Autism or delay?

My son is 2 and 1/2 years and has only a few words such as hi, bye, cookie, apple, up, happy, pool. He can repeat many words but uses only those words himself without prompting (and this is very recent). He is very affectionate, loves to play with his grand parents and has great eye contact. He laughs at funny faces and is always involved in social play with friends or family. He smiles and gets excited to see his friends at the door when they arrive and tries to initiate play with his baby sister. He is sensitive to new loud sounds ie. motorcycle passing by (he will cling to mommy or daddy). He seems to adapt to sounds that used to bother him ie. a loud blender in the house used to make him nervous and now he doesnt notice it. His receptive language is far greater than his expressive language. he understands things like, time to brush teeth, bathtime, bedtime. We had him screened by a psychologist scpecializing in autism at age 2 and she found there was not enough frequency in any one behaviour to diagnose him.  We have begun private speech therapy and our son immediately repeated words he knew and began passing her all sorts of toys. He seems to be apprehensive with certain new people,staring at people who may look different to him than his relatives. He likes to look at his shadow in the sidewalk and will often stop and catch himself in a mirror. He responds well to his name (90%). He doesnt throw tantrums but is often whining, trying to get our attention to something. He doesnt line things up but he sometimes looks at the wheels on his cars on the floor for a minute or two then changes to something else. He seems facinated with fans but it doesnt keep his attention for more than 30 sec or so. His gross motor skills are great, loves to climb and kick and throw. He loves music and will hum and sing and dance. He is beginning a morning preschool in the fall 3x per week.  Should we seek other professional advice?

[Rebecca MacDonald, Ph.D., BCBA]

Your son sounds like a charming little boy. If you  have concerns about his development, I would suggest that you  identify a hospital in an urban area where they specialize in diagnosis of children who present developmental delays including autism. A comprehensive evaluation by a team of specialists will result in diagnostic information as well as treatment recommendations. You can then take these recommendations to your local early intervention program.

[zamorana]

I believe our sons have so many things in common, the only diffrence is that my son is younger, will ruen 2 years next month. So plz I would really aprreciate it if u find something new about ur son or figure out what's his problem.And i'll do the same.

But I was told that as long as the kid is trying to communicate by any form that should mean it isn't autism.

[Mozartcowgirl]

zamora...wow.. who told you that as long as the kid is trying to communicate by any form that should mean it isnt autism.  wow..

Luars... give it some time.... I have aspergers syndrome.. and know many that do..my son is now 2 and a half.. and does not speak .. hardly at all. he says mom.. and uses that word as an association for everyone.  however... he rocks.... and seems to have a one track mind.. he can watch television for hours... or play by himself for hours.. as long as he has the basics.. he doesnt want anything to do with anyone.  we have begun to think  that  he may be showing signs of aspergers.. but there again.. he smiles,.. gives love and hugs when he chooses... and interacts with his siblings. I know alot of people with different scopes of autism.  many people with aspergers and autism communicate.. just not in the same manner.  There are new studies out that indicate that many of us with aspergers or autism FEEL too much. thus.. the reason for us to appear anti social.  the experts should have just asked us this long ago. this is something we have known ourselves.. but attempting to explain it is just to mind boggling for most of those who do not know, or understand this condition. take care.

give your son some time.. try not to worry so much.. he sounds perfect to me.. everyones different... and he has his own likes and mannerisms.

[Rhettsmom07]

My son is 2 1/2 years old and he has no vocabulary. He points to everything he wants or needs. If you ask him a yes or no question he will answer by moving his head for yes or no. He is very loving and good with other people ( a bit shy at first) though he gets very frustrated when he can not communicate his needs to us. Alot of times we are asking him a million times this this this this???? pointing at everything to see if he wants something.

He is a very independent little boy. Watches tv for hours and will play by himself for hours.
We had a hearing test done and found out he has a mild hearing loss but the doctor said that might be because he has fluid in his ears. He had tubes but in and has also had his adenoid removed. He goes back for a hearing test in a few weeks but his ENT said he doesn't think that him having the fluid in his ear has anything to do with him not talking but goes deeper then that.

Is there a specialist that he would see to see if he is autism?

[Madrose]

Please listen to me-
Your child is normal! My daughter is 2.5 years old and was diagnosed with autism 1 month ago. We have been doing all sorts of therapy in home for the past 8 months and she now goes to pre-school. while Madeline has many strengths, she has many consistent charactoristics of autism. She has very poor eye contact, rarely (20%) responds to her name, does not initiate activities with other, lines up her toys, has trouble making her needs known, has many tantrums in frusteration, repeats a handful of single words (inconsistently) has no expressive language. On the other hand she is very affectionate, loves to cuddle (with immediate family), has good cognitive skills for her age, and gross and fine motor are great. Madeline is considered high functioning. Please stop worrying and enjoy your child, he has a speech delay as simple as that.