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Autism & Asperger's Syndrome (Expert Forum)
23 month old- hums w/inflection
Answered by
Rachel Thompson, Ph.D., BCBA - autism
The New England Center for Children
MA
Questions in the Autism & Asperger's Syndrome forum are answered by researchers at the New England Center for Children. Topics covered include Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Antisocial Personality Disorder, Asperger Syndrome, Autism, blindness, bullying, clinical depression, deafness, dyslexia, mental retardation, and social alienation.
23 month old- hums w/inflection
by cetta5, May 29, 2009 09:48AM
Hi,
My 23 mth old (youngest of 5) says WOW, Rib-it (for a frog), bye, and sings round a bout (not clear) and sings" There it is!!." He is very active but doesn't speak; he hums A LOT with inflection. One thing that is peculiar is that he started running at 12 mths with his head to the side as though he was looking at his shadow or someone was behind him. Now he drops any toy (cars, blanket, broom) and runs along side it back and forth and drops his head right when he gets to the object. It has recently progressed where he puts an object down and runs past it and now around the kitchen table but always keeping an eye on whatever object he placed there. I have never seen this behavior. No matter where he is he plays this back and forth and forth running game. He listens to instructions, knows how to use a brush, fork, phone and loves to play with a ball by himself and will throw it back and forth to you. Should i be concerned about autism? He is not distant, he smiles and laughs and will come to me if he needs a toy train turned on and he loves to be kissed and hugged.
Please some advice. Thanks cetta
My 23 mth old (youngest of 5) says WOW, Rib-it (for a frog), bye, and sings round a bout (not clear) and sings" There it is!!." He is very active but doesn't speak; he hums A LOT with inflection. One thing that is peculiar is that he started running at 12 mths with his head to the side as though he was looking at his shadow or someone was behind him. Now he drops any toy (cars, blanket, broom) and runs along side it back and forth and drops his head right when he gets to the object. It has recently progressed where he puts an object down and runs past it and now around the kitchen table but always keeping an eye on whatever object he placed there. I have never seen this behavior. No matter where he is he plays this back and forth and forth running game. He listens to instructions, knows how to use a brush, fork, phone and loves to play with a ball by himself and will throw it back and forth to you. Should i be concerned about autism? He is not distant, he smiles and laughs and will come to me if he needs a toy train turned on and he loves to be kissed and hugged.
Please some advice. Thanks cetta
Doctor's Answer
by Rachel Thompson, Ph.D., BCBA, Jun 02, 2009 02:48PM
, Jun 02, 2009 02:48PM
If you or your son's health professionals have any concerns about your son's development, I recommend that you seek an evaluation. In the best case, a professional will be able to alleviate these concerns. If a developmental concern is detected, you will have acted early, giving your son the best chance to meet his potential. I would recommend that you seek assessment by a team of professionals with experience diagnosing autism spectrum disorders. Most large hospitals will have these specialized services.
Thank you for your advice. The PA never observed my son, it was just a question i had for her, thats why i posted the question to the forum. I have called for early intervention for speech. After taking his binki away(2wks) now i noticed it sounds like he is holding his tongue or it doesn't move when he tries to communicate. He doesn't miss the binki at all. Sometimes i think he got used to holding the binki in his mouth with his tounge and teeth he doesn't move them correctly. Could that be?
I had the early intervention team(developmental teacher and speech pathologist) come and observe my son for an hour last week. I watched him answer his name, come build 4 blocks put them back in and out of a bucket, clapped with them. They then asked him 3 questions to pick different toys, he did all three, two incorrectly but she said he's inconsistent b/c it appeared he looked at the right one but may have wanted the other object like the bananna over the juice cup. After that he had enough and pushed his toy cart around and then played with his ball in the kitchen. He walked in and out but didn't seem to interested in sitting with us or the toys in bag. Grunted when asked to pick pictures from a book and walked away. At one point he started lining up two toys and "running it" but they didn't seem concerned. I asked again but they said quirks like that are ok if not with other things. They saw him independantly play in the toy room and said that works against his speech ability and his social skills.
He qualified for speech and special ed and i am meeting with them again in july to go over services. I asked if he was autistic and they said no he didn't show the typical signs they would see when they met him b/c of his eye contact.
Today he lined up like 6 different objects, anything he can find in the room, walks/runs the line with his head down. Now he walks over them with his head down. when we the other kids get on the ground near him he plays with them by wrestling and hugging but will get up and run faster down the line. It is so quirky. The other children now give him things and he lines them up. Also, now that he's taller, every once in a while, he walks by the stove handle and turns his eyes to the line.
Today i showed him a picture of 3 elmos on a card with balloons. I asked him to show me where elmo was. He didn't. When i asked him to count them with me, he made sounds and pointed to all three.
I find my son truly fascinating because like right now he is playing (making sounds) with my other 3 kids in the back room as they build forts, crawling in and out yet he can't talk and lines up toys, has weird gazes, but loves to build blocks, and shape puzzles and has a beautiful disposition, eats, sleeps and cuddles great.
I want to be sure i ask the right questions to this development teacher and speech pathologist to make sure if he is on the autistic spectrum we get the right treatment. If i ask again and they tell me no should i get a second opinion and from whom? If he truly is on the autism spectrum and I wait like a year, what harm or missed opportunity will there have been for my son?