Child speech problems- autism spectrum ?

Marmaduke123

ringo_24601 wrote: »

Remember, the CHAT checklist is for 18 months olds.

This is very important. Your child is quite a bit older than this, so it's not really appropriate to use.

In your other thread you said you had been referred to a "communicating and playing " group. Has anything happened about this?

I wouldn't go private, you are in the NHS system and it sounds as if you have a good paediatrician. If your child had a severe form of autism the diagnosis would be clear cut by now. Milder autistic spectrum disorders take time to diagnose, and assessment over time to monitor how things are developing rather than on a one off visit. I'm not sure you could get that kind of monitoring privately.

BucksLady

LutonGuy wrote: »

Nope no feeding problem and yes he babble. I have a 8 month daughater and he tries to copy every "word/sound" that she says

As a baby, did you notice whether he babbled and then gradually stopped doing so?
Is he able to copy simple actions? For example, if you place a hand on your head, can he place a hand on his own head?

LutonGuy

Marmaduke123 wrote: »

...
In your other thread you said you had been referred to a "communicating and playing " group. Has anything happened about this?

...

Yes, that is going to start on 9th of this month.

BucksLady wrote: »

....
Is he able to copy simple actions? For example, if you place a hand on your head, can he place a hand on his own head?

Yes, he can easily do these things. you know that "listen to the music and clap your hands" etc he can easily play that with me. If i ask him to close/open the door he can do so. can easily solve the card board picture puzzle.

BucksLady

Did your doctor examine your son's mouth (tongue, larynx etc)?

LutonGuy

BucksLady wrote: »

Did your doctor examine your son's mouth (tongue, larynx etc)?

Nope, She tried but he gets upset and then she left.

Marmaduke123

Please don't be distracted by questions about your son's mouth and larynx.Talking happens mainly in the brain, a problem in the mouth with no other signs is most unlikely and wouldn't anyway stop a child from trying to talk.

Go to the group, try to relax and enjoy your son, take on the professional advice you will get.

ManofLeisure_2

Marmaduke123 wrote: »

Please don't be distracted by questions about your son's mouth and larynx.Talking happens mainly in the brain, a problem in the mouth with no other signs is most unlikely and wouldn't anyway stop a child from trying to talk.

Go to the group, try to relax and enjoy your son, take on the professional advice you will get.

Are you medically qualified? Even as a layman, I don't believe your reply to be correct.

GPark

What does your health visitor say? And does he attend any sort of playgroup/nursery without you?

We were in a similar situation with DS2 last year, he is 4 next month, and this time last year he basically only spoke 3 words - more, mama and no. We tried attending a special needs group together, but he refused to cooperate. Health visitor advised sending him to a playgroup alone, to force him to be more independent, as he tended to rely on me or DS1 talking for him, plus he would use gestures and sign language a lot.

A year ago I was positive that DS2 was autistic, but now I don't think he is. The behavior traits that made us think he may be autistic have improved dramatically as he has learned to talk.

After a year of playgroup combined with fortnightly speech therapy his speech is much better - he still has massive problems and will need SALT for several years, but he is at least talking now, his vocabulary is huge, its his articulation that's the problem at the moment.

He has been diagnosed with speech sound disorder and expressive language disorder, and referred to peads to see if they can offer further help.

I think as a parent you need to trust your judgement about whether your son is autistic, he's still very young and its very difficult to diagnose this early. We were told that in this area they won't even assess for autism until age 4, simply because a lot of autistic traits can also be toddlerism's that will improve with age.

DS2 for example was obsessive about everything being the same constantly, and would have mini meltdowns if anything was different - HV felt this was because he couldn't communicate his wants/needs so he relied on things remaining the same to make him feel safe/secure. As he has gotten older and learned to communicate more this has improved massively.

Marmaduke123

ManofLeisure wrote: »

Are you medically qualified? Even as a layman, I don't believe your reply to be correct.

I have a professional qualification and worked for many years as a specialist in the NHS, working with children with autistic spectrum disorders and specific language impairments.

Believe me, structural reasons for failure to talk are vanishingly rare. Problems of motor control of the lips and tongue are possible, but would be accompanied by very messy eating and other signs.

BucksLady

Marmaduke123 wrote: »

Please don't be distracted by questions about your son's mouth and larynx.Talking happens mainly in the brain, a problem in the mouth with no other signs is most unlikely and wouldn't anyway stop a child from trying to talk.

Go to the group, try to relax and enjoy your son, take on the professional advice you will get.

I'm sorry you found my questions 'distracting'. I was trying to help the OP using the expertise of my OH ( a GP and qualified paeditrician) and FIL (a clinical psychologist). I also have a sister who has Asperger's Syndrome and didn't speak a word until 3 years of age, and then it was in complete sentences. Additionally, I work as a Music Therapist helping children with communication difficulties.