Hi Hunter will 22 month in 7 days. He has started improve a lot this past month. However he still does not use his pointer finger to point to things he wants and he still does not say that much. My concern is that the not pointing is a red flag for autism and then add the no talking that well to it makes it worse. We are going to address his pediatrician with our concerns at his 2 year check up if things haven't gotten any better. Does anyone else know if it can be normal that he doesnt point to things he wants? He does point to pictures and stuff like that and if I say point to the cookie or to your drink he will point, but, he wont do it to ask for something on his own.
Things he does do:
*He knows how to correctly identify and point to 8 flash cards and can name 3 of them
*He says "I Go" when he wants out of the high chair
*He takes me and show me things he wants
*He loves to read , listen to books and turn the pages
*Very active loves to climb on furniture
*Initiates playing hide and seek and peek a boo
*Says - mama, dada, I go, Its done, All done, Its good, nanna (banana),ball, no, hey, yeah,. uh-oh, and Lets go.
*Stacks about 6 blocks
*Listens and understands most of what I say to him
*Very social and extremely loving
*Constantly checking to see if im watching him and always bringing me stuff to show me
Things he doesn't do:
*Will not point to show me what he wants
*Limited speech
*Doesn't say things like up or down
*Likes to make same repeated noises over and over
He meets all his physical milestones. He loves to play with other kids and is friendly and social.
Also forgot he has started to line his toys up but its nothing major but he does this thing where he puts his toys around the room and runs back and forth not trying to touch them, like its a game. Is this normal behavior, is it pretend play? He doesn't pretend to talk on a phone yet but will brush his hair and his teeth. He doesn't have much pretend play but if you put him in his car he acts like hes driving and hes always hugging and kissinghis stuffed animals
we've become rather hyper-sensitive to autism as a society.
he sounds like a perfectly normal and wonderful little fellow to me.
khairete
S.
Stop trying to find a label and treat what you think he is deficient in. If you think he doesn't have a big enough vocabulary work on building that. Teach him up and down.
It does not matter when or if he is diagnosed autism spectrum the treatment is the same as any child, you teach what they need to learn. It isn't until they get in a learning setting that the diagnosis can change the services provided.
L.,
You asked the same question in April (twice). I don't think the advice is going to change in 6 weeks. Please go back and read those responses which advised you to a) relax, b) talk to the doctor and c) contact Early Intervention. There's nothing here that indicates you have done any of those things.
I think you are making yourself nervous and not talking to the very people who can help you with an individual and personal assessment of your child.
He may be checking to see if you are watching him - probably because you are! If you constantly watching everything he does, you're either going to obsess about this to the point of making his childhood abnormal, or you're going to avoid getting an objective viewpoint. Both are really bad ideas.
Nothing here suggests to me he is Autistic.
One of ours was tested for Autism and we were in the system for a long time before I finally was able to convince them to test his ears. He just needed tubes.
Have you had his hearing checked?
Good luck :)
You can always ask for an early intervention evaluation. His pediatrician should have that information. On the surface, I don't think you have major concerns. There was a video I posted a while ago which showed toddlers with and without markers for Autism. The ones with suspected Autism did not speak, did not engage, did not really care that there was anyone else in the room. The ones with normal development acknowledged people. That he takes you to where he wants to go and engages you and initiates play with you is a positive sign of normal development.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtvP5A5OHpU
ETA: As someone else pointed out, you've asked this about him 3 times. Please just make an appointment if you are still worried. Only a professional can tell you if it's a concern or not and you don't seem to be getting the answers you want/like from us.
I've always found that children who are doers tend to talk later because they are too busy doing things. My youngest granddaughter was evaluated due to a speech delay at her 2 yr wellness exam. 6 weeks later she was talking up a storm.
I don't think his language is too far from the norm and he's social so no reason to be concerned about autism. As long as he has a few 2 word combinations that he is using he is good in that area, I wouldn't bother with flash cards, little ones learn better through play.
