I have a beautiful daughter who just barely turned two and is exhibiting some very worrisome behaviors. I have 4 kids and am a teacher and have never seen all of these things in one kid before. First her speech is way behind - which alone I wouldn't worry about but developmentally she should be saying about 100 words and she says 14, most of which are indistinguishable for those outside our immediate family. She also does strange things in her sleep like screaming, crying and kicking her bedroom door but she is very much asleep and one time I'll go in to comfort her and she'll cling to me and another time she'll be very very angry with me - screaming, biting, pulling hair etc. When you ask her a question like, "What's this?" (pointing to your nose or something) 99% of the time she'll change the subject and ask her own question instead. She is extremely stubborn - almost like when on the rare occasions I am determined to get her to do something she gets 'stuck' and is determined not to. It's more than just being strong-willed I think, it's almost like she looses all sense of reason.
She really is a wonderful kid and we love and enjoy her a lot, but I've started to get concerned that she might have a problem I should be doing something about? I don't even know where I could get her evaluated. My husband wonders if she may have some form of autism but I have absolutely no experience with this. She also understands every word I say. She has never been hurt - in fact she's just a little bit on the spoiled side (which I'm sure doesn't help) and we have a very safe happy home and she's spent very little time with babysitters.
I'd appreciate any thoughts and ideas you might offer.
A lot of the screaming at night has to do with food and what the child has a sensitivity to. You might need to look into changing what she eats.
Your husband's hunch may be something to look into. Some of the behaviors sound like a couple kids we know who both ended up getting diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. Your pediatrician should be able to help you look into it. I'm not sure if you can call ECI yourself (see the last post for web address) or if you need the doctor's referral. They did a couple of evaluations on our daughter for gross motor delays when she was a baby. They are very thorough. Once she's 3, as you may know, there are resources through the school district.
Also, you can check out Neurosensory Centers of America www.neurosensorycenters.com. There are a couple in the Dallas area and they offer free evaluations.
If she has a neurosensory integration disorder, it will take a neurologist to diagnose it.
I'd probably start with your pedi and/or ECI, then look into the other once you've talked with them and had some testing.
You're wise to look into this now because if there is a problem, it's best to get help as early as possible.
A few thoughts -
1. If you're concerned about her speech and/or autism and want to get her evaluated, call Early Childhood Intervention. They'll do a free evaluation. Information online is at http://www.dars.state.tx.us/ecis/ and their phone number is 1-800-628-5115.
2. It sounds like she could be having night terrors. My understanding is that they're different than nightmares. My friend's son had them for a while. You may want to Google that to see if it's a match with your daughter.
3. I was recently reading in a book that you shouldn't ask questions to prompt speech. Kids pick up on the fact that you're asking them a question they obviously know the answer to and eventually rebel by not answering the question. It was interesting because we do the same thing with my son and sometimes he doesn't answer even though we know he knows the answer. Your daughter could be doing the same thing.
4. Toddlers are all about testing their independence. They are seeing what they can do. I know my son gets really upset sometimes if he's trying to do something and I intervene, even if it's just to do something to help. It's a natural thing for them to go through. You also mention she loses "all sense of reason" ... I'm not sure toddlers have reasoning skills at this point, which is hard for parents. They're just now picking up the concept of cause and effect, for example. I think we just need to change our messaging a bit to adapt to their skills.
Best wishes with your daughter - I'm sure other moms will have ideas, too.
I agree that you have signs that say check this out. I would ask your pediatrician to assess and evaluate and also ECI (Early Childhood Intervention). ECI is a federal program and if you pay taxes, then you've already paid for it :)
My sister-in-law used it with her son and it's a great starting point. It could be something as simple as she just needs some 1-on-1 time, but they'll be able to evaluate and help you out!
I'm glad you're listening to that little voice... :)
I work wiht children with autism and other developmental delays. If you are concerned about your daughter you should go see a developmental pediatrician or a pediatric neurologist. In the meantime I would have her evaluated by ECI (early childhood intervention) - they will not be able to give you a diagnosis but they will start working with you on helping your daughter with her delays. If you want more intensive intervention I would recommend ABA (applied behavior analysis) therapy - this can be done in your home but it can be expensive.
Hope this helps
Crisitna
Has she had ear infections or sinus issues? Sometimes adnoids and tonsils can lead to sleep apnea and result in tired irritable behavior. Do her siblings do a lot of talking for her? Did she use a binky/paci? Once my daughter ditched her binky(not til 2.5) her vocabulary soared. I would ask my pedi about your concerns. It could also be food related. Good Luck.
I would call ECI and have her evaluated.
Our DD had many delays in all areas, oddities such as crying over laughter, sneeze, cough, etc., extreamely clengy around strangers, etc.
After a long run of trying to find out why my baby is so different such as not answering to her name.
She was seen by the Child Study Center: her diagnosis PDD/NOS as well as high functioning autism, Sensory Intergration Dysfunction and Static Encephalopy.
I would say get her eval it is better to be safe than sorry.
Here is a site that has a questionere for you to answer to see if she has PDD/NOS.
Don't wait. Call ECI (early childhood intervention) now!
I'm not an expert on all of those things that you listed, but I teach Musikgarten, so we have that in common! As far as her speech goes, have you had her ears tested? When we were kids, my twin brothers started talking but no one could understand them. They understood each other, and apparently I, as the older sister, was able to translate, but Mom says it was a losing battle, and they would get very upset that she couldn't understand what they were trying to communicate. After an ear exam, it was determined they had so much fluid in their ears that what they heard sounded like it was under water, so that is how they spoke.They got tubes and started speech therapy at age 3, and were all caught up by age 6.
I didn't think anything more about that until this year when one of my Musikgarten toddlers was doing the same thing. His mom said he just made noises and got very upset when she didn't understand him, but just didn't seem interested in learning words. The big similarity between both cases and yours that rings a bell in my head is that they were able to understand everything, just not say it back. When my student went for a hearing test, they found too much fluid in his ears too.
I am absolutely not an expert in this, but I would try the hearing test if you haven't. It's worth a shot! Good luck!
