3 yr old language/conversation delays

[2brilliantbabies]

Many thanks again for the guidance that I have received so far.  Now, I need to ask a new question.  My daughter, that I have been discussing previously, continues with her inability to answer open-ended questions and actively converse.  Is this something that can be addressed adequately through speech/language therapy?  Is there a larger problem that I am unaware of?  Is there some kind of processing problem? At this point, we have discussed Autism and Asbergers, both of which I do not feel are the issue, unless I am misinformed.  In all areas, beside conversation, she is a happy, healthy, loving little girl.  She is very active, and but does have a somewhat short attention span. She maintains good eye contact, does not care what she wears, eats pretty much anything (if we can get her to sit at the table long enough), is very loving & empathetic.  She doesn't have any unreasonable fears and is not a daredevil.  She can be somewhat shy around new people.  She does speak, answers most yes or no questions, sometimes she ignores us I think.  If someone appears to have hurt themselves, she will run over and say "OK, (name of person)?"  She uses please, thank you, and welcome at appropriate times.  "C'mon (name of person).", "Let's go.", "Gimme", "Hey wook (look).", "Wook at dat!", "Whatcha doing?"; if we are going somewhere its "Go School", "Go see cows?", "Go town" or "Go find Daddy" (fill in with where ever we are going).  She will sometimes speak to inanimate objects or toys..."Hi puzzle", "Hi rock." Generally though, she gets her needs/wants across through one or two word phrases. Instead of I want chocolate milk, its just "chocolate nilk (milk) please." Also at bedtime, its "Goodnite kiss."  Never "I want" or "I need" or "Can I have" I try to get her to mimick me in speaking the correct way and using sentences, but she just echoes the last one or two words.  She said, "Swing please." I said to her, "Audrey, say, I want to swing please."  Again it comes out "Swing please."  When I break it down into two words each: "I want" (she will repeat) "to swing please." (She will repeat.)  Then I will put the whole sentence together and it is still "Swing please."  If she is having a good time she will giggle and say "Hey this is fun."  But if you ask her if she had fun, she will not answer.  The doctor asked her questions like, "If you are hungry, what do you do?" (No answer.) "If you are cold, what do you do?" (No answer.)  I thought maybe she was being shy, so when we got home, I asked her the same questions.  No answer.  Today she got into my wallet and found a picture.  She looks down into my purse, "Hey its dark in dere."  Pulls out her sister's picture and says "Dat's sissy in dat picture." (That's quite good for her, especially if unsolicited.)  She likes doing flash cards, but again, it requires only a one word response.  I have scheduled the first meeting for her speech eval. with the school on 4/27.

[tomel]

I am familiar with hyperlexia.There are also some people who think that when a child memorizes the words in a book that this is reading. Well this is a pre-reading skill but not true reading(Im not saying your son is doing this). My sons preschool teacher encounters this alot, and when she tells the parents to open the book in the middle and ask them to read they cant do it. The other thing that I was just reading was if a child has an excellent rote memory that is a sign of Autism as well. Well that is how children learn letters numbers, colors etc. Any small child can learn these things if you show it to them enough. My son has memorized all of the above as well as some sight words, but that is because I showed them to him over and over.
Let me ask you this can your son understand body language? Like if someone gives him a mad face when he's doing something wrong, or a tickle gester etc.

[xmsrlong]

Tomel, I agree with everything you wrote.  However, the psychologist you referred to is just plain wrong.  Some Asperger's kids do have "slight" delays in speech, most do not.  I also agree that untrained people are often looking for "red flags" in everything young children do.  We need to love our children for who they are, and at the same time help them along in areas where they need it.  I'm not sure where it was written that if a 3 year old can't read at an age appropriate level that is a sign of autism.  I've never heard of that and would have to say that it is also just plain wrong.  If a child can read before 3 then that might be a sign of autism/hyperlexia if other criteria in the DSM IV is met.  Autism is an uneveness in skills with some skills age advanced and some areas age regressed.  My son can read certain books and knows hundreds of words (he's most definately hyperlexic) but he can't learn to sit still for 1 minute.  He often doesn't say no, he just screams to get his objection out.  Sometimes he is just super smart and I think "how is this autism" but then I think, will this kid be able to learn in a mainstream setting and then I have my doubts because of his behavior is more like a 18 month old.  By the time he is in kindergarten, I expect he'll be reading like a 4th grader but he will have severe behavior problems that will interfer with learning.  HFA and AS are both just very frustrating nerological disorders because of the glimpes of brilliance followed by distressing behavior.

[tomel]

I also think (although in alot of cases with good cause)people are getting freaked out about the autism thing. Every little thing children a child does or doesnt do is under scrutiny.I was just reading something recently about sypmtoms to look for and one of them was "reading comprehension" and then after all of the noted symptoms to look for it said "onset prior to age 3" what the heck does that mean, a child is supposed to read before age 3. I do agree that there is alot of misinformation. One of the big ones is that "echolalia" is only a symptom of autism. Not true typical kids learn langauge thru echolalia as well. Also, that if a child doesnt like haircuts or doesnt eat certain foods, oops sensory problems must be autism. Or a child that likes everything in order in their bedroom, oops OCD. The reason I am giving all these examples is because I have seen them all in "typical" children. Some children might have a sensory problem, or a speech delay or lack of social skills. But there are other known and researched causes for some of these. Apraxia (which is a motor planning problem that affects speech and coordination) & Sensory Dysfunction are a couple of them. I do think people should keep and eye on their children, if I hadnt done so who knows how much progress my son would have made. But sometimes I think it goes a little overboard.

[tomel]

I have had my son in early intervention since he was 19 months old. He is now 3 1/2 He was diagnosed for "at risk autism". When he turned 3 I was told that he no longer fit that category but was still probably ADHD and still "at risk for Autism",so in other words keep him in therapy and keep an eye on him. I was told by one of the best psychologists in the state where I live that "Aspergers" children dont have speech delay. I also know someome whose child has Aspergers and he never had a problem with speech. If there is a child that has the symptoms of austism with a speech delay that it is "High functioning autism", although I know that they are pretty much one in the same. I just think that there are alot of people out there that are trained to look for everything wrong with kids and a little to over zealous in giving them a label, which does no good unless it is needed for services.

[tomel]

From my understanding "true aspergers" dont have any type of speech delay, in fact they usually have very advanced speech. Who gave your child this diagnosis?

[xmsrlong]

Tomel, according to the DSM IV, Asperger's is characterized by no clinically significant delay in language at this age (3-4).  My son certainly fits that category as do most of the children being discussed on this board.  However, his autism is pretty apparent for the casually informed.  Asperger's kids do have problems with the pragmatics of speech as well as pronoun reversal.   Much of the information out there about Autism Spectrum Disorder and Asperger's Syndrome often times only contains "nuggets" of truth and not the full picture.  Some children with Asperger's do have advanced speech, but delayed or absent analytic and social language.  Social language is perhaps the most important of all speech because it helps us to learn to live and work with each other.  When Asperger's kids get into the workforce, this is where they often fail and their "language" becomes a very real and true disability.  Other Asperger's kids learn to adapt while others do not.  Early intervention is an important key.  If your child has a problem, do not try to talk yourself out of it but address it while they are young!