I honestly don't remember if my youngest pointed at things or not, but he was not much of a talker at all until about age 2. Then, he began speaking in complete sentences and using vocabulary advanced for his age and was even a better talker than his older brother who is 13 months ahead of him. My son also used to line up toys like you mention, and spend a lot of time doing things on his own at his little play station, like a little scientist. He clearly understood us while he was not talking, and was just taking things in. He was also an early walker (him at 9.5 months and his brother at 8.5 months), so he may have been focusing on physical skills and letting the verbal skills go by the wayside for a while. I can tell you my youngest son is now 20 years old, a sophomore in college with an academic scholarship, and is on the track/cross country team. So, I hope you can relax a little and see what you describe is not necessarily a concern. You should, for your own peace of mind, get some evaluations so you can either be proactive in getting services for him or relax a little and let him develop on his own. You and your son deserve to find out if your M. instinct is warning you.
No need to guess. Call Early Intervention and find out. It's free, and an expert will evaluate him and either tell you he's fine, or offer free services to help him in any areas that need help.
Are you ever around other kids his age? I would highly recommend going to a library story time or some other, regular class where you will see a group of a bunch of kids around his age, since you seem to be stressed out a bit more than is warranted. Look at him in the context of the group. Not compared to any one kid who can do X while your kid does Y, but to the whole group. I have a little cousin with some special needs, likely on the autism spectrum. When he was 2.5 and around the other cousins who were 1.5 to 5, it was really, really clear that his behavior was different then the rest. The rest were all individuals at individual points in their development, but there was a clear commonality in how they related, played, interacted with their parents. It's hard to define, but I really think that you need the context of more kids to help you understand that he does fit in the larger spectrum of neurotypical.
Of course, talking to your doctor is the best way to go, just a supplemental suggestion.
sounds normal to me.
Our sons talking didn't really take off till right after his 2nd birthday.
Then it was non stop chatter chatter chatter!
Read to/with him as often as you can - they soak it up and it shows up in their language skills later on.
Sounds normal to me. Relax and enjoy. Do not compare him to other kids.
I do think he sounds pretty 'normal', but I will also say that if your intuition is worried, then listen.
My son was about the same age and I kept saying that I thought he was speech delayed and everyone told me to relax, stop comparing my kids, etc. But I called Parents as Teachers anyway and got involved with an early intervention speech therapy. He did have a small delay and he qualified for speech therapy. With a few key pointers from the therapist that I could work on, that boy was talking up a storm in just 5 weeks. I think he was the fastest graduate, LOL!
I would look up your local early intervention or PAT (which is an awesome program, sign up now if you're not already!!) and go from there. Talking to your pediatrician is also great, but why wait two months to just talk to the doctor, do it now. That's what I'd do. The worst they can say is, he's on track and doesn't need intervention and that would be pretty darn good! :)
Sounds like he's in the normal range, just not on the advanced end of it. So you're likely running into other parents who's kids are talking more. That doesn't mean he's not talking enough.
Because DS was an *extremely* early talker. I remember being surprised that at the 2 year check up his pediatrician only wanted to know that he could say something like a dozen words (don't quote me on the exact number) and use a few two word sentences. Sounds like your son does that. So just take a breath. (fwiw DS is borderline for Asperger's so this whole talking thing is not the be all end all)
And as far as lining things up goes: lots of kids (maybe all kids) do some sorting and organizing as part of their play. As the mom of a kid who DID/DOES the kind of lining up you think you're worried about, it's when that's the ONLY way they can play. Example: DS had a million cars trucks and trains and tracks and roads to go with them. He would NEVER use them AS cars, just line them up by kind, and size, then flip them over and spin the wheels.
2 is young for pretend play.
I know parenting is stressful. You want to do the best you can for your baby. But...He will be a happier, healthier kid if you relax and enjoy him.
Hope this helps.
