Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Child Behavior (Expert Forum)
2.5 year old - developmental and language question
Answered by
Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D. - Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy, Family Therapy, Crisis Intervention
Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates
This forum is for questions and support regarding child behavior issues such: Child Discipline (behavior management), Normal Child Development, Parent-Child Communications, Social Development
2.5 year old - developmental and language question
by Ivanka, Feb 07, 2007 12:00AM
My 2.5 year old is talking but not asking questions except"what's this?"(and not a lot).If I ask her a question requiring a yes or no answer, she repeats it instead of answering "yes".She has a lot of echolalia&talks about herself in the 2nd person "you want water" instead of "I want water"She also has periods when she is "in the zone"-doesn't want to play much,just wants to sit on the couch and rub my hair in her face&on her hands.She loves to play with my hair,esp. when overwhelmed or tired.She makes eye contact,some days more than others- generally she will look people in the face, even strangers, and say hi & bye.Sometimes she stares off for a few seconds, not blinking. If I wave my hand in front of her face, she will "come back",sometimes it takes 2-3 seconds.Some days she's chattery &happy,other days seems to be in her own world, and even though she talks, it is mostly repeating the same things. She is always talking about what is a boy or a girl. The first thing she says when I come home is:"Mommy is a girl".She has no concept of "why" or "How".She doesn't know "mine",says "this is yours" meaning mine. Doesn't want to do things herself, will insist I dress her etc.She repeats portions of shows&movies.She likes some books,but I think she is not really listening to the story,just looking at pictures.Story hour was a complete disaster when we attempted it.I feel she understands us- "bring your shoes","use the fork"etc. It is the talking back&spontaneous sharing that we are missing.I am a first time mom & don't know how much of this is cause for concern. Please help.
Doctor's Answer
by Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D., Feb 08, 2007 12:00AM
, Feb 08, 2007 12:00AM
There is cause for concern and it would be prudent to follow up with at least a Speech/Language evaluation, and perhaps an overall developmental evaluation. No single symptom that you describe is a cause for alarm in a child this age, but the collection of symptoms/behaviors makes it worth pursuing. One samll point: Concepts such as 'how' or 'why' are beyond the cognitive capacity of a child so young, so don't allow that particular characteristic to throw you - it's very normal.
Just keep talking with her--when I walk in the door everyday from work my 2 year old will say"momma done with work" that is his daily ritual...When she uses her words wrong don't try and correct her just say( Does Sally want a dring of water) and wait for her answer or if she hands you somethnig that is yours use the (yes, this is mine) o ruse whatever it is....if you see her not really talking more in a few motnhs then take her in to get evaluated--she may just be a late bloomer in the speech area--my girlfriends little boy just turned two and still does not speak much-and still has trouble walking at times--they think it may be because of his ears-he has lots of ear infections and that is causing some delays.--Good Luck
www.superduperinc.com