an appointment to have your son evaluated but I just wanted to say that your son's speech issues could be because of the tongue problem , I am also 'tongue tied' but it wasn't bad enough to cause and speech issues.

A.- Talk to your early intervention team. Tell them of your additional concerns and they will help you. If you feel like he could benefit from additional evaluations, they may be able to help you arrange them. The Early Intervention program consists of psychologists, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and special education teachers. Your team should be able to help you!

I also have a 10 year old girl on the Autism Spectrum and I am concerned with some of the mis-information of some of the posters.

Autism is a "Spectrum" disorder and every case is unique. My child has never been emotionally detached and is very loving! She first presented with speech delays and trouble with fine motor skills. She has never ran from a room screaming because of florescentlights like one person suggested all children with autism do.

She does extremely well and is in a regular class room, much due to the early intervention we got her involved in when she was first diagnosed.

I am happy that you are taking the steps to get your little one evaluated. Early intervention is key! I will keep you all in our thoughts, and please know that it most likely has nothing to do with anything you did or didn't do, so don't beat yourself up.