Doesn't sound like autism at all to me. My first daughter had the exact same speech delay and didn't point etc. she was super social too and lined things up. I was totally convinced and fearful she was autistic. However, after being evaluated she was determined to have some fine motor delay but not autism. She did speech therapy for a year and a half in a special day preschool. By the time she entered kindergarten she no longer required any therapies.
The evaluator told me she was certainly not autistic because she made good eye contact and was wanting to be social. Autistic kids she said tend to avoid eye contact and are not usually eager to seek to socialize with strangers.
Get the evaluation and go with whatever they recommend. Good for you for being in tune with your child and seeking help early. Early intervention is proven to be the most effective treatment for learning delays and disorders.
You already have a doctor appointment scheduled so show your doctor your list that you give us here, but I think you'll find that your son is doing just fine. Consider getting some good books from the library on children's ages and stages -- there is a series by Louise Bates Ames on understanding your child at different ages -- "Your One Year Old," "Your Two Year OId" and so on. These are good, basic introductions to how your child thinks and feels at different ages and they will help you set realistic expectations, so that you are not expecting things your son isn't quite ready to do yet.
I also want to second the great advice to take him to lots of things like library toddler story time. Or find recreation center or community center "mommy and me" type classes such as Music Together or Gymboree aimed exactly at his age group. You will see lots of kids his age and get a much better gauge of how this age functions, and it will reassure you. Plus, your social son will have a ball and you will meet other parents of kids his age.
You've gotten lots of good advice which I hope has calmed your thoughts of autism. I came in late on this question so just wanted to address two things in your "So What Happened": First, lining up toys or otherwise organizing things is normal. Kids love to order their own little worlds as they like. Second, the game he invented where he puts toys around the room and runs around trying not to touch them--that sounds like a creative game he's made up, so don't discourage it. He'll come up with variations on it, probably, and eventually stop doing it.
Also I'm not sure why you are so concerned about whether he is doing enough "pretend play." He is doing it. You say he's pretending to drive, pretends self-care actions he sees you do (brush teeth and hair) and interacts with his stuffed animals. And when he's lining up toys or running around them, he may be pretending inside his own head! At 21 months they don't have a ton of life experience to "pretend" with, so pretend alongside him, using his toys. He might or might not engage. But he is pretending already. Don't expect it to be the bulk of his play yet, though.
Making repeated noises -- Many young children do this just because they are learning to talk and simply like the sound of a particular word or letter or just a noise. It's experimentation and it's necessary for his verbal development. If he does it to the point that you cannot distract him from it, or he goes ballistic if interrupted, that would be an issue, but is that happening? I'm guessing not. I would let him do it and not try to curb it.
He does point at things (you mention he'll point at books, cookie, drink, etc.) He just doesn't point when you think he should. Time to change your expectations and focus on what he IS doing rather than what he's not doing. That's why books like the Ames books help you get where his brain is at right now and how you can learn to think more like a 21-month-old!
Most likely Florida has an Early Childhood Intervention program... you can ask for a free screening.
http://specialchildren.about.com/od/Early-Intervention/a/...
A social worker will come to your house, observe him, and ask questions. Based on her observations, he may be admitted to their program, which usually consists of a monthly visit by the case worker, and them giving suggestions on things to work on.
Having this done may also help flag him for any programs he might qualify as he gets older.
Our grandson wasn't talking more than a word or two at 20-22 months. We had him evaluated and they said no big deal. They said if he wasn't talking in the next 6-8 months to call them back in to do another eval. He started talking in full sentences just a few weeks later.
Sometimes kids just don't feel the need to talk until they have something to say.
I suggest you go to parentcenter.com and sign up for the daily, weekly, monthly, etc....emails to keep you right at where he's supposed to be. I will give you hope when he's right on track or ahead of something then you'll see where he's behind and when it might be a concern.
My son was the same way at that age. We had him evaluated by EI and CARD. He started speech therapy where they recommended sign language. I strongly recommend that you have him evaluated as soon as possible so you can start any therapies as soon as possible.
My son started talking after about a year of speech therapy. He will be entering first grade when school starts